Janamsakhis

The janamsakhis present accounts of the life of Guru Nanak and his early companions, with varying degrees of supernatural elements among them, typical for hagiographic biographies; more important was his message of equality before God, regardless of social classifications, also emphasizing friendships with those of other religions and the welfare of women. As stories were told and retold, the ways they were combined crystallized into a small number of specific traditions. They were first put to writing likely around the early 17th century. They have been recited at religious gatherings, shared as reverential fables with the young generation, and embedded in the cultural folklore over the centuries. Guru Nanak is deeply revered by the devout Sikhs, the stories in the janamsakhi are a part of their understanding of his divine nature and the many wonders he is believed to have performed. Didactic texts The early editions of the janamsakhi manuscripts are more than Guru Nanak's life story. They relate each story with a teaching in the hymn of the Sikh scripture and illustrate a fundamental moral or teaching. Along with Indic mythologizing traditions of itihasa, which incorporated mythology, history, philosophy, and geography, the Janamsakhi tradition was also contemporary with the Sufi allegorical traditions about Muhammad (''mu'jizat) and Muslim saints (karamat), In this milieu where spiritual figures were understood and remembered, the janamsakhis'' commemorated and expounded upon the teachings of Guru Nanak. In order to convey Guru Nanak's teachings, the janamsakhis make extensive use of allegory, often with mythic elements to imbue meaning. Though the birth narrative of Nanak shares similarities with that of Christ, Buddha, and Krishna, he is depicted as having a normal birth, with a Muslim midwife, Daultan, beside Guru Nanak's mother Mata Tripta, implying interfaith harmony. Typically dangerous natural phenomena either protect Nanak or are mastered by him, as a cobra shades child Nanak as he sleeps, or a rolling boulder being stopped by his hand. In a parable placed in Mecca, during Guru Nanak's travels he fell with his feet towards the Kaaba, to which a Qadi objected, but when he tried to rotate his feet away from it, the Kaaba reorients in the direction of Guru Nanak's feet, attesting to the omnipresence of God and the internality of faith as opposed to the external. A parable also relays Guru Nanak's body vanishing after his death and left behind fragrant flowers, which Hindus and Muslims then divided, one to cremate and other to bury. ==Janamsakhi traditions==

Main traditions Sakhi Mahal Pehle Ki Sakhi Mahal Pehle Ki was discovered by Piar Singh and McLeod, but remained unexamined and published until 2014 when Dr. S.S. Padam found multiple different manuscripts of the text across Punjabi universities and published them with examination. The text is now considered the oldest of the Janamsakhi tradition and the root source for the other Janamsakhis. Sakhi Mahal Pehle Ki has been dated to 1570-1574, during the last few years of Guru Amar Das's guruship. Scholars consider this Janamsakhi to have been used by authors of other traditions. The manuscript he discovered dated to 1701 but Harbans Singh believes the tradition may date back to the mid-17th century but unlikely to originate earlier than that period. There are reasons to doubt this contention as Guru Angad, who is said to have commissioned the work and was also a close companion of the Guru in his later years, was, according to Bala's own admission, ignorant of the existence of Bala. The oldest accepted manuscript of the Bala janamsakhi was written by Gorakh Das in 1658, but the actual date is believed to be earlier. It is generally believed this janamsakhi were written by Hindalis as in a number of stories Guru Nanak praises Baba Hindal. Some are of the belief that this is a contemporary work and was later edited by the Hindalis. One of the people who subscribed to this belief was Santhok Singh the author of the famed Suraj Granth. Santhok Singh wrote Nanak Parkash based on the Bala janamsakhi with the goal of removing parts he believed were edited and added by the Hindalis. Dr. Trilochan Singh counters some of the points raised against the Bala janamsakhi by stating that Mehma Parkash and Mani Singh's janamsakhi both mention Bhai Bala. Bala is further mentioned in Suchak Prasang Guru Ka by Bhai Behlo written during Guru Arjan Dev's time. Bhai Behlo says, “Bala discarded his body there, At the holy city of Khadaur, Angad, the master, performed the rites, Graciously with his own two hands.” He also raises the point that Bhai Bala's family is still living in Nankana Sahib and that Bala's samadhi exists in Khadaur. Singh claims the janamsakhi was written by Bhai Bala and is mostly authentic but was edited and changed by anti-Sikh sects. The work is an expansion of the first Vaar of Varan Bhai Gurdas. It shows influence from the Bhai Bala tradition. Minor traditions Various other more minor and obscure janamsakhi traditions are known. One such tradition is that of the B40, which contains influences of both the Puratan and Miharvan traditions. Women's oral Janamsakhis Aside from literary Janamsakhis, there also exists a Janamsakhi tradition passed down orally by Sikh women which provide more information about the lives of girls and women during the period of the first Sikh guru. Particular emphasis and focus is placed on prominent Sikh female figures, their influences, and impact, such as Mata Tripta, Bebe Nanaki, and Mata Sulakhni. Khushwant Singh similarly expresses his doubts, but extensively relied on the Janamsakhis in his A History of the Sikhs. Macauliffe interspersed his translation of the Sikh scripture between Janamsakhis-derived mythical history of the Sikh Gurus. Post-colonial scholarship has questioned Macauliffe's reliance on janamsakhis as "uncritical" and "dubious", though one that pleased the Sikh community. Out of 124 sakhis, he classified 37 as "probable" or "established," and 28 as "possible." Specifically looking for details "of importance" as it "angered many Sikhs" who saw him as "removing the vibrant life and message of their Guru from these texts," using incompatible Christian heuristic methodologies comparable to the Higher Criticism of the Gospels, == Janamsakhis of other Sikh gurus ==

