Bhagat Trilochan

Bhagat Trilochan (भगत त्रिलोचन) is one of the fifteen bhagats whose hymns were included by Guru Arjan in the Adi Granth. A Vaishnava saint, he is remembered chiefly for his uncompromising verses against worldly attachment — the vanity of wealth, status, and ritual performed without devotion.

Life

Almost nothing historically certain is known of Trilochan’s life. Sikh sources describe him as a Vaishnava devotee of Vishnu, traditionally placed in the 13th century and variously associated with Maharashtra (a village near Sholapur) and with Gujarat; he is sometimes linked by tradition to the Marathi sant line and even to the circle of Namdev. The Janamsakhis preserve a story in which Guru Nanak met Trilochan and Namdev in the course of his travels, and in which Trilochan, engaged in domestic duties, is taught that God is found amid household life, not merely in seclusion. As with most figures of this period, the biographical frame is hagiographic and the dates are traditional rather than documented.

Contributions

The Guru Granth Sahib contains four hymns of Bhagat Trilochan — in Raag Gujari, Dhanasari, and (with Namdev) Raag Bilawal — about 20 stanzas in all. Their dominant theme is the peril of attachment: the man who hoards gold and feeds his vanity, the wife absorbed in domestic trivia, the deathbed scene in which ritual holds no power — all are confronted with the demand for remembrance of the divine name. One hymn includes a striking colloquy in which Namdev rebukes Trilochan’s over-scrupulousness, making the two bhagats’ verses a dialogue on practice.

Legacy

Trilochan’s verses are part of Sikh liturgy and scripture, ensuring his voice — the domestic critic of attachment — a permanent place in Sikh devotional life.

Verification notes

• Audited against Wikipedia (September 2026).
• Dates are traditional and uncertain; sources differ on his birthplace and century (13th c. is the common tradition).
• The four hymns and their placement in the Guru Granth Sahib are per Wikipedia; biographical episodes are hagiographic.