Guru Gobind Singh Sahib was born on the 18th of December 1661 at Patna to Mata Gujri and Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib. Bhatt Vahis have recorded his birth:
“Gobind Das son of Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib mahal (Guru) ninth, grandson of Guru Hargobind Sahib; Sodhi Khatri, (then) resident of Patna city on the bank of river, was born on Wednesday, late after the sunset, on Pokh sudi seven, 1718 (Bikrami sammat). Mata Nanaki distributed gifts to the poor and needy. At night lamps (all over) were lighted. There was great celebration, and, there was no end to it. Meditate upon the Guru, Guru will support everywhere”.1 [non-italic words in the text are mine – author].
Writers have mentioned three different dates of the birth of Guru Gobind Singh: 1661, 1666 and 1668; the last one only in one book, Gur Parnalian, which was published by the SGPC. Some writers had mentioned that Guru Gobind Singh became Guru at the age of 9, they wrote it because they had accepted his date of birth as 1666. The earliest sources of Sikh history are the Bhatt Vahis (17th century) and Kesar Singh Chhiber’s Bansavalinama Dasan Patsahian Da (1769). Both these sources mention the date as 1661. The oldest English account is that of J.D. Cunningham (1846). He too mentions that at the time of departure from this world, he (Guru) was 47 years old (hence born in 1661).2 Those writers who had mentioned the year 1666 have depended on secondary or unauthentic sources.
He was named Gobind Das (Gobind Rai too is wrong, as it is clearly mentioned in Bhatt Vahis’ entries; see the entry in the previous paragraph). He spent first eight and a half years of his life at Patna; there he lived in the company of his grandmother Mata Nanaki, his maternal uncle Kirpal Chand, a baby-sitter Chaupat Rai, Seth Jait Mall and Raja Fateh Shah Maini etc. During this period, he studied Bihari, Braji, Sanskrit and Persian languages, and also studied Gurbani. During this period his father had been on missionary tour of Bengal and Assam and he got the information of his birth during this tour. When he was just two and a half years old his grandmother and his father went to the Punjab leaving him behind in Patna.
Guru Tegh Bahadur became the ninth Guru in 1664, founded the city of Chakk Nanaki in 1665 and resumed his missionary journey again in January 1666; he spent the next four and half years in the central and the eastern lands (present Uttra Paradesh, Bihar, Bengal, Assam, Bangla Desh and Tripura). In 1670, he returned to the Punjab and so did Gobind Das and his mother (Mata) Gujri.
Gobind Das took the route via Ayodhya, Lucknow, Nanamatta, Kankhal/Hardwar, and Kurukshetra and reached Lakhnaur in the last week of August 16703; here, his maternal uncle Mehar Chand Subhikhi tied turban on his head with his own hands, an expression of giving honour; this incident has been recorded in Bhatt Vahi Multani Sindhi:
Guru Gobind Das son of Guru Tegh Bahadur mahal ninth, grandson of Guru Hargobind Ji, great-grandson of Guru Arjan Ji, linage of Guru Ram Das Ji, caste Sodhi Khatri, came to Lakhnaur, pargana Ambala, on Assu Vadi 9th in 1727 (Bikrami calendar). Along with came Mata Gujri Ji wife of Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji, Kirpal Chand son of Lal Chand Subhikhi, Sadhu Ram son of Dharma Khosla, Chaupati Rai son of Paira Chhiber, Gual Das son of Chhut Mal Chhiber, Kirpa Ram son of Aru Ram. On tenth (of Assu) maternal uncle Mehar Chand tied turban of emerald colour on the head of Guru Gobind Singh.4 [non-italic words in the text are mine – author].
1 Bhatt Vahi Purabi Dakhani; also Guru Kian Sakhian, p.16.
2 History of the Sikhs, p. 46.
3 If we accept the date of birth of the Guru as 1666, then he would have been three years and eight months old at this time; hence there can not be a ceremony of turban-tying (dastar-bandi); so that date of birth is certainly 1661 and a boy of nine years can tie a turban.
4 Bhat Vahi Multani Sindhi.
Guru moved to Chakk Nanaki
Gobind Das spent several days at Lakhnaur and then went to Bakala; Guru Tegh Bahadur had already reached there; he spent the next two years at Bakala. In February 1673, a courtier of Bilaspur state visited Bakala and delivered a letter from Rani Champa, who had requested Guru to visit Bilaspur; this was not her first letter from the Rani. Gobind Das too expressed his desire to visit the town named after his grandmother. Guru Tegh Bahadur had not been to the new town since he laid its foundation on the 19th of June 1665; keeping all this in consideration, he began preparations to move to Chakk Nanaki; before leaving he sent letters and messages to all the Sikhs informing them about his moving to Chakk Nanaki.
The Guru reached Chakk Nanaki in the third week of March 1673; and on the 28th of March it was first Visakh of the Bikrami calendar and the Sikhs in thousands visited the new town; this area had not seen such a gathering before.
When Rani Champa got the news of the Gurus arrival at Chakk Nanaki, she was overjoyed; she sent her minister to Chakk Nanaki with an invitation to the Guru and his family to visit Bilaspur state. In April 1673, the Guru visited Bilaspur along with Gobind Das and other family members. Rani Champa had decorated the city to present a royal welcome to the Guru; when the Guru family entered the Bilaspur city Rani Champa and her son Raja Bhim Chand welcomed them at the main gate of the city. The Guru spent three days in Bilaspur and then returned to Chakk Nanaki; before their departure they were presented several precious gifts, especially for young Gobind Das, by the Rani.
After returning from Bilaspur, Guru Tegh Bahadur appointed Bhai Bajar Singh Rathore as teacher of Guru Gobind Singh Sahib; he taught the Guru the art of arrow-shooting, horse-riding, sword-wielding and guerrilla warfare etc.
