The Guru Granth Sahib Project

The Guru Granth Sahib Project

In an era filled with desecration, distortion, and disconnection, this project was initiated to provide a greater opportunity for everyone to develop a personal relationship with the Guru Granth Sahib. SikhRI recruited an international team of specialists and subject matter experts to begin a process of "transcreation," composition by composition, beginning with Asa Ki Var. Transcreation is the process of developing meaningful interpretation, while providing content in both modern Panjabi and English. SikhRI's transcreation process is meant to generate a rich context to illuminate the language, aesthetics, musicology, history, culture, and philosophy contained within the Guru Granth Sahib.

Videos

Thursday
,
30
July
2026

Explore Savaiye Sri Mukhbakya I

Savaiya is an ancient and significant poetic form in the Indic literary tradition. It can be composed in two styles: varnik (based on the number of letters) and matrik (based on the number of meters).

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Thursday
,
25
June
2026

Explore Din Raini

In the Guru Granth Sahib, Din Raini is a poetic form, like Barah Maha, Ruti, Thiti, and Var Sat, structured around traditional Indic units of time.

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Thursday
,
28
May
2026

Explore Thiti (Kabir Ji)

As a poetic form, Thiti is based on the fifteen lunar days of the Indic calendar months. A ‘thiti’ refers to a lunar calendar day—a count from the first to the fifteenth day based on the moon's phases.

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Thursday
,
23
April
2026

Explore Bani Bhagat Jaidev Ji

The Guru Granth Sahib Project is pleased to announce the annotation of two Sabads by Bhagat Jaidev Ji, one of the fifteen Bhagat contributors to the Guru Granth Sahib.

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Thursday
,
26
March
2026

Explore Sabads by Guru Arjan Sahib under the titles Anjuli & Anjulia

The word ‘anjuli’ refers to the gesture of cupping or folding the hands. It can signify prayer, supplication, seeking blessings, acceptance of the Divine will, or a gesture of salutation.

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Wednesday
,
25
February
2026

Explore Birhare

The word ‘birhare’ comes from ‘birha,’ meaning separation, or the pain of separation. ‘Birhare,’ meaning ‘songs of separation,’ is a poetic form that gives voice to this pain of separation. These three Sabads powerfully convey the experience of separation

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Thursday
,
25
April
2024

Explore Alahania (Mahala 3)

Just like the Alahania revealed by Guru Nanak Sahib, this composition revealed by Guru Amards Sahib also illustrates the impermanence of the material world and inspires the mind towards a perpetual connection with IkOankar (the Divine).

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Thursday
,
16
May
2024

Explore Antam Sanskar (Funeral Ceremony)

Funeral ceremonies are significant in human culture and differ significantly across regions and religions. In the Sikh culture, the funeral ceremony emphasizes the belief in life's impermanence, the significance of commemorating the departed...

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Thursday
,
20
June
2024

Explore Vanjara

This composition is revealed by Guru Ramdas Sahib (1534-1581 CE) in Rag Sirirag and is recorded on pages 81-82 of the Guru Granth Sahib. It has six stanzas of five lines each. With every stanza, there is an additional stanza of rahau of two lines.

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Thursday
,
18
July
2024

Explore Karhale

The term 'karhale' is derived from the Rajasthani and Sindhi word 'karhal,' which means camel. Historically, traders loaded their goods on camels to sell in distant lands, enduring long, arduous journeys.

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Thursday
,
22
August
2024

Explore Chaubole

Chaubole is typically described as a poetic form governed primarily by meter and lines, usually four, as a song with four segments, or as a verse containing four languages.The theme of the Chaubole composition by Guru Arjan Sahib is love.

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Thursday
,
19
September
2024

Explore Bani Bhagat Sain Ji

In this Sabad, Bhagat Sain Ji sings the ‘Arti’ of the transcendent Supreme Being, IkOankar (the Divine). He emphasizes that the true 'Arti' of IkOankar is not a ritualistic act of adorning a platter with incense, lamps, and ghee.

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Articles

Tuesday
,
10
October
2023

Stanza Structure in a Sabad

While reading the Guru Granth Sahib, we encounter various stanza structures within a Sabad, often indicated through corresponding titles on the Sabad. This diversity in stanza structures arises due to variations in the number of lines in the stanzas.

