January – December 2016, Vol. 18, No. 1 WHAT IS THE LANGUAGE OF THE AR TIC LE HOLY SCRIPTURE Of SIKHISM? Prof Devinder Singh Chahal, PhD ABSTRACT Institute for Understanding Sikhism Sikh theologians, linguists, researchers and writers ac- cept that the verses (bani) found in the holy scripture of Laval, Quebec, H7W 5L9 Sikhism contain many languages: Sanskrit, Sehskrit, Email: [email protected] Prakrit, Persian, and Apabrahmsa, which includes Sant Bhasha, Braj, Punjabi, Hindi, Gujrati, Bengali, Bihari, INTRODUCTION etc. This paper will discover the accurate name of the Sikh theologians are not unanimous on the tle of their language used by Sufis, Bhagats, Guru Nanak and Sikh holy scripture. It was tled “ Pothi ” by Guru Arjan at the Gurus, whose bani were included in the holy scripture me of its compilaon in 1604. Prof Sahib Singh calls it now called “Aad Guru Granth Sahib” “Aad Granth” but in English it is spelled as “Adi Granth” [1]. In 1708 a er the addion of the verses (bani) of Guru Teg Bahadur it was declared as the “Guru It is the same situaon regarding the language of the Aad Granth”. Later on the Sikhs started to call it “Guru Granth Guru Granth Sahib (AGGS). The Sikh theologians and Sahib”, “Sri Guru Granth Sahib ”’[2], and the Shiromani researchers are not sure about the right name of the language used by the Sufis, bhagats and Sikh Gurus to write Gurdwara Parbandhak Commiee (SGPC), Amritsar, th th tled the granth printed by them as “Aad Sri Guru their bani (verses) during 12 to 17 centuries. Granth Sahib Ji”. However, the Instute for Understanding Sikhism, Canada, uses the tle, “Aad Guru The general concept about the languages used in the AGGS Granth Sahib” which is very similar to that of the SGPC is as follows: • except that Sri has been eliminated, being a redundant Mansukhani [4] reported on the SGPC Webpage that the prefix before Guru and also eliminang Ji as suffix a er languages used in the AGGS are: Punjabi, Hindi, Sanskrit, Sahib . [3] This tle, Aad Guru Granth Sahib, abbreviated Braj, and Persian. • as AGGS, is used in all of their books and arcles. The New World Encyclopedia [5] reports that the Holy Book contains many languages including Braj, Old Punjabi, Khariboli, Sanskrit and Persian. •The Encyclopedia Britannica says that the language of the This paper was prepared for the World Punjabi Sammelan AGGS is mostly Punjabi or Hindi, interspersed with Marathi, to be held at Baba Banda Singh Bahadur Engineering Persian, and Arabic words [6]. College Fatehgarh Sahib, Punjab on February 5-6, 2016 •Another Website records Punjabi, Sindhi, Sanskrit, by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Am- Marathi, Gujra and Hindi. It also says that Apabrahmsa ritsar. It was postponed second time and was announced was used by Bhagat Jai Dev [7]. to be held on June 26-27, 2016. It was again postponed •Harkirit Singh [8] accepted that Punjabi, Sindhi, Gujra, third time to be held positively on September 25-26, 2016 Marathi, Hindi, Bihari, Orya, Bengali, Assami, etc. had at Anadpur Sahib. Originally this conference was to be originated from Apabrahmsa around 1000 BCE. held on October 23-24, 2015. Keeping in view the uncer- •Harinder Singh, et al [9] of Sikh Research Instute, USA, tainty this paper is being reproduced in the Understanding reported many languages of the AGGS: Sant Bhasha, Sikhism: The Research Journal for the readers interested Punjabi, Braj, Sanskrit, Farsi (Persian) and Lahimdi (mixture to know about the origin of Punjabi language and its use of Pothohari, Multani, and Jhangi). They said that the bani in the Aad Guru Granth Sahib . of Sheikh Farid was a sort of Lahimdi with strong influence IUSCANADA.COM page 21 UNDERSTANDING SIKHISM – The Research Journal of Multani and Punjabi; and Sehskri named Ardhamagadhi Prakrit is the mixture of Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit Around 400 BCE, Panini, a language . If the language of the along with Punjabi and Hindi. grammarian from Shalatula near sacred granths of Jainism is one of •Prof Sahib Singh has not discussed Aock, now in Pakistan, synthesized the forms of Prakrit, Ardhamagadhi much about the languages used in a new language from the language Prakrit language, that means Prakrit the AGGS but his grammar of the which was spoken by the Indo- was developed in the Punjab and had bani is mostly based on Sanskrit [10]. Aryans seled in the Punjab.[13] spread up to central and eastern •Principal Satbir Singh Padam [11] A er giving it a grammacal form India around 500 BCE by the had placed the origin of the Punjabi under 3,995 rules he named it followers of Jainism.