The Guru Granth Sahib was first compiled by the Fifth Sikh Guru, Arjan Dev, in 1604 in the city of Amritsar. A situation had arisen which required the Guru's complete attention. Reports came to the Guru that Prithi Chand, his elder brother who coveted the Guru Gaddi, was conspiring against him.
He was composing his own hymns and was passing them to the visiting Sikhs as the compositions of Guru Nanak Dev as well as other Gurus. Others were also passing of their own compositions as the works of the Sikh Gurus. Guru Arjan Dev realized that if this situation was allowed to continue it would be the undermining of the Sikh religion.
Having given the Sikhs a central place of worship, they now needed an authentic compilation of the hymns of their Gurus. The third Guru Sri Amar Das started collecting the original verses of all the Gurus. He sent trusted Sikhs such as Bhai Piara, Bhai Gurdas and Baba Buddha across the country in search of original manuscripts. Guru Arjan Dev made trips to Goindwal, Khadur and Kartarpur to visit the families of the previous Gurus.
He collected original manuscripts of the Gurus from Mohan (son of Guru Amar Das), Datu (son of Guru Angad Dev) as well as Sri Chand (son of Guru Nanak). Putting Baba Buddha in charge of the spiritual needs of the large number of pilgrims visiting Harmandir Sahib, Guru Arjan Dev now pitched a tent by the side of Ramsar tank and started the arduous task of compiling the first edition of the Holy Sri Guru Granth Sahib.
Bhai Gurdas was entrusted as the Guru's scribe for the master copy. Unlike any other religious book in history, Guru Arjan Dev decided to include the compositions of Hindu and Muslim saints which he considered consistent with the teachings of Sikhism and the Gurus.
He included the works of such Hindu Bhaktas as Kabir, Jaidev, Namdev, Dhanna, Ravidas, Pipa and Ramanand. The Guru also included the works of such Muslim divines as Farid, Mardana, Satta and Balwand, the Guru's minstrels, as well as several bards (Bhatts). Bhai Gurdas was invited by the Guru to include his own verses, but he declined out of modesty.
The monumental task was finally completed. This first edition of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib known at that time as Pothi Sahib was installed on a high pedestal within the Harmandir Sahib in August 1604. Guru Arjan Dev seated himself at a lower level and instructed all Sikhs to bow before it, not as an idol, but as the book of divine inspiration which instructed living men in the ways of God and dedicated secular life.
The revered Baba Buddha was appointed the first Granthi (custodian) of the scriptures. Guru Arjan Dev dictated that unlike the Hindu scriptures, the Pothi Sahib could be open to reading by anyone of any caste, creed or sex. This original copy is still in existence today.
Dr DS Maini, writing in Studies in Sikhism and Comparative Religion, says, "The second and last version of Guru Granth Sahib was the handiwork of Guru Gobind Singh, and it was finalized at Damdama Sahib in the year 1705.
He added the hymns of his father, Guru Tegh Bahadur, the Ninth Master, and a couplet of his own to the volume wrought a century earlier. Since then, the authorized version has been transcribed and printed a number of times, and it abides. Its adoration or veneration is an article of faith with the Sikhs.
"The poetry of the Guru Granth is in itself a subject worthy of the highest consideration. While a great deal of it, cast in traditional verse forms (salokas and pauris), could best be understood in the context of the well-known classical ragas, its hymns and songs make use of popular folk meters such as alahanis, ghoris, chands etc.
"The integral relationship between music and verse has been maintained with scholarly rectitude and concern. This complete musicalisation of thought in a scientific and studied manner makes for the unusually rigorous, yet supple, discipline of the Granth's metrics and notations.
"The entire Bani whose printed version in its current format comes to 1430 pages is divided into 33 sections. While the first section comprises the soulful and inspiring song of the Japji composed by Guru Nanak as also a few selected pauris or couplets, the final section is collection of assorted verses including the shalokas and the swayyas of the bhattas.
The remaining 31 sections are named after the well-known classical ragas such as sri, magh, gauri, gujri, devghandhari, dhanassari, bilawal, kedara, malhar, kalyan etc. The division, thus, is strictly based on Indian musicology."
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