Sikh literature

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A Sikh Sardar reading from a book, seated in front of a window, ca.1870

Sikh literature refers to the writings of the Sikhs. Traditional Sikh literature can be classified into various genres, such as the Vār, Sākhī, Rahitnāmā, the Gurbilās, the Shahīd Bilās, and the Ustat forms.[1] Sikh literature is more comparable to the literary traditions of other religions of the subcontinent, rather than being analogous to Punjabi literature, which is a regional-language literary tradition. Although usually employing Gurmukhi script, the corpus of Sikh texts utilize various languages aside from Punjabi proper, namely belonging to New Indo-Aryan, such as Saraiki, Khariboli, and Braj. Thus, the situation for Sikh literature is comparable to the literary tradition of the subcontinental Ismailis.[2] According to Norman Gerald Barrier, the Sikhs of Punjab had the strongest sense of history out of the religious communities of Northern India and their literature covers the Sikh gurus, warriors, the Sikh Empire, and the colonial-period.[3]

History

The Sikhs (and the Dadupanthis) were one of the earliest Bhakti movement affiliated religious traditions that underwent the scripturalization process by organizing their literature into written canons, leading to the completion of the Ād Granth in 1604.[4] During the Kartarpur chapter of Guru Nanak's life, his compositions were seen as a source of wisdom and compiled in the form of a book, known as a pothī. This collection would later be passed onto Nanak's successor Guru Angad, with him and the later gurus expanding upon the Sikh scriptural corpus by adding their own works and that of others in-line with Sikh theology. The major expansions on the Sikh religious collection occurred in around 1570, 1604, 1675, and the 1690's, finally assuming a canonical format.[5] Other early Sikh literary works during the period of the Sikh gurus include the Vaars of Bhai Gurdas, the Hukamnamas issued to sangats, and the Bhatt Vahis.[6]

Under the Sikhs, early Punjabi prose literature evolved with the janamsakhi, sakhi, parchai, and goshti genres.[7] During the guruship of Guru Gobind Singh, his Kavi Darbars produced literature, although most of these works were lost during the evacuation of Anandpur in 1704, being lost in the Sirsa river as per some accounts.[8] One of these lost works was the large Vidya Sagar Granth.[9] Historically, Sikh works were composed in languages and scripts other than Punjabi and Gurmukhi, such as Braj and Persian, although today Sikh literature is mostly produced in Punjabi in Gurmukhi.[10] Older Sikh works were often written in a form of scriptio continua Gurmukhi known as larivaar, although nowadays all works are written with spacing, known as pad chedd.[11] Hagiographical Sikh literature developed further under Sikh-rule with the sakhi, mahima, gurbilas, and panth prakash genres. However, these historical Sikh sources are semi-historical and generally reverential, being written by poets rather than historians, focusing more on theological aspects rather than objective history, with the authors sometimes not being contemporary to the events they write about and relying upon oral traditions.[6]

In the second half of the 19th century, a number of printed editions were published of the Guru Granth Sahib (including excerpt portions of major sections, including Panj Granthis or prominent prayers such as the Japji Sahib, Anand Sahib, Rahiras Sahib, or Ada di Vaar), Janamsakhis, and Gurbilases.[12] During the colonial period between c. 1870–1914, Sikh publishers printed qissas, a genre initially developed my earlier Muslim Sufi poets.[13]: 69–70  The Akali movement and explusion of Udasi mahants from gurdwaras led to the destruction of some Udasi-related manuscripts and works.[14]

Language

The earliest Sikh works are from Guru Nanak to Guru Arjan, primarily being composed in the sacred language of the Sikhs (Sant Bhasha). After the period of Guru Arjan, Sikh literature became more influenced by Persian and Braj, with Guru Gobind Singh being proficient in both. In the 18th and early 19th centuries, much Sikh literature was composed in Braj and Persian rather than Punjabi,[13]: 68–69  albeit being written in Gurmukhi script.[15] The Udasis favoured Sadh Bhakha while the Nirmalas utilized Sanskrit.[14] During the Singh Sabha movements from the 1870s–90s, Punjabi in Gurmukhi script became popularized and promoted by Sikh reformers and authors.[15] Various socio-religious movements of the 20th century led to the development of a Modern Standard Punjabi, initially being influenced by the Punjabi dialects Majhi and Lahnda but later Malwai and Doabi, being increasingly Sanskritized.[13]: 71–73 