In May, Bhai Harjas Subhikhi of Lahore visited Chakk Nanaki and offered to marry his daughter Jeetan to Gobind Das. Guru Tegh Bahadur immediately gave his consent and the prayer for engagement was made on the 12th of May 1673 (15th of Jeth, 1730 Bikrami) and it was agreed that the marriage will be performed at Lahore three years later (due to martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur, the marriage could not be performed as per the agreed date; later, it was solemnized on the 21st of June 1677, at Guru-Da-Lahore, a village specially set up in order to literally fulfil his father’s wish to perform ceremonies at Lahore (as a marriage party to Lahore would not have been safe at that time).
Gobind Das becomes tenth Guru
On the 8th of July 1675, Guru Tegh Bahadur installed Gobind Das as the tenth Guru of the Sikhs and left for Delhi (where he was martyred on the 11th of November)5. Hearing the news of martyrdom, a large number of Sikhs reached Chakk Nanaki; they wanted to avenge the martyrdom. Guru Gobind Das told them, “A Sikh does not take revenge; it is a negative feeling. Guru-father’s death was God’s command. Aurangzeb and the Mughal rule are cruel and terrorist; we should plan to finish this unjust rule; but for this purpose we need a fully prepared army for this mission.” The Guru, now, began organizing the Sikh mission throughout the sub-continent.
Preparation of the final form of (Guru) Granth Sahib
(Guru) Granth Sahib’s first volume was prepared in 1604 by Guru Arjan. It had the baani of five Gurus, 14 bhagats, 3 Sufis, 11 Bhatts, 2 bards and one Sikh. The sixth, seventh and the eighth Guru did not compose baani. But, Guru Tegh Bahadur had written 116 stanzas (padas and saloks). In 1678, Guru Gobind Das asked Bhai Mani Ram (later Singh) to prepare a final form of the Granth. At that time some copies of the original Granth were available; these had
5 For details, see previous chapter (Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib).
been copied by different persons from the original Granth or from its copies; but, most of these were faulty from one or another point. Some had extra verses and some had wrong spellings; so, Guru Sahib asked Bhai Mani Ram (Singh) to prepare a Granth with the baani of Guru-father included in it. The final volume of the Granth was ready by July 1678. The Guru wanted it to be compared to the first (original) volume which was at Bakala at that time, being in the possession of Dhir Mall. (Dhir Mall, who had been arrested by Aurangzeb in 1676, remained in prison, in Ranthambhor Fort prison, for one year, two months and five days. He died, in November 1677, obviously of slow-poisoning).6 His elder son Ram Chand too was arrested in early July 1678 and killed on the 24th of July; his final prayers were made at Bakala on the 9th of August 1678; the Guru sent Bhai Mani Ram to represent him.7
Bhai Mani Ram attended the ceremony and before leaving he requested Bhar Mall8 to lend him the original volume of the Granth so that the newly prepared volume may be compared with the first one; at this Bhar Mall said: „We are moving to Kartarpur from Bakala and shall take the Granth with us; tell Guruji to send someone to Kartarpur who may compare the new volume with ours.‟9
It was, in a way, an indirect refusal to lend the original volume of Ganth; however, Guru Sahib sent Bhai Mani Ram (Singh) with the new volume and the latter made necessary corrections at Kartarpur. As it had been prepared at Damdama Sahib (now a part of the Gurdwara Guru-de-Mahal complex) at Anandpur that is why it was known as Damdami Bir; Damdama was the throne of the Guru:
Satran sai shiv nain bhan, pun agni parmaan.
Aad singhasan damdama, raaj dhara gur jaan.10
&
Aad singhansan damdama, janat sakal jahan.
Jo eh kaar so pooj hai, pai hai param nidhan.11
Later, some writers confused it with Damdama Sahib of Talwandi Sabo; however, at that Talwandi Sabo four copies of this Damdami Bir were prepared in 1706.
Reorganizing the army and the royal drum the ‘Ranjit Nagara’
After preparation of the final volume of Granth Sahib, Guru Gobind Das began organizing the army. He knew of the coming dangers to the Panth. Within a few months, hundreds of Sikh young men came to Chakk Nanaki and joined the Sikh army. They were given full military training and were provided with horses and weapons.
In March 1680, the Guru got a big nagara (drum) prepared and began playing (beating) it as the closing ceremony of each congregation. This was a symbol of sovereignty. Aurangzeb had banned drum, flags, arms and horse-riding for the non-Muslims. After this, the Guru sent messages to the Sikhs asking them to bring good horses, fine weapons and good books. He wanted a Sikh should be a good soldier, saint and an intellectual; soon, Chakk Nanaki had hundreds of books, weapons and horses.
Visit by Raja Ratan Rai of Tripura
When Guru Tegh Bahadur had visited Assam in 1667 and ushered a compromise between the Assam ruler and the Mughals; he had also held a meeting of all the rulers of the eastern lands; those, who attended included Ram Sinh, the ruler of Tripura and Jentia; Ram Sinh had held a personal meeting with the Guru and told him (Guru) that he had two wives but no
6 Bhat Vahi Talaunda and Bhat Vahi Multani Sindhi.
7 Guru Kian Sakhian, sakhi no. 36, pp. 90-91
8 He was the younger son of Dhir Mall; he has been mentioned as Pahar Mall too.
9 Guru Kian Sakhian, sakhi no. 36, pp. 90-91.
10 Koer Singh, Gurbilas Patsahi 10
11 Sukha Singh, Gurbilas Patsahi Dasvin, chapter 4, stanza 221.
child; he had asked the Guru (Tegh Bahadur) to bless him. Guru Sahib told him: “Life and death are in the hands of God; you should pray to God, He will be merciful on you and will certainly fulfil your wish.” Raja Ram Sinh returned with ray of hope and it turned into blessing of God; a son, Ratan Rai (Tripura history mentions him as Ratan Mankiya too), was born the next year, in 1668.
