The Guru Granth Sahib (; ), 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. The scripture also contains compositions by authors of varying caste-backgrounds, including Shudras and untouchables. It also contains teachings of the Sikh gurus themselves.
Scholars categorize the authors of the Guru Granth Sahib into four groups:
Philosophically, Sikhs are bound to believe in Shabad Guru â the words written in the Guru Granth Sahib â 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:
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.
In the below list, the Bhagats (, from Sanskrit à ¤Âà ¤Âà ¥Âà ¤¤) 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. According to Surinder Singh Jodhka, Farid and Bhikan were Muslim Sufis.
The 15 Bhagat authors were:
Many Hindu Saraswat Brahmins who started to follow the word of Guru Nanak were known as Bhatts, meaning bards. The 11 Bhatt authors were:
The four Gursikhs (devoted Sikhs) were:
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:
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.