Gurpurb
Encyclopedia
This is the anniversary of a guru's birth or death; marked by the holding of a festival.
A gurpurb in Sikh
tradition is a celebration of an anniversary related to the lives of the Sikh gurus
. Observance of these anniversaries is an important feature of the Sikh way of life.
There are indications in the old chronicles that the gurus who succeeded Guru Nanak celebrated his birthday. Such importance was attached to the anniversaries that dates of the deaths of the first four gurus were recorded on a leaf in the first recension of the Scripture prepared by the Fifth Guru, Guru Arjan. The term gurpurb first appeared in the time of the gurus. It is a compound
of the word purb (or parva in Sanskrit
), meaning a festival or celebration, with the word guru
. It occurs in at least five places in the writings of Bhai Gurdas
(1551–1636), written in the time of Guru Arjan.
Among the more important gurpurbs in the Nanakshahi calendar
are the birth anniversaries of Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind Singh
, the martyrdom days of Guru Arjan and Guru Tegh Bahadur, and of the installation of the Guru Granth Sahib
in the Harimandar at Amritsar
. Other important gurpurbs include Baisakhi, which commemorates the creation of the Khalsa Panth, and the martyrdom days of the young sons of Guru Gobind Singh
.
Gurpurbs are a mixture of the religious and the festive, the devotional and the spectacular, the personal and the communal. Over the years a standardized pattern has evolved, but this pattern has no special sanctity, and local groups may invent their own variations. During these celebrations, the Guru Granth Sahib is read through, in private homes and in the gurdwara
s, in a single continuous ceremony lasting 48 hours. This reading, called Akhand Path
, must be without interruption; the relay of reciters who take turns at saying the Scripture ensures that no break occurs.
Special assemblies are held in gurdwaras and discourses given on the lives and teachings of the gurus. Sikhs march in processions through towns and cities chanting the holy hymns. Special langars, or community meals, are held for the participants. Partaking of a common meal on these occasions is reckoned an act of merit. Programmes include initiating those not already initiated into the order of the Khalsa in the manner in which Guru Gobind Singh
had done in 1699. Sikh journals and newspapers bring out their special numbers to mark the event. Public functions are held, besides the more literary and academic ones in schools and colleges. Gurpurbs commemorating birth anniversaries may include illuminations in gurdwaras and in residential houses. Friends and families exchange greetings. Printed cards like those used to commemorate holidays in the West are also coming into vogue.
Sikh fervour for gurpurb celebration reached new heights during the tercentenary of Guru Gobind Singh
’s birth in 1967. This event evoked widespread enthusiasm and initiated long-range academic and literary programmes. It also set a new trend and format. Many subsequent gurpurbs were celebrated with similar fervor, including the fifth centennial of Guru Nanak’s birth in 1969 and the first centenary of the birth of the Singh Sabha in 1973. There is no firm evidence that centennials before the 1967 gurpurb were similarly observed. Max Arthur Macauliffe
, a prominent 19th-century Sikh scholar, proposed a special celebration in 1899 for the second centennial of the Khalsa's creation, but it did not receive much popular support.
Indian calendar. The birthday celebrations last three days. Generally two days before the birthday, Akhand Path
is performed in the Gurdwaras. One day before the birthday, a procession is organised which is led by the Panj Piare
and the Palki (Palanquin) of Guru Granth Sahib
and followed by teams of singers singing hymns, brass bands playing different tunes, 'Gatka
' (martial art) teams show their swordsmanship, and processionists singing the chorus. The procession passes through the main roads and streets of the town which are covered with buntings and decorated gates and the leaders inform the people of the message of Guru Nanak. On the anniversary day, the programme begins early in the morning at about 4 or 5 am with the singing of Asa-di-Var (morning hymns) and hymns from the Sikh scriptures followed by Katha
(exposition of the scripture) and lectures and recitation of poems in praise of the Guru. The celebrations go on till about 2 pm.
After Ardas
and distribution of Karah Parsad, the Langar is served. Some Gurdwaras also hold night prayer sessions. This begins around sunset when Rehras
(evening prayer) is recited. This is followed by Kirtan
till late in the night. Sometimes a Kavi-darbar (poetic symposium) is also held to enable the poets to pay their tributes to the Guru in their own verses. At about 1:20 am, the actual time of the birth, the congregation starts singing Gurbani. The function ends about 2 am.
The Sikhs who cannot join the celebrations for some reason, or in places where there are no Gurdwaras, hold the ceremony in their own homes by performing Kirtan, Path, Ardas, Karah Parsad and Langar.
, the tenth Guru's birthday generally falls in December or January. The celebrations are similar to those of Guru Nanak's birthday, namely Akhand Path, procession and Kirtan, Katha, and Langar.
