Tempo:
Appendix 1
291
Gurmukh Singh, who was collaborating with Mr Macauliffe in his research on Sikh religion, made it available to the Englishman, who had it published in November 1885. This biography agrees entirely with the India Office janamsakhi. 4. OTHER JANAMSAKHIS. Many other janamsakhis have since been discovered. They follow the last two mentioned in all malerial points. The famous historian, Karam Singh, mentions half-a-dozen he came across in his travels. The only conclusion that can be drawn is that a Ithough none of these janamsakhis are contemporary, they are certainly based on some biography which was written earlier but is now untraceable. A historian can neither discard nor accept the janamsakhis in their entirecy. Everything they state must be tested against other available material.
II. Adi Grailth Guru Nanak's compositions in the Adi Grantb have a few references to contemporary events, the most important being his presence at Saidpur when it was sacked by Bahar in AD 1521. This fact upsets the sequence of events narrated by the janamsakhis. Besides, as stated earlier, thejanamsakhis ascribe some hymns to Nanak (e.g., the Priin Sangfi), which Guru Arjun, the compiler of the Adi Granth, did not consider authentic and, despite the trouble he had taken in getting hold of them, did not incorporate in his anthology.
III. Vars of Bhai Gurdas In bis thiny-nine Vars, Bhai Gurdas only briefly mentions some of the events in Guru Nanak's life: the rest is simply in the nature of an eulogy. These Vars were composed between fifty to seventy years after the death of Nanak and in the lifetime of many people who knew the Guru, panicularly Bhai Buddha, who was personally known to the author. Bhai Gurdas unfo1tunately did not use the available knowledge to produce a biography; but whatever reference he makes in the Vars must be considered authentic.
IV. Bhagat Ratnavall by Mani Singh This work was written in the 18th century and is only an exposition of Gurdas's first canto; it does not pretend to add to the information on
291
Gurmukh Singh, who was collaborating with Mr Macauliffe in his research on Sikh religion, made it available to the Englishman, who had it published in November 1885. This biography agrees entirely with the India Office janamsakhi. 4. OTHER JANAMSAKHIS. Many other janamsakhis have since been discovered. They follow the last two mentioned in all malerial points. The famous historian, Karam Singh, mentions half-a-dozen he came across in his travels. The only conclusion that can be drawn is that a Ithough none of these janamsakhis are contemporary, they are certainly based on some biography which was written earlier but is now untraceable. A historian can neither discard nor accept the janamsakhis in their entirecy. Everything they state must be tested against other available material.
II. Adi Grailth Guru Nanak's compositions in the Adi Grantb have a few references to contemporary events, the most important being his presence at Saidpur when it was sacked by Bahar in AD 1521. This fact upsets the sequence of events narrated by the janamsakhis. Besides, as stated earlier, thejanamsakhis ascribe some hymns to Nanak (e.g., the Priin Sangfi), which Guru Arjun, the compiler of the Adi Granth, did not consider authentic and, despite the trouble he had taken in getting hold of them, did not incorporate in his anthology.
III. Vars of Bhai Gurdas In bis thiny-nine Vars, Bhai Gurdas only briefly mentions some of the events in Guru Nanak's life: the rest is simply in the nature of an eulogy. These Vars were composed between fifty to seventy years after the death of Nanak and in the lifetime of many people who knew the Guru, panicularly Bhai Buddha, who was personally known to the author. Bhai Gurdas unfo1tunately did not use the available knowledge to produce a biography; but whatever reference he makes in the Vars must be considered authentic.
IV. Bhagat Ratnavall by Mani Singh This work was written in the 18th century and is only an exposition of Gurdas's first canto; it does not pretend to add to the information on
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