Sarbloh Granth Sahib

 

 

- Started around 20 years ago when I photographed the "Mai Bago" Sarbloh Granth Sahib Bir. Ever since I've had a deep desire to share Sarbloh Granth with the sangat in the accessible form of English.

- I first attempted to OCR the scanned text—back then, OCR tech was extremely unreliable, especially for Gurmukhi.

 

Earliest Struggles

- No Unicode Punjabi font existed at the time—only non-standard fonts like Gurbani Akhar.

- Later received a CD with a Unicode version of the Granth print from Baba Santa Singh Ji/Uday Singh era, but it differed from the earlier OCR text—now there were two conflicting versions to translate.

 

Text Verification

- Eventually, I aligned with Hazur Sahib's corrected version, but even that had missing or altered lines when compared with the handwritten manuscripts (hathlikhts).

 

- Differences included:

 - Small variations in verses.

 - Conflicts in rag headings.

 

 

Manuscript Research

- Reviewed several rare saroops.

 - 📍 Khalsa College, Amritsar (bound with Bachitra Natak).

 - 📍 Two in Sangroor, incl. colophon of 1755 Bikrami (1698 CE).

 - 📍 Mai Bhago Sarup, Hazoor Sahib.

 - 📍 Other Saroops with no known origin.

 

Key Realizations

- Noted deep intertextuality with Dasam Granth Sahib Ji.

- Sarbloh Granth appears as Charitra #404 or #405 —continuing the Avatar Leela saga.

- Rahitnamas like Chaupai Singh Ji's refer to it as Avatar Leela, highlighting its authenticity and spiritual depth.

 

Methodology

- Self-taught programming in Visual Basic to aid transliteration.

- Built tools to align:

 1. Original Gurmukhi

  2. Transliteration

  3. English translation

 

 Technical Hurdles

- Used tables in Word to format side-by-side columns (Gurmukhi, transliteration, English).

- File sizes became massive, documents crashed due to formatting overload.

- Example: One file shows 244 pages, but opens as 338, causing pagination/content mismatch.

- Now manually realigning & repairing all documents from scratch.

 

 Global Team Involved

- Sher Singh (India) – Initial checks.

- Virpal Singh (UK) – English checks.

- Harminder Singh – Proof reading.

- Apshara Kaur - Formatting

[06/06, 09:43] Kamalroop Singh: 🌟 *A Historic Moment in Sikh Literature* 🌟

 

Today, I am deeply humbled and honored to share a moment that is incredibly close to my heart. After years of hard work, I’ve finally completed the **first-ever English translation** of the **Sarbloh Granth Sahib**. This is a historic achievement that I never imagined would be possible, and it’s been a journey filled with immense love, dedication, and seva. 📚✨

 

Translating this sacred text has been more than just a scholarly task for me. It’s been a labor of love and a true honor to serve the Guru and the **Panth** in this way. The teachings of the **Sarbloh Granth** hold immense power and wisdom, and to be able to share that with the world in a way that makes it accessible to everyone is a true blessing.

 

I am grateful for the opportunity to serve, and I pray that this translation helps others connect more deeply with the divine teachings and the spiritual richness of our tradition. 🙏

 

May the Guru’s light continue to guide us all on our journey of faith and understanding. 🌿💫

 

I undertook this seva while completing my doctorate over a decade ago. I consulted original manuscripts and the commentary by Buddha Dal. I used Braj Bhasha dictionaries, Sanskrit dictionaries and Mahan Kosh. As well as A Braj Bhasha Reader by Snell and The Sacred Language of the Sikhs, Shackle.

 

I am indebted to Baba Santa Singh Ji, Baba Surjit Singh Ji, Baba Mann Singh Ji, and Sant Gurharkirpal Singh and Giani Hardeep Singh Hazuri Taksal. Sher Singh, Harminder Singh Mann, Virpal Singh, and Apshara Kirsty Kaur. Many thanks to @khaas_art & @khanda_singh_nihang_  for the cover and art work!

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