The martyrdom anniversary of Guru Arjan, the fifth Guru, falls in May or June, the hottest months in India. He was tortured to death under the orders of Mughal
Emperor, Jahangir
, at Lahore
on 25 May 1606. Celebrations consist of Kirtan, Katha, lectures, Karah Parsad and Langar in the Gurdwara. Because of summer heat, chilled sweetened drink made from milk, sugar, essence and water, called chhabeel is freely distributed in Gurdwaras and in neighbourhoods to everybody irrespective of their religious beliefs.
Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Guru, was arrested under orders of Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb
. As he refused to change his religion and accept Islam, he was beheaded on 11 November 1675 at Chandi Chowk, Delhi
. Usually one-day celebrations of his martyrdom are organised in the Gurdwaras.
Three days before his passing away, Guru Gobind Singh
conferred on 3 October 1708, the guruship of the Sikhs on Guru Granth Sahib. On this day, a special one-day celebrations are organised with Kirtan, Katha, lectures, Ardas, Karah Parsad and Langar. Sikhs rededicate themselves to follow the teachings of the Gurus contained in the scripture. This year, in 2008, the tercentenary of this Gurpurab popularized as 300 Saal Guru de Naal is being celebrated by the Sikh worldwide with the main celebrations to be held at Hazur Sahib, Nanded.
A gurpurb in Sikh
Sikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
tradition is a celebration of an anniversary related to the lives of the Sikh gurus
Sikh Gurus
The Sikh Gurus established Sikhism from over the centuries beginning in the year 1469. Sikhism was founded by the first guru, Guru Nanak, and subsequently, all in order were referred to as "Nanak", and as "Lights", making their teachings in the holy scriptures, equivalent...
. Observance of these anniversaries is an important feature of the Sikh way of life.
There are indications in the old chronicles that the gurus who succeeded Guru Nanak celebrated his birthday. Such importance was attached to the anniversaries that dates of the deaths of the first four gurus were recorded on a leaf in the first recension of the Scripture prepared by the Fifth Guru, Guru Arjan. The term gurpurb first appeared in the time of the gurus. It is a compound
Compound (linguistics)
In linguistics, a compound is a lexeme that consists of more than one stem. Compounding or composition is the word formation that creates compound lexemes...
of the word purb (or parva in Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
), meaning a festival or celebration, with the word guru
Guru
A guru is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom, and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others . Other forms of manifestation of this principle can include parents, school teachers, non-human objects and even one's own intellectual discipline, if the...
. It occurs in at least five places in the writings of Bhai Gurdas
Bhai Gurdas
Bhai Gurdas was a Punjabi Sikh writer, historian, preacher and religious figure. He was the original scribe of the Guru Granth Sahib and a companion of four of the Sikh Gurus.-Early life:...
(1551–1636), written in the time of Guru Arjan.
Among the more important gurpurbs in the Nanakshahi calendar
Nanakshahi calendar
The Nanakshahi calendar is a tropical solar calendar that was adopted by the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee to determine the dates for important Sikh events. It was designed by Pal Singh Purewal to replace the Saka calendar and has been in use since 1998...
are the birth anniversaries of Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind Singh
Guru Gobind Singh
Guru Gobind Singh is the tenth and last Sikh guru in a sacred lineage of ten Sikh gurus. Born in Patna, Bihar in India, he was also a warrior, poet and philosopher. He succeeded his father Guru Tegh Bahadur as the leader of Sikhs at a young age of nine...
, the martyrdom days of Guru Arjan and Guru Tegh Bahadur, and of the installation of the Guru Granth Sahib
Guru Granth Sahib
Sri Guru Granth Sahib , or Adi Granth, is the religious text of Sikhism. It is the final and eternal guru of the Sikhs. It is a voluminous text of 1430 angs, compiled and composed during the period of Sikh gurus, from 1469 to 1708...
in the Harimandar at Amritsar
Amritsar
Amritsar is a city in the northern part of India and is the administrative headquarters of Amritsar district in the state of Punjab, India. The 2001 Indian census reported the population of the city to be over 1,500,000, with that of the entire district numbering 3,695,077...
. Other important gurpurbs include Baisakhi, which commemorates the creation of the Khalsa Panth, and the martyrdom days of the young sons of Guru Gobind Singh
Guru Gobind Singh
Guru Gobind Singh is the tenth and last Sikh guru in a sacred lineage of ten Sikh gurus. Born in Patna, Bihar in India, he was also a warrior, poet and philosopher. He succeeded his father Guru Tegh Bahadur as the leader of Sikhs at a young age of nine...
.
