Writers of the Guru Granth Sahib



The Guru Granth Sahib (ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ; ), is the central religious text of Sikhism, considered by Sikhs to be the final sovereign Guru of the religion. It contains 1430 Angs (limbs, referring to pages of the scripture ), containing 5,894  hymns of 36 saint mystics which includes Sikh gurus (6 gurus, possibly as many as 7 or 8   ), Bhagats (15 bhagats), Bhatts (11 bhatts) and Gursikhs (4 gursikhs). It is notable among foundational religious scriptures for including hymns from writers of other religions, namely Hindus and Muslims. It also contains teachings of the Sikh gurus themselves.

Categorization of authors
Scholars categorize the authors of the Guru Granth Sahib into four groups:
 * 1) Sikh Gurus
 * 2) Bhagats
 * 3) Bhatts
 * 4) Gursikhs

Sikh gurus
Philosophically, Sikhs are bound to believe in Shabad Guru — the words written in the Guru Granth Sahib — but the general belief is that the Sikh gurus established Sikhism over the centuries, beginning in the year 1469. The hymns of six Sikh Gurus are in the Guru Granth Sahib: • Guru Nanak

• Guru Angad

• Guru Amar Das

• Guru Ram Das

• Guru Arjan

• Guru Tegh Bahadur

Whilst these six gurus are widely accepted as having their writings included in the Guru Granth Sahib, there are some who argue compositions of Guru Har Rai and Guru Gobind Singh are also included. A Salok Mahalla Satvan (7) and Dohra Mahalla Dasvan (10) have been attributed by some to the seventh and tenth gurus, respectively.

Bhagats
In the below list, the Bhagats (ਭਗਤ, from Sanskrit भक्त) were holy men of various sects whose teachings are included in the Guru Granth Sahib. Their bani (compositions) come under the title Bani Bhagtaan Ki. The word "Bhagat" means devotee, and comes from the Sanskrit word Bhakti, which means devotion and love. Bhagats evolved a belief in one God that preceded Kabir's selecting the writings of the great Hindu Bhaktis and Sufi saints.

The 15 Bhagat authors were:

• Bhagat Kabir

• Bhagat Ravidas

• Bhagat Farid

• Bhagat Ramanand

• Bhagat Beni

• Bhagat Namdev

• Bhagat Sadhana

• Bhagat Bhikhan

• Bhagat Parmanand

• Bhagat Sain

• Bhagat Dhanna

• Bhagat Pipa

• Bhagat Surdas

• Bhagat Jaidev

• Bhagat Trilochan

Bhatts
Bhatts were belong to the Kaushish Gaur Brahmin family. The 11 Bhatt authors were: • Bhatt Kalshar

• Bhatt Balh

• Bhatt Bhalh

• Bhatt Bhika

• Bhatt Gayand

• Bhatt Harbans

• Bhatt Jalap

• Bhatt Kirat

• Bhatt Mathura

• Bhatt Nalh

• Bhatt Salh

Gursikhs
The four Gursikhs (devoted Sikhs) were:
 * Bhai Sundar
 * Bhai Mardana
 * Bhai Satta Doom
 * Bhai Balwand Rai

Mardana and Tall
Two more writers of the present recension of the Adi Granth are a matter of debate among scholars, namely Bhai Mardana and Bhatt Tall.

According to different scholars:
 * Two hymns under the title Mardana 1 are said to be compositions of Bhai Mardana; however, others refute this claim, because the pen name Nanak is used inside the hymn, and because Mardana is a type of shalok.
 * Similarly, there is a Swaiya (poetical metre) under the name of Bhatt Tall, which according to some scholars is a Gurmukhi copyist's error for Kal i.e. Bhatt Kalshar.

Sri Chand
According to a sakhi, when Guru Arjan had finished composing sixteen astpadis (cantos) of the Gauri Sukhmani composition, popularly known as Sukhmani Sahib, Sri Chand, the son of Guru Nanak, visited him. During this visit, it is said that Guru Arjan requested him to continue the composition he was compiling and complete the seventeenth canto of the Sukhmani Sahib. Sri Chand humbly recited the verse of his father following the Mul Mantar in the Japji Sahib. Thus, it became the seventeenth canto of the Sukhmani Sahib.