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Bhai Gurdas (1551 - 25 August 1636) was a Punjabi
Punjabi people

The Punjabi people are an Indo-Aryans ethnic group from South Asia . They originate from the Punjab region, which has been host to some of the oldest civilizations in the world including one of the world's first and oldest civilizations, Indus Valley Civilization....
 Sikh
Sikh

Sikh is the title and name given to an adherent of Sikhism. The term has its origin in the Sanskrit ' "disciple, learner" or ' "instruction"....
 writer, historian, missionary, and religious figure. He was the original scribe of the Guru Granth Sahib
Guru Granth Sahib

The Guru Granth Sahib , or Adi Sri Guru Granth Sahib, is the holy scripture and the final Guru#Classification of gurus of the Sikhs. It is a voluminous text of 1430 pages, compiled and composed during the period of Sikh Gurus, from 1469 to 1708....
 and a companion of four of the Sikh Gurus
Sikh Gurus

Sikhism was established by Guru Nanak and nine other Sikh Gurus over the period of 1469 to 1708. Most of the Gurus were born in Northern India, although they traveled extensively from as far west as Iraq to Assam in the east and Sri Lanka in the south....
.

Gurdas was born in 1551 in Goindwal, a small village in the Punjab. His father was Bhai Ishardas who was a first cousin of Guru Amar Das
Guru Amar Das

Guru Amar Das was the third of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism and became Guru on 26 March 1552 at the age of 73 following in the footsteps of Guru Angad, who died on 29 March 1552 aged 48....
 (see family tree
Sikh Gurus

Sikhism was established by Guru Nanak and nine other Sikh Gurus over the period of 1469 to 1708. Most of the Gurus were born in Northern India, although they traveled extensively from as far west as Iraq to Assam in the east and Sri Lanka in the south....
) His mothers name was Jivaniand she died in 1554 when Gurdas was only three.

After being orphaned at the age of 12 , he was adopted by his uncle Guru Amar Das
Guru Amar Das

Guru Amar Das was the third of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism and became Guru on 26 March 1552 at the age of 73 following in the footsteps of Guru Angad, who died on 29 March 1552 aged 48....
.






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Bhai Gurdas (1551 - 25 August 1636) was a Punjabi
Punjabi people

The Punjabi people are an Indo-Aryans ethnic group from South Asia . They originate from the Punjab region, which has been host to some of the oldest civilizations in the world including one of the world's first and oldest civilizations, Indus Valley Civilization....
 Sikh
Sikh

Sikh is the title and name given to an adherent of Sikhism. The term has its origin in the Sanskrit ' "disciple, learner" or ' "instruction"....
 writer, historian, missionary, and religious figure. He was the original scribe of the Guru Granth Sahib
Guru Granth Sahib

The Guru Granth Sahib , or Adi Sri Guru Granth Sahib, is the holy scripture and the final Guru#Classification of gurus of the Sikhs. It is a voluminous text of 1430 pages, compiled and composed during the period of Sikh Gurus, from 1469 to 1708....
 and a companion of four of the Sikh Gurus
Sikh Gurus

Sikhism was established by Guru Nanak and nine other Sikh Gurus over the period of 1469 to 1708. Most of the Gurus were born in Northern India, although they traveled extensively from as far west as Iraq to Assam in the east and Sri Lanka in the south....
.

Early life

Bhai Gurdas was born in 1551 in Goindwal, a small village in the Punjab. His father was Bhai Ishardas who was a first cousin of Guru Amar Das
Guru Amar Das

Guru Amar Das was the third of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism and became Guru on 26 March 1552 at the age of 73 following in the footsteps of Guru Angad, who died on 29 March 1552 aged 48....
 (see family tree
Sikh Gurus

Sikhism was established by Guru Nanak and nine other Sikh Gurus over the period of 1469 to 1708. Most of the Gurus were born in Northern India, although they traveled extensively from as far west as Iraq to Assam in the east and Sri Lanka in the south....
) His mothers name was Jivaniand she died in 1554 when Gurdas was only three.

