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{{short description|Sikh prayer}}{{Not to be confused with|Jaap Sahib}}{{italic title}}
{{Infobox poem
| name = Japji Sahib
| image = Folio of the Japji Sahib composition of the Kartarpur Bir.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Japji Sahib composition of the Kartarpur Bir written by Bhai Gurdas under the supervision of Guru Arjan, ca.1604
| subtitle =
| author = [[Guru Nanak]]
| original_title = ਜਪੁਜੀ ਸਾਹਿਬ or ਜਪੁ ਜੀ ਸਾਹਿਬ
| original_title_lang = Gurmukhi
| written = 16th century
| first = [[Adi Granth]], 1604
| language = Gurmukhi
| subject = Spirituality
| genre = Religion
| lines = 38 Stanzas
| angs = 1–8
| followed_by = So Dar Aasa (ਸੋ ਦਰੁ ਰਾਗੁ ਆਸਾ ਮਹਲਾ ੧)
| wikisource =
}}
{{Guru Granth Sahib sidebar}}
'''''Japji Sahib'''''
({{langx|pa|ਜਪੁਜੀ ਸਾਹਿਬ}}, pronunciation: {{IPA|pa|d͡ʒəpʊd͡ʒiː sɛː́b|}}) is the [[Sikh]] thesis, that appears at the beginning of the ''[[Guru Granth Sahib]]'' – the scripture of the [[Sikh]]s. ''Jap'' is the original name of the prayer and to show respect, it is called ''Jap[[-ji|ji]] [[Sahib]]''. It was composed by [[Guru Angad]], and is mostly the writings of [[Guru Nanak]]. It begins with ''[[Mool Mantra]]'' and then follow 38 ''paudis'' (stanzas) and completed with a final ''[[Salok]] by [[Guru Angad]]'' at the end of this composition.<ref name=singha110>HS Singha (2009), The Encyclopedia of Sikhism, Hemkunt Press, {{ISBN|978-8170103011}}, page 110</ref> The 38 stanzas are in different poetic meters.<ref name="SinghFenech2014p111"/>

''Japji Sahib'' is the first composition of Guru Nanak, and is considered the comprehensive essence of [[Sikhism]].<ref name=singha110/> Expansion and elaboration of ''Japji Sahib'' is the entire ''[[Guru Granth Sahib]]''. It is first Bani in [[Nitnem]]. Notable is Nanak's discourse on 'what is true worship' and what is the nature of God'.<ref name=deol11/><ref>B Singh and GP Singh (2007), Japji, Hemkunt Press, {{ISBN|81-7010-182-4}}, pages 17–42</ref> According to Christopher Shackle, it is designed for "individual meditative recitation" and as the first item of daily devotional prayer for the devout.<ref name="SinghFenech2014p111">{{cite book|author=Christopher Shackle|editor=Pashaura Singh and Louis Fenech|title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ |year=2014|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-969930-8|pages=111–112}}</ref> It is a chant found in the morning and evening prayers in Sikh gurdwaras.<ref name="ColeSambhi2016p123">{{cite book|author1=W.O. Cole|author2=Piara Singh Sambhi|title=Sikhism and Christianity: A Comparative Study|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G8KMCwAAQBAJ |year=2016|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-1-349-23049-5|page=123}}</ref> It is also chanted in the Sikh tradition at the Khalsa initiation ceremony and during the [[Antam Sanskar|cremation]] ceremony.<ref name=singha110/>

Related to ''Japji Sahib'' is the ''Jaap Sahib'' ({{langx|pa|ਜਾਪੁ ਸਾਹਿਬ}}), the latter is found at the start of [[Dasam Granth]] and was composed by [[Guru Gobind Singh]].<ref name=singha110/><ref name=asingh84/>

