What language is in the Guru Granth Sahib?

Answer 1

The Guru Granth sahib is written in the language Gurumukhi

Gu- darkness, ignorance

Ru- light, knowledge

Summary of what is written below: Gurmukhi is the language that is used in the Guru Granth Sahib. Now also know as Punjabi originating in Punjab, India.

Compilation of Guru Granth Sahib. Guru Arjan gave a central place of worship to the Sikhs in Harmandir Sahib. What now he wanted was a scripture for the Sikhs. So he collected from Bhai Mohan, the son of Guru Amar Das, the hymns of the first three Gurus and some Bhagats, and added to them the compositions of his father Guru Ramdas, and his own. He got the Adi Granth written by Bhai Gurdas. Guru Arjan gave the copy to Bhai Bano for binding. He took it for binding to Lahore and on the way prepared a copy. This is known as Bhai Bano's copy. Guru Arjan got the original after binding. He installed the Holy Book at Harmandir Sahib in 1604. Baba Buddha was appointed as its first Granthi or keeper. This copy passed into custody of Bhai Dhirmal, son of Guru Hargobind, who refused to give it to the Guru. Subsequently some Sikhs brought this copy to the ninth Guru who returned it to Dhirmal. It is said that Guru Gobind Singh stayed at Damdama Sahib for nine months in 1706 and dictated the whole Adi Granth to Bhai Mani Singh. Undoubtedly, the Guru expunged certain unauthorised pieces which had crept into some pirated copies and gave it a final form.

Gurbani and Bhagatbani. The major principle of compilation was that verses which praised God and denounced superstition and caste were to be included in the Holy Book. As regards the compositions of Bhagats, generally the same principle was observed. Guru Arjan included the verses of those who believed in the unity of God and brotherhood of man.

The Granth Sahib was to be broadbased. It could contain with itself principles of monotheism and the Bhakti cult. No puristic or linguistic tests were applied to the compositions. Foreign words, coined words and current words were put into this literary dish. In selecting the musical scores-Ragas, the Guru employed homely and simple metaphors. Generally speaking, hymns of devotion, the glory of God, men's spiritual efforts and equality of men and women were incorported in the Holy Book.

The Contents The Granth Sahib also called Adi Granth contains compositions of the first five Gurus, the ninth Guru, fifteen Bhagats (Jai Dev, Nam Dev, Trilochan, Parmanand, Sadna, Ramanand, Beni, Dhanna, Pipa, Sain, Kabir, Ravidas, Farid, Surday, Bhikhan) and eleven Bhattas (Mathra, Jalap, Harbans, Talya, Salya, Bhal, Kulh Sahar, Nal, Kirat, Gayand, Sadrang).

Guru Granth Sahib contains 5894 hymns. The number of stanzas according to Pincott is 15575. 974 hymns are written by the first Guru, 62 by the second Guru, 907 by the third, 679 by the fourth, 2218 by the fifth, and 115 by the ninth. Among the remaining 922 hymns of Bhagats, the highest number of hymns (541) is by Kabir.

Actually, 'Gurmukhi' is just the script/alphabet in which Guru Granth Sahib ji is written. Gurmukhi is not a language, nor can it be used interchangeably with Punjabi, which IS a language. One can say "The language Punjabi is commonly written in the script Gurmukhi" - Punjabi is also written in other scripts, such as Shahmukhi (predominantly used in Pakistan), and other languages can also be written in Gurmukhi.

To answer the original question, Guru Granth Sahib ji is written in many languages, not simply one. Here is a list of a few: Punjabi, Hindi, Sanskrit, Sehskrit, Braj, and Persian.