Gurpurbs are a mixture of the religious and the festive, the devotional and the spectacular, the personal and the communal. Over the years a standardized pattern has evolved, but this pattern has no special sanctity, and local groups may invent their own variations. During these celebrations, the Guru Granth Sahib is read through, in private homes and in the gurdwara
Gurdwara
A Gurdwara , meaning the Gateway to the Guru, is the place of worship for Sikhs, the followers of Sikhism. A Gurdwara can be identified from a distance by tall flagpoles bearing the Nishan Sahib ....
s, in a single continuous ceremony lasting 48 hours. This reading, called Akhand Path
Akhand Path
Akhand Path is the common practise of continuous recitation of sacred religious texts in Hinduism and Sikhism.-Sikhism:...
, must be without interruption; the relay of reciters who take turns at saying the Scripture ensures that no break occurs.
Special assemblies are held in gurdwaras and discourses given on the lives and teachings of the gurus. Sikhs march in processions through towns and cities chanting the holy hymns. Special langars, or community meals, are held for the participants. Partaking of a common meal on these occasions is reckoned an act of merit. Programmes include initiating those not already initiated into the order of the Khalsa in the manner in which Guru Gobind Singh
Guru Gobind Singh
Guru Gobind Singh is the tenth and last Sikh guru in a sacred lineage of ten Sikh gurus. Born in Patna, Bihar in India, he was also a warrior, poet and philosopher. He succeeded his father Guru Tegh Bahadur as the leader of Sikhs at a young age of nine...
had done in 1699. Sikh journals and newspapers bring out their special numbers to mark the event. Public functions are held, besides the more literary and academic ones in schools and colleges. Gurpurbs commemorating birth anniversaries may include illuminations in gurdwaras and in residential houses. Friends and families exchange greetings. Printed cards like those used to commemorate holidays in the West are also coming into vogue.
Sikh fervour for gurpurb celebration reached new heights during the tercentenary of Guru Gobind Singh
Guru Gobind Singh
Guru Gobind Singh is the tenth and last Sikh guru in a sacred lineage of ten Sikh gurus. Born in Patna, Bihar in India, he was also a warrior, poet and philosopher. He succeeded his father Guru Tegh Bahadur as the leader of Sikhs at a young age of nine...
’s birth in 1967. This event evoked widespread enthusiasm and initiated long-range academic and literary programmes. It also set a new trend and format. Many subsequent gurpurbs were celebrated with similar fervor, including the fifth centennial of Guru Nanak’s birth in 1969 and the first centenary of the birth of the Singh Sabha in 1973. There is no firm evidence that centennials before the 1967 gurpurb were similarly observed. Max Arthur Macauliffe
Max Arthur Macauliffe
Michael MacAuliffe, also known as Max Arthur Macauliffe , was a senior British administrator, prolific scholar and author. Macauliffe is renowned for his translation of Sikh scripture and history into English....
, a prominent 19th-century Sikh scholar, proposed a special celebration in 1899 for the second centennial of the Khalsa's creation, but it did not receive much popular support.
Gurpurab of Guru Nanak
The birthday of Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh religion, usually comes in the month of November, but the date varies from year to year according to the lunarLunar calendar
A lunar calendar is a calendar that is based on cycles of the lunar phase. A common purely lunar calendar is the Islamic calendar or Hijri calendar. A feature of the Islamic calendar is that a year is always 12 months, so the months are not linked with the seasons and drift each solar year by 11 to...
Indian calendar. The birthday celebrations last three days. Generally two days before the birthday, Akhand Path
Akhand Path
Akhand Path is the common practise of continuous recitation of sacred religious texts in Hinduism and Sikhism.-Sikhism:...
is performed in the Gurdwaras. One day before the birthday, a procession is organised which is led by the Panj Piare
Panj Piare
The Panj Piare , name given to the five Sikhs, Bhai Daya Singh, Bhai Dharam Singh, Bhai Himmat Singh, Bhai Mohkam Singh and Bhai Sahib Singh, who were so designated by Guru Gobind Singh at the historic divan at Anandpur Sahib on 30 March 1699 and who formed the nucleus of the Khalsa as the first...
and the Palki (Palanquin) of Guru Granth Sahib
Guru Granth Sahib
Sri Guru Granth Sahib , or Adi Granth, is the religious text of Sikhism. It is the final and eternal guru of the Sikhs. It is a voluminous text of 1430 angs, compiled and composed during the period of Sikh gurus, from 1469 to 1708...
and followed by teams of singers singing hymns, brass bands playing different tunes, 'Gatka
Gatka
Gatka is a weapon-based Indian martial art created by the Sikhs of the Punjab region. The word gatka refers to the wooden stick used in sparring matches. The term might have originated as a diminutive of the Sanskrit word gadha or mace....