==Etymology==
'''''Japa''''' ([[Sanskrit language|Sanskrit]]: जप) means the recitation of a mantra. The Sanskrit word ''japa'' is derived from the root ''jap-'', meaning "to utter in a low voice, repeat internally, mutter".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Teeuwen|first=Mark|title=Buddhism and Nativism: Framing Identity Discourse in Buddhist Environments|publisher=Brill|year=2013|isbn=9789004255685|pages=198, 216|quote=japa: Sanskrit for Vedic murmurings}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Apte|first=V.S.|title=The Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary|year=1998|isbn=9788120815681|pages=447}}</ref>

Following are some accepted meanings of Jap:
* A conventional meaning for Jap(u) is ''to recite'', to repeat, or ''to chant''.<ref name="deol11">S Deol (1998), Japji: The Path of Devotional Meditation, {{ISBN|978-0-9661027-0-3}}, page 11</ref>
* Jap also means ''to understand''. Gurbani cites ''Aisa Giaan Japo Man Mere, Hovo Chakar Sache Kere'', where the word Jap means to understand wisdom.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Nihang|first1=Dharam Singh|title=Naad Ved Vichar |language=Punjabi |location=India |page=20|quote=ਐਸਾ ਗਿਆਨੁ ਜਪਹੁ ਮਨ ਮੇਰੇ।। ਹੋਵਹੁ ਚਾਕਰ ਸਾਚੇ ਕੇਰੇ (ਪੰਨਾ ੭੨੮) }}</ref>

==Content==
[[File:Japji Sahib commentary manuscript 01.jpg|thumb|19th century commentary on the Japji Sahib]]
[[File:Mural of Guru Nanak presenting the Japji Sahib to Guru Angad with Bhai Bala to side with a fly-whisk, circa 19th century.jpg|thumb|Mural of Guru Nanak presenting and chanting the Japji Sahib in the presence of [[Guru Angad]] with [[Bhai Bala]] to side with a fly-whisk, circa 19th century. The [[Mul Mantar]] is inscribed to the left.]]
The Japji Sahib’s first stanza or pauri states that one cannot be cleaned or stay clean by repeatedly taking bath at holy sites as the thoughts are not clean, by silence alone one cannot find peace as the thoughts come one after another in our mind, by food and all material gains alone one cannot satisfy one's hunger, to be purified one must abide in love of the divine.<ref name=deol29/> Hymn 2 asserts that by God's command the ups and downs in life happen, it is He who causes suffering and happiness, it is He whose command brings release from rebirth, and it is His command by which one lives in perpetual cycles of rebirth from [[karma]].<ref name=deol29>S Deol (1998), Japji: The Path of Devotional Meditation, {{ISBN|978-0966102703}}, page 29-32</ref><ref name=dogra17/>

With good [[karma]]s in past life and his grace is the gate to ''mukti'' (liberation); in him is everything, states verse 4.<ref name=deol29/> The verse 5 states that He has endless virtues, so one must sing His name, listen, and keep the love for Him in one's heart.<ref name=deol29/><ref>B Singh and GP Singh (2007), Japji, Hemkunt Press, {{ISBN|81-7010-182-4}}, pages 26–29</ref> The Guru's ''shabda'' (word) is the protecting sound and wisdom of the [[Vedas]], the Guru is [[Shiva]], [[Vishnu]] (Gorakh) and [[Brahma]], and the Guru is mother [[Parvati]] and [[Lakshmi]].<ref>Pashaura Singh (2000), The Guru Granth Sahib: Canon, Meaning and Authority, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-19-564894-2}}, pages 249–250</ref><ref name=deol33>S Deol (1998), Japji: The Path of Devotional Meditation, {{ISBN|978-0-9661027-0-3}}, pages 32–39</ref> All living beings abide in Him. Verse 6 to 15 describe the value of listening to the word and having faith, for it is the faith that liberates.<ref name=dogra17/> God is formless and indescribable, state verses 16 to 19.<ref name=deol33/> It is remembering His name that cleanses, liberates states Hymn 20. Hymns 21 through 27 revere the nature and name of God, stating that man's life is like a river that does not know the vastness of ocean it journeys to join, that all literature from Vedas to Puranas speak of Him, Brahma speaks, Siddhas speak, Yogi speaks, Shiva speaks, the silent sages speak, the Buddha speaks, the Krishna speaks, the humble Sewadars speak, yet one cannot describe Him completely with all the words in the world.<ref name=dogra17>Kamaljeet Singh Dogra (2006), Prayer at Dawn, Trafford, {{ISBN|978-1-4251-0237-1}}, pages 17–61</ref><ref name=deol38>S Deol (1998), Japji: The Path of Devotional Meditation, {{ISBN|978-0-9661027-0-3}}, pages 38–53</ref>

