This is regarded as the second holiest book of the Sikhs and is called the Dasam Granth - the book of the tenth Guru. The Granth was compiled three years after the Guru’s death and it was Mata Sundri the widow of the Guru who asked Bhai Mani Singh, a contemporary of the Guru, to collect all the hymns composed by the Guru and prepare a Granth of the Guru. It was completed in 1711. In its present form it contains 1428 pages and 16 chapters as listed below:
- Jaap (meditation)
- Bichitra Natak ( autobiography of the Guru)
- Akal Ustat (praises of God)
- Chandi Charitar I & II (the character of goddess Chandi)
- Chandi di Var (a ballad to describe goddess Durga)
- Gian Prabodh (the awakening of knowledge)
- Chaubis Avtar (24 incarnations of Vishnu ordered by Supreme God)
- Brahm Avtar (incarnation of Brahma)
- Rudar Avtar (incarnation of Shiva)
- Shabad Hazare (ten shabads)
- Swayyae (33 stanzas)
- Khalsa Mehma (the praises of the Khalsa)
- Shaster Nam Mala ( a list of weapons)
- Triya Charitar (the character of women)
- Zafarnamah (epistle of victory, a letter written to Emperor Aurangzeb)
- Hikayats. (stories)
The following are the main banis regularly recited by Sikhs:
- Jaap Sahib'
- Benti Chaupai
- Amrit Savaiye
The languages used in the Granth are:
- Brij
- Hindi
- Panjabi
- Persian
Read more about this topic: Sikh Scriptures