When Ratan Rai was a small boy his mother used to tell him about Guru Tegh Bahadur too; Ratan Rai had also heard that he was born with the blessing of Guru Tegh Bahadur. One day he expressed his desire to have darshan (audience) of the Guru; he asked his mother about the whereabouts of the Guru; she told him that the Guru had embraced martyrdom; hearing this Ratan Rai became very sad; his mother consoled him and told that the Guru has a successor who is his son too. Ratan Rai expressed his desire to see the successor Guru; his mother agreed and they decided to visit Chakk Nanaki.
Now, the Raja asked experts to arrange some wonderful gifts which none should have seen before. Soon, he got some special gifts: it included an elephant which was all black except a pure white stripe running right from his trunk to tale. The second gift was a five-in-one weapon which would turn into pistol, sword, spear, dagger, mace, on turning its parts to different directions. Other gifts included a chowki (pedestal) with four puppets on it; a golden engraved saucer, a necklace of pure pearls; an aigrette etc. Ratan Rai also trained this elephant with amazing activities and named it Parsadi Haathi (graced elephant).
The Raja, his wife and the prince Ratan Rai left Agartala (capital of Tripura) in September and reached Chakk Nanaki on the 12th of October 1680. They were pleased to have darshan of Guru Gobind Das, who himself was less than 19 years old at that time. The Raja presented all his gifts to the Guru; the Parsadi Haathi showed its wonderful fete: it washed the feet of the Guru with a jug of water in its trunk and then dried them with a towel; it fanned the Guru with a hand-fan in its trunk; when the Guru shot an arrow, it ran towards its direction and brought it back; at night, it held a flame in its trunk and lighted the passage for the Guru. It showed several other feats also.12
A few years later, young Ratan Rai succeeded to the throne but as he was minor, his kingdom was looked after by his mother and uncle. He again visited Guru Sahib at Paonta in 1685; this time too he brought several gifts for the Guru; Guru Gobind Das was very pleased at the devotion of the Raja. He (the Guru) asked him what he could do for him; Ratan Rai said, “Please bless me the gift of Sikhi; always bless and pray for me.” Ratan Rai was so much happy in the compny of the Guru that he kept on postponing his return to Tripura; he spent five months with the Guru.
One day, the Guru asked him to go back and take care of his country lest someone should usurp it; Ratan Rai agreed but requested the Guru to send some Sikh soldiers with him; the Guru sent about one hundred Sikhs with him (whose descendants still live there). The Guru also granted him several gifts and gave him royal welfare.13
Poets, Artists and Intellectuals in Guru’s Court
The Guru had, by now, formed a good army and had collected good horses and weapons; the Sikh state was now enough strong to defend it. Now, he decided to enrich his court with poets, artists and intellectuals; within a few years, Amrit Rai, Shyam, Ram, Mangal and other poets joined the Sikh court; in March 1682, Bhai Nand Lal too joined the court. Kavi Darbars (poetic recitation sessions) were held in the court.14
12 Guru Kian Sakhian, Sakhi no. 40, p. 95
13 D.K. Barua, Assam Buranji, also Guru Tegh Bahadur and Assam Chronicles.
14 When the Guru moved to Paonta, these artists too joined him. The Guru spent three and a half years (April 1685 to October 1688) at Paonta, the Guru still held Kavi Darbars (poetic recitations). After his return several more artists came to Chakk Nanaki and Anandpur Sahib; according to different sources the number of these poets, artists and intellectuals was between 52 and 80. Kahan Singh Nabha, Mahan Kosh; Piara Singh Padam, Guru Gobind Singh De Darbari Ratan.
In 1683, the Guru began competitions of martial games at Chakk Nanaki; that year, on the 2nd of March, the Hindus were celebrating Holi festival; some Sikhs, who visited Chakk Nanaki during these days, came there with colour-spoiled clothes; seeing this, the Guru issued orders to the Sikhs not to join in grotesque and meaningless sports, and instead, they should participate in martial games which would give them pleasure as well as good health. The Guru arranged first such games on the 3rd of March 1683 and competitions of horse-riding, arrow-shooting, wrestling, sword-wielding, fencing (gatka) as well as artificial battles were held.
Founding the town of Paonta Sahib
By 1684, Chakk Nanaki had become an important town; everyday hundreds of Sikhs would visit the town; during special gatherings the number would swell to thousands. According to a tradition, during these days, Raja Bhim Chand of Bilaspur held the marriage of his son Ajmer Chand. He sent a message to the Guru that he wanted to borrow the Parsadi Hathi for this marriage; the Guru had got information that he (Raja) had intention not to return it even after his marriage and it was tact for possessing the elephant; hence he refused to send the elephant; this made Bhim Chand and Ajmer Chand angry; they began threatening the Guru and the Sikhs; they even went to this extent that they sent a message to the Guru telling him that Chakk Nanaki was a part of their country and they could expel the Guru; the Guru did not want to have a fight; otherwise the army of Bilaspur was no match to the Sikh army; so, he decided to leave the Bilaspur territory.
Perchance, during this period, Raja Medni Parkash of Nahan sent a message to the Guru requesting him to visit his country. The Guru, along with family and courtiers left Chakk Nanaki and reached Nahan on the 14th of April 1685; the Raja gave the Guru a royal welcome. After a few days, he requested the Guru to establish his headquarters in his country; the Guru agreed and had a tour of the land to select a proper tract to found a new town.
The Guru selected some hills on the bank of river Yamuna and on the 29th of April 1685, he laid down the foundation of a new town and named it Paonta Sahib; the honour of laying foundation was given to Bhai Ram Kanwar (Gurbakhash Singh after initiation), a descendant of legendary Baba Budha.15
Now, Paonta became major centre of the Sikhs; thousands of Sikhs began visiting the town; even Raja Ratan Chand of Tripura made a visit. At Paonta too there were a large number of poets and other artists in the Guru‟s darbar. Kavi Darbars were held there too (nowadays, a memorial has been built at the site of these Kavi Darbars).
