Punjabi literature
[2] An example of surviving work of an early-stage showcasing Old Punjabi emerging from Apabhraṃśa is a doha couplet dated to 760 by Saraha, a Vajrayana Mahasiddha saint, which is as follows:[3] Couplet one:ਜਾਣ ਣ ਆਪ ਜਣਿੱਜਣਿ, ਤਾਵ ਣ ਸਿੱਸ ਕਰੇਇ।Jāṇa ṇa āpa jaṇijaṇi, tāva ṇa sisa karē'iਅੰਧਾ ਅੰਧ ਕਾਢਵ ਤਿਮ, ਵੇਣ ਵਿ ਕੂਵ ਪੜੇਇ॥Adhā adha kāḍhava tima, vēṇa vi kūva paṛē'i.ਅਰਥਃ ਜਦ ਤੱਕ ਆਪ ਜਾਣੂ ਨਾ ਹੋਵੋ ਤਦ ਤੱਕ ਕਿਸੇ ਨੂੰ ਸਿੱਸ ਨਾ ਬਣਾਵੋ। ਜੇ ਅੰਨ੍ਹਾ ਅੰਨ੍ਹੇ ਨੂੰ ਖੂਹ ਚੋਂ ਕੱਢੇ ਤਾਂ ਦੋਵੇਂ ਡੁਬਦੇ ਹਨ॥Arathaਃ jada taka āpa jāṇū nā hōvō tada taka kisē nū sisa nā baṇāvō.
Jē anhā anhē nū khūha cōṁ kaḍhē tāṁ dōvēṁ ḍubadē hana.Couplet two:ਅੱਖਰ ਬਾਢਾ ਸਅਲ ਜਗੁ, ਣਾਹਿ ਣਿਰੱਖਰ ਕੋਇ।Akhara bāḍhā sa'ala jagu, ṇāhi ṇirakhara kō'i.ਤਾਵ ਸੇ ਅੱਖਰ ਘੋਲਿਆ, ਜਾਵ ਣਿਰੱਖਰ ਹੋਇ॥Tāva sē akhara ghōli'ā, jāva ṇirakhara hō'iਅਰਥਃ ਸਾਰਾ ਜਗਤ ਅੱਖਰਾਂ ਨੇ ਬੰਨਿਆਂ ਹੋਇਆ ਹੈ, ਨਿਰੱਖਰ ਕੋਈ ਨਹੀਂ। ਐਸੇ ਅੱਖਰ ਸਿਰਜੋ ਜਿਸ ਰਾਹੀਂ ਨਿਰੱਖਰ “ਅਲੇਖ” ਹੋ ਸਕੀਏ॥Arathaਃ sārā jagata akharāṁ nē bani'āṁ hō'i'ā hai, nirakhara kō'ī nahīṁ.
Another early work in a northwestern Apabhramsha precursory to Punjabi and Sindhi is the Sandeśarāsaka by Addahamāṇa (Apabhraṃśa form of the name Abdur Rahman).
Guru Nanak himself composed Punjabi verse incorporating vocabulary from Sanskrit, Arabic, Persian, and other South Asian languages as characteristic of the Gurbani tradition.
In 1588/1589, a Muslim scholar Abdī Kodhan wrote a treatise on Islam in Punjabi under the title of rīsālā e mēhndī to be taught in Nizamiyyah madrassas.
The Victorian novel, Elizabethan drama, free verse and Modernism entered Punjabi literature through the introduction of British education during the Raj.
[13]: 78–85 One of the earliest commercial Punjabi books on record is an 1851 edition of Waris Shah's Heer Ranjha version produced by the Chashm-i-Nur Press of Lahore.
Other poets meanwhile, such as Dhani Ram Chatrik (1876–1957), Diwan Singh (1897–1944) and Ustad Daman (1911–1984), explored and expressed nationalism in their poetry during and after the Indian freedom movement.
The Punjabi diaspora also began to emerge during the Raj and also produced poetry whose theme was revolt against British rule in Ghadar di Gunj (Echoes of Mutiny).
[15] The work of translating the Quran from Arabic to Punjabi was carried out by a Nirmala Sikh scholar named Sant Vaidya Gurdit Singh Alomhari.
[2] Lala Lajpat Rai objected to the contemporary Khalsa Party's development of Punjabi literature, claiming it was an objectionable "mixture" (khichṛī) that borrowed words from English, Arabic, and Sanskrit.
[2] Tara Singh called attention to the fact that Muslim polities had ruled the Punjab for a period of 900-years, and that it was only natural from the inhabitants of the area to adopt words from Persian and Arabic as a result.
[2] Tara Singh highlighted that Hindi itself was born out of Shauraseni Prakrit, which in-turn derived from Sanskrit, making its story of development ordinary and similar to other regional languages of northern India, meaning it could not claim special status based on its origin.
[2] Some writers like Joshua Fazal Din and Miran Bakhsh Minhas, who wrote Punjabi novels before partition, continued their writing career after the independence of Pakistan in 1947, while new authors emerged, such as Mohammad Bakir and Abdul Majeed Bhatti.
[16] Najm Hosain Syed, Fakhar Zaman and Afzal Ahsan Randhawa are some of the more prominent names in West Punjabi literature produced in Pakistan since 1947.
Ali Arshad Mir was an epic poet whose works gave voice to the voiceless - the downtrodden and the oppressed, his role is considered crucial in 20th century Punjabi literature.
Amrita Pritam (1919–2005), Jaswant Singh Rahi (1930–1996), Shiv Kumar Batalvi (1936–1973), Surjit Patar (1944–) and Pash (1950–1988) are some of the more prominent poets and writers of East Punjab (India).
Modern Punjab drama developed through Ishwar Nanda's Ibsen-influenced Suhag in 1913, and Gursharan Singh who helped popularize the genre through live theatre in Punjabi villages.
Panjab Digital Library (PDL) is a significant initiative in preserving and providing access to Punjabi literature, manuscripts, and historical documents.
Its mission is to locate, digitize, preserve, and make accessible the accumulated wisdom of the Punjab region, without distinction as to script, language, religion, nationality, or other physical conditions.
PDL has contributed significantly to the accessibility and preservation of Punjabi literature, making it available to a wider audience and ensuring its continuity for future generations.
Other known writers include Sadhu Binning and Ajmer Rode (Canada), Mazhar Tirmazi, Amarjit Chandan, Avtar Singh Sandhu (Paash) (1950–1988) and Surjit Kalsi.
