| Bhai Gurdas | |
|---|---|
 19th century mural painting from Gurdwara Baba Atal depicting Bhai Gurdas | |
| Jathedar of the Akal Takht | |
| In office 1606 – 25 August 1636 | |
| Preceded by | Position Established |
| Succeeded by | Mani Singh |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Gurdas Bhalla 1551 Basarke, Amritsar, Punjab |
| Died | 25 August 1636 Goindwal, Tarn Taran Sahib, Punjab |
| Relations | Mata Ganga (cousin) |
| Parents |
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| Known for |
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Bhai Gurdas (1551 – 25 August 1636) was a Sikh writer, historian and preacher who served as the Jathedar of the Akal Takht from 1606 to his death in 1636. He was the original scribe of the early version of Guru Granth Sahib, having served as the amanuensis of Guru Arjan in its compilation.
Early life
Bhai Gurdas was possibly born in 1551 (exact year unknown but likely between 1543 and 1553) at Basarke Gillan, a small village in the Punjab. He was the only child of Bhai Ishar Das and Mata Jivani. Gurdas' father, Ishar Das, was the youngest brother of Guru Amar Das, therefore Gurdas was the nephew of Guru Amar Das. Gurdas was born into the Bhalla clan of Khatris. Bhai Gurdas was near 3 years of age when his mother died.
After being orphaned at the age of 12, he was adopted by Guru Amar Das. Under the patronage of Guru Amar Das, Bhai Gurdas learned Sanskrit, Braj Bhasha, Persian, and Punjabi at Sultanpur Lodhi and eventually began preaching. He was further educated in both the Hindu and Muslim literary traditions. He spent his early years at Goindwal and Sultanpur Lodhi. At Goindval, Gurdas listened and obtained knowledge from scholars and swamis that continuously visited the town while traversing the Delhi-Lahore road. He later moved to Varanasi, where he studied Sanskrit and Hindu scriptures. After Guru Amar Das died, his successor Guru Ram Das, assigned Bhai Gurdas as a Sikh missionary to Agra.
Later life
In 1577, Bhai Gurdas contributed his labour to excavating the Sarovar at Darbar Sahib. Twenty years later, he went on an expedition to East Kartarpur and recited many of the early hymns to Emperor Akbar. Akbar was impressed by their spiritual content and was satisfied they had no anti-Muslim tone.
After Guru Ram Das left the world, Bhai Gurdas formed a close relationship with the fifth Guru, Guru Arjan. The Guru had great respect for him, and regarded him as his maternal uncle ("mama"). Gurdas led a group of Sikhs to Gwalior, where the Mughal emperor Jahangir, jealous of the popularity of Sikhism, had imprisoned Guru Hargobind. After that, Gurdas was sent to Kabul, Kashmir, Rajputana, and Varanasi again to preach Sikhism. He even went to Sri Lanka, preaching the name of the Guru among the masses and showing them the true way of life.
Literary works
Bhai Gurdas completed the Adi Granth in 1604. It took him nearly 19 years to scribe. He not only wrote the Adi Granth, as dictated by Guru Arjun, but also supervised four other scribes (Bhai Haria, Bhai Sant Das, Bhai Sukha and Bhai Manasa Ram) in the writing of various Sikh scriptures. His other works in Punjabi are collectively called Vaaran Bhai Gurdas. Aside from his well-known Vaars, he also wrote Kabits, a form of poetry, in the Braj-language. He was initially thought to have been the author of 556 Kabits but a discovery of 119 additional Kabits authored by Gurdas was made in 1939 by Vir Singh in a Gurmukhi manuscript.
Writings
- 6 Chhands of 8 Verses each in Sanskrit
- 672 Kabits and 3 Swayyas in Brij Bhasha
- 40 Vaars containing 912 Pauris in Punjabi
Jathedar of Akal Takhat (1606–1636)
The Akal Takht was revealed by Guru Hargobind on 15 June 1606. The foundation stone of the building of the Akal Takht was laid down by Guru Hargobind himself. The rest of the structure was completed by Baba Buddha and Bhai Gurdas. No mason or any other person was permitted to participate in the construction of the structure. Guru Hargobind himself was the custodian of the Takht. On 31 December 1612, when Guru Hargobind was imprisoned at Gwalior Fort, he assigned Baba Buddha to perform the services at Harmandir Sahib and Bhai Gurdas as the first Jathedar of Akal Takht.
Death
He died on 25 August 1636 at Goindwal. Guru Hargobind personally performed the ceremonial service at his funeral.
Death year
The year of his death is disputed, with prevailing views on his year of death as follows:
- 1629 as per the Gurbilas Patshahi Chhevin
- 1636 as per an extant Bhatt Vahi record from the Bhatt Vahi Talauda Pargana Jind. This year of death is further corroborated in a copy of a scriptural manuscript at Gurdas' hometown of Goindwal.
- 1637 as per Vir Singh and Kahn Singh Nabha
See also
Notes
- According to research conducted by the late Randhir Singh.
- This time range for the likely year of his birth was set by Vir Singh after research he conducted trying to settle the issue of when Gurdas was born.
- Other sources give Goindwal as his place of birth.
- Other sources give his year of death as 1635.
References
- Jaggi, Dr. Rattan Singh (1974). Bhai Gurdas. Patiala: Punjabi University Patiala. p. 19. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
- Fenech, Louis E.; McLeod, William H. (2014). Historical Dictionary of Sikhism. Historical Dictionaries of Religions, Philosophies, and Movements (3rd ed.). Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-4422-3600-4.
- ^ Singh, Pritam (1992). Bhai Gurdas. Makers of Indian literature (1st ed.). New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi. pp. 15–34. ISBN 978-81-7201-218-2.
- "Early Gursikhs:Bhai Gurdas Ji – Gateway To Sikhism". 27 January 2014. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
- "Introduction to Bhai Gurdas -: ਵਾਰਾਂ ਭਾਈ ਗੁਰਦਾਸ :- SearchGurbani.com". searchgurbani.com. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
- ^ Jaggi, Rattan Singh. "GURDĀS, BHĀĪ (1551–1636)". Encyclopaedia of Sikhism. Punjabi University Punjabi. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
- ^ Bhai GURDAS (1551–1636) Archived 13 January 2007 at the Wayback Machine – SikhHistory.com
- ^ Singh, Pashaura; Mandair, Arvind-Pal Singh (2023). The Sikh World. Routledge Worlds. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9780429848384.
Under his patronage, his son-in-law Ram Das received training in the musical traditions of North India, and his nephew Gurdas Bhalla received his early education in Punjabi, Braj, and Persian languages, including Hindu and Muslim literary traditions at Sultanpur Lodhi.
- McLeod, William Hewat (16 September 2024). "Sikhism – Devotional and other works". Encyclopædia Britannica.
This was particularly true of the works of Bhai Gurdas, whose 40 lengthy poems, composed in Punjabi, remain popular. Their popularity is vastly greater than that of his 556 brief poems in Braj, a language little read in the Panth today.
- ^ Gill, Rahuldeep Singh (2017). Drinking from Love's Cup: Surrender and Sacrifice in the Vārs of Bhai Gurdas Bhalla. Oxford University Press. pp. 9–10. ISBN 9780190624088.