Parkash Utsav — Guru Granth Sahib 2028: Date, History & Significance

The day is kept with an Akhand Path, kirtan of the compositions of the Gurus and the Bhagats, katha on the making and the authority of the Granth, Ardas and Langar. Nagar Kirtans are held, and gurdwaras associated with the scripture — Harmandir Sahib, Gurdwara Ramsar (where it was compiled), Takht Sri Hazur Sahib Nanded (where the Gurta Gaddi was given) — hold special diwans.

The Guru Granth Sahib holds 1,430 pages of hymns in 31 ragas, by six Sikh Gurus and fifteen Bhagats of different faiths and castes (Kabir, Ravidas, Namdev, Farid and others). Since 1708 it is treated not as a book about the Guru but as the Guru present — installed each morning with full ceremony, and the sole spiritual authority of the Sikhs.

Guru Arjan Dev collected the hymns of the first four Gurus and his own, with the verses of Hindu and Muslim Bhagats whose vision matched the Sikh path, into the Adi Granth, written down by Bhai Gurdas. On its first Parkash at the Harmandir Sahib, the aged Baba Buddha was the first granthi and the Guru slept on the floor while the Granth rested on the cot. A century later Guru Gobind Singh added Guru Tegh Bahadur's bani and, at Nanded in 1708, bowed to it as the eternal Guru.

Source: Sikh historical sources and the janamsakhi tradition

The first Parkash was in 1604; the Gurta Gaddi at Nanded was on 20 October 1708 (Kartik). Both are kept as Parkash Utsav / Gurta Gaddi Divas, following the Bikrami dates, and are gurdwara-wide observances.

• SGPC and Sikh historical scholarship
• Nanakshahi and Bikrami calendar reckonings

1. The day recalls the first installation of the Adi Granth in the Harmandir Sahib, Amritsar, in 1604, with Baba Buddha as the first granthi.
2. An Akhand Path is completed, and the Golden Temple and gurdwaras are illuminated.
3. Kirtan and katha celebrate the Guru Granth Sahib as the living Guru of the Sikhs.

• Amritsar (Harmandir Sahib, Ramsar). Special diwans on the first Parkash; Akhand Path and Nagar Kirtan.
• Nanded (Takht Hazur Sahib). The Gurta Gaddi Divas in Kartik — the largest observance of the eternal Guruship.

• Karah prasad and langar — Given to the sangat after the Path's conclusion.

Parkash Utsav Guru Granth Sahib falls on Friday, 1 September 2028. The first installation of the Guru Granth Sahib at Amritsar in 1604.

at sunrise

Parkash Utsav — Guru Granth Sahib follows the First Parkash: Bhadon Sudi 1, 1604 (compiled by Guru Arjan). Gurta Gaddi: Kartik 1708 (declared eternal Guru by Guru Gobind Singh). Most Gurpurabs use the lunar Bikrami calendar, so the Gregorian date shifts each year; the Nanakshahi calendar (2003, revised) assigns several of them fixed solar dates, and both reckonings are in use in different quarters of the Panth.

The date is set by the Hindu lunisolar calendar and shifts against the Gregorian year.