India GOGuru Granth Sahib: the book that is the Guru
ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ
The scripture that is the eternal Guru: hymns of six Gurus and of Hindu and Muslim saints, enthroned, fanned and put to bed each night.
The Guru Granth Sahib is the scripture of the Sikhs and, since 1708, their Guru: 1,430 pages of hymns, about 5,894 of them, sung to set ragas and written in the Gurmukhi script. Sikhs do not treat it as a book about the Guru but as the Guru itself, which is why every gurdwara is arranged around it.
Story
Guru Arjan gathered the hymns of his four predecessors and his own, added the Hindu and Muslim saints whose words rang true, and dictated it all to the scribe Bhai Gurdas; the Adi Granth was installed in the Golden Temple in 1604. A century later Guru Gobind Singh added his father's hymns and, before dying, ended the line of human Gurus: the book would lead. So it is treated as a sovereign: woken at dawn with a hymn opened at random and read as the day's order, fanned through the day, and carried to bed at night.
ਸਭ ਸਿੱਖਨ ਕੋ ਹੁਕਮ ਹੈ ਗੁਰੂ ਮਾਨਿਓ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ
“All Sikhs are commanded: take the Granth as your Guru.”
Dohra sung after Ardas; by tradition Guru Gobind Singh's command at Nanded, 1708
Places linked to them
Gurudwara Bangla Sahib · Delhi Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib · Delhi Gurudwara Nada Sahib · ChandigarhWho wrote it and what is inside
Six of the ten Gurus wrote the hymns at its core: Guru Nanak, Angad, Amar Das, Ram Das, Arjan and Tegh Bahadur. Alongside them stand the bhagats, saints from outside the Sikh line: Hindu bhakti poets such as Kabir, Ravidas and Namdev, and Muslim poets, above all the Sufi Sheikh Farid; sources count about fifteen in all. Court bards, the Bhatts, added verses in praise of the Gurus.
The text is in Gurmukhi letters, but the languages move between old Punjabi, Braj, Sanskrit-tinged verse and Persian and Arabic words, as the poets did. It is arranged not by author but by music: after the opening Japji, the hymns fall under 31 ragas, melodic modes, because the words are meant to be sung. That is why in large gurdwaras such as Bangla Sahib kirtan, the singing of hymns, goes on almost without pause.
Its theology is plain on the first page, in the Mul Mantar: Ik Onkar, one God (how to translate these words is debated), the creator, without fear, without hate, timeless. The book teaches the way to that God; it does not claim to be God.
From the Adi Granth to the eternal Guru
The first edition, the Adi Granth, was compiled by Guru Arjan in 1604 with the scribe Bhai Gurdas and installed in the Harmandir Sahib, the Golden Temple in Amritsar. Guru Gobind Singh added his father Tegh Bahadur's hymns, by tradition at Damdama Sahib around 1704, and in 1708 at Nanded, before his death, declared that no human Guru would follow him. From then on the line of ten ended in the book, the Guru Granth Sahib, and the community, the Khalsa Panth. The couplet in Gurmukhi above, sung after the Ardas prayer, carries that command.
✅ Seeing it in a gurdwara
Every gurdwara is open to people of any faith, and the rules are few. They all follow from one idea: you are entering the presence of a Guru. In Delhi, Bangla Sahib and Sis Ganj Sahib are the easiest places to see the daily rhythm.
- Prakash and Sukhasan — At dawn the book is brought out and opened on a raised throne under a canopy (prakash); at night it is closed and carried to its resting room (sukhasan). Being there for either is the clearest way to see what “living Guru” means.
- The hukamnama — The hymn read from the page where the book falls open in the morning is the day's order.
- Head covered, shoes off — Everyone covers their head and leaves shoes outside; scarves are lent at the door in large gurdwaras. Sit on the floor.
- The chaur — The whisk waved over the open book through the day is the sign of sovereignty once used for kings.
❓ FAQ
Who wrote the Guru Granth Sahib first?
Guru Arjan, the fifth Guru, compiled the first edition, the Adi Granth, in 1604, writing it down through the scribe Bhai Gurdas. The oldest hymns in it are Guru Nanak's.
What is written in the Guru Granth Sahib?
Hymns in praise of one God and on how to live: by six Gurus, about fifteen Hindu and Muslim saints and court bards, arranged under 31 ragas.
Is the Guru Granth Sahib a God?
No. Sikhs believe in one God; the book is revered as the Guru, the teacher who carries the Gurus' word, and is treated with the honour of a sovereign.
How many pages does it have?
The standard edition has 1,430 pages, called angs, so a hymn is always cited by the same page number.
Can non-Sikhs enter a gurdwara?
Yes. Gurdwaras are open to everyone; cover your head, take off your shoes and dress modestly.