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Pahare

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From pages 74 to 78 of the Guru Granth Sahib, four Sabads under the title ‘Pahare’
Bani Footnote From pahar (a quarter of day or night). In the Indic tradition, a day and night (twenty-four hours) is divided into eight parts. Each part is three hours long (3x8=24 hours), which is known as a pahar. Accordingly, day and night comprise four quarters each. In this Sabad, the four phases of life have been equated with the four quarters of a night.
have been recorded in Rag Srirag. These include two Sabads by Guru Nanak Sahib and one each by Guru Ramdas Sahib and Guru Arjan Sahib. In these Sabads, life is compared to the four quarters of the night, and the being passing through these quarters is addressed as trader friend (vanjara mittar). Since these Sabads are based on the four quarters of a night, they have been given the title ‘Pahare.’

The two Sabads revealed by Guru Nanak Sahib under the title ‘Pahare’ are recorded from pages 74 to 76 of the Guru Granth Sahib. Of these, the first Sabad has four stanzas, and the second one has five stanzas.

Panjabi Folk-literature and ‘Pahare’
‘Pahare’ is considered to be a form of folk poetry in Panjabi. This poetic genre is based on the consciousness of time. Examples of this poetic genre are found only in the Guru Granth Sahib. Dividing day and night into four quarters each and expressing one’s feelings through them is the classical basis of this poetic genre. To liberate the commoner from the superstition of believing in the auspiciousness or inauspiciousness of a time period and keeping in mind the importance of this unit of time in social life, the Gurus used this poetic genre to communicate their beliefs.
Bani Footnote Dr. Mahinder Kaur Gill, Sri Guru Granth Sahib De Lok Kav-Rup, Khoj Patrika: Bani Kav Rup Vishesh Ank, (editor) Prof. Amritpal Kaur, page 22-24.