Person · fifth Sikh Guru
Guru Arjan
Also known as Guru Arjan Dev, Arjan Dev, Arjan
Fifth Guru, who built the Harmandir Sāhib at Amritsar with doors on all four sides and compiled the Ādi Granth in 1604 — including in it the hymns of fifteen bhagats of other castes and one other religion. He was executed at Lahore in 1606 under Jahangir, the first Sikh martyrdom.
- Date
- 1563 – 1606
- Function
- Religious institution & practice
- Tradition
- Adi Granth; Sikh tradition
- Confidence
- Established / referenced
Worth knowing
He wrote more of the Granth than any other Guru, including the Sukhmani. The decision to put Kabīr, Ravidās, Nāmdev and Farīd into the same book as the Gurus, in the same script and sung in the same way, is the single most consequential editorial act in Indian religious history.
Connections (2)
- Canonised by textHarmandir Sāhib (Golden Temple)
Arjan arranged the Ādi Granth by rāga rather than by author, so a bhagat's hymn sits between two Gurus' in the same measure with nothing in the layout distinguishing them. The inclusion of Kabīr, Ravidās, Nāmdev, Farīd and eleven others is the most consequential editorial decision in Indian religious history.
- PatronageAmritsar
Guru Arjan transformed Amritsar into the principal spiritual centre of the Sikhs. He completed the Amrit Sarovar and commissioned Harmandir Sahib at its centre. In 1604, he installed the Adi Granth there, establishing the shrine as a focal point for Sikh worship, scripture and community.
Sources
Wikipedia, “Guru Arjan”. The subject’s own writings where they survive, and the standard biographical literature.
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