After being orphaned at the age of 12 , he was adopted by his uncle Guru Amar Das
Guru Amar Das

Guru Amar Das was the third of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism and became Guru on 26 March 1552 at the age of 73 following in the footsteps of Guru Angad, who died on 29 March 1552 aged 48....
. He learned Sanskrit, Brijbhasha
Brij Bhasha

Brij Bhasha , also called Braj Bhasha , Braj Bhakha , or Dehaati Zabaan , is a Central Indian language closely related to Hindi language....
, Persian
Persian language

name=Persian|nativename=|pronunciation=[f??r'si]|image=|caption=Farsi in Perso-Arabic script |states= Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Bahrain....
 and Punjabi
Punjabi language

'Punjabi' , , is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region and their diasporas. Speakers include adherents of the religions of Islam, Sikhism and Hinduism....
 (Gurmukhi) and eventually began preaching Sikhism
Sikhism

Sikhism , founded on the teachings of Guru Nanak and ten successive Sikh Gurus in fifteenth century Punjab region, is the Major religious groups organized religion in the world....
. He spent his early years at Goindval and Sultanpur Lodhi
Sultanpur Lodhi

Sultanpur Lodhi is a city and a municipal council in Kapurthala district in the Indian States and territories of India of Punjab . The town is named after its founder, Sultan Khan Lodhi who was a general of Mahmud of Gazni in A.D 1103....
. At Goindval he listened to scholars and swami
Swami

Swami is primarily a Hindu honorific title, for either males or females. It is derived from Sanskrit and means "He who knows and is master of himself", "owner of oneself", or "free from the senses"....
s who kept visiting the town while traversing the Delhi
Delhi

Delhi , sometimes referred to as Dilli , is the List of most populous cities in India metropolis in India and, with over 11 million residents, the List of metropolitan areas by population....
-Lahore
Lahore

is the capital of the Pakistani Subdivisions of Pakistan of Punjab and is the List of most populated metropolitan areas in Pakistan city in Pakistan after Karachi....
 road. He later moved to Varanasi
Varanasi

Varanasi , also commonly known as Benares or Banaras and Kashi , is a city situated on the left bank of the River Ganges River in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, regarded as holy by Hinduism, Buddhists and Jains, and is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities....
 where he studied Sanskrit
Sanskrit

Sanskrit is a historical Indo-Aryan language, one of the liturgical languages of Hinduism and Buddhism, and one of the 22 official languages of India....
 and Hindu scriptures. There, he was subsequently initiated into Sikhism
Sikhism

Sikhism , founded on the teachings of Guru Nanak and ten successive Sikh Gurus in fifteenth century Punjab region, is the Major religious groups organized religion in the world....
. After Guru Amar Das
Guru Amar Das

Guru Amar Das was the third of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism and became Guru on 26 March 1552 at the age of 73 following in the footsteps of Guru Angad, who died on 29 March 1552 aged 48....
 died, his successor Guru Ram Das
Guru Ram Das

Guru Ram Das as the fourth of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism, and he became Guru on 30 August, 1574 following in the footsteps of Guru Amar Das.He was born in Lahore to a Sodhi family of Khatri clan....
, appointed Gurdas as the Sikh missionary to Agra.

Later life

In 1577, Bhai Gurdas contributed his labor to excavating the pool at the Harmandir Sahib
Harmandir Sahib

Golden Temple or Darbar Sahib , informally referred to as The Golden Temple or Temple of God, is culturally the most significant place of worship of the Sikhs and one of the oldest Sikh gurdwaras....
. Twenty years later, he went on an expedition to Kartarpur
Kartarpur

Kartarpur , was established by Guru Nanak in 1522. When Guru Nanak passed away, Hindus and Muslims disagreed on how to perform his last rites....
 and recited many of the early hymns to Emperor Akbar. This was at a time when many of the Sikhs were becoming very anti-Muslim
Islam

Islam is a Monotheism, Abrahamic religion originating with the teachings of the Prophets of Islam Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure....
 in tone and family feuds within the Gurus' family had put Sikhism in danger. Akbar received the verses positively and became convinced there were no anti-Muslim
Islamophobia

Islamophobia is a neologism that refers to prejudice or discrimination against Islam or Muslims. The term seems to date back to the late 1980s, but came into common usage after the September 11, 2001 attacks....
 suggestions.

