The Life of the Puratan Janamsakhi: Tracing the Earliest Memories of Guru Nanak.

摘要

This dissertation sheds new light on the Puratan Janamsakhi, the earliest available account on the founder and most important figure of the Sikh tradition -- Guru Nanak (d. 1539 CE). Scholarship on Guru Nanak has largely dismissed the significance of this text and has overlooked the fact that, after its composition in 1588 CE, the Puratan Janamsakhi remained the most widely circulated account of Guru Nanak's life for two centuries. This thesis engages with the manuscripts and studies of the text to provide a life-history of the Puratan Janamsakhi, and, in arguing for a reclamation of this account, takes on a close reading of the Puratan Janamsakhi to identify how, within decades of his death, followers of Guru Nanak remembered his life and message. This thesis situates the Puratan Janamsakhi within its historical context and compares it with some of its closest North Indian contemporaries, including other janams?kh?s composed on the life of Guru Nanak and hagiographical writings written about religious figures from different North Indian communities. Our comparative approach allows us to identify some basic commonalities in hagiographical writing and glean aspects that distinguish the Puratan Janamsakhi from its counterparts, including Guru Nanak's unique interest in political critique and building a new community. This thesis, therefore, contributes significantly to our understandings of identity and community formation, to studies on hagiographical writing, and to our foundational understandings of Sikh history.