The Making of Sikh Scripture

The Adi Granth ("original book"), the primary scripture of the Sikhs, comprises approximately 3,000 hymns. Although the authorship of the hymns is well-recorded, the history of the compilation the Adi Granth - the creation of the Sikh "canon" - is the subject of considerable speculation and debate. In this book, Gurinder Mann attempts to construct a comprehensive secondary literature on the topic. His findings on some key issues differ from the traditional Sikh position and from the hypotheses of other 20th-century scholars, as well as raising some entirely fresh questions. Mann's revised and expanded picture of the history of the text and institution of Sikh scripture will be of interest not only to scholars of Sikhism and Sikh religionists, but to scholars of comparative canon formation.

Gurinder Singh Mann is Kundan Kaur Kapany Professor of Sikh Studies at the University of California at Santa Barbara.