Illumination of the AdiGranth: A Stylistic & Aesthetic Analysis

AdiGranth can be defined as a manuscript that comprises of the primal text of the sacred Guru Granth Sahib . Numerous illuminated copies of the divine text came into existence with the growing popularity of Sikh faith and patronage. This research is intended towards identifying popular design motifs that have defined the style of Sikh visual vocabulary and establish their textual context with reference to the AdiGranth . Visual analyses of some of the illuminated folios reveal that the design disposition and inspiration correlates with the compositions of the holy text. The article includes necessary transliterations and translations where required. The scope of this study is to provide the printed versions with the design vocabulary that are distinctly Sikh.