Patti (Mahala 1)

Patti is a letter-based poetic form. The tradition of composing poetry according to the order of a script’s alphabet is ancient. There is even a reference to a composition in this poetic form in Hebrew. Examples of some poetic forms based on the alphabetical order of scripts from different languages ​​are as follows:
- In Sanskrit, based on a single letter of the Devanagari script: Ekakshari.
- Based on the thirty-four characters of the Sidh Matrika script: Chauntisi (poetry of the ear-pierced Nath yogis).
- In Hindi, based on the fifty-two letters of the Devanagari script: Bavan-Akhari.
- Based on the thirty letters of the Persian-Arabic script: Siharfi.

In Panjabi, alphabet-based poetic forms such as Siharfi, Chauntisa, and Bawan-Akhari are derived from other poetic traditions. However, the poetic forms based on the indigenous Gurmukhi script, such as Patti or Painti Akhari, also gained popularity. Piara Singh Padam associates the origin of these compositions with the Sidh Matrika script.

In earlier times, students used a wooden tablet to write and practice the alphabet and its various forms. The wooden tablet students would write on was also called a ‘Patti.’ Perhaps based on this, such poetic composition came to be known as ‘patti,’ in which the letters of the then-prevalent script were used sequentially to explain a certain subject.

The Guru Granth Sahib also contains compositions in poetic forms based on alphabetical order. These include Patti, revealed by Guru Nanak Sahib and Guru Amardas Sahib; Oankar, revealed by Guru Nanak Sahib; and Bawan Akhari, revealed by Guru Arjan Sahib and Bhagat Kabir.

Alphabet-based poetic compositions were already being written before Guru Nanak Sahib. Utilizing this poetic tradition, Guru Nanak Sahib revealed Patti based on the letters prevalent at that time. This script later became known as ‘Gurmukhi’ because of the contributions of the Gurus in its development.

At this point, it would be pertinent to understand the role of the Gurmukhi script. As per reference in the Guru Granth Sahib, Guru Nanak Sahib established a raj (broadly rule, reign, or dominion). It also denotes authority or a method of governance. As a part of this raj, the Gurus established what we today recognize as city-states, where the Sikh principles were practiced as a governance model. An independent script, Gurmukhi, was developed to record these principles in the Guru Granth Sahib. The Gurmukhi script operated as the vehicle of the Sikh principles and contributed to a distinct Sikh socio-political identity. It served to record and convey the message of the Guru and also empowered the oppressed with a tool to free themselves from the established social, political, and religious hegemony.

There are about a hundred compositions based on thirty-five letters in Panjabi (painti-akhari or patti). Among these the first one belongs to Guru Nanak Sahib (1469-1539 CE). On this basis, the original poetic form of the Guru Granth Sahib is established, and Guru Nanak Sahib becomes its founder

The Patti composition revealed by Guru Nanak Sahib in Rag Asa under the title ‘Patti Likhi’ is recorded on pages 432-434 of the Guru Granth Sahib. It has thirty-five stanzas of two lines each. The stanza of rahau is separate from these stanzas.

The Alphabetical Order of Patti
The alphabetical order in Patti revealed by Guru Nanak Sahib is somewhat different from the current order of the Gurmukhi script. For example, the vowels ‘u, a, i’ come first in the current Gurmukhi alphabet, but in ‘Patti,’ ‘s’ and ‘i’ appear before ‘u.’ Further, the letter ‘a’ comes last in Patti, whereas in the current alphabet, it is second.

s	i	u
ṅ	k	kh	g	gh
c	ch	j	jh	ñ
ṭ	ṭh	ḍ	ḍh	ṇ
t	th	d	dh	n
p	ph	b	bh	m
y	r	l	v	ṛ
h	a

As a result, the alphabetical order in this composition differs from the current order of the Gurmukhi script for the following six letters:

Letters	Current order	Order in Patti composition
s	fourth letter	first letter
i	third letter	second letter
u	first letter	third letter
ñ	tenth letter	fourth letter
h	fifth letter	thirty-fourth letter
a	second alphabet	thirty-fifth letter

On the basis of this variation in the alphabet order, Dr. Rattan Singh Jaggi suggests that the current order of the Gurmukhi script was not fixed until the writing of this composition. With reference to Dr. Harbhajan Singh, Dr. Baljinder Singh writes that the current order of the thirty-five letters of Gurmukhi is the contribution of Guru Angad Sahib.

The compositions based on letters (Patti Mahala 1 and Patti Mahal 3) begin with the sounds /s, i, u, ṅ/. After these, the plosives (dakavian) and the final group (antam vargi) of sounds follow. After these two sound groups, the sounds /ṛ/ and /h/ are arranged. According to Dr. Govindnath Rajguru, the sequence ‘s, dh, ṅ’ is found in several other scripts. In Guru Nanak Sahib’s composition ‘Oankar,’ the order of letters is also ‘s, dh, ṅ.’ This established sequence of the alphabet was referred to as ‘sidhangaia.’ Guru Amardas Sahib used the word ‘sidhaṅṅāiai’ in his composition Patti: sidhaṅṅāiai simrahi nāhī nannai nā tudhu nāmu laïā. -Guru Granth Sahib, 434.