' (martial art) teams show their swordsmanship, and processionists singing the chorus. The procession passes through the main roads and streets of the town which are covered with buntings and decorated gates and the leaders inform the people of the message of Guru Nanak. On the anniversary day, the programme begins early in the morning at about 4 or 5 am with the singing of Asa-di-Var (morning hymns) and hymns from the Sikh scriptures followed by Katha
Katha
Katha may refer to:* The Sanskrit for "speech, narration, story, fable", see Katha * The Kaṭha or Caraka-Katha school of the Black Yajurveda** Katha Upanishad, a Hindu text associated with the Katha school...
(exposition of the scripture) and lectures and recitation of poems in praise of the Guru. The celebrations go on till about 2 pm.
After Ardas
Ardas
The Ardās is a Sikh prayer that is done before performing or after undertaking any significant task; after reciting the daily Banis ; or completion of a service like the Paath , kirtan program or any other religious program. In Sikhism, these prayers are also said before and after eating...
and distribution of Karah Parsad, the Langar is served. Some Gurdwaras also hold night prayer sessions. This begins around sunset when Rehras
Rehras
The rehras sahib is the evening prayer of the Sikhs. It is recited at the end of a working day. Its purpose is to add energy to one's being and living environments...
(evening prayer) is recited. This is followed by Kirtan
Kirtan
Kirtan or Kirtana is call-and-response chanting or "responsory" performed in India's devotional traditions. A person performing kirtan is known as a kirtankar. Kirtan practice involves chanting hymns or mantras to the accompaniment of instruments such as the harmonium, tablas, the two-headed...
till late in the night. Sometimes a Kavi-darbar (poetic symposium) is also held to enable the poets to pay their tributes to the Guru in their own verses. At about 1:20 am, the actual time of the birth, the congregation starts singing Gurbani. The function ends about 2 am.
The Sikhs who cannot join the celebrations for some reason, or in places where there are no Gurdwaras, hold the ceremony in their own homes by performing Kirtan, Path, Ardas, Karah Parsad and Langar.
Gurpurabs for other Gurus
Guru Gobind SinghGuru Gobind Singh
Guru Gobind Singh is the tenth and last Sikh guru in a sacred lineage of ten Sikh gurus. Born in Patna, Bihar in India, he was also a warrior, poet and philosopher. He succeeded his father Guru Tegh Bahadur as the leader of Sikhs at a young age of nine...
, the tenth Guru's birthday generally falls in December or January. The celebrations are similar to those of Guru Nanak's birthday, namely Akhand Path, procession and Kirtan, Katha, and Langar.
The martyrdom anniversary of Guru Arjan, the fifth Guru, falls in May or June, the hottest months in India. He was tortured to death under the orders of Mughal
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
Emperor, Jahangir
Jahangir
Jahangir was the ruler of the Mughal Empire from 1605 until his death. The name Jahangir is from Persian جهانگیر,meaning "Conqueror of the World"...
, at Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
on 25 May 1606. Celebrations consist of Kirtan, Katha, lectures, Karah Parsad and Langar in the Gurdwara. Because of summer heat, chilled sweetened drink made from milk, sugar, essence and water, called chhabeel is freely distributed in Gurdwaras and in neighbourhoods to everybody irrespective of their religious beliefs.
Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Guru, was arrested under orders of Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb
Aurangzeb
Abul Muzaffar Muhy-ud-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb Alamgir , more commonly known as Aurangzeb or by his chosen imperial title Alamgir , was the sixth Mughal Emperor of India, whose reign lasted from 1658 until his death in 1707.Badshah Aurangzeb, having ruled most of the Indian subcontinent for nearly...
. As he refused to change his religion and accept Islam, he was beheaded on 11 November 1675 at Chandi Chowk, Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
. Usually one-day celebrations of his martyrdom are organised in the Gurdwaras.
Three days before his passing away, Guru Gobind Singh
Guru Gobind Singh
Guru Gobind Singh is the tenth and last Sikh guru in a sacred lineage of ten Sikh gurus. Born in Patna, Bihar in India, he was also a warrior, poet and philosopher. He succeeded his father Guru Tegh Bahadur as the leader of Sikhs at a young age of nine...
conferred on 3 October 1708, the guruship of the Sikhs on Guru Granth Sahib. On this day, a special one-day celebrations are organised with Kirtan, Katha, lectures, Ardas, Karah Parsad and Langar. Sikhs rededicate themselves to follow the teachings of the Gurus contained in the scripture. This year, in 2008, the tercentenary of this Gurpurab popularized as 300 Saal Guru de Naal is being celebrated by the Sikh worldwide with the main celebrations to be held at Hazur Sahib, Nanded.