The Ādi Granth, or the Holy Scriptures of the Sikhs (1877) · 2

Savaie on Amar-das, by the Bhatt Kalhu, I. -IX., by the Bhatt Jalap, X.-XIY., by the Bhatt Klratu, XY.-XTIII., by the Bhatt Bhika, XIX. XX., by the Bhatt Salh, XXI., by the Bhatt Bhalhau, XXII... 700-705

xlviii, n. 5, Devanagari, read: Devanagari. Ixxx, n. 1, add at the end: Cf. p. cxvi, note 3. xciv, n. 1, 1. 2, f^, read: f^^. xcv, 1. 5 from below, add after WTtf • 3d- xcv, 1. 4 from below, TH{7ial> read: ^o/. xcv, 1. 2 from below, Tf, read: »|. civ, n. I, 1. 4, ■^I^^rn:;, read: ■^f^iTT. cxxii, 1. 11 from below, A3d> read: JS 3^- cxxiii, 1. 5 from below, <.o*i3T. read: ^^*1'3T- cxxxlii, 1. 2 from below, ccxxi, read: cxxi. 37, n. 4, 1. 1, Xrf^, read: -Cft^. 70, n. 1, 1. 2, *|^Tj-mt^, read: »Tf TTWrf^- 93, n. 1, 1. 4, Magar, read: Magahar or Mag-bar (Cf.p.4C3,n. 1).

210, n. 5, 1. 1, Bbagavad-Gita, read: Bhagiivad-GUa.

204, n. 3, 1. 1, UfTO, read: un^. 305, n. 2, 1. 1, ^ft, read: »ft^. 311, n. 1, 1. 1, JHlf, read: »HT^- 319, n. 3, 1. 1, -g^ra, read: §^^. 323, text, 1. 24, Harlchand, read: Haricand. 323, n. 5, 1. 1, Harichand, read: Haricand.

323, n. 5, 1. 2, Vishvamitra, read: Visvamitra.

324, n. 1, 1. 1, Hiranyakashlpu, read: Hiranyakasipn. 335, n. 1, 1. 1, ^Z^, read: ^^.

663, n. 1, 1. I, insert "which all MSS. exhibit"

after \r^?J. 663, n. 4, 1. 1, ^^, read: T^. 668, n. 4, 1. 1, ^HT^. read: ^WT^- 077, n. 1, 1. 1, wft, read: ffS\. 691, n. 3, 1. 2, ^ir, read: ^'W-

THE LIFE OF NANAX ACCOEDIXG TO THE JAXAil-SAKniS.

"When* I was working my way through the Granth at Lahore, I felt naturally desirous to obtain some details of the life of Xanak, the founder of the religious system of the Sikhs, whose words, as preserved in the Sikh Granth, were so often dark and unintelligible to me, in order to get thereby a clearer insight into hia maxims and his way of thinking. I found that different accounts of the life of Nanak were current among the Sikhs, called Janam-patrls or Janam-Bakhls.^ I com- pared different copies, and found that they agreed on the whole, but deviated in minor points, one or other story being either added or left out. During my stay at Lahore (1870-72) a Janam-sakhl was lithographed with not unfair and in some cases very bold woodcuts. By compaiing this copy with the current manuscripts I found that everything, which appeared to throw a dubious or un- favourable light on Xanak, had been left out, whereas other things, which spoke of his deification, had been interpolated, llore close research soon convinced me that the usual Sikh tradition con- cerning Xanak could by no means be trusted; I had reason enough to assume that the formation of myths about their first Guru had alreadv progressed very far, notwithstanding that his life falls altogether within the period of historical light, as among the rubbish of miraculous and often absurd stories I could detect very few historical facts which deserved credit. The man, as I had him before me in his own words and sayings, as contained in the Granth, would by no means agree with what the miraculous stories had made of him.

"Without mentioning my suspicions to the Sikh Granthis, who would have considered every such doubt on the deity of Xanak as a heinous crime, to be atoned for only by endless trans- migrations, I made diligent inquiries as to the existence of older and more trustworthy traditions

^T^'ITJ^T. literally a leaf of paper, on whidi the birth of a child, the year, the lunar date, and the configuration of the planets at the moment of birth, are set down. Usually a horoscope, founded on those circumstances, is added. The Janam-patri is drawn up by the family Brahman, and serves in India as a birth-certificate. -rlA^^ltft signifies evidence or story of the birth {or life) of a person. The words are frequently interchanged, though Janam-sakhi usually implies episode or story of the life of a person.

regarding the life of Nunak. I applied to different persons, who, I had heard, were in possession of old Gurmukh! manuscripts, in order to get Janam-sakhis of Nanak, but all my efforts proved in vain, none but the usual compilations being forthcoming.

After my return to Europe in 1872, some manuscripts of the Granth were forwarded to me from the India Office Library, for the prosecution of my labours, and to these some other Gurmukhi manuscripts were added, in the expectation that the one or the other might prove useful in my researches. In looking them over, I found an old manuscript, partly destroyed by white ants, the early characters of which, resembling those of the old copy of the Granth, preserved at Kartarpur, and signed by Guru Arjun himself, at once caught my eye. On the first leaf it contained in Sanskrit letters the short title, 5171^ W\ ^«Sl 5ll»I?TST'l1' ^. ^ bool of Nanah, referring to his birth {or life). The copy had been presented to the Library of the East India House, according to the entry on the first leaf, by the famous H. T. Colebrooke, without his being aware, as it appears, of the contents of the book. As soon as I commenced to read the book, I observed with great pleasure, that this was a description of the life of Kanak quite different from all the others I had hitherto seen. As the characters, so also was the idiom, in which it was composed, old and in many words and expressions agreeing with the diction of Guru Arjun.