During this period, Ram Rai (son of Guru Har Rai, whom the Guru had rejected while appointing the eighth Guru) too came to see him; and sought apology for siding with Aurangzeb. He invited the Guru to Khurvadhi (now Dehradun), and, the Guru obliged him by visiting his place. Later, Ram Rai was killed in 1687 by his companions (masands) who wanted him (Ram Rai) not to join the Guru.
After some time, Ram Rai’s killer masands tried to occupy the dera; at this Ram Rai’s wife Punjab Kaur sent a message to the Guru to help her.16 The Guru Sahib visited Khurvadhi and punished the conspirators;17one of these masands, Gurbakhsh Rai, escaped and went to Fateh Shah, the ruler of Garhwal state and provoked him against the Guru.
15 Guru Kian Sakhian, sakhi no. 39, pp. 93-94
16 Vir Singh Bal, Singh Sagar, chapter 6, stanza 47.
17 This incident occurred on the 24th of Bhadon 1745 (Bk) corresponding to the 24th of August 1688
Battle of Bhangani (18.9.1688)
Gurbakhsh Rai masand fooled Fateh Shah by telling him that the Guru was planning to occupy his country; this was enough to provoke Fateh Shah and he planned an attack on Paonta.18 The Guru too got information that Fateh Shah would cross Jamuna/Yamuna River and attack them; so, the Guru decided to stop him before he could reach Paonta and harm the town; the Sikh army crossed River Giri and waited for Fateh Shah‟s arrival at Bhangani,19 the spot where Fateh Shah could cross the river. On the 18th of September 1688, a battle was fought between the Sikhs and the Gharwal army; this battle lasted only for just a few hours and before it was evening, a humiliated Fateh Shah fled the battlefield after losing his general Hari Chand and a several soldiers.20 This battle has been recorded by Bhatt Vahis:
Udia son of Khema Chanadnia, Ramana, entered the battle-filed along with Guru’s aunt’s (father’s sister‟s) sons Sango Shah (and) Jit Mall sons of Sadhu and grandson of Dharma Khosla. On 18th of Assu, 1745 (Bikrami calendar), at Bhangani in between Yamuna and Giri rivers, in Nahan state, one and half a ghari before sunset (about 5 PM) died in hand to hand fight along with other brave persons. Hathi Chand son of Mai Das…Jalhana, Balunt was also killed.” (Bhatt Vahi Multani Sindhi, account of Ramanas).21 [non-italic words in the text are mine – author].
Back to Chakk Nanaki
After the glorious victory in the battle of Bhangani, Bhim Chand, the ruler of Bilaspur, realized that the Sikhs were great fighters; and if they can defeat a powerful king like Fateh Shah, they are definitely a great asset which should be used; he thought that if they were near his territory, his state would be safe from enemy attacks. This made him approach the Guru: he sent his minister to Paonta, who delivered the Raja’s letter apologizing for his previous mistakes; and, requested the Guru to return to Chakk Nanaki; the Guru knew that Bhip Chand wanted to use him (Guru) so he did not bother for these letters; but, then he received Rani Champa’s letter which was full of emotional words; the Guru discussed it with the prominent Sikhs present there. The Sikhs were positive to the letter of the Rani and all of them agreed to return to Chakk Nanaki. When the Raja of Nahan came to know about Guru’s decision, he became sad; he tried to persuade the Guru, but, the latter assured him that he will continue visiting his state frequently and Nahan state will remain a part of the Sikh world.
The Guru left Paonta on the 28th of October 1688; on his way he stopped at Kapal Mochan to spend the night (later, it was preached by vested interests that he stayed there for about two months). The next day, the Guru left Kapal Mochan for Chakk Nanaki via Laharhpur, Toka, Dabra, Raipur Rani, Dhakauli and Nada, and spent the next night at Manimajra, at the residence of Punjab Kaur (widow of Ram Rai); from here, the Guru went to Kotla Nihang Khan, Ghanaula, Bunga, Keeratpur and then to Chakk Nanaki. From here, the Guru again sent messages to the Sikhs to visit Chakk Nanaki instead of Paonta; soon, the town again gained its old glory.
When Rani Champa got the news of the Guru’s return to Chakk Nanaki, her joy knew no bounds; for the past three years, she had been craving to have a darshan of the Guru. She sent her minister with a letter requesting him to visit Bilaspur; the Guru accepted the invitation and visited Bilaspur; dowager Rani Champa and her son Raja Bhim Chand welcomed the Guru at the main gate of the town; the Guru Sahib five days at Bilaspur.
18 Guru Kian Sakhian, sakhi no. 43, p. 99
19 This village is between the rivers Giri and Jamuna/Yamuna, about 20 km from Paonta.
20 Guru Kian Sakhian, sakhi no. 44, p. 100
21 Bhatt Vahi Multani Sindhi. Also Bhat Vahi Bhadson.
Foundation of Anandpur Sahib
The territory of the village Chakk Nanaki is the area where Gurdwara Guru-de-Mahal is situated, and the area around it; Kesgarh and Anandgarh forts area is not a part of the Chakk. Similarly, Taragarh is in the village of Tarapur and Agamgarh fort is in the territory of village Agampur; Lohgarh is in Laudipur village, and, all this is Greater Anandpur. Up to 1688, there was only one Sikh territory i.e. Chakk Nanaki. But, by then, the number of the Sikhs had swelled so much that during special gatherings, the town would become congested and accommodation, toilet and other problems would cause difficulty; hence the Guru wanted more territory for the Sikh capital.
