Guru Amar Das

Guru Amar Das
ਗੁਰੂ ਅਮਰ ਦਾਸ
Late 18th century painting of Guru Amar Das
Personal
Born
Amar Das

5 May 1479
Died1 September 1574(1574-09-01) (aged 95)
ReligionSikhism
SpouseMansa Devi
ChildrenBhai Mohan (1507 - 1567)
Bhai Mohri (1514 - 1569)
Bibi Dani (1526 - 1569)
Bibi Bhani (1532 - 1598)
ParentTej Bhan & Mata Lachmi Devi
Known for
Other namesThird Master
Third Nanak
Religious career
Based inGoindval
Period in office1552–1574
PredecessorGuru Angad
SuccessorGuru Ramdas

Guru Amar Das (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਅਮਰ ਦਾਸ, pronunciation: [gʊɾuː əməɾᵊ d̯aːsᵊ]; 5 May 1479 – 1 September 1574), sometimes spelled as Guru Amardas, was the third of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism and became Sikh Guru on 26 March 1552 at age 73.[2][failed verification][3]

Before becoming a Sikh (Shishya from Sanskrit), on a pilgrimage after having been prompted to search for a guru, he heard his nephew's wife, Bibi Amro, reciting a hymn by Guru Nanak, and was deeply moved by it.[4] Amro was the daughter of Guru Angad, the second and then current Guru of the Sikhs. Amar Das persuaded Amro to introduce him to her father [5] and in 1539, Amar Das, at the age of sixty, met the current Guru (Guru Angad) and became a Sikh, devoting himself to the Guru.[6] In 1552, before his death, guru Angad appointed Amar Das as the third Guru of Sikhism.[7]

Guru Amar Das was an important innovator in the teachings of Guru who introduced a religious organization called the Manji system by appointing trained clergy, a system that expanded and survives into the contemporary era.[5][4] He wrote and compiled hymns into a Pothi (book) that ultimately helped create the Adi Granth.[8][9]

Amar Das remained the leader of the Sikhs till age 95, and named his son-in-law Bhai Jetha, later remembered by the name Guru Ram Das, as his successor.[4][10]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference eosamardas was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "BBC – Religions – Sikhism: Guru Angad Dev".
  3. ^ Ikeda, Atsushi (September 2019). "Cultural Negotiation in Early Sikh Imagery: Portraiture of the Sikh Gurus to 1849" (PDF). Sikh Research Journal. 4 (1): 33. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 24 November 2022. Guru Amar Das (1479–1574) is the third Guru and was inaugurated in 1552 at the age of 73.
  4. ^ a b c Louis E. Fenech; W. H. McLeod (2014). Historical Dictionary of Sikhism. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 29–30. ISBN 978-1-4422-3601-1.
  5. ^ a b William Owen Cole; Piara Singh Sambhi (1995). The Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices. Sussex Academic Press. pp. 20–21. ISBN 978-1-898723-13-4.
  6. ^ Arvind-Pal Singh Mandair (2013). Sikhism: A Guide for the Perplexed. Bloomsbury. p. 37. ISBN 978-1-4411-0231-7.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Farhadian2015p342 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Fenech2014p41 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Balslev2014p39 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ H. S. Singha (2000). The Encyclopedia of Sikhism (over 1000 Entries). Hemkunt Press. pp. 14–17, 52–56. ISBN 978-81-7010-301-1.