After a lengthened examination and comparison of this manuscript with the later Janam- sakhls, I am satisfied that this is the fouutiiin, from which all the others have drawn largely: for the stories, as far as they are common to both relations, very frequently agree verbally, ■with the only difference, that the later Janam-sakhis have substituted more modern forms for old words, which with the progress of time had become unintelligible. Tliis old Janam-sakhT, as hinted already, belongs, according to all external and internal marks, to the latter end of the time of Guru Aijun or to that of his immediate successor. The Granth, which Guru Arjun compiled of the writings of his four predecessors and the old famous Bhagats, as well as of his own numerous poetical effusions, is cited throughout, without any paraphrase, whereas the later Janam-sakhis have deemed it already necessary to add to every quotation from the Granth a paraphrase in the modern idiom.

"We are enabled now, by the discovery of this old Janam-sakhi, which is now-a-days, as it appears, quite unknown to the Sikhs themselves, to distinguish the older tradition regarding!N'anak from the later one, and to fix, with some degree of verisimility, the real facts of his life. There is no lack, even in this old relation, of many wonderful stories, as indeed might be expected from Indians, owing to their wild, uncurbed phantasy and the low standard of education among the masses of the population; but compared with the later Janam-sakhis, which enter into the minutest details, in order to satisfy curiosity, and which have no sense but for the mii-aculous, however absurd, it is relatively sober.

We subjoin here a brief summary of the life of Nanak according to this oldest authority, in order to contrast it with the narrations of the later compilers.

Nanak was born in the Samvat year 1526, in the month of Vaisakh (= a.d. 1469, April-May), in a village, called TidvandT on the banks of the llavl (the Hydraotes of the Greeks), not far above Lahore.' His father's name was Kalu, by caste a Khatrl, of the Yedl family or clan, a plain

' Talvandi, the birthplace of Nanak, is situated \a the Zila (■%JLi, in PanjSbl pronounced fVlitl) of Lahore (PanjSlii WlOd). ia tlie Collectorate (j+Dw =,J-^sr) of Sarakpur. Tlie place is now called Naiiakana (AIAq^IcM); it has a Gur-dvar and is a place of pilgrimage for the Sikhs. Malcolm (Sketch of the Sikhs, p. 7. note 7) is mistaken, in jilacing the village ou the banks of the Bias (Panjabi ftlJifT'n'). called now Raipur. There is In the Jalandhar Duab a place called TUvandl, near Sultanpur, not far from the coiifluence of the Bias and Satluj (thus this river is pronounced in Panjabi), but it is not the birthplace of Nanak.

farmer, who held also the office of VZ'icId) patvaii (a valuer of the produce of the fields) in the service of the feudal Lord of the village.'

At his birth the whole Hiudu pautheon appeared and announced that a great Bhagat (saint) was born to save the world.

Of his childhood nothing particular is mentioned, except that he did not play like other bovs of his age, but was always occupied in his meditations on the Supreme Lord.

At the age of seven his father took him to a Hindu school to learn to read and write. He is said to have surprised the Hindu schoolmaster by his superior knowledge, the pupil com- mencing at once to instruct the master, when the latter gave him a wooden slate, on which the letters of the alphabet were written. In proof of this, thii-ty-four verses from the Granth are quoted, inscribed the " tvooden slate" (VzY, pattl), which Nanak is supposed to have uttered on that occasion, but, no doubt, the story was invented in order to account for the verses, as is evident from other cases of the kind.

The further development of Nanak's character is not touched upon, apparently because at that time nothing was known about it. One story only is inserted, which tells how Nanak, whilst grazing his father's buffaloes, allowed them to break into a cultivated field and destroy the crop. When the owner of the field sued Nanak's father for damages, Nanak denied his guilt, and when the field was inspected, it was found uninjured.

The marriage of Nanak, as well as that of his sister NanakI with Jairam, which to the later compilers have offered such an exuberant field, is totally omitted here. It is only briefly re- marked that by the order of God two sons were born in the house of Nanak, Lakhmi-das and Sirl-cand, but that Nanak continued to lead a recluse life.

Then follows a miraculous story that one day Nanak laid himself down under a tree and fell asleep. By chance Eae Bular came there and saw that while the shadows of the other trees had travelled round, that of the tree under which Nanak slept remained stationary. This circumstance induced Eae Bular to impress on Kalu, who bore ill-will towards his son on account of his dreaming propensities, that Nanak was a great man and that the father was exalted by him; but these words made no impression on Kalu's mind, who slightingly answered, that the things of God only God knew. The later Janam-sakhis have embellished and enlarged this story by adding another miracle, that a large black snake expanded its hood over Nanak in order to protect him from the glowing rays of the sun.

Then it is stated expressly, that Nanak always kept company with Faqirs and was averse to any earnest labour or calling, which greatly alarmed his family, who would not recognize his divine calling, and especially his worldly-minded father Kalu, whom the narrators seem to take a secret pleasure in describing as a miser. His family at last considered him a lunatic and began to mourn this calamity.' At the instigation of the relatives a physician was called, but he could do nothing, Nanak showing himself the cleverer of the two.

It is very significant, that this whole circumstance is carefully passed over in the later Janam- sakhis, as every other point which throws an unfavourable or doubtful light on Nanak.

At last his parents sent Nanak to Sultanpur, to his brother-in-law Jairam, who held an ap- pointment in the commissariat of Navab Daulat Khan. They probably despaired of bringing liim into an orderly course of life at home; but according to the original text, he was sent by the

Talvandi is mentioned as tlie property of Rae Bhoe; the Lord in Nanak's time was Rae Bular, a Musalman Rajput of the Bliatti family, a descendant of Rae Bhoe.