Guru Nanak
Gurū Nānak (15 April 1469 – 22 September 1539; Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ; pronunciation: [gʊɾuː naːnəkᵊ], ⓘ), also known as Bābā Nānak ('Father Nānak'), was the founder of Sikhism and is the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. His birth is celebrated as Guru Nanak Gurpurab on Katak Pooranmashi ('full-moon of Kattak'), i.e. October–November.
Guru Nanak | |
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19th-century mural painting from Gurdwara Baba Atal depicting Nanak | |
| Personal | |
| Born | Nanak 15 April 1469 (Katak Pooranmashi, according to Sikh tradition) |
| Died | 22 September 1539 (aged 70) |
| Resting place | Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur, Kartarpur, Punjab, Pakistan |
| Religion | Sikhism |
| Spouse | Mata Sulakhani |
| Children | Sri Chand Lakhmi Das |
| Parent(s) | Mehta Kalu and Mata Tripta |
| Known for |
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| Other names | First Master Peer Balagdaan (in Afghanistan) Nanakachryaya (in Sri Lanka) Nanak Lama (in Tibet) Guru Rinpoche (in Sikkim and Bhutan) Nanak Rishi (in Nepal) Nanak Peer (in Iraq) Vali Hindi (in Saudi Arabia) Nanak Vali (in Egypt) Nanak Kadamdar (in Russia) Baba Foosa (in China) |
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| Religious career | |
| Based in | Kartarpur |
| Successor | Guru Angad |
| Part of a series on |
| Sikhism |
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Nanak is said to have travelled far and wide across Asia teaching people the message of Ik Onkar (ੴ, 'One God'), who dwells in every one of his creations and constitutes the eternal Truth. With this concept, he would set up a unique spiritual, social, and political platform based on equality, fraternal love, goodness, and virtue.
Nanak's words are registered in the form of 974 poetic hymns, or shabda, in the holy religious scripture of Sikhism, the Guru Granth Sahib, with some of the major prayers being the Japji Sahib (jap, 'to recite'; ji and sahib are suffixes signifying respect); the Asa di Var ('Ballad of Hope'); and the Sidh Gosht ('Discussion with the Siddhas'). It is part of Sikh religious belief that the spirit of Nanak's sanctity, divinity, and religious authority had descended upon each of the nine subsequent Gurus when the Guruship was devolved on to them.