Voices

ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ ਦੇਵ ਜੀ

The founder of the Sikh path. Born at Talwandi (now Nankana Sahib), he travelled across South Asia and beyond teaching the oneness of God, the equality of all people, honest living and remembrance of the Name. His compositions — Japji, Asa Ki Var, Sidh Gosht and more — open and shape the Guru Granth Sahib.

ਗੁਰੂ ਅੰਗਦ ਦੇਵ ਜੀ

Successor to Guru Nanak, he gave the Gurmukhi script its standard form and gathered the first Guru's hymns. His own contributions appear mostly as saloks woven through the Vars.

ਗੁਰੂ ਅਮਰਦਾਸ ਜੀ

Composer of Anand Sahib, the Song of Bliss. He strengthened the institution of langar (the free communal kitchen) and worked tirelessly against caste and the seclusion of women.

ਗੁਰੂ ਰਾਮਦਾਸ ਜੀ

Founder of the city of Amritsar and author of the Lavan, the four wedding hymns of the Anand Karaj. His verses sing of longing and humble devotion to the Guru.

ਗੁਰੂ ਅਰਜਨ ਦੇਵ ਜੀ

Compiler of the Adi Granth (1604) and the most prolific contributor to it. He composed Sukhmani Sahib, completed the Harmandir Sahib, and became the first Sikh martyr. His hand shaped the scripture as we know it.

ਗੁਰੂ ਤੇਗ਼ ਬਹਾਦਰ ਜੀ

His spare, luminous saloks on detachment and even-mindedness sit near the close of the Granth. He gave his life in Delhi defending the freedom of conscience of a community not his own.

ਭਗਤ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ

A weaver-saint of Banaras whose fearless couplets demolish hypocrisy in both Hindu and Muslim practice and point to the formless One within. He is the most represented of the Bhagats in the Guru Granth Sahib.

ਭਗਤ ਨਾਮਦੇਵ ਜੀ

A calico-printer and ecstatic devotee from Maharashtra whose songs of intimate, all-absorbing love for God range across many raags of the Granth.

ਭਗਤ ਰਵਿਦਾਸ ਜੀ

A cobbler-saint of Banaras and a disciple of Ramananda, he envisioned 'Begampura' — a city without sorrow or rank. His verses are treasured for their dignity and their vision of a society without hierarchy.

ਸ਼ੇਖ ਫਰੀਦ ਜੀ

Baba Farid, a revered Sufi of Punjab, whose piercing couplets on humility, patience and the brevity of life were lovingly preserved in the Guru Granth Sahib — a Muslim voice within the Sikh scripture.

ਭਗਤ ਤ੍ਰਿਲੋਚਨ ਜੀ

A contemporary and companion of Namdev, his hymns warn against dying with the mind fixed on wealth or family rather than on the Divine.

ਭਗਤ ਬੇਣੀ ਜੀ

A devotee whose few but profound hymns dwell on the inner discipline of yoga and the futility of outward show without remembrance of God.

ਭਗਤ ਧੰਨਾ ਜੀ

A Jat farmer of Rajasthan whose simple, trusting devotion — famously offering his food to God before eating — became a byword for faith that asks for little and receives much.

ਭਗਤ ਜੈਦੇਵ ਜੀ

The Bengali poet of the Gita Govinda; two of his hymns of intense devotion are included in the Granth.

ਭਗਤ ਭੀਖਨ ਜੀ

A Sufi saint whose two shabads reflect on the ageing body and the healing Name.

ਭਗਤ ਸੈਣ ਜੀ

A barber in royal service whose single hymn celebrates loving devotion as the truest worship.

ਭਗਤ ਪੀਪਾ ਜੀ

A king who renounced his throne to become a devotee; his hymn teaches that the God sought outside is found within the body itself.

ਭਗਤ ਸਾਧਨਾ ਜੀ

A butcher by trade whose one hymn is a moving plea for grace, trusting that God lifts even the lowliest who turn to Him.

ਭਗਤ ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ

A great teacher of the devotional path and, by tradition, the guru of several Bhagats; his one hymn declares the Lord found within, ending all wandering in search.

ਭਗਤ ਪਰਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ

A devotee whose single hymn counsels against pride and cruelty and urges remembrance of God.

ਭਗਤ ਸੂਰਦਾਸ ਜੀ

Represented by a single line in the Granth, traditionally associated with the celebrated blind poet-singer of Krishna devotion.

ਭੱਟ ਕਲੵ ਸਹਾਰ

One of the eleven Bhatts — bards and scholars who came to Guru Arjan's court and, moved by what they found, composed the Svaiyye in praise of the Gurus that appear toward the close of the Guru Granth Sahib.

ਭੱਟ ਨਲੵ

One of the eleven Bhatts — bards and scholars who came to Guru Arjan's court and, moved by what they found, composed the Svaiyye in praise of the Gurus that appear toward the close of the Guru Granth Sahib.

ਭੱਟ ਗਯੰਦ

One of the eleven Bhatts — bards and scholars who came to Guru Arjan's court and, moved by what they found, composed the Svaiyye in praise of the Gurus that appear toward the close of the Guru Granth Sahib.

ਭੱਟ ਮਥੁਰਾ

One of the eleven Bhatts — bards and scholars who came to Guru Arjan's court and, moved by what they found, composed the Svaiyye in praise of the Gurus that appear toward the close of the Guru Granth Sahib.

ਭੱਟ ਜਾਲਪ

One of the eleven Bhatts — bards and scholars who came to Guru Arjan's court and, moved by what they found, composed the Svaiyye in praise of the Gurus that appear toward the close of the Guru Granth Sahib.

ਭੱਟ ਕੀਰਤੁ

One of the eleven Bhatts — bards and scholars who came to Guru Arjan's court and, moved by what they found, composed the Svaiyye in praise of the Gurus that appear toward the close of the Guru Granth Sahib.

ਭੱਟ ਭਿਖਾ

One of the eleven Bhatts — bards and scholars who came to Guru Arjan's court and, moved by what they found, composed the Svaiyye in praise of the Gurus that appear toward the close of the Guru Granth Sahib.

ਭੱਟ ਭਲੵ

One of the eleven Bhatts — bards and scholars who came to Guru Arjan's court and, moved by what they found, composed the Svaiyye in praise of the Gurus that appear toward the close of the Guru Granth Sahib.

ਭੱਟ ਬਲੵ

One of the eleven Bhatts — bards and scholars who came to Guru Arjan's court and, moved by what they found, composed the Svaiyye in praise of the Gurus that appear toward the close of the Guru Granth Sahib.

ਭੱਟ ਸਲੵ

One of the eleven Bhatts — bards and scholars who came to Guru Arjan's court and, moved by what they found, composed the Svaiyye in praise of the Gurus that appear toward the close of the Guru Granth Sahib.

ਭੱਟ ਹਰਿਬੰਸ

One of the eleven Bhatts — bards and scholars who came to Guru Arjan's court and, moved by what they found, composed the Svaiyye in praise of the Gurus that appear toward the close of the Guru Granth Sahib.

ਸਤਾ ਤੇ ਬਲਵੰਡਿ

Two court musicians (rababis) of the Gurus, whose Var in Raag Ramkali praises the greatness of the first five Gurus and the light passed from one to the next.

ਕਵੀ ਆਲਮ

ਬਾਬਾ ਸੁੰਦਰ

A great-grandson of Guru Amardas; his composition Ramkali Sad recounts the third Guru's serene last teaching on death.