Verse 30 states that He watches all, but none can see Him. God is the primal one, the pure light, without beginning, without end, the never changing constant, states Hymn 31.<ref>Kamaljeet Singh Dogra (2006), Prayer at Dawn, Trafford, {{ISBN|978-1-4251-0237-1}}, pages 67–93</ref>

==Japji Sahib and Jaap Sahib==

The Guru Granth Sahib starts with ''Japji Sahib'', while [[Dasam Granth]] starts with [[Jaap Sahib]].<ref name=singha110/> Guru Nanak is credited with the former, while Guru Gobind Singh Ji is credited with the latter.<ref name=singha110/> ''Jaap Sahib'' is structured as a stotra that are commonly found in 1st millennium CE Hindu literature. The Jaap Sahib, unlike the Japji Sahib, is composed predominantly in Braj-Hindi and the Sanskrit language, with a few Arabic and Persian words, and with 199 stanzas making it longer than Japji Sahib.<ref name=singha110/> The Jaap Sahib is, like Japji Sahib, in praise of God as the unchanging, loving, unborn, ultimate power and includes within it 950 names of God,<ref name=singha110/> starting with Brahma, Shiva, Vishnu and moving on to over 900 names and [[avatar]]s of gods and goddesses found in Hindu traditions, with the assertion that these are all manifestations of the One, the limitless eternal creator.<ref name=asingh84/> This is similar to [[Sahasranama]] texts of India, and for this reason this part is also called as Akal Sahasranama.<ref name=asingh84>Amarjit Singh (1985), ''Concept of God in Jap Sahib'', Studies in Sikhism and Comparative Religion, Volume 4, pages 84-102</ref> The text includes Arabic and Persian words for God such as ''Allah'' and ''Khuda''. The Japu Sahib includes a mention of God as wielder of weapons, consistent with the martial spirit of Dasam Granth.<ref name=singha110/>

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:Japji Sahib composition of Guru Nanak inscribed on a plate of the 'Charaina' (translates to “four mirrors”) body armour worn by Guru Gobind Singh in the battle of Bhangani, ca.1688.jpg|Japji Sahib composition of Guru Nanak inscribed on a plate of the '[[Mirror armour|Charaina]]' (translates to “four mirrors”) body armour worn by [[Guru Gobind Singh]] in the [[battle of Bhangani]], ca.1688
File:Guru Nanak with Japji Sahib inscribed all over.jpg|Artwork of Guru Nanak with Japji Sahib inscribed all over
</gallery>

== References ==
<references />

== External links ==
* [https://www.sikhnet.com/files/ereader/1%20-%20Japji%20%5BGurmukhi%5D.pdf Complete Japji Sahib] (PDF)
* [https://gurbanischool.com/japji-sahib-in-punjabi/ Japji Sahib Bani in Punjabi]
* [https://nitnemsahib.com/japji-sahib-in-hindi/ Japji Sahib Bani in Hindi]
* [https://nitnemsahib.com/japji-sahib-in-english/ Japji Sahib Bani in English]

{{Sikhism}}

[[Category:Adi Granth]]
[[Category:Sikh scripture]]
[[Category:Guru Nanak Dev]]

Japji Sahib - Revision history

Maleeha at 18:53, 12 January 2026