The Pronunciation and Form of Letters in Patti
Along with the order, the pronunciation of the letters in the Patti composition also requires attention. Other than ‘i,’ all the letters appear to end in the ‘ai’ form; for example: sasai, gagai, dadai, dhadhai, etc. It is worth mentioning that these forms are neither the names of letters nor their pronunciations. Rather, they are grammatical variations of these letters. According to the writing protocol of the Guru Granth Sahib (Gurbani grammar), the instrumental case form of the words ending with ‘ā’ ends with ‘ai.’ Whereas the instrumental case form of the words ending with ‘ī,’ like ‘īvaṛī/īṛī’ ends with ‘ī.’ For this reason, all other letters end with ‘ai’, and only ‘īvaṛī/īṛī’ ends in ‘ ī.’ As per the instrumental case form, sasai, gagai, etc., mean ‘through sassā,’ ‘through gaggā,’ that is, ‘a message through the letter sassā,’ ‘a message through the letter gaggā,’ etc.

Alphabet-Based Writings and Patti composition
A poetic characteristic of alphabet-based compositions is that the word following a particular letter usually begins with the same letter. The ‘Bavan Akhri’ by Bhagat Kabir is one such example:
gagā gur ke bacan pachānā. dūjī bāt nā dharaī kānā. -Guru Granth Sahib 340.

Similarly, we can also consider the following stanza from a Siharfi composed by Sufi poet Sultan Bahu:
mīm murshad vāṁg suniāre hove, jihṛā ghatta kuṭhālī gāỊe hū.
pā kuṭhālī bāhar kaḍḍhe, bunde ghaṛe jāṁ vāle hū.

In the Patti composition as well, the word following a particular letter usually begins with the same letter:
sasai soi srisṭi jini sājī sabhnā sāhibu eku bhaïā. -Guru Granth Sahib 432.
kakai kes punḍar jab hūe viṇu sābūṇai ujliā. -Guru Granth Sahib 432.

However, in this composition, the words following the five letters ‘i, ñ, ṇ, y, ṛ’ seem somewhat distinct since the word ‘ādi’ is used with ‘i,’ ‘nadari’ with ‘ñ,’ ‘ravatu’ with ‘ṇ,’ ‘janam’ with ‘y,’ and ‘rāṛi’ with ‘ṛ.’ In this usage, the rules of phonetic proximity and phonetic interchangeability seem to be at play. This is because:

1. Both ‘i’ and ‘a’ are vowels and their sounds are close. In daily usage in Panjabi, ‘i’ and ‘a’ are interchangeably used for some words. For example, ishnān and ashnān.
2. Both ‘ñ’ and ‘n’ are nasal sounds. In everyday usage also, these letters are interchangeably used. For example, ‘jaññ’ and ‘jann.’
3. In the linguistic idiom of the Guru Granth Sahib and Panjabi, ‘y’ is sometimes modified into ‘j.’ For example, ‘yogi’ to ‘jogi.’
4. The sounds ‘ṛ’ and ‘r’ are closely related, with ‘ṛ’ often changes into ‘r’ in certain instances. For example, in some regions, ‘ghoṛā’ (horse) is also pronounced as ‘ghorā.’
5. Similarly, it is observed in the Guru Granth Sahib that the sounds ‘ṇ’ and ‘r’ also have close affinity. In addition to this composition, words with the ‘ṇ’ sound are also paired with words featuring the ‘r’ sound in the Bavan Akhari by Guru Arjan Sahib and Bhagat Kabir Ji:
   ṇāṇā raṇ te sījhīai ātam jītai koi. -Guru Granth Sahib 256.
   ṇāṇā raṇi rūtaü nar nehī karai. -Guru Granth Sahib 341.

Here, another point that demands attention is that in modern Panjabi, three (ñ, ṇ, ṛ) of these five letters (i, ñ, ṇ, y, ṛ) are not used at the beginning of words. In contemporary Gurmukhi alphabet primers, these three letters, along with the letter ‘ṅ,’ are often left out or considered unused. However, in the Guru Granth Sahib, we do find these letters used at the beginning of words:
ṅaṅṅā ṅiānu nahī mukh bātaü. -Guru Granth Sahib 251.
ñatan karahu tum anik bidhi rahanu na pāvahu mīt. -Guru Granth Sahib 255.
ṇām vihūṇe ādamī kalar kaṅdh giranti. -Guru Granth Sahib 934.
ṛāṛā gurmukhi ṛāṛi miṭāī. -Guru Granth Sahib 260.

The Subject Matter of Patti
In this composition, while delivering the knowledge of letters, Guru Nanak Sahib praises IkOankar and emphasizes union with IkOankar. According to tradition, this composition was addressed to a pandit. However, the teachings delivered in this composition are not limited to the pandit; they are intended for all mindsets and beings who seek to be learned. In the stanza of ‘rahau,’ the human mind is addressed and informed that it wanders in ignorance, considering itself learned and educated. In reality, a person will be considered truly educated only if they adorn their life with good deeds and are emancipated.