On the 29th of March (the first of Visakh month of Bikrami calendar) 1689, annual Sikh gathering was held at Chakk Nanaki; thousands of Sikhs attended it. The royal family of Bilaspur too joined the congregation; dowager Rani Champa and her son Bhim Chand stayed there for three days. In the congregation, the Sikhs requested the Guru to move to a bigger town or add some more territory to Chakk Nanaki. When the Rani heard it, she stood up in the congregation and requested the Guru not to leave that area; she ofered more land for expansion of the town; she asked the Guru to demarcate as to how much land he needed; the Guru told her that the city needed more space for houses as well as for some forts for its defence; at this the Rani made an offer to the Guru to have as much as land he desired. The Guru thanked her but asserted that he would pay the price of the land and not accept a grant; he proclaimed that like that of Chakk Nanaki, the price of the land shall have to be accepted by the Rani; hence, she had no choice but to accept Guru’s condition. At that time, the territory of Chakk Nanaki, the Sikh city, was Charan Ganga rivulet on the one hand and the slope of Keshgarh Sahib on the other hand. Eventually, the Guru purchased the land of the villages of Sahota, Mianpur, Laudipur, Makhowal, Agampura and Taragarh also.
On the 30th of March 1689, the Guru laid the foundation of a new village; the prayers for the ceremony were said by Bhai Chaupati Rai after reading first five stanzas of Anand Sahib; and the Guru named the new village as Anandpur.
Some writers have mentioned that Anandpur was founded in 1665 by Guru Tegh Bahadur; in fact, Guru Tegh Bahadur had founded Chakk Nanaki on the 19th of June 1665, but the village of Anadpur was founded by Guru Gobind Das on the 30th of March 1689.22 The writer23 of Bachitra Natak clearly mentions it:
Yudh jeet jab aa-ay tikay na tin pur paanv
Kahlur mein bandhiyo aan anadpur gaanv.
(Meaning: After the victory in the battle (of Bhangani), they did not stay at Paonta. They came to Kahlur and founded the Anandpur village).
Forts of Anandpur Sahib
After laying the foundation of Anandpur, the Guru planned construction of five forts: Anandgarh, Lohgarh (on the other side of Himaiti Nala (nullah), which does not exist now, it was in the territory of village Laudipur), Fatehgarh (on the bank of rivulet Charan Ganga, in the territory of village Sahota), Taragarh (in village Taragarh, near the ruins of the old Kot Kehlur) and Agamgarh (in village Agamgarh, on the other side of Charan Ganga rivulet). The first to be built was Anandgarh fort; its foundation stone was laid on the 31st of March 1689. Among these forts Taragarh fort could be used to protect from attacks from hills; the Lohgarh fort was used for manufacture of weapons (it had a very strong gate); Agamgarh could be used to defend against attacks from Bajwara-Hoshiarpur side; Fatehgarh fort could be a defensive post against enemies invading from hills as well as Lahore; and, Anandgarh was at
22 Chakk Nanaki (now only Chakk) and Anandpur are two separate villages in official records even now. Both the villages have separate nambardars (village officers).
23 Guru Gobind Singh is not the writer of this book (Bachitra Natak), as propagated by some vested inerests.
the top of a hill hence it was most secure; even if all the forts were lost to enemy, Anandgarh would give great defence. Although the hills, river Satluj (which, then, used to flow on the borders of Anandpur), rivulet Charan Ganga and Himaiti Nala (nullah) were natural defences of the Sikh capital yet the Guru built five forts so that there should be no problem of security. The Guru had cordoned even Kesgarh as a fort; in case of loss of all other forts, Kesgarh-Anandgarh close could grant enough security. It was going to be such a defence that enemies would not have been able to enter the town even after a siege of months and years; thus, the Sikh city was a secure and self-sufficient capital.
Battle of Nadaun (19.3.1691)
In 1690-91, dowager Rani Champa and her son Raja Bhim Chand ruled Bilaspur state; both of them were loyal to the Guru; but, Bhim Chand’s son Ajmer Chand, who was under the influence of a Brahmin minister Parma Nand, did not like the Guru and the Sikhs. But, so long Rani Champa and Bhim Chand remained alive; Ajmer Chand did not make any mischief. On the other hand the Guru too fully patronized the Bilaspur state and supported it morally, politically and militarily.
In March 1691, the Governor of Lahore sent an army, under the command of General Alif Khan, to attack the hill states; the rulers of Nadaun and Bilaspur got advanced information; both approached the Guru and sought his help.24 At this, the Guru asked all the Sikhs present in Anandpur to carry all the arms and move towards Nadaun to stop Alif Khan’s army. The Sikh army, under the command of Diwan Nand Chand, Bhai Dharam Chand Chhiber, Bhai Mani Ram (Singh), Bhai Aalam Chand (Singh) Nachanna and others reached Nadaun, on the bank of river Beas on the 18th of March. The next day, a fierce battle was fought between the Mughal army on one side and the Sikhs and the hill soldiers on the other side; soldiers from both sides fought bravely, but, the volley of arrows shot by Dharam Chand, Mani Ram, Mul Chand Kamboj, Sohan Chand Parmar killed several enemy soldiers which compelled them to flee the battle field. When it was nearly sunset time, the enemy General Alif Khan too thought it better to flee under the garb of darkness. The hill soldiers chased the enemy soldiers but did not go far due to darkness. In this battle hundreds of Mughal soldiers were killed; several Sikhs too lost their lives, including Sohan Chand Parmar (brother of Bhai Mani Ram/Singh), Mul Chand Kamboj (son of Raghupati Rai Kamboj of Khemkaran) etc; the Sikh martyrs were cremated the following day. This battle has been recorded in Bhatt Vahis:
Sohan Chand son of Mai Das, grandson of Ballu, great-grandson of Mula, died in hand-to-hand fight in the battle-filed of Nadaun on Chetra 22, years 1747 (Bikrami calendar). Along with him died while fighting Mul Chand son of Raghupati Rai Nijhar Kamboj caste, residence of Khem Karan, pargana Kasur.25 [non-italic words in the text are mine – author].
After this battle, the Guru spent seven days in the palace of the ruler of Nadaun and then left for Anandpur; on their way to Anandpur, the Sikhs punished the Rangharh miscreants of Alsoon village who had taunted them when they were on their way to Nadaun.
