Salok Sahaskriti Mahala 1

There is no information in the Janamsakhis about the time and place of the revelation of these saloks by Guru Nanak Sahib. Information about this is obtained from different interpretations of the Guru Granth Sahib done by various scholars.

In the available interpretations of the Guru Granth Sahib, the uttering of this composition is associated with Guru Nanak Sahib’s visit to Banaras/Benaras (earlier Kashi and currently Varanasi), a city in Uttar Pradesh, India. The Guru came here in January 1509 CE. Gurduara ‘Guru ka Bagh’ commemorates the arrival of the Guru at ‘Laksa Mahal’ in Banaras.

According to a traditional interpretation of the Guru Granth Sahib, when a Pandit named Gopal Dutt came to know about the arrival of the Guru, he along with other Pandits (Pandit Chatur Das, Ganga Ram, etc.) came to the Guru to have a discussion based on religious texts (shastrarath). The Guru recited these four saloks at the request of Pandit Gopal Das. These saloks are also called ‘Chatur Saloki Gita’ in this commentary.

Bhai Vir Singh makes a similar point. According to him, the Pandits of Banaras were scholars, but did not have a matching lifestyle and were arrogant because of their education. They insulted people by engaging with them in discussions. When the Guru reached Banaras, these Pandits came to the Guru with the same intention. At first, they were stunned by the spiritual power of the Guru, and later when they had a discussion with the Guru, they lost the argument. The Guru dispelled their hypocrisy and placed it before them and advised them in the Prakrit (Sahaskriti) language.

Giani Haribans Singh also agrees with the above narrative regarding the revelation of these saloks. He is of the opinion that Pandit Gopal Dutt, who came to Banaras to have a discussion with the Guru, took the Guru’s advice and became a disciple of the Guru. He requested the Guru to recite ambrosial words from his mouth, then the Guru recited these saloks as teachings keeping in view the lifestyle of the Pandits.