What do the Janamsaakhis tell us ?

•  The purpose of the compilation of Janamsakhis was neither to record the history of Guru Nanak nor to provide a critical interpretation of the Baani (hymns) of Guru Nanak. 

• The real motive was to transmit information to the younger generations about the ‘divine wondrous personal of Guru Nanak and to tell them what Guru Nanak revealed to the world… A unique and progressive open-minded faith that preached the doctrine of unity and supremacy of God, True Name (Nam) and service (Daya Dharam).

• With this, we can begin to conclude that the Janamsaakhi represent a distinct type of religious-legendary literature wherein the making of the historical evidence that lie rooted deep inside them.
• Therefore it can be surmised that the Janamsaakhis are based on facts but they perhaps were written from the standpoint of 'faith'. Therefore any disbelief  presented for the acceptance, I sincerely hope can be refuted on basis of belief

What is the historiography of the Janam Sakhis.?

Historiography of Janamsaakhis, literally, is the study not of history but of the writing of history. In modern usage, this term covers a wide range of related but distinct areas of inquiry, it refers to basic training in the “nuts and bolts” of how history is written, such as the techniques of locating and evaluating sources, providing documentation, preparing a manuscript, and so on

It commonly applies to studies of pertinent historians and their writings, that sync with the cultural forces and other factors which shape the traditions in society. 

The Saakhis the stories in Janam Sakhi Manuscripts were like an artistic instrument to spread and share the teachings of the Gurus more effectively with the help of visuals as these facilitated the understanding of thought and helped the people to relate to the age and the legend. 

They gained momentum after the establishment of the Khalsa Panth and became extremely popular thereafter. The visual impact of the painted Janam Sakhis was instant in comparison to the written and oral Janam Sakhis. This factor accounts for their immense appeal and status.

Gurcharan Singh raised doubts and issue about the relevance of Janamsaakhis in Sikh historiography...

I have tried to put together selections of studies of Sikh & western Historians with reference to the context of my belief in them, as so do and many others like me.

Janam Saakhis have likened them to the four Gospels. It is interesting to note that the Gospel of John claims to be the work of an eye-witness.

The purpose of the compilation of Janamsakhis was neither to record the history of Guru Nanak nor to provide a critical interpretation of the Baani (hymns) of Guru Nanak. ..

Janamsaakhis are important as they have the ability to be a conveyance to deliver His simple message. The real motive was to transmit information to the younger generations about the ‘divine wondrous personal of Guru Nanak and to tell them what Guru Nanak revealed to the world… A unique and progressive open-minded faith that preached the doctrine of unity and supremacy of God, True Name (Nam) and service (Daya Dharam).

The thrust of studies on the Janamsakhis was to reach--out to the earliest of the versions

Puratan Janamsakhis was made available by India Office Library to Dr Ernest Trump when he was working on his translation of the Adi Granth.

Bhai Vir Singh the celebrated Sikh scholar attempted to present a standardised version of the same. The first edition of this Puratan Janamsakhi was published in 1926.

The Divine Master (1930) about which it has been rightly said that “The outline of Guru Nanaks’ life that emerges from Sewa Ram Singh’s sources is clear and plausible”.

The intensive study of the Janamsakhis continued along the above lines until 1966; Dr Kirpal Singh published an' ANALYTICAL STUDY'.

Meanwhile, fresh developments were taking place in the west that was to have a far-reaching effect on the complexion of Sikh historiography.

‘Guru Nanak in History’ in the year of GuruNanak’s birth (1969)

There is hardly any doubt that a very strong oral tradition of Guru Nanak remained current among the people of the places visited by the Guru in and outside India. The Janamsakhi tradition provides us with numerous anecdotes describing Guru Nanak's travels to far off places and his discourses with the learned men of different faiths.

These go to prove that of all the world prophets, Guru Nanak was the most travelled person and his zeal for the dissemination of his divine doctrine within India and in countries, thousands of miles away from his home and These are the factors that have kept the interest of not only the historians but the literati also, focussed on the Janamsakhis.

With this, we can begin to conclude that the Janamsakhis represent a distinct type of religious-legendary literature wherein the ingredients of historical evidence lie embedded deep underneath.

Why is Puratan Janamsakhi called the Vilayatvali Janamsakhi ?

• Since there is no authentic source of the biography of Guru Nanak, scholars have built his life story from Janamsaakhi Literature. Vilayatvali Janamsaakhi or the Puratan Janamsakhi is one of the primary sources.
• Vilayatvali Janamsakhi was taken to England in 1815 by Henry Thomas  Colebrook (1765-1835), a Sanskrit scholar and a member of the East India  Council and Vice-President of Asiatic Society, Calcutta.
• He deposited the manuscript in the East India Company's library.
• Prof. Gurmukh Singh, the celebrated leader of the Lahore Singh Sabha, found another     Janamsaakhi at Hafizabad, now in Distt. Gujranwala in Pakistan.
•  Gurmukh Singh loaned his find to Macauliffe who, having divided its unbroken lines into separate words, published the text privately in 1885. The version is variously known as the Hafizabad Janam Sakhi or as the Macauliffe vali Janam Sakhi. Its contents are quite close to the Colebrooke Janamsakhi. These two manuscripts remain amongst the most important of the Puratan tradition.

 Henry Thomas Colebrooke’s  Janamsaakhi has two other names – 

1.  Vilayatvali Janamsaakhi as it had been brought from old India Office Library, London. 

2.   Puratan Janamsaakhi, Ernest Trump studied it in 1872 and drew the attention of other scholars towards it. The then Lt. Governor of Punjab, Charles Atchison, brought some copies of it to the Punjab and Bhai Vir Singh edited and published it for the benefit of the Sikh multitude 1926.

Thus it came to be known as Vilayatwali Janamsaakhi. The Vilayatwali Janamsakhi, written in the first half of the 17th century.

The printers inscription… the colophon of the Vilayatwali Janamsakhi mentions the year of its compilation as Kaljug CharHazar Sat Sau Panti Barsbitya that is to say the Kalyug has passed 4735 years.......If we try to find out the corresponding year of the Christian era, it works out to be 1634 AD which suggests that this Janamsakhi was written at the time when Bhai Gurdas was alive.

 It is just possible that the author might have before him the first Var of Bhai Gurdas, as its influence is evident in his work. From this, it can be safely surmised that all these writings are based on the early tradition of Guru Nanak.