When was Guru Nanak Ji Born?
- Guru Nanak Sahib’s Gurpurab or Parkash (birthday) is celebrated on April 14, every year.
- A detailed article here on Guru Nanak Ji’s Gurpurab and Joti Jot purab for those with a good understanding of calendars.
- Also See .pdf downloads for research and evidence for Birth Date of Guru Nanak Sahib English and Gurmukhi.
ਮੈਕਾਲਫ਼ਿ ਅਨੁਸਾਰ ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਦਾ ਜਨਮ ਦਿਨ ਨਨਕਾਣਾ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਵਿਖੇ 1815 ਸੰਨ ਤੱਕ ਵੈਸਾਖ ਦੇ ਮਹੀਨੇ ਮਨਾਂਦਾ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਰਿਹਾ, ਪਰ ਮਹਾਰਾਜਾ
ਰਣਜੀਤ ਸਿੰਘ ਦੇ ਸਮੇਂ 1815 ਸੰਨ ਵਿੱਚ ਬਦਲ ਕੇ ਕੱਤਕ ਪੂਰਨਮਾਸ਼ੀ ਨੂੰ ਮਨਾਉਣਾ ਸ਼ੁਰੂ ਹੋ ਗਿਆ ।
“All the Handali and modern Janamsakhis give Kartik as the month in which Baba Nanak was born. In Mani Singh’s and all the old Janamsakhis the Guru’s natal month is given as Baisakh. The following is the manner in which Kartik began to be considered as the Guru’s natal month:
There lived in the time of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, at Amritsar, Bhai Sant Singh Gyani, who was held in high estimation by that monarch. Some five miles from Amritsar is an ancient tank called Ram Tirath or place of pilgrimage of the Hindu God Ram. At that place a Hindu fair was and is still held at the time of the full moon in the month of Kartik. The spot is essentially Hindu, and it had the further demerit in the eyes of the Bhai of having been repaired by Lakhpat, the prime minister of Zakaria Khan Bahadur, the inhuman prosecutor of the Sikhs. Bhai Sant Singh desired to establish an opposition fair in Amritsar on the same date, and thus prevent the Sikhs from making the Hindu pilgrimage to Ram Tirath. He gravely adopted the Handali date of Guru Nanak Ji’s birth, and proclaimed that his new fair at Amritsar at the full moon in the month of Kartik was in honour of the nativity of the founder of the religion.There is no doubt that Guru Nanak Ji was born in Baisakh. All the older Janamsakhis give that as Guru Nanak ji’s natal month. As late as the Sambat 1872 it was in Baisakh that the anniversary fair of Guru Nanak ji’s birth was always celebrated at Nankana. And finally the Nanak Parkash, which gives the full moon in Kartik Sambat 1526, as the time of Guru Nanak ji’s birth and the tenth of the dark half of Assu, Sambat 1596, as the date of his death, states with strange inconsistency that he lived seventy years five months and seven days, a total which is irreconcilable with these dates, but it is very nearly reconcilable with the date of the Guru ji’s birth given in the old Janamsakhi.”
Max Arthur Macauliffe, The Sikh Religion, first edition 1909 CE, reprinted by Low Price Publications, Delhi 1996 p. lxxxiv
This was written more than 90 years ago. The change to Kartik pooranmashi was done in Samvat 1873 BK i.e. in 1816 CE during Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s time. Anyone resisting changing the date back to correct date of Vaisakhi, are just being too emotional, and that too to support a wrong date in the faulty Bikrami calendar.
ਚਉਦਸ ਅਮਾਵਸ ਰਚਿ ਰਚਿ ਮਾਂਗਹਿ ਕਰ ਦੀਪਕੁ ਲੈ ਕੂਪਿ ਪਰਹਿ ॥2॥ ਪੰ: 970 ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਬਾਝਹੁ ਅੰਧੁ ਗੁਬਾਰੁ ॥
ਥਿਤੀ ਵਾਰ ਸੇਵਹਿ ਮੁਗਧ ਗਵਾਰ ॥ – ਪੰ: 843
In addition, in the Great Dictionary of Bhai Kahn Singh, A-40 Janam Sakhi, in Janam Sakhi, composed by Mehraban, Prof. Sahib Singh’s book ‘Life chronicles in Guru Nanak Dev Sahib’, in Enchachlopaddhi Khod Shikhiksim, In the book ‘Our History’, and many other books, the date of Guru Sahib’s revelation is given in the month of Vaisakha. Many Sikhs who read Punjabi may have read the book of S. Karam Singh Historian, but the books of Prof. Sahib Singh and Principal Satbir Singh must have been read by countless Sikhs.
Pal Singh Purewal’s research on Guru Nanak Sahib’s Prakash Day has appeared in newspapers, universities, journals, heritage, and gurmat Prakash. In it, the revelation of Guru Nanak Sahib’s Revelation Day 1526 Bk – 1469 is Vaisakhi. The leaflet was distributed by the historical seminar and Shaw at the World Sikh Conference in September 1995.
The frequently asked questions based on these answers and the data behind the evidence are based on published papers, evidence, and research by thought leaders, subject matter experts, historians and scholars in the field. See additionalPal Singh Purewal’s responses to Interview with Indian Express|Gurmit Singh |Mr. Lamba|Tara Singh| Harcharan Singh