Estimate from Pew Research Center — The Future of World Religions↗ (opens in a new tab).
Overview
Guru Arjan gave a central place of worship to the Sikhs in Harmandir Sahib.1 He installed the Guru Granth Sahib there in 1604, and Baba Buddha was appointed as its first Granthi, or keeper.23
History of the scripture
To assemble it, Guru Arjan collected from Bhai Mohan, the son of Guru Amar Das, the hymns of the first three Gurus and some Bhagats, and added to them the compositions of his father Guru Ramdas and his own.4 The Adi Granth was written out by Bhai Gurdas, and the copy given to Bhai Bano for binding.56
That copy later passed into the custody of Bhai Dhirmal, grandson of Guru Hargobind, who refused to give it to the Guru.7
References
- “Guru Arjan gave a central place of worship to the Sikhs in Harmandir Sahib.” — SGPC — Sri Guru Granth Sahib, source page↗ (opens in a new tab)
- “He installed the Guru Granth Sahib at Harmandir Sahib in 1604.” — SGPC — Sri Guru Granth Sahib, source page↗ (opens in a new tab)
- “Baba Buddha was appointed as its first Granthi or keeper.” — SGPC — Sri Guru Granth Sahib, source page↗ (opens in a new tab)
- “he collected from Bhai Mohan, the son of Guru Amar Das, the hymns of the first three Gurus and some Bhagats, and added to them the compositions of his father Guru Ramdas, and his own” — SGPC — Sri Guru Granth Sahib, source page↗ (opens in a new tab)
- “He got the Adi Granth written by Bhai Gurdas.” — SGPC — Sri Guru Granth Sahib, source page↗ (opens in a new tab)
- “Guru Arjan gave the copy to Bhai Bano for binding.” — SGPC — Sri Guru Granth Sahib, source page↗ (opens in a new tab)
- “This copy passed into custody of Bhai Dhirmal, grandson of Guru Hargobind, who refused to give it to the Guru.” — SGPC — Sri Guru Granth Sahib, source page↗ (opens in a new tab)
Individual sourced statements
Statements recorded one at a time, each shown with the words it rests on. They sit alongside the account above rather than beneath it.
The SGPC records that Guru Gobind Singh is said to have stayed at Damdama Sahib for nine months in 1706 and dictated the whole Adi Granth to Bhai Mani Singh.
“It is said that Guru Gobind Singh stayed at Damdama Sahib for nine months in 1706 and dictated the whole Adi Granth to Bhai Mani Singh.”
The SGPC states that Guru Arjan gave the Sikhs a central place of worship in Harmandir Sahib.
“Guru Arjan gave a central place of worship to the Sikhs in Harmandir Sahib.”
The Sikh Missionary Society (U.K.) has the registered charity number 262404.
“Our registered charity number is 262404.”
The Sikh Missionary Society (U.K.) states that the year 2025 marks the 350th Shaheedi anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji on 24 November 2025.
“Year 2025 marks the 350th Shaheedi (martydom) anniversary of Nanak IX, Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji (24 November 2025).”
The Sikh Missionary Society (UK) states that its aim is the advancement of the Sikh faith in the UK and abroad.
“The Aim of the Sikh Missionary Society is the "Advancement of the Sikh faith in the U.K and abroad"”
Every quotation above was checked against its source on 5 September 2026.
Authority
Sikhism recognises a central authority.
The Akal Takht at Amritsar holds temporal authority and the SGPC administers the principal gurdwaras, though the Nanakshahi calendar reform remains contested and some bodies keep the older Bikrami reckoning. Dates are therefore emitted per calendar variant.
Traditions
Known within the tradition as sampradāya.
How these dates are worked out
This is the part that decides whether a date in your rota is right. Every observance below is computed from a published rule rather than copied from anyone’s list, and the rule is what explains why a date moves, why two calendars can disagree, and how far ahead you can safely plan.
The Nanakshahi calendar
- What sets the date
- A solar calendar with fixed month lengths, adopted so that dates recur on the same Gregorian date each year.
- Why it falls where it does
- It was introduced precisely to stop the principal dates drifting, which they did under the lunar reckoning previously used. Its adoption is not universal, and some observances are still kept by the older reckoning, so a date may differ depending on which calendar a particular gurdwara follows.
- What that means for planning
- The fixed dates are stable year to year. Where an observance is still kept by the older lunar reckoning it moves, and the site says which reckoning it has used.
The pañcāṅga
- What sets the date
- The date is found from the positions of the sun and moon rather than from a table. The key quantity is the tithi, a lunar day defined by the moon gaining twelve degrees of elongation on the sun, so its length varies between roughly nineteen and twenty-six hours.
- Why it falls where it does
- Because a tithi is not a solar day, it can begin and end at any hour, and a festival attached to one may touch two Gregorian dates or none. Which date is kept then depends on a rule about the time of day the tithi has to be current: sunrise for some observances, midday, evening or midnight for others. Two calendars can therefore disagree by a day while both applying their rules correctly. Regional practice differs too, and a month may be reckoned as ending at the new moon or at the full moon depending on where you are.
- What that means for planning
- Expect a day of variation between regions and between calendars, and expect the observance to move by several weeks against the Gregorian calendar from one year to the next.
Observances in 2026
Sources
No expert review. Accuracy here rests on continuous machine verification of every quotation against its source. Spotted an error? Corrections are answered within five working days.