Janamsakhis

Janamsakhi
ਜਨਮਸਾਖੀ
Janamsakhi; ਜਨਮਸਾਖੀ
	Illustrated folio of Guru Nanak, Bala, Mardana and devotees from a Kashmiri Janamsakhi manuscript, circa 19th century.
Information
Religion	Sikhism
Author	Various
Period	Late 16th century to 19th century
Chapters	Three sections: childhood of Nanak; travels of Nanak; settled life of Nanak;

Janamsakhis (Punjabi: ਜਨਮਸਾਖੀ, romanized: Janamsākhī) are hagiographies of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, based on oral tradition reporting his actions and sayings. The first janamsakhi was written about 50 and 80 years after his death. Many more were written in the 17th and 18th century.

The four janamsakhi traditions that have survived into the modern era include the Bala, Miharban, Adi and Puratan versions. While each tradition offering their own perspectives, interpretations, and points of emphasis on the stories they report, they generally present Guru Nanak's life in three parts: the first part covering his childhood and early adulthood, the second part as an itinerant missionary after receiving the call from Akal Purakh ("Timeless Being," God), and the last part presents him as settled in Kartarpur, founding his community of believers.

Over 40 significant manuscript editions of the janamsakhis are known, all composed between the 17th and early-19th centuries, with most of these in the Puratan and Bala collections.^[1] The expanded version containing the hagiographies of all ten Sikh Gurus is the popular Suraj Prakash by Santokh Singh. This poetic janamsakhi is recited on festive occasions in Sikh Gurdwaras, Sikh ceremonies and festivals.

^ Knut A. Jacobsen; Gurinder Singh Mann; Kristina Myrvold; Eleanor M. Nesbitt, eds. (2017). Brill's Encyclopedia of Sikhism. Brill Academic. pp. 173–181. ISBN 978-90-04-29745-6.

[JacobsenMann2017p173-1] Knut A. Jacobsen; Gurinder Singh Mann; Kristina Myrvold; Eleanor M. Nesbitt, eds. (2017). Brill's Encyclopedia of Sikhism. Brill Academic. pp. 173–181. ISBN 978-90-04-29745-6.

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