Mul Mantar

thumb|upright=1.4|Mūl Mantar in [[Guru Arjan's or Bhai Gurdas' handwriting, 17th century Kartarpur manuscript.]]

The Mūl Mantar (, ) is the opening verse of the Sikh scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib. It consists of twelve words in the Punjabi language, written in Gurmukhi script, and are the most widely known among the Sikhs. They summarise the essential teaching of Guru Nanak, thus constituting a succinct doctrinal statement of Sikhism.

It has been variously translated, with the interpretation of the first two words particularly contested. These are rendered as "There is one god,” "One reality is,” "This being is one,” and others. Sometimes the disagreements include capitalising the “G” in “god,” or the “R” in “reality,” which affects the implied meaning in English. It existed in many versions in the 16th-century before it was given its final form by Guru Arjan in the 17th century. The essential elements of the mantar are found in Guru Nanak's compositions, the various epithets he used for Akal Purakh (Ultimate Reality).

Etymology

A mantar means "formula, succinct doctrinal or sacred words with spiritual meaning". The word mūl means "root, main or "fundamental." The Mūl Mantar is thus "root formula",

! Translation 3 (Pashaura Singh)

ੴ ਸਤਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਕਰਤਾ ਪੁਰਖੁ ਨਿਰਭਉ ਨਿਰਵੈਰੁ ਅਕਾਲ ਮੂਰਤਿ ਅਜੂਨੀ ਸੈਭੰ ਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ॥

ikk(u) ōaṅkār(u) sat(i)-nām(u) karatā purakh(u) nirapà'u niravair(u) akāl(a) mūrat(i) ajūnī saipàṅ gur(a)-prasād(i)॥

There is one god, named truth, the creator, without fear, without hate, timeless in form, beyond birth, self-existent, (known by) the grace of the Guru.

This Being is one, truth by name, creator, fearless, without hatred, of timeless form, unborn, self-existent, and known by the Guru's grace.

There is one supreme being, the eternal reality (true name), the creator, without fear, devoid of enmity, immortal, never incarnated, self-existent, (known by) the grace of the Guru.

The extended version with the Jap verse is:

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:auto; text-align:center;"

!Gurmukhi

!Transliteration

!Translation

|ੴ ਸਤਿ ਨਾਮੁ

ਕਰਤਾ ਪੁਰਖੁ

ਨਿਰਭਉ ਨਿਰਵੈਰੁ

ਅਕਾਲ ਮੂਰਤਿ

ਅਜੂਨੀ ਸੈਭੰ

ਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ॥

॥ ਜਪੁ॥

ਆਦਿ ਸਚੁ

ਜੁਗਾਦਿ ਸਚੁ॥

ਹੈ ਭੀ ਸਚੁ

ਨਾਨਕ ਹੋਸੀ ਭੀ ਸਚੁ॥੧॥

|ikk(u) ōaṅkār(u) sat(i)-nām(u)

karatā purakh(u)

nirapà'u niravair(u)

akāl(a) mūrat(i)

ajūnī saipàṅ

gur(a)-prasād(i)॥

॥ jap(u)॥

ād(i) sacch(u)

jugād(i) sacch(u)॥

hai pī̀ sacch(u)॥

nānak(a) hosī pī̀ sacch(u)॥1॥

|One creator, name is truth,

agentive (doer) being,

without fear, without hatred,

timeless form,

unbegotten, self-existent,

known by the Guru's grace.

Recite:

True at the beginning,

true through the ages,

is yet true,

O Nanak, and will be true.

Grammar

200px|thumb|right|Illuminated [[Adi Granth folio with Mūl Mantar of Guru Gobind Singh]]

The archaic language of the Guru Granth Sahib is highly inflected; the suffixed short vowels parenthesised above indicate various declensions. In the Mūl Mantar, the suffixed -u indicates nouns and adjectives in the masculine singular direct case, though some words ending with -ā (like karatā) can also indicate this case. This suffix can also indicate an imperative when attached to a verb, as in japu.

The suffixed -a can indicate the masculine vocative case, as in Nānaka, the masculine singular oblique case in compounds as in gura prasādi, and a feminine singular direct adjective as in akala, as well as the masculine plural direct case and the feminine singular direct case.

The suffixed -i can indicate the possessive case in compounds (as in sati nāmu), and the locative (as in ādi and jugādi) or instrumental case as in gura prāsadi; these terms would be ādu, jugādu, and prasādu if taking the direct case. It is also another feminine singular direct case (as in mūrati); -a and -i are among the predominant declensions for this case.

Adjectives and modifiers also agree in number and gender with their dependent element, hence ikku oaṅkāru, akāla mūrati, and the term mūlu mantaru itself.

Most of these cases still exist in the modern language in slightly different forms; features in the archaic language like the masculine singular direct suffix -u and feminine singular direct suffix -a parallel nominal declensions in other related languages.

The included grave accent included in the above transliterations illustrates tones and guide the verbal pronunciation of the verse.

Earlier Versions

The modern Mūl Mantar is the edited version that was canonised by Guru Arjan. It is the Mūl Mantar that is widely used among Sikhs today. It is different from the version originally written by Guru Nanak. The earliest form of the Mūl Mantar is found in the goindwal pothi which comes from time of Guru Amar Das. In the goindwal pothi the Mūl Mantar is: There are other variations of the Mūl Mantar from the Mina Scribal tradition. The modern Mūl Mantar was formed by Guru Arjan during the canonization of the Adi Granth. Other versions of the Mūl Mantar can be found within the GNDU MS1245 Manuscript, which comes from a independent scribal tradition. It is unclear whether or not Guru Nanak had made a Mūl Mantar. The most common textual variants seen in the Mūl Mantar is Satgur Parsad at the end of the Mūl Mantar instead of Gur Prasad. Most variations are minor and do not affect the essence of the Mūl Mantar.

Discourse

thumb|right|The extended version of the Mūl Mantar at the Darshani Deori, the main entrance leading to the pathway into the [[Golden Temple]]

The Mūl Mantar is a widely known part of Sikh scripture, but it has posed a challenge to translators. 'singularity despite seeming plurality,' and 'This being is one,' and asserts the "distinctively Sikh theological emphasis" on "the ineffable quality of God" as "the Person beyond time," "the Eternal One," and "the One without form," and is canonically understood in Sikhism to refer to "absolute monotheistic unity of God". The varying capitalisation of "God", "Reality", or "Being" affects the meaning in English.

References

External links

Mool Mantar, Damdami Taksaal
English and Hindi translations
Translation of Sri Guru Granth Sahib in >52 languages Machine translation of SGGS can be read from linked site by choosing appropriate language in transliterate and translation fields