Death of Rani Champa
On the 12th of May 1691, dowager Rani Champa of Bilaspur died. The Rani was one of the most sincere Sikhs of the Guru; when the Guru received the news, he, along with his family and courtiers went to Bilaspur and joined her last prayers on the 27th of May 1691; he spent three days at Bilaspur.26
24 Sewa Singh, Shaheed Bilas, stanza 63, p. 66.
25 Bhatt Vahi Multani Sindi, Khata Puar Balunton Ka.
26 Guru Kian Sakhian, sakhi, no. 49, p. 107, Sewa Singh, Shaheed Bilas, stanzas 67-68, p. 67.
Convention of hill rulers
After the victory of Nadaun, Raja Bhim Chand called a meeting of all the hill rulers at Rivalsar and requested the Guru to preside over it (at that time Raja Gajai Sinh was the ruler of Rivalsar state). The Guru chaired this meeting held on the 29th of March 1692.27 In this meeting the hill rulers requested the Guru to patronize them and save them from the Mughal injustice; the Guru agreed to help them on one condition that they will never surrender to Mughal tyranny; the hill rulers agreed and assured the Guru. Having spent some days in Rivalsar, the Guru took a tour of the hill states between Mandi and Jammu; the hill rulers gave him royal welcome in their capitals. During this tour, he visited Purmandal (near Jammu), Jammu, Chakk Kahna, Ramgarh, Khirarhi, Samba, Pathankot and Hoshiarpur too. He returned to Anandpur in the end of April 1692.
Death of Raja Bhim Chand
On the 16th of September 1692, Raja Bhim Chand died; the Guru visited Bilaspur to participate in his final prayers on the 3rd of October 1692. The Guru was accompanied by his grandmother, wife, son Ajit Singh, Chaupati Rai and some others. With the death of Bhim Chand, now, Bilaspur was supposed to be cut off from the Guru’s court, as Ajmer Chand, under the influence of Pandit Parma Nand, hated the Sikhs; this was to be the Guru’s last visit to Bilaspur.28
Guru Sahib visited Lakkhi Jungle and Bangar Des area
During this period, the Guru had received several requests from the sangat of Lakkhi Jungle and Bangar Des, so he decided to have a tour of these two areas. In April 1693, he left Anandpur and went to Talwandi Sabo too; Bhai Dalla gave the Guru royal welcome; he held congregations at Dalla’s house for some days and then proceeded to Bangar Des. The Guru visited Dhamtan and stayed with the son of Bhai Daggo; here too, he held congregations and people in hundreds came to listen to him every day. Thus after a tour of about six months, the Guru returned to Anandpur Sahib.
Visit to Guru-Da-Chakk (Amritsar)
Bhai Karam Singh Historian, in his book, Amritsar Di Twareekh, refers to the Guru’s visit to Guru-da-Chakk (Amritsar) too. Generally it was believed that the Guru did never visit Amritsar but Karam Singh clearly mentions the visit and his stay there for a day. It is possible that the Guru went to Talwandi Sabo via Amritsar. Karam Singh mentions the years 1694 but it is not likely as he (Guru) was on a tour of the Dun Hills during this period; so, the likely date is 1693, during Guru‟s visit to Jungle Des.
Visit to Khurvadhi (Dehradun)
After spending chumasa (four months of extreme heat and monsoons), the Guru again set out for another tour, in the early days of 1694; this time he went towards Hardwar and Khurwadhi to visit the dera of Punjab Kaur (widow of Ram Rai). On his way back from Khurvadhi, he visited Rishikesh, Kankhal and Hardwar too. At that time Rishikesh and Kankhal were bigger towns as compared to Hardwar (the latter got popularity much later). At Rishikesh, a sadhu Madho Das (later Banda Singh Bahadur) met him.29 It was a short
27 Guru Kian Sakhian, sakhi, no. 50, p. 107
28 Ganesha Singh Bedi, Shashi Bans Binod, chapter 1.
29 Guru Kian Sakhian, sakhi no 91, pp. 171-72.
meeting; had Madho Das spent some more time with the Guru, he would have joined the Guru right in those days.
The Guru banned cutting of hair
On the 29th of March 1695 (the first of Visakh of Bikrami calendar 1752), a big gathering of the Sikhs was held at Anandpur Sahib; it was one of the biggest gatherings at Anandpur. In this gathering, Guru Sahib announced that no Sikh shall ever cut his/her hair; and even if someone in family dies, none will perform the Hindu ritual of cutting hair; every Sikh shall keep the hair of his/her children right from their birth. He also declared that every Sikh shall always wear a kara (a sort of iron bracelet meant for the safety of wrist in case of an blow of sword on the right arm; but it is wrong to call it bangle or bracelet as it is meant for defence; and it is not an ornament).
First attack on Anandpur
After the death of Raja Bhim Chand, Ajmer Chand wanted to get rid of the Guru; but he himself did not dare to do so; so he approached the Governor of Lahore and poisoned him against the Guru, convincing him that it was the Guru who had led forces agaist the Mughal forces in the batlle of Nadaun in 1691; Dilawar Khan was easily convinced and he despatched a big unit of army to attack Anandpur.
On the 19th of August 1695, the Lahore army, under the command of Rustam Khan son of Dilawar Khan, the deputy Governor, reached in the outskirts of Anandpur. On that day, there was a flood in the nullah (a stream which flows only during rainy season) on the boundary of the town. The invading army thought of crossing the stream but due to fast speed of water, they could not cross and rather they lost a couple of soldiers who, while attempting to cross the nullah, were washed away by water. Seeing this, Rustam realized that they should not try to cross the stream. Secondly, the Sikhs had already got information of the arrival of this army; they had begun beating Ranjit Nagara (war drum) and raising jaikaraas (war slogans); the sound of these jaikaraas echoed in the hills and created a frightening sound which gave the impression that there were thousands of Sikhs at Anandpur. Both these impressions compelled Rustam Khan to postpone attack on Anandpur and he returned back without fighting. Later, this stream was known as ‘Himaiti Nala‘ (supporter/helpful stream) because flood in this stream became the main reason to save the city from invasion (now, this stream or its signs don’t exist and that land has been brought under cultivation).
