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'Bhai Gurdas' (1551 - 25 August 1636) was a Punjabi Sikh writer, historian, missionary, and religious figure. He was the original scribe of the Guru Granth Sahib^[1] and a companion of four of the Sikh Gurus.

Contents

Early life

Later life

Literary works

Numbers

Death

References

External links

Early life

Bhai Gurdas was born in 1551 in Goindwal, a small village in the Punjab. His father was Bhai Ishardas who was a first cousin of Guru Amar Das (see family tree) His mothers name was Jivani^[2]and she died in 1554 when Gurdas was only three^[3].
After being orphaned at the age of 12 , he was adopted by his uncle Guru Amar Das. He learned Sanskrit, Brijbhasha, Persian and Punjabi (Gurmukhi) and eventually began preaching Sikhism. He spent his early years at Goindval and Sultanpur Lodhi. At Goindval he listened to scholars and swamis who kept visiting the town while traversing the Delhi-Lahore road. He later moved to Varanasi where he studied Sanskrit and Hindu scriptures. There, he was subsequently initiated into Sikhism. After Guru Amar Das died, his successor Guru Ram Das, appointed Gurdas as the Sikh missionary to Agra.

Later life

In 1577, Bhai Gurdas contributed his labor to excavating the pool at the Harimandir Sahib. Twenty years later, he went on an expedition to Kartarpur and recited many of the early hymns to Emperor Akbar. This was at a time when many of the Sikhs were becoming very anti-Muslim in tone and family feuds within the Gurus family had put Sikhism in danger. Akbar received the verses positively and became convinced there were no anti-Muslim suggestions.
After Guru Ram Das died, Bhai Gurdas formed a close relationship with the fifth Guru, Guru Arjan Dev. Guru Arjan Dev had great respect for him, and regarded Bhai Gurdas as his ‘Mama’ (maternal uncle). It is said that the Mughal emperor Jahangir was growing jealous of the popularity of Sikhism, and Bhai Gurdas was sent to Kabul, Kashmir, Rajasthan, and Varanasi again to preach Sikhism.

Literary works

He completed the Adi Granth in 1604. It took him nearly 11 years to complete this task. Bhai Gurdas not only wrote the Adi Granth as dictated by Guru Arjan Dev but also supervised four other scribes, Bhai Haria, Bhai Sant Das, Bhai Sukha and Bhai Manasa Ram. He assisted these scribes in the writing of various scriptures.^[2] His other works in Punjabi are collectively called Varan Bhai Gurdas.

Numbers

★ 6 Chands of 8 verses each in Sanskrit.

★ 672 Kabits and 3 swayyas in Brij Bhasha.

★ 40 Vars containing 912 pauris (in Punjabi).²

Death

He died on 25 August 1636 in Goindwal.³ Guru Har Gobind Sahib personally performed the ceremonial cremation.²¹

References

1. Saints - Sikhs.org
2. Life Bhai Gurdas Ji - SearchGurbani.com
3. Bhai GURDAS (1551-1636) - SikhHistory.com
4. Life Bhai Gurdas Ji - SearchGurbani.com

External links

Works of Bhai Gurdas Ji in Punjabi & English

★ Bhai Gurdas - Answers.com