Whilst the Janamsakhi literary genre arose to document the life of the first Sikh guru, Nanak, there also exists literature which was a later expansion of the Janamsakhi genre which details the lives of later gurus. There exists a Janamsakhi tradition which covers the life of Guru Amar Das, the third Sikh guru. The earliest surviving manuscript of Amar Das' Janamsakhi tradition dates to 1683. There also exists a Janamsakhi tradition covering the life of Guru Arjan, the fifth Sikh guru. The fifth guru's Janamsakhi tradition is recorded in an undated manuscript under the title of Prichha Mahala Panjve Ka. For Guru Har Rai, a manuscript covering his life was apparently written by Rup Kaur, it is known as Pothi Bibi Rup Kaur. == Janamsakhi art ==

The janamsakhi literature produced was often elaborately illustrated with paintings on the folios of the handwritten manuscripts, each depicting a life story of the first Guru. It is one of the earliest sources of Sikh art. The earliest illustrated manuscripts are as follows: • A manuscript of the Bhai Bala tradition held in the private collection of P. N. Kapoor of Delhi, containing 29 illustrations, dated to 1658 • A manuscript called the Bagharian manuscript, containing 42 illustrations, dated to 1724 • A manuscript called the B40 manuscript, containing 57 illustrations, dated to 1733. The patron, artist, and scribe of this work is known. The art of illustrated Janamsakhi manuscripts declined following the introduction of the printing press in Punjab during the 1870s. ==Gallery==

1658 Janamsakhi Images of manuscript paintings from the oldest extant or discovered illustrated Janamsakhi manuscript, which belongs to the Bhai Bala tradition, dated to 1658: File:1733 CE Janamsakhi British Library MS Panj B 40, Guru Nanak hagiography 1, Bhai Sangu Mal.jpg File:1733 CE Janamsakhi British Library MS Panj B 40, Guru Nanak hagiography 2, Bhai Sangu Mal.jpg File:1733 CE Janamsakhi British Library MS Panj B 40, Guru Nanak hagiography 3, Bhai Sangu Mal.jpg File:1733 CE Janamsakhi British Library MS Panj B 40, Guru Nanak hagiography 4, Bhai Sangu Mal.jpg File:1733 CE Janamsakhi British Library MS Panj B 40, Guru Nanak hagiography 5, Bhai Sangu Mal.jpg File:1733 CE Janamsakhi British Library MS Panj B 40, Guru Nanak hagiography 6, Bhai Sangu Mal.jpg 19th century Janamsakhi Janamsakhi manuscript paintings from the 19th century: File:19th century Janam Sakhi, Guru Nanak inside a Mecca mosque with feet facing the kaaba.jpg File:19th century Janam Sakhi, Guru Nanak joins school.jpg File:19th century Janam Sakhi, Guru Nanak converses with Muslim clerics, Kapany collection.jpg File:19th century Janam Sakhi, Guru Nanak and the fish.jpg File:19th century Janam Sakhi, Guru Nanak meets Firanda rabab maker.jpg File:19th century Janam Sakhi, Guru Nanak meets Kauda the cannibal.jpg File:19th century Janam Sakhi, Guru Nanak meets Natha Siddhas, Kapany collection.jpg File:19th century Janam Sakhi, Guru Nanak meets Sudhar Sain, Jhanda Badhi and Indar Sain.jpg 19th century Janam Sakhi, Guru Nanak meets the Vishnu devotee Praladh.jpg 19th century Janam Sakhi, Guru Nanak inside a Mecca mosque with feet facing the kaaba.jpg == See also ==