[14] language at a me somewhere ‘Sanskrit ’. The language spoken by In Theravada Buddhism, Pali is its between the two languages, the people of the Punjab was main liturgical language [15]. Shourshani and Peshachi. (p 86) termed ‘Prakrit’, a vernacular Nevertheless, Pali is the same language without grammar. language which is the so-called THE ORIGIN OF THE PUNJABI Although the Vedas were wrien in Prakrit – the spoken language of the LANGUAGE AND ITS this so-called Prakrit, Sanskrit Punjab. During the period of Ashoka EXPANSION IN INDIA protagonists started to call that the Great, Pali (Prakrit/Proto-Punjabi) Almost all Sikh theologians believe language ‘Vedic Sanskrit’ or ‘Old spread towards south-western and that Punjabi is one of the languages Sanskrit’ and the language which eastern India. In Thailand, Pali is of Apabrahmsa, the denigrated was put into a definite grammar wrien using the Thai alphabet, vernacular language, originated from rules was named ‘Classical Sanskrit’. resulng in a Thai pronunciaon of Prakrit which originated from On the other hand, the language the Pali language. Sanskrit. Before discussing the spoken by the people, ‘Prakrit’, was Mahayana Buddhism makes lile use languages of the AGGS it is important further down-graded by modern of its original language, Sanskrit. In to know the languages spoken by the scholars by naming it ‘Apabrahmsa’, some Japanese rituals, Chinese texts people of Punjab and rest of India the corrupt or non-standardized are read out or recited with the before the 5 th century CE when the language. The irony is that the Japanese pronunciaons of their land of five rivers was named as the Sanskrit protagonists completely constuent characters, resulng in Punjab and the language spoken by kept the linguists of India and something unintelligible in both these people was called Punjabi . Europe in the dark about the real languages. In Tibetan Buddhism, name of the language developed in Tibetan language is used, but Chahal [12] in his earlier paper, The the Punjab a er the arrival of Indo- mantras are in Sanskrit. Origin of the Punjabi Language , has Aryans. In spite of such propaganda, discussed that originally the Vedas Sanskrit could never have become It worth nong the change of Pali were wrien in the spoken language, the spoken language of the people (Prakrit) in different countries. The developed in the Punjab, by the of the Punjab and rest of India. same thing happened to Proto- earlier Aryans migrants around from Around 500 BCE Mahavira put Punjabi (Prakrit) in the Punjab and 4,000 to 1,000 BCE. They came from Jainism on a strong foong. The the rest of India; it changed to Central Asia while staying in Persia sacred granths of Jainism are called different languages. (Iran) on their way to, and before ‘Agamas’ (canons), which are based seling in, the Punjab. A language on the discourse of the Tirthankara . On the other hand, Sikh theologians developed in that area is a mixture of The discourse delivered in a have failed to recognize the real Indo-European languages, Greek, Samavasarana (divine preaching name of the language or languages in Lan, Persian and Dravidian - the hall) is called Shrut Jnana and which the bani of Sufis, bhagats and local language of Mohenjo-Daro and comprises eleven angas and Sikh Gurus was wrien. Sindh civilizaon. The original name fourteen purvas. The discourse is of that language, developed by the recorded by Ganadharas (chief Indo-Aryans seled in the land of five disciples), and is composed of rivers, Punjab, is lost in anquity. This twelve angas (departments). The was the same language in which the earliest versions of Jain Agamas first Veda, Rig, was wrien. known were wrien in a language page 22 IUSCANADA.COM January – December 2016, Vol. 18, No. 1 THE LANGUAGE USED BY Kabir (1398-1495) from indicates that Punjabi was well SUFIS, BHAGATS, GURU Varanasi (Banaras), Uttar established around Holy Ganges in NANAK AND SIKH GURUS Pradesh Uar Pradesh. Let us examine some bani (it is used ॥ ਐਸਾ ਤ ਜਗੁ ਭਰਿਮ ਲਾਇਆ both in singular and plural form) of Bhagat Ravi Das (1450-1520) Aisā ṯaiʼn jag bẖaram lā▫i▫ā. Muslim Sufis, bhagats, Guru Nanak also from Varanasi (Banaras), and other Sikh Gurus, to find the ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਿਹਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ Uttar Pradesh language used by them in their ॥ ॥ ॥ ॥ wrings. ੧ ਰਹਾਉ ਿਕਆ ਤੂ ਸੋਇਆ ਜਾਗੁ ਇਆਨਾ Kaise būjẖai jab mohi▫ā hai mā▫i▫ā. Ki▫ā ṯū so▫i▫ā jāg i▫ānā. ||1|| rahā▫o. ॥ ॥ The language used by the Muslim Sufi ਤੈ ਜੀਵਨੁ ਜਿਗ ਸਚੁ ਕਿਰ ਜਾਨਾ ੧ th AGGS, Kabir, p 92. Sheikh Farid of the 12 century from You (that Enty) have misled the ॥ Punjab and Kabir (Muslim or Hindu?) ਰਹਾਉ th world, so deeply in doubt. of the14 century from Varanasi Ŧai jīvan jag sacẖ kar jānā. ||1|| How could people understand You, (Banaras), Uar Pradesh is very rahā▫o.