References

  1. Malhotra, Karamjit K. (16 September 2016). "The transformative era in Sikh history". Oxford University Press Blog. Retrieved 1 April 2026.
  2. Shackle, Christopher (2014). "8: Survey of Literature in the Sikh Tradition". In Singh, Pashaura; Fenech, Louis E. (eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies (1st ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 109–124. ISBN 9780199699308.
  3. Barrier, Norman Gerald (1970). The Sikhs and Their Literature (A Guide to Tracts, Books and Periodicals, 1849-1919). Nanohar Book Service. pp. iii. Among the religious communities of India the Sikhs of the Punjab probably possess the strongest sense of history and the most vital contact with past events. Sikh literature abounds with accounts of the Gurus, martial bravery, the glories of Ranjit Singh, and in the British ...
  4. Zapart, Jarosław (16 May 2022). "The Ideology of Patronage and the Question of Identity in the Early Dādūpanth". Religions. 13 (5): 6–7. doi:10.3390/rel13050447.
  5. "The Sikh Panth". Global Institute of Sikh Studies. Retrieved 16 August 2026.
  6. Kaur, Madanjit (1983). "Introduction". The Golden Temple: Past and Present. Preface by Pritam Singh (1st ed.). Amritsar: Guru Nanak Dev University Press. pp. i–ii – via Panjab Digital Library.
  7. Singh, Harbhajan (1997). "Medieval Punjabi Literature - The Prose Writings". In Paniker, K. Ayyappa (ed.). Medieval Indian Literature: An Anthology. Vol. I: Surveys and Selections. Translated by Neki, J. S. Sahitya Akademi. pp. 450–452. ISBN 9788126003655.
  8. Singh, Satnam (15 October 2024). "The Sikh Raj of Anandpur - The Evacuation of Anandpur and the Loss of the Vidiya Sagar". The Road to Empire: The Political Education of Khalsa Sikhs in the Late 1600s. University of California Press. pp. 200–205. ISBN 9780520399389.
  9. Fenech, Louis E. (22 June 2021). "Prof Lou Fenech on The Court of the Tenth Guru". YouTube. United Kingdom Punjab Heritage Association (UKPHA). Timestamp 1:00:25 onwards. Retrieved 1 April 2026.
  10. Fenech, Louis E. (2024). "Persian Sikh Literature". Taylor & Francis. Retrieved 1 April 2026.
  11. Singh, Jasjit (2014). "The Guru's Way: Exploring Diversity Among British Khalsa Sikhs" (PDF). Religion Compass. 8 (7). School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science, University of Leeds: 209–219. doi:10.1111/rec3.12111 – via White Rose. ...until the early 1970s all copies of the Guru Granth Sahib were presented in larivaar format, in which all the words were connected without breaks, after which point the SGPC released a single-volume edition in which the words were separated from one another in 'pad chhed' format (Mann 2001: 126). Whereas previously readers would have to recognize the words and make the appropriate breaks while reading, pad chhed allowed "reading for those who were not trained to read the continuous text." (Mann 2001: 126). The AKJ promotes a return to the larivaar format of the Guru Granth Sahib.
  12. Linguistic Survey of India, Vol. IX: Indo-Aryan Family, Central Group, Part I: Specimens of Western Hindī and Pañjābī (Calcutta: Superintendent Government Printing, India, 1916) by George Abraham Grierson, pp. 619–620. Retrieved on 5 September 2026 via The Digital South Asia Library, University of Chicago.
  13. Shackle, Christopher (February 2013). "Some Observations on the Evolution of Modern Standard Punjabi". In Arnold, David; Robb, Peter (eds.). Institutions and Ideologies: A SOAS South Asia Reader. Taylor & Francis. pp. 64–73. ISBN 9781136102349.
  14. Singh, Dharam (September 1999). "The Sikh Exegesis: Contribution of Grammarian Prof Sahib Singh". The Sikh Review: 13 – via Panjab Digital Library.
  15. Shackle, Christopher (1998). "A SIKH SPIRITUAL CLASSIC: VĪR SINGH'S RĀṆĀ SŪRAT SINGH". In Raeside, Ian; Snell, Rupert (eds.). Classics of Modern South Asian Literature. Harrassowitz. pp. 183–184. ISBN 9783447040587.