ATĪ AKHAṆḌ PĀṬH (atī = extreme, arduous, of superlative degree; akhaṇḍ= non-stop, without a break; pāṭh= reading of the Holy Volume) means an unbroken pāṭh of the Gurū Granth Sāhib by a single reader in one continuous sitting without once getting up or interrupting the reading in any manner. This type of pāṭh has been undertaken only rarely, for a pāṭhī or reader, with such bodily stamina and discipline and with such fluency and speed is not easy to come by. This pāṭh has to be performed in about nine pahars, or twenty-seven hours. One instance cited in the modern period is that of Bābā Nārāyaṇ Siṅgh (1841-1916), father of the celebrated scholar, Bhāī Kāhn Siṅgh, of Nābhā, who is said to have performed this feat more than once in his lifetime.