granth

Granth is a Punjabi word meaning book or text. In Sikhism, the term Granth commonly refers to the Guru Granth Sahib, the central religious scripture of the faith. It is also known as the Adi Granth, especially for the edition compiled before it was declared the living Guru.

The Guru Granth Sahib was compiled by Guru Arjan in 1604, bringing together the hymns (bani) of the Sikh Gurus from Guru Nanak to Guru Arjan and a selection of devotional saints from Hindu and Muslim traditions. It is written in the Gurmukhi script and primarily in Punjabi, with some sections in Braj Bhasha and Persian. The text is organized according to musical measures (ragas) and structured into angs (pages). It is commonly believed to contain 1,430 angs.

In 1708, Guru Gobind Singh proclaimed the Granth as the eternal guru and installed it in the Golden Temple complex at Amritsar, after which it has been treated as the living spiritual authority for Sikhs. In practice, it is placed on a raised throne in gurdwaras and read by a granthi during daily services. The Granth’s compositions emphasize devotion to one God, truthful living, social equality, and service to humanity. It includes the hymns of the first five Gurus as well as saints from other spiritual traditions, creating a broad, inclusive spiritual corpus that underpins Sikh ethics and identity.