Anandaghan Swami is a commentator on Japu, a great work of Guru Nanak Dev. He was a saint of the Udasi sect and his fame lies in as a commentor of the religious works of Guru Nanak. The writing of exegeses and the commentaries on various compositions of Guru Granth Sahib and especially those of Guru Nanak Dev began with the writing of Janamsakhis, i.e., the biographies of Guru Nanak Dev. In this connection, a good deal of work was done by Meharvan and his successors.
The Udasis not only tried to preserve the memorials of Guru
Nanak Dev, but also expounded on some of his compositions. It was in Samvat
1852 (1795 CE) that the Udasi saint, Anandaghan Swami, wrote his commentary on
Japu, in which he censured the other commentators of this major work of the Guru.
Bhai Santokh Singh, the famous author of Suraj Prakasha, in
turn repudiated his interpretations in his work Garb Ganjani. It was in 1970 CE
that Rattan Singh Jaggi published the commentaries of Swami Anandghan on Japu,
Arti and Siddh Goshta of Guru Nanak Dev and Ananda of Guru Amar Das in his work
entitled Gurbani Tike – Anandghan. The Swami wrote his works at Varanasi, where
he is said to have lived during 1795 – 1802. He is said to have prepared
commentaries on Guru Nanak Dev’s Asha Di Var and Dakhni Oankar too. All these
commentaries are in old Hindi. The writer is well-versed in the art of exposition;
his writing is simple and plain.