English: A selection of literature in the Anandpur Library

For a quarter of a century (1679-1704) the city of Anandpur was a cultural hub and advanced centre of learning. More than a hundred Sikh, Hindu and Muslim scholars and intellectuals headed for the city from across the Indo-Islamic world in their pursuit for a liberal patron who would sponsor their literary endeavors.

They found this liberal patron in the person of Guru Gobind Singh, who was busy setting up a massive library in Anandpur, that also included a large manuscript collection of his own, as most likely testified in a later manuscript copy of a book on falconry and hunting:

ਅਥ ਬਾਜ਼ਨਾਮਾ ਨਕਲ ਗੁਰੂ ਜੀ ਕੀ ਪੋਥੀ ਕਾ ਲਿਖਿਆ। Now begins the Bāznāmā. It has been copied from the Guru’s own manuscript.

Several early traditions narrate how the Guru sent Sikhs across the Indian subcontinent to invite scholars to Anandpur. Other Sikhs were sent out across the subcontinent to locate books containing valuable knowledge that could be sent to Anandpur to enrich its expanding library collection.

More than a hundred such scholars arrived. Collectively these scholars and poets of all faiths translated the classics of the ancient Sanskrit and Persian civilisations. The extant manuscript record show a magnitude of topics explored by the scholars and Sikhs in this period, ranging from ancient philosophy, history, politics and governance, zoology, manuals on how to write beautiful poetry and literature, dictionaries and lexica, eroticism, fables for kids and youth, architecture, geography, mysticism, political satire, love poetry etc. There were no taboos and all topics seem to have been explored in the Anandpur court.