page_title: Punjabi language
section_title: Medieval era, Mughal and Sikh period
hierarchical_section_title: Punjabi language / Literature development / Medieval era, Mughal and Sikh period
caption_attribution_description: English: Varan Gyan Ratnavali, or Bhai Gurdas Ji Varan are a historical source of Sikh history, Sikh practices and Sikh beliefs written by Bhai Gurdas (1551 - 1636). This is likely a reproduction from between 1721 - 1890.
context_page_description: Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language with more than 125 million native speakers in the Indian subcontinent and around the world. It is the native language of the Punjabi people, an ethnolinguistic group of the cultural region of Punjab, which encompasses northwest India and eastern Pakistan.
  Punjabi is the most widely spoken language in Pakistan, the 11th most widely spoken language in India and the third most-spoken native language in the Indian subcontinent. It is the third most spoken language in the United Kingdom after the native British languages and Polish. It is also the fifth most-spoken native language in Canada after English, French, Mandarin and Cantonese. It is the twenty-sixth most spoken language in the United States, and tenth in Australia.
  Punjabi is unusual among Indo-European languages in its use of lexical tone; see § Tone below for examples. Gurmukhi is the official script for the language in Punjab, India while Shahmukhi is used in Punjab, Pakistan; other national and local scripts have also been in use historically and currently, as discussed in § Writing systems.
context_section_description: The earliest Punjabi literature is found in the fragments of writings of the 11th century Nath yogis Gorakshanath and Charpatnah which is primarily spiritual and mystical in tone.
  Fariduddin Ganjshakar (1179-1266) is generally recognised as the first major poet of the Punjabi language. Roughly from the 12th century to the 19th century, many great Sufi saints and poets preached in the Punjabi language, the most prominent being Bulleh Shah. Punjabi Sufi poetry also developed under Shah Hussain (1538–1599), Sultan Bahu (1630–1691), Shah Sharaf (1640–1724),  Ali Haider (1690–1785), Waris Shah (1722–1798), Saleh Muhammad Safoori (1747-1826), Mian Muhammad Baksh (1830-1907) and Khwaja Ghulam Farid (1845-1901).
  The Sikh religion originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region and Punjabi is the predominant language spoken by Sikhs. Most portions of the Guru Granth Sahib use the Punjabi language written in Gurmukhi, 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 examples of Punjabi prose literature.
  The Punjabi language is famous for its rich literature of qisse, most of the which are about love, passion, betrayal, sacrifice, social values and a common man's revolt against a larger system. The qissa of Heer Ranjha by Waris Shah (1706–1798) is among the most popular of Punjabi qissas. Other popular stories include Sohni Mahiwal by Fazal Shah, Mirza Sahiban by Hafiz Barkhudar (1658–1707), Sassui Punnhun by Hashim Shah (c. 1735–c. 1843), and Qissa Puran Bhagat by Qadaryar (1802–1892).
  Heroic ballads known as Vaar enjoy a rich oral tradition in Punjabi. Famous Vaars are Chandi di Var (1666–1708), Nadir Shah Di Vaar by Najabat and the Jangnama of Shah Mohammad (1780–1862).
caption: Varan Gyan Ratnavali by 16th-century historian Bhai Gurdas.
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