Response to Dr.

Gurinder Singh Mann From the Book History of the Sikhs and Their Religion Volume I The Guru Period (1469 1708 CE) Edited by Kirpal Singh & Kharak Singh Available at University Academic Libraries Book is Contributed by all of the scholars including, Dr. Balwant Singh Dhillon (BSD), Dr. Dalbir Singh Dhillon (D.S.D), Dr. Dharam Singh (D.S.), Dr. Gurmukh Si ngh (G.S.), Dr. Harnam Singh Shan (H.S.S.), Dr. Jodh Singh (J.S), Dr. Kharak Sin gh (Kh.S), Dr. Kirpal Singh (K.S.), Principal Surjit Singh G (S.S.G) Chapter 18 Guru Granth Sahib The Eternal Guru This Chapter is by Dr. Harnam Singh Shaan (H.S.S) Page 354 - 355 Goindwal Pothis Earlier it was generally believed by most Sikh sc holars that the Goindwal Pothis were the primary sources for the preparation of the Adi Granth. Bhai Santokh Singh, Giani Gian Singh, Baba Prem Singh Hoti, Bhai Kahn Singh, Bhai Vir Singh, Giani Gurdit Singh, and a number of other scholars held this view. Mehma Parkash, compiled by Sarup Das Bhalla in 1776 CE, refers t o the compilation of pothis by Sahansar Ram, son of Baba Mohan, during the lifet ime of Guru Amar Das. It is said that there used to be four pothis out of which only two are now extant. One is at Jalandhar, since the descendnts of Sahansar R am shifted there, and the other is at Pinjore near Chandigarh. After the demise of Guru Amar Das, these pothis were allegedly in the custody of Baba Mohan, the eldest son of Guru Amar Das. Gurinder Singh Mann in his book, Goindwal Pothis, s tates: Guru Arjun temporarily brought these pothis to Amritsar at the turn of the se venteenth century and used them in the preparation of the Kartarpur Pothi. It se ems natural that after the task was completed, the pothis were sent back. There is even a palanquin at Goindwal which, according to popular local tradition, was used to transport the pothis to and from Amritsar. It is said that Guru Arjun himself went to Goindwal to bring these pothis from B aba Mohan, his mothers elder brother, for preparation of the Sikh scripture. It i s also allegedthat Guru Arjun had composed a shabad, Mohan tere uche mandir in prai se of Baba Mohan. Prof Sahib Singh, however, strongly refutes this view. He very cogently illustrates that the word Mohan in this hymn has been used to address Go d, and not the son of the Third Nanak. The latest work on the subject of the com pilation of Adi Granth is by Dr. Balwant Singh Dhillon, titled Early Sikh Script ural Tradition. Dr Dhillon has vergy cogently demonstrated that the Goindwal Pot his had been written after the compilation of the Adi Granth because hymns of Gu ru Arjun are found in these pothis. Also, on the index the recorded date is Samw at 1682 BK, Sawan Vadi 1, or July 10, 1625 CE. Balwant Singh Dhillon states: The material evidence instead of proving the Ahiyapur Pothis to be of earlie r origin points to the contrary. It is worth nothing that not only one but six h ymns have been attributed to Mahala IV, i.e., Guru Ram Das. He concludes: Evidently recording of hymns under authorship of Guru Ram Das and Guru Arjun would not have been possible of the compilation of Ahiyapur Pothi had been completed during the period of Guru Amardas. Similarly, Prof Pritam Singh, in his Punjabi book, Ahiyapurwali Pothi comes to the conclusions that this pothi has not contributed in the compilation of the Adi Granth. It seems certain that the Goindwal Pothis were written after the compilation of the Adi Granth. Here the questions arises, if the Goindwal Pothis were compiled later, what was the p urpose of Guru Arjuns alleged visit to Goindwal, which as been so elaborately des cribed by Sikh chroniclers of the later half of the eighteenth century. Balwant Singh Dhillon rejects this whole story of Guru Arjuns visit to Goindwal. He write

s: Even the much publicized story of Guru Arjuns visit to Baba Mohan at Goindwal to procure them (Goindwal Pothis) has been proved to be an apocryphal and a lat er concoction. Prof Sahib Singh too is of the same opinion that the story of Guru Arjuns visit l acks credibility. In his pioneering ten volume Punjabi Work, Guru Granth Darpan, he shows through the internal evidence of Gurbani that the whole story is a mer e concoction with the aim to provide historical prominence to certain personages and their descendants. H.S.S