Anandpur and Bilaspur part forever (& battle of Guler)
When Rustam Khan returned to Lahore empty-handed, the Lahore deputy Governor decided to opt to take an expedition against the hill states. He sent messages to the hill states ordering them to pay tribute to the Lahore government; and, those who would not pay the demanded amount shall be attacked and their treasures would be plundered. Dilawar Khan sent army under the command of Hussain Khan, the in charge of Kangra fort; Hussain Khan first attacked the Dadwal state that could not fight for a long time and surrendered; it was followed by surrender of Bilaspur state; Hussain Khan forgave both with this condition that their armies will join his forces to attack other hill states.
Now, Hussain Khan moved towards Guler (earlier known as Gwalior) state on the bank of a lake (which is the source of river Beas) and sent its ruler a message demanding a large amount as full tribute and in one payment; but Raja Gopal of Guler expressed his inability to pay the entire amount immediately. At this Hussaini gave him a limit to pay the amount or be ready for an attack. At this, the Raja sent a fast horse-rider to Anandpur and sought the help of the Guru; the Guru immediately despatched a good number of soldiers to help the Raja. On
the 20th of February 1696, when both the armies were face-to-face at Guler, the Sikhs first tried to resolve the issue, but under provocations from the other hill rulers, Hussain Khan tried to arrest the Raja. Having apprehended his capture he ran towards the Sikh soldiers; at this Hussain Khan asked the Sikh soldiers to hand over the Raja to him but the Sikhs refused; this was followed by a full-fledged battle.
In this battle Bhai Bachitar Das, Sangat Rai, Darso and other Sikhs fought bravely; they rained a volley of arrows on the enemy and killed many of them. Among the Sikhs the causalities included Lehnu (brother of Bhai Mani Singh), Sangat, Hanumant, Darso etc embraced martyrdom. Bhatt Vahi Bhadson has recorded this event in these words:
Lehnu, son of Mai Das, grandson of Ballu Jallhana, died in hand-to-hand fight, at Guler, on Thursday, the 23rd of Phagun, 1752 (Bikrami calendar). Alongside him also died Sangat Rai and Hanumant sons of Jagta grandson of Padma and great-grandsons of Kaula Chanderbansi caste Chahiman (Chauhan) Hajabat Aanbiana.30
[non-italic words in the text are mine – author].
In this battle Ajmer Chand the ruler of Bilaspur had fought on the side of Mughals and against Guler and the Sikhs; so, now onwards both (the Guru and Bilaspur) in opposite fronts and the relationship between both came to an end; and Ajmer Chand began planning conspiracies against the Guru as well.
Attack by Jujhar Sinh Hada
After the battle of Guler, the Governor of Lahore dispatched another army unit of three thousand soldiers, under the command of a Rajput general Jujhar Sinh Hada, who as a brave general of the Mughal army. A battle was fought in village Bhalaan in which Jujhar Sinh killed several soldiers of the Guler army; some Sikhs too embraced martyrdom; the battle came to an end when Jujhar Sinh died. The writer of Bachitra Natak has given a great tribute to Jujhar Sinh Hada in these words:
Na Gada halay hai.
Na Hada halay hai.
(Meaning: neither a tree moves (cant be uprooted), nor (Jujhar Sinh) Hada can be moved (i.e. he does not get tired of fighting).
Prince Muazzam (Bahadur Shah) visits Anandpur
When the Governor of Lahore got information about the death of Jujhar Sinh Hada and losing this battle, he became red with anger; he reported this to Aurangzeb and sought his help against the Guru. Aurangzeb asked prince Muazzam Shah Aalam (later known as king Bahadur Shah), who was the Governor of Lahore, to visit Anandpur personally and report the facts. He (Muazzam) went to Lahore and discussed the whole affairs with his deputy Dilawar Khan and decided to personally visit Anandpur. The Sikhs received information about this in advance. When Muazzam reached Anandpur and there he found Bhai Nand Lal who (Muazzam) had been his teacher for some time. Nand Lal took Muazzam to the Guru; and they held a cordial meeting; he (Muazzam) was surprised at the mis-reporting about the Guru and activities at Anandpur. When he went back to Agra, he reported the truth to Aurangzeb.
Aurangzeb did not immediately believe Muazzam even; he, now, sent Mirza Beg to Anandpur to look into the affairs of the Sikhs. Mirza Beg too returned satisfied; and he too gave positive report to Aurangzeb. Still not satisfied, Aurangzeb sent some Ahdias (senior officers) to Anandpur; and they too confirmed what Muazzam and Mirza Beg had reported. At this Aurangzeb finally decided not to attack Anandpur.
30 Bhatt Vahi Bhadson, pargana Thanesar, khata Jallhana Puaron Ka.
Disbanding the institution of Masands & the
Revelation of Khalsa
At the time of Guru Gobind Das, the Sikh mission had expanded very much throughout the sub-continent. The masand institution had been managing the affairs very successfully. Sikhism, which began with the institution of sangat and expanded into dharamsal at the time of Guru Nanak Sahib; Guru Amar Das introduced the manji (dioces) system and it, still, went of expanding; hence Guru Ram Das founded the institution of masands; this institution organized the Sikh nation into a well-knit organizational system; the Sikhs’ missionary, social and treasury system began working marvellously; donations of the Sikhs in far off areas began reaching the Guru darbar properly; and, this treasury was used to help the poor and the needy Sikhs; hence the institution of the masands played marvellous role.
