The second in the series of Select Sikh Scriptures, this volume is devoted to Guru Arjan Dev, the fifth Guru. A highly evolved soul, he was both a sensitive poet and an accomplished musician who has the largest number of hymns (2218) in the Holy Granth, set to music in 29 ragas. The founder of the Harimandir, presently known as the Golden Temple, Guru Arjan Dev had a catholicity of outlook; he invited Mian Mir, a Muslim divine from Lahore, to lay the foundation stone of the Sikh sanctum sanctorum. Not only this, as the compiler of the Guru Granth Sahib, besides the other Sikh Gurus, he had 30 men of God belonging to various castes and creeds, regions and avocations to figure in it. Guru Arjan Dev’s magnum opus the Sukhmani (the pearl of peace) is recited by the devotees every morning and ranks amongst the most inspired longer hymns in spiritual literature. Transcreated into English by K.S. Duggal, a noted Punjabi litterateur, this is the second in the series of four volumes; the first devoted to Guru Nanak; the third to Guru Angad, Guru Amar Das, Guru Ram Das, Guru Teg Bahadur and Bhaktas such as Kabir, Namdev, Ravi Das, Baba Farid, and others. The fourth volume is devoted to Guru Gobind Singh.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR K.S. Duggal
Kartar singh (K.S.) Duggal, born in 1917, begin wiriting while still a student. He is an author of repute in Punjabi, Urdu, Hindi, and English. His works have been translated into many other languages, and are used in literature classes in a larger number of colleges and universities throughout the world. His published works include twenty-one collections of short stories, seven novels, seven plays, and two collections of poetry. He has received numerous awards and prizes for his writing, including the Ghalib Award for Urdu Dhama (1976), the Soviet Land Nehru Award (1981), the Fellowship of the Punjabi Sahitya Academy (1983), and the Bhartya Bhasha Parishad Award (1985). His short story, “Come Back My Master†is included in the Greatest Short Stories of the World. He was recognized by both the Punjabi government (1962) and the Delhi Administration (1976) as a distinquished man-of-letters and awarded a “Robe of Honour.†His collection of short stories, ik Cbbit Chanam Di, won the Sahita Academi award in 1965. Mr. Duggal also served as Director of the All-India Radio from 1942 to 1966, as Director of the National Book Trust form 1966-1973, and was an Advisor (Information) to the Planning Commission from 1973 to 1976. He has worked to encourage and promote literature and the arts throughout his life. He also served as a columnist for The Indian Express. The Tribune, and The Indian Book Industry, as a commentator or books, author, radio, and television programs and the contemporary publishing scene in India.
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