Sukhmani Sahib | ਸੁਖਮਨੀ ਸਾਹਿਬ । सुखमनी साहिब

Paath Sri Sukhmani Sahib at Sangat Television's London Studio

Sukhmani or Sukhmani Sahib is the title given to the Gurbani in raga Gauri Sukhmani[1] in the Guru Granth Sahib which in turn appears in the major musical measure Raga Gauri to which it belongs. It is a lengthy composition, written by Guru Arjan Dev, the fifth Sikh Guru. The sacred prayer spans 35 pages from page 262 to page 296 of the Guru Granth Sahib. Surprisingly, many ardent Sikhs include the recitation of this Bani in their daily regimen of Nitnem. The physical site, where the Guru around AD 1602-03 composed this composition was once enclosed by a dense wood. The location is still marked on the bank of the Ramsar pool in the city of Amritsar, near the famous Golden Temple the Harimandir Sahib.

It is said that Baba Sri Chand, elder son of Guru Nanak and founder of the Udasi order, came to Amritsar to meet Guru Arjan, then engaged in composing this Bani. The Guru who had by that time completed sixteen astpadis, or cantos, requested that he continue the composition. Baba Sri Chand, out of humility, only recited the salok of Guru Nanak following the Mool Mantra in the Japji — “aaad sach, jugad sach; hai bhi sach, Nanak hosee bhi sach” — "True in the beginning, True through the ages; True even now; Nanak say, Shall remain ever True" (SGGS p285). This salok was thereupon repeated by Guru Arjan at the head of the seventeenth astpadi.
The word Sukhmani is rendered into English as “consoler of the mind.” The entire poem has been translated into English more than once under some commonly preferred titles, "Jewel of peace", “Psalm of peace” or “Song of peace”, signifying the soothing effect it has on the mind of the reader. Sukh literally means peace or comfort and mani means mind or heart. ( ਮਣੀ Sukh in Gurmukhi can also mean jewel, gem, precious stone).