ਗੁਰਪੁਰਬ

Gurpurab (ਗੁਰਪੁਰਬ), also written Gurpurb, is a Sikh holy day marking an anniversary connected with a Guru: a birth, a martyrdom, or a landmark such as the installation of the Guru Granth Sahib in the Harimandar at Amritsar. Guru means the spiritual teacher, and purb comes from the Sanskrit parva, a festival, so a gurpurab is the Guru’s festival day.

What does gurpurab mean in Punjabi?

It means the festival day of the Guru: a holy day that commemorates one of the anniversaries in the lives of the Gurus. SikhiWiki notes that the word was already in use in the time of the Gurus, and that it occurs at least five times in the writings of Bhai Gurdas, a contemporary of Guru Arjan. Remembering the deeds of the elders is itself part of the observance.

The most widely kept gurpurabs include the birth anniversaries of Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind Singh, the martyrdom days of Guru Arjan and Guru Tegh Bahadur, and the day the holy book was installed in the Harimandar at Amritsar on 16 August 1604. The birth anniversary of Guru Nanak is also called Prakash Purab, the festival of light, because it marks the coming of the Guru’s light into the world.

How is a gurpurab observed?

The centre of the observance is the akhand path: the Guru Granth Sahib read through without a break, in gurdwaras and in private homes, in a single continuous ceremony lasting forty eight hours, with relays of readers taking turns so the reading never stops. Around it, special assemblies are held in gurdwaras, with discourses on the lives and teachings of the Gurus, and Sikhs march in processions through towns and cities chanting the holy hymns.

Special langars, community meals, are held for participants, who at some places may be counted in the thousands, and sharing that common meal is itself reckoned an act of merit. Programmes may include initiation into the Khalsa, and on birth anniversaries there may be illuminations in gurdwaras and in homes, with friends and families exchanging greetings. The local form varies: SikhiWiki stresses that no special sanctity attaches to the form, only to the remembrance.

Which gurpurab is the most widely celebrated?

The birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh faith, is the most widely celebrated gurpurab, falling in autumn on Kartik Purnima in the traditional calendar. For Guru Nanak’s birthday the pattern runs over three days in many places: akhand path begins two days before, a procession led by the Panj Piare goes out the day before, and the day itself opens before dawn with Asa di Var and hymns, followed by katha, ardas, karah parshad and langar.