Guru Angad served as Guru for 13 years, from Guru Nanak’s death in 1539 until his own death in 1552.
Born Lehna, Guru Angad became Guru Nanak’s devoted disciple after meeting him at Kartarpur. Nanak renamed him Angad, meaning “my own limb,” and selected him as successor rather than one of his own sons. This succession helped establish the principle that spiritual merit, service, and devotion mattered more than family inheritance.
Guru Angad is especially remembered for adopting and formalising the Gurmukhi script, which made Sikh teachings more accessible to Punjabi-speaking communities. He also preserved Guru Nanak’s hymns and composed saloks included in the Guru Granth Sahib.
A common mix-up is confusing his period as Guru with the six or seven years he reportedly spent serving Guru Nanak before the succession. Those were years of discipleship, not part of his 13-year leadership. Guru Angad chose Amar Das as the third Guru in 1552.