Adi Granth, << AH dee gruhnth, >> also called the Guru Granth Sahib, is the holy book of the Sikhs. Sikhs are followers of Sikhism, a religion that began in India. The Adi Granth is the earliest formal collection of Sikh teachings.
The title Adi Granth means First Book or Original Book. Arjan Dev, the fifth Sikh guru (religious teacher), began collecting the original teachings in the Adi Granth about A.D. 1600. A scribe named Bhai Gurdas wrote down the text. In 1604, Arjan Dev installed the book in the Harimandir Sahib (also called the Golden Temple) in Amritsar, India.
The Adi Granth originally consisted of about 5,000 hymns composed by the first five Sikh gurus—Nanak Dev, Angad Dev, Amar Das, Ram Das, and Arjan Dev. It also contained about 900 hymns written by non-Sikhs, including Hindus, Muslims, and Sufi saints. The hymns in the Adi Granth were composed in a mixture of Indian languages. The book was written in the Gurmukhi script of the Sikhs. A script is a form of handwriting. The words were written without any spaces between them, to prevent anybody from changing the text.
Gobind Singh, the last living Sikh guru, gave the Adi Granth its final form in 1705. He added to it the compositions of his father, the ninth guru, Tegh Bahadur. In 1708, Gobind Singh declared that after his death there would be no living guru and that the Adi Granth would be the only guru of the Sikhs. Sikhs then began referring to the Adi Granth as the Guru Granth Sahib. They believe that the book is their eternal guru and so pay it special reverence.
The Guru Granth Sahib, in its final form, consists of 5,894 hymns. They are arranged according to traditional Indian musical forms called ragas. Sikhs sing the hymns during worship services. The Guru Granth Sahib is kept in a place of worship called a gurdwara, meaning doorway to the guru.
See also Gobind Singh ; Nanak ; Sikhism .
