Sant Bhasha (Gurmukhi: ; Devanagari: ; Sant Bhāṣā; ) is a liturgical and scriptural language composed of vocabulary common to northern Indian languages, which was extensively used by saints and poets to compose religious verses. It can be understood by readers with a background in either Punjabi, Hindustani (Hindi-Urdu) and all its associated dialects. Shackle terms it "the sacred language of the Sikhs". Sardar Mohammad Khan uses the word Sikhī to name the language composite.
Features Sant Bhasha is notable for its high usage of inherited tadbhava and deshaj vocabulary in comparison to Sanskritic tatsama borrowings.
In Sikhism
Sant Bhasha is most prominently used in the central Sikh scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib.The making of Sikh scripture by Gurinder Singh Mann. Published by Oxford University Press US, 2001. , Page 5. "The language of the hymns recorded in the Adi Granth has been called "Sant Bhasha," a kind of lingua franca used by the medieval saint-poets of northern India. But the broad range of contributors to the text produced a complex mix of regional dialects."History of Punjabi Literature by Surindar Singh Kohli. Page 48. Published by National Book, 1993. , . "When we go through the hymns and compositions of the Guru written in Sant Bhasha (saint- language), it appears that some Indian saint of 16th century".Introduction: Guru Granth Sahib. "The Guru Granth Sahib is written in Gurmukhi script. The language, which is most often Sant Bhasha, is very close to Punjabi. It is well understood all over northern andnorthwest India and was popular among the wandering holy men. Persian and some local dialects have also been used. Many hymns contain words of different languages and dialects,depending upon the mother tongue of the writer or the language of the region where they were composed." The languages used include Punjabi and its dialects, Lahnda, regional Prakrits, Apabhramsa, Sanskrit, Hindustani languages (Braj Bhasha, Bangru (Haryanvi), Awadhi, Old Hindi, Hindi-Urdu, Deccani), Bhojpuri, Sindhi, Marathi, Gujarati, Marwari, Bengali, Persian, and Arabic. While vocabulary from all of these languages is used, Sant Bhasha here is only written in the Gurmukhi script.Songs of the Saints from the Adi Granth By Nirmal Dass. Published by SUNY Press, 2000. , . Page 13. "Any attempt at translating songs from the Adi Granth certainly involves working not with one language, but several, along with dialectical differences. The languages used by the saints range from Sanskrit; regional Prakrits; western, eastern and southern Apabhramsa; and Sahaskrit. More particularly, we find sant bhasha, Marathi, Old Hindi, central and Lehndi Panjabi, Sindhi and Persian. There are also many dialects deployed, such as Purbi Marwari, Bangru, Dakhni, Malwai, and Awadhi."Sikhism. The Guru Granth Sahib (GGS) By Harjinder Singh. "The Guru Granth Sahib also contains hymns which are written in a language known as Sahiskriti as well as Sant Bhasha, it also contains many Persian and Sanskrit words throughout." Guru Nanak likely adopted the vernacular so his works could be more accessible to a larger audience located in the Hindi zone, with Nanak's version of it bearing influences from Punjabi (specifically the central zone of both western and eastern Punjabi influences) and older Apabhraṁśa. According to Christopher Shackle, the language of the Guru Granth Sahib was not Old Punjabi but had been influenced by it. After Guru Arjan, the scriptural language of the Sikhs became more influenced by Braj and Persian.
See also Sadhukkari Sadhu Bhasha Khalsa bole, coded language of Nihang Sikhs Sikh scriptures Guru Granth Sahib Dasam Granth Sarbloh Granth Sikh culture History of Sikhism
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