Illustrated folio of Guru Nanak, Bala, Mardana and devotees from a Kashmiri Janamsakhi manuscript, circa 19th century.
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Religion
Sikhism
Author
Various
Period
Late 16th century to 19th century
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Three sections:
childhood of Nanak
travels of Nanak
settled life of Nanak
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The Janamsakhis (Punjabi: ਜਨਮਸਾਖੀ, IAST: Janam-sākhī, lit.birth stories), are popular hagiographies of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism.[1] Considered by scholars as semi-legendary biographies, they were based on a Sikh oral tradition of historical fact, homily, and legend,[2] with the first janamsakhi were composed between 50 and 80 years after his death.[1] Many more were written in the 17th and 18th century. The largest Guru Nanak Prakash, with about 9,700 verses, was written in the early 19th century by Kavi Santokh Singh.[2][3]
The four janamsakhi traditions that have survived into the modern era include the Bala, Miharban, Adi and Puratan versions. While each tradition offering their own perspectives, interpretations, and points of emphasis on the stories they report, they generally present Guru Nanak's life in three parts: the first part covering his childhood and early adulthood, the second part as an itinerant missionary after receiving the call from Akal Purakh ("Timeless Being," God), and the last part presents him as settled in Kartarpur, founding his community of believers.[2]
Over 40 significant manuscript editions of the janamsakhis are known, all composed between the 17th and early-19th centuries, with most of these in the Puratan and Bala collections.[3] The expanded version containing the hagiographies of all ten Sikh Gurus is the popular Suraj Prakash by Santokh Singh. This poetic janamsakhi is recited on festive occasions in Sikh Gurdwaras, Sikh ceremonies and festivals.[4][5]
^ abGuru Nanak, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Brian Duignan (2017)
^ abcToby Braden Johnson (2014). Pashaura Singh and Louis E. Fenech (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies. Oxford University Press. pp. 182–185. ISBN 978-0-19-969930-8.
^ abKnut A. Jacobsen; Gurinder Singh Mann; Kristina Myrvold; Eleanor M. Nesbitt, eds. (2017). Brill's Encyclopedia of Sikhism. Brill Academic. pp. 173–181. ISBN 978-90-04-29745-6.
^Pashaura Singh (2006). Life and Work of Guru Arjan: History, Memory, and Biography in the Sikh Tradition. Oxford University Press. pp. 54–56. ISBN 978-0-19-908780-8.
^Christopher Shackle (2014). Pashaura Singh and Louis Fenech (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies. Oxford University Press. p. 118. ISBN 978-0-19-100411-7.
The Janamsakhis (Punjabi: ਜਨਮਸਾਖੀ, IAST: Janam-sākhī, lit. birth stories), are popular hagiographies of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism. Considered...
today are the janamsakhis ('birth stories'), which recount the circumstances of his birth in extended detail. Gyan-ratanavali is the janamsakhi attributed...
an unknown poet and was mistakenly attributed to the tenth Guru. The Janamsākhīs (literally birth stories), are writings which profess to be biographies...
Jainism also create and maintain hagiographical texts (such as the Sikh Janamsakhis) concerning saints, gurus and other individuals believed to be imbued...
rendition of the Janamsakhis itself claims to date to 1525 but this has been refuted by W.H. McLeod. Nankana Sahib Panja Sahib Janamsakhis McLeod, W. H....
Sikhism. In certain Janamsakhi traditions, such as the Merharban Wali Janamsakhi, Mata Sulakhni is known as Ghummi. In the Bala Janamsakhi, her name is given...
(1469-1539), the founder of Sikhism. The term was first used in the Janamsakhis of the Miharvan tradition, and was later mentioned in the mid-17th-century...
Singh and Narendra Singh Virdi containing a collection of forty-four janamsakhis relating events in the life of Guru Nanak. Each janamasakhi is illustrated...
10th Guru, Guru Gobind Singh Janamsakhi — non-canonical history of Guru Nanak Bala Janamsakhi — a collection of janamsakhis by Bhai Bala (generally accepted...
though Punjabi is not the only language used in Sikh scriptures. The Janamsakhis, stories on the life and legend of Guru Nanak (1469–1539), are early...
Its main subjects are the ten Sikh gurus and stories from Guru Nanak's Janamsakhis. The tenth Guru, Gobind Singh, left a deep impression on the followers...
(foreground) with Bhagat Kabir (left). This painting is found in the B-40 Janamsakhi, written and painted in 1733. The painting was made by Alam Chand Raj...
Janasakhi Archived 24 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine Janamsakhis of Miharban and Mani Singh, Janamsakhi Tradition, Dr. Kirpal Singh, 2004, Punjabi University...
Janasakhi Archived 24 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine Janamsakhis of Miharban and Mani Singh, Janamsakhi Tradition, Dr. Kirpal Singh, 2004, Punjabi University...
painting from an 1830's Janamsakhi. Bhai Bala (left) recites the life story of Guru Nanak to Guru Angad amid onlookers. Janamsakhi painting. Miniature painting...
Ajita Randawa. If we expand this train of thought and examine other Janamsakhi figures we can detect an interesting pattern…All of Nanak's immediate...
covering the same ground as Trumpp but interspersed his translation between Janamsakhis-based mythical history of the Sikh Gurus. A major source of his historical...
supposed events from his life. The paintings of the Bhai Bala tradition of Janamsakhis was influenced by Sufi stylisms. Guru Nanak is often depicted between...
General. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 9780230106406. Dhillon, Harish (2015). Janamsakhis: Ageless Stories, Timeless Values. Hay House, Inc. ISBN 9789384544843...
(places of worship; meaning ‘abode of righteousness’), as per the B.40 Janamsakhi: Go, Nanak [answered God]. Your Panth will flourish. The salutation of...
1904, Lahore, Civil and Military Gazette Press, 1908 Harish Dhillon, Janamsakhis, Ageless Stories, Timeless Values, Hay House, 2015 Sir William Wilson...
Wayback Machine Janamsakhis of Miharban and Mani Singh, mention this visit to have taken place on the Baisakhi day in 1504 AD. Janamsakhi Tradition, Dr...
128. Singh, Nikky-Guninder Kaur (1992). "The Myth of the Founder: The Janamsākhīs and Sikh Tradition". History of Religions. 31 (4): 329–343. doi:10.1086/463291...
(2007). Proceedings, Indian History Congress. Dhillon, Harish (2015). Janamsakhis: Ageless Stories, Timeless Values. Hay House, Inc. ISBN 9789384544843...
the region, such as the aforementioned Puranas, the Dasam Granth and Janamsakhis of Sikhism, and the Kalpa Sūtra of Jainism. Apadana - Collection of Avadanas...