| Janamsakhi ਜਨਮਸਾਖੀ | |
|---|---|
 Illustrated folio of Guru Nanak, Bala, Mardana and devotees from a Kashmiri Janamsakhi manuscript, circa 19th century. | |
| Information | |
| Religion | Sikhism |
| Author | Various |
| Period | Late 16th century to 19th century |
| Chapters | Three sections:
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| Sikh scriptures • Punjabi literature |
The Janamsakhis (Punjabi: ਜਨਮਸਾਖੀ, IAST: Janam-sākhī, lit. 'birth stories'), are popular hagiographies of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism.[1] Considered by scholars as semi-legendary biographies, they were based on a Sikh oral tradition of historical fact, homily, and legend,[2] with the first janamsakhi were composed between 50 and 80 years after his death.[1] Many more were written in the 17th and 18th century. The largest Guru Nanak Prakash, with about 9,700 verses, was written in the early 19th century by Kavi Santokh Singh.[2][3]
The four janamsakhi traditions that have survived into the modern era include the Bala, Miharban, Adi and Puratan versions. While each tradition offering their own perspectives, interpretations, and points of emphasis on the stories they report, they generally present Guru Nanak's life in three parts: the first part covering his childhood and early adulthood, the second part as an itinerant missionary after receiving the call from Akal Purakh ("Timeless Being," God), and the last part presents him as settled in Kartarpur, founding his community of believers.[2]
Over 40 significant manuscript editions of the janamsakhis are known, all composed between the 17th and early-19th centuries, with most of these in the Puratan and Bala collections.[3] The expanded version containing the hagiographies of all ten Sikh Gurus is the popular Suraj Prakash by Santokh Singh. This poetic janamsakhi is recited on festive occasions in Sikh Gurdwaras, Sikh ceremonies and festivals.[4][5]
- ^ a b Guru Nanak, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Brian Duignan (2017)
- ^ a b c Toby Braden Johnson (2014). Pashaura Singh and Louis E. Fenech (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies. Oxford University Press. pp. 182–185. ISBN 978-0-19-969930-8.
- ^ a b Knut A. Jacobsen; Gurinder Singh Mann; Kristina Myrvold; Eleanor M. Nesbitt, eds. (2017). Brill's Encyclopedia of Sikhism. Brill Academic. pp. 173–181. ISBN 978-90-04-29745-6.
- ^ Pashaura Singh (2006). Life and Work of Guru Arjan: History, Memory, and Biography in the Sikh Tradition. Oxford University Press. pp. 54–56. ISBN 978-0-19-908780-8.
- ^ Christopher Shackle (2014). Pashaura Singh and Louis Fenech (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies. Oxford University Press. p. 118. ISBN 978-0-19-100411-7.