After Guru Ram Das died, Bhai Gurdas formed a close relationship with the fifth Guru, Guru Arjan Dev
Guru Arjan Dev

Guru Arjan Dev Ji or Guru Arjun Dev Ji was the fifth of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism and became a Guru on 1 September1581 following in the footsteps of Guru Ram Das....
. Guru Arjan Dev had great respect for him, and regarded Bhai Gurdas as his maternal uncle ("mama"). It is said that the Mughal
Mughal Empire

The Mughal Empire was a Muslim imperial power of the Indian subcontinent which began in 1526, ruled most of the Indian Subcontinent by the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and ended in the mid-19th century....
 emperor Jahangir
Jahangir

Nur-ud-din Salim Jahangir Born as Prince Muhammad Salim, he was the third and eldest surviving son of Mughal Empire Emperor Akbar. Akbar's twin sons, Hasan and Hussain, died in infancy....
 was growing jealous of the popularity of Sikhism, and Bhai Gurdas was sent to Kabul
Kabul

Kabul is the Capital and largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of approximately three million. It is an economic and cultural centre, situated 5,900 foot above sea level in a narrow valley, wedged between the Hindu Kush mountains along the Kabul River....
, Kashmir
Kashmir

Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" referred only to the valley lying between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal range; since then, it has been used for a larger area that today includes the Indian administerd state of Jammu and Kashmir consisting of the Kashmir...
, Rajasthan
Rajasthan

Rajasthan is the largest States and territories of India of the Republic of India in terms of area. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with Pakistan....
, and Varanasi
Varanasi

Varanasi , also commonly known as Benares or Banaras and Kashi , is a city situated on the left bank of the River Ganges River in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, regarded as holy by Hinduism, Buddhists and Jains, and is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities....
 again to preach Sikhism.He even went to Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is an island country in South Asia, located about off the southern coast of India....
, preaching the name of the guru among the nasses and showing them the true way of life.

Literary works

He completed the Adi Granth
Adi Granth

Adi Granth is the early compilation of the Sikh Scriptures by Sri Guru Arjan Dev Ji, the fifth Sikh Guru, in 1604. This Granth is the Holy Scripture of the Sikhs....
 in 1604. It took him nearly 19 years to complete this task. Bhai Gurdas not only wrote the Adi Granth as dictated by Guru Arjan Dev but also supervised four other scribes, Bhai Haria, Bhai Sant Das, Bhai Sukha and Bhai Manasa Ram, in the writing of various scriptures. His other works in Punjabi are collectively called Varan Bhai Gurdas
Varan Bhai Gurdas

Varan Bhai Gurdas is the name given to the 40 Varan of writing by Bhai Gurdas. They have been referred to as the "Key to the Sri Guru Granth Sahib" by Guru Arjan Dev, the fifth Sikh Guru....
.

Numbers

  • 6 Chands of 8 verses each in Sanskrit.
  • 672 Kabits and 3 swayyas in Brij Bhasha
    Brij Bhasha

    Brij Bhasha , also called Braj Bhasha , Braj Bhakha , or Dehaati Zabaan , is a Central Indian language closely related to Hindi language....
    .
  • 40 Vars
    Var (poetry)

    Var is a type of Punjabi language poem. They were used by many poets including Amir Khusro and Bhai Gurdas....
     containing 912 pauris
    Pauri (poetry)

    Pauri are stanzas of Punjabi language poetry, mostly used in Var . They are similar to Shabads....
     (in Punjabi
    Punjabi language

    'Punjabi' , , is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region and their diasporas. Speakers include adherents of the religions of Islam, Sikhism and Hinduism....
    ).


Death

He died on 25 August 1636 in Goindwal. Guru Har Gobind Sahib
Guru Har Gobind

Guru Har Gobind also Sacha Badshah was the sixth of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism and became Guru on 25 May,1606 following in the footsteps of his father Guru Arjan Dev....
 personally performed the ceremonial cremation.

External links

  • - Answers.com