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Monday
,
30
October
2017

"Be-gam-pura" – City’s name is "Sorrow-less-ville"

This Sabad, composed by Bhagat Ravidas ji in the Gauri rag, reflects a vision of a sorrowless realm, a state of being beyond pain and anxiety.

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Monday
,
30
October
2017

"Be-gam-pura" – City’s name is "Sorrow-less-ville"

This Sabad, composed by Bhagat Ravidas ji in the Gauri rag, reflects a vision of a sorrowless realm, a state of being beyond pain and anxiety.

READ More ⟶
Tuesday
,
10
October
2023

Stanza Structure in a Sabad

While reading the Guru Granth Sahib, we encounter various stanza structures within a Sabad, often indicated through corresponding titles on the Sabad. This diversity in stanza structures arises due to variations in the number of lines in the stanzas.

READ More ⟶

Podcasts

Thursday
,
6
August
2026

Explore Savaiye Sri Mukhbakya I

Saviye Sri Mukhbakya (Mahala 5) I explores a kind of devotion that arises intuitively from love, awe, and lived experience—not from rigid intellectualism or empty ritualisms.

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Thursday
,
23
July
2026

Explore Din Raini

In the Guru Granth Sahib, Din Raini is a poetic form, like Barah Maha, Ruti, Thiti, and Var Sat, structured around traditional Indic units of time.

LISTEN NOW⟶
Thursday
,
18
June
2026

Explore Thiti (Kabir Ji)

In this Thiti, Bhagat Kabir Ji uses the lunar fortnight calendar to guide us through an inner journey of remembrance, awareness, and transformation.

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Thursday
,
21
May
2026

Explore Bani Bhagat Jaidev Ji

The Guru Granth Sahib Project is pleased to announce the annotation of two Sabads by Bhagat Jaidev Ji, one of the fifteen Bhagat contributors to the Guru Granth Sahib.

LISTEN NOW⟶
Friday
,
10
April
2026

Explore Sabads by Guru Arjan Sahib under the titles Anjuli & Anjulia

The word ‘anjuli’ refers to the gesture of cupping or folding the hands. It can signify prayer, supplication, seeking blessings, acceptance of the Divine will, or a gesture of salutation.

LISTEN NOW⟶
Thursday
,
5
March
2026

Explore Birhare

The word ‘birhare’ comes from ‘birha,’ meaning separation, or the pain of separation. ‘Birhare,’ meaning ‘songs of separation,’ is a poetic form that gives voice to this pain of separation.

LISTEN NOW⟶
Thursday
,
26
September
2024

Explore Bani Bhagat Sain Ji

In this Sabad, Bhagat Sain Ji sings the ‘Arti’ of the transcendent Supreme Being, IkOankar (the Divine). He emphasizes that the true 'Arti' of IkOankar is not a ritualistic act of adorning a platter with incense, lamps, and ghee.

LISTEN NOW⟶
Wednesday
,
9
October
2024

Explore Maru Kaphi

In Maru Kaphi, Guru Nanak Sahib reflects on the grief caused by separation from IkOankar, showing that even with worldly comforts, one remains unhappy without this connection.

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Thursday
,
24
October
2024

Explore Patti (Mahala 1)

Patti is a poetic form rooted in the Gurmukhi alphabet. Traditionally, students in Punjabi culture used a wooden tablet, called a patti, to practice writing letters.

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Wednesday
,
20
November
2024

Explore Thiti (Mahala 5) [Part 1]

Patti is a poetic form rooted in the Gurmukhi alphabet. Traditionally, students in Punjabi culture used a wooden tablet, called a patti, to practice writing letters.

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Thursday
,
28
November
2024

Explore Patti (Mahala 3)

The essence of this composition is revealed in the stanza of rahau (Pause). In it, worldly accounting (entanglements) is described as useless.

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Wednesday
,
11
December
2024

Explore Mahala 5 Gatha

Gatha refers to a song or verse, rooted in the word gai, to speak, sing, or recite. It can also refer to a profound discourse with the self beyond simple praise or devotion.

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Resources

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