Heritage of the Fifth Guru
Roopinder Singh

Life and Work of Guru Arjan: History, Memory,and Biography in the Sikh Tradition 
by Pashaura Singh. Oxford University Press, New Delhi. Pages 317. Rs 595.

Guru Arjan Dev (1563-1606) became Guru at the age of 18. He was to remain the fifth Guru of the Sikhs for the next 25 years, and he became the first Guru to be martyred. His impact on the development of the Sikh religion was very significant.

Being the first Guru to born in a Sikh household helped the young Arjan Dev to imbibe Sikh philosophy and ethos to a remarkable extent. 

His early education at Goindval included scriptural studies and training in classical Indian music. This was of great use when he complied the Adi Granth, in which he consolidated the compositions of Guru Nanak and his successors. 

Guru Arjan Dev collected the manuscripts from Mohan (Guru Amar Das’s son), Datu (Guru Angad’s son) and Sri Chand (Guru Nanak’s son) and with the assistance of Bhai Gurdas, compiled the Adi Granth. The Guru included in the Adi Granth the compositions of bhagats like Kabir, Jaidev, Namdev, Dahnna, Ravidas, Pipa, Ramanand and Farid. The Guru set these compositions to 30 ragas. 

He had the Adi Granth installed at Harmandir Sahib which he had built in the middle of a tank at Amritsar, the city founded by his father, Guru Ram Das. 

Guru Arjan Dev also founded the cities of Taran Tarn, Goindwal and Sri Hargobindpur. The influence of the Sikhs increased dramatically after Emperor Akbar acceded to Guru Arjan Dev’s intercession on behalf of the local peasantry and reduced the excessive land revenue levy. Emperor Jahangir had cordial relations with the Guru and his Sikhs, so much so that he even donated 1,400 bighas of land where Tarn Taran was built. However, later, it was the same emperor that had the Guru summoned to Lahore, where he was tortured and killed. 

Pashaura Singh has written this exhaustive biography of the Guru, and he has tapped into many traditional sources, including the writings of Bhai Gurdas, various manuscripts that contain Gurbani, the works of Kesar Singh Chhibbar, Sarup Das Bhalla, and Santokh Singh. He has put together a compelling portrait of the Guru, his times, and what he stood for. Indeed, in spite of a rather dry and academic style of writing, the book is hard to put down due to the sheer weight of information that it contains.

Pashaura Singh maintains certain positions that are not in consonance with traditional scholarship, especially in regards to the compilation of the Guru Granth Sahib. However, he has been working as a Sikh scholar for decades and has wide knowledge of the Sikh lore, manuscripts, gurbani and the ragas of the Guru Granth Sahib. He has extensively documented each chapter of his book, and this is probably the most exhaustive account of the life, teachings and the contribution of Guru Arjan Dev. 

Though some scholars might disagree with some of the views that the author holds, the industry and scholarship that has gone into the making of this biography is commendable.

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