# Writers of the Guru Granth Sahib

The Guru Granth Sahib (Punjabi: 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:
* Sikh Gurus
* Bhagats
* Bhatts
* 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 (Punjabi: 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

Many Hindu Saraswat Brahmins who started to follow the word of Guru Nanak were known as Bhatts, meaning bards. 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

## Individuals and their contributions

Background Details and No. of Hymns :
| Name | Timeline | No. of Hymns |
| Gurus |||
| Guru Nanak | 15th Century | 974 |
| Guru Angad | 16th Century | 62 |
| Guru Amar Das | 16th Century | 907 |
| Guru Ram Das | 16th Century | 679 |
| Guru Arjan | 16th Century | 2218 |
| Guru Tegh Bahadur | 17th Century | 116 |
| Bhagats |||
| Bhagat Jaidev | 13th Century | 2 |
| Bhagat Farid | 13th Century | 134 |
| Bhagat Ramanand | 14th Century | 1 |
| Bhagat Namdev | 14th Century | 62 |
| Bhagat Trilochan | 14th Century | 5 |
| Bhagat Parmanand | 14th Century | 1 |
| Bhagat Dhanna | 14th Century | 4 |
| Bhagat Bhikhan | 14th Century | 2 |
| Bhagat Beni | 14th Century | 3 |
| Bhagat Pipa | 14th Century | 1 |
| Bhagat Sain | 14th Century | 1 |
| Bhagat Surdas | 14th Century | 2 |
| Bhagat Sadhana | 14th Century | 1 |
| Bhagat Ravidas | 15th Century | 41 |
| Bhagat Kabir | 15th Century | 541 |
| Bhatts |||
| Bhatt Kalshar | 15th Century | 54 |
| Bhatt Balh | 15th Century | 5 |
| Bhatt Bhalh | 15th Century | 1 |
| Bhatt Bhika | 15th Century | 2 |
| Bhatt Gayand | 15th Century | 13 |
| Bhatt Harbans | 15th Century | 2 |
| Bhatt Jalap | 15th Century | 5 |
| Bhatt Kirat | 15th Century | 8 |
| Bhatt Mathura | 15th Century | 14 |
| Bhatt Nalh | 15th Century | 16 |
| Bhatt Salh | 15th Century | 3 |
| Gursikhs |||
| Bhai Mardana | 15th century | 2 |
| Baba Sundar | 15th Century | 6 |
| Satta Doom | 15th Century | 1 var |
| Balvand Rai | 15th Century | 1 var |

## Controversial authors
### 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.