From fourth to seventh Guru, this institution worked properly; but, after the death of Guru Har Rai and Guru Harkrishan (who had died at an early age); as well as Guru Tegh Bahadur‟s spending several years in the eastern lands, some of the masands began astraying from the path of Sikhism; secondly, two generations of masands had worked honestly, and, as it had become a hereditary institution, some members of the third generation, who did not have knowledge of Sikh philosophy, went astray; but, many of them were still very sincere and honest. In March 1698, one day, when the Guru was watching a skit, during the celebrations of the Hola Mahalla, which presented a masand as a corrupt, womanizer and bohemian type person; the Guru asked Nanu Ram Dilwali, who was sitting beside him, whether there was some masand who really lived like the ones portrayed in the skit. Nanu Ram confirmed and said there are some such masands; hearing this, the Guru asked Bhai Mani Ram (Singh) to summon all the masands to Anandpur; Bhai Aalam Chand (Singh) Nachanna and four other were sent to different directions to bring the masands, with their hands tied with ropes, to the court of the Guru.
When the masands arrived, the Guru tested their credentials; those who were real servants of the Panth (the Sikh nation) were blessed with siropas (robes of honour); these included Bakht Mall Suri (of Jalalpur Jattan), Sangat alias Bhai Pheru alias Sachi Darhi (of Mian Di Maur, Lahore) etc. On the other hand, criminal-type masands were punished; some of them were even given deterent punishment. With this, the Guru also announced an end to the institution of masands and declared: „No Sikh will contact the Guru through masand; if someone sends his offerings through a masand, it won‟t be accepted‟; and, the Guru decided to hold a gathering of the sarbat khalsa (all the Sikhs); and he sent messages to the Sikhs to visit Anandpur on the first of Visakh (that year it was the 29th of March of the Gregorian/common calender).
Different sources mention three different dates on which this gathering was held and Khalsa was revealed at Anandpur. These dates are: 169531, 169832, and 1699. I believe 1698 is the correct date. In fact there was a second big gathering on the 29th of March 1699 and some writer quoted that date. Bhatt Vahis describe all these three dates. 1695 is the date when the Guru banned cutting of hair.33 Santokh Singh (in Suraj Parkash, 1843) does not mention any year. Giani Gian Singh (at page 309, in Panth Parkash, 1891) is the first writer
31 Sewa Singh, the writer of Shaheed Bilas, mentions the year 1695 (1752 Bk):
Satrah sai bawan vikhai, Panth Khalksa saaj.
Visakhi kay divas main Kalgidhar Maharaj.
[meaning: in the years 1752, panth khalsa was crated by Kalgidhar Maharaj on the first day of Visakh]. (Shaheed Bilas, p. 67).
32 Bhatt Vahi Bhadson, pargana Thanesar & Guru Kian Sakhian, pp. 16 and 120-22.
Prem Sumarag Granth (Chapter 1) also mentions the same date i.e. 1698 (1755 Bk): “Sammat satrah sai pachvanjai meh, jo koee is panth mai avaigaa so apnai dharma bikhai rahgaa, nahin taan kalyug graas laeygaa” (meaning: year 1755; whosoever joins this panth will remain in his religion (Sikhism), otherwise kalyug will swallow him).
33 Guru Kian Sakhian, sakhi no. 53, p. 112.
to write the year 1699. Guru Kian Sakhian (1798) gives the date 1698, Bhatt Vahi Bhadson, pargana Thanesar too gives the date 1698.
Guru demands five heads
On the 29th of March, about twenty thousand Sikhs reached Anandpur. The rababis (rebec players) performed keertan (singing of hymns) followed by exegesis (katha) of Gurbani by Bhai Mani Ram (Singh). When exegesis was over, the Guru stood up, pulled out his sword out of its sheath and announced, „I want a head’ (I want one person to sacrifice his life). This announcement was heard with astonishment by all, and, no one stood up. The Guru repeated his words; now people felt that he was seriously asking for the head of one person; still none came forward; some were really frightened as they did not want to „die‟.
The Guru repeated his call for the third time, and now, a Sikh, named Daya Ram Sobti, stood up and said: „Guruji, I offer my head to you; this life is already dedicated to you‟. The Guru moved towards him, held his arm and took him into a small tent put up on a hill some metres away from the venue of congregation (this small hill, known as tambu wali paharhi does not exist anymore; it was washed away by heavy rains); within a couple of minutes, the audience heard the sound of „thud‟ (like the falling of severed head); with this the Guru came out of the tent; blood dripping from his sword could be seen; many in the congregation thought that the Guru had killed Bhai Daya Ram. Then, the Guru demanded another head; this time Mohkam Chand stood up to offer his head; he too was taken into the tent and the same happened again; this was repeated by the Guru for three more times; Sahib Chand, Dharam Chand and Himmat Chand were the three others who offered their heads.
Within a couple of minutes the Guru came out of the tent; the Guru and the five Sikhs in blue-dress. People present there were astonished to see that all the five were alive; they questioned themselves: had the Guru brought them back to life or is it that the Guru did not kill them; then whose blood was dripping from his sword? But, none knew the reality.
When the Guru entered the main arena, he found five more Sikhs standing there; he asked: „Why are you standing?‟ One of them answered: „We too offer our heads and had been waiting for your return from the tent.‟ The Guru replied: „I needed five heads only but, as you have shown your dedication; you will be known as Punj Muktay (the five liberated ones).‟ These five were: Dewa Ram, Ram Chand, Tehal Das, Ishar Das and Fateh Chand.
After this, the Guru addressed the congregation: “These five will be known as Punj Piaray (five chosen ones, literally: five beloved/dear ones); they will be recognized till the existence of the sun and moon in the sky. Whenever parshad is distributed among the congregation they will be served first.” Now, the Guru asked Chaupati Rai to bring fresh water from Satluj River (which, then, used by the side of Kesgarh Sahib); he also asked Diwan Dharm Chand to bring a baataa (bowl) and a Khanda (double-edged sword). The Guru asked the Punj Piaaray to sit near him; he put fresh water in the bowl and began reading baani and preparing Pahul (nectar) tempered with (by stirring) the Khanda. When Pahul was ready, the Guru offered ardas (prayer), raised jaikaaras and began initiating them; first he put five drops in his own mouth and then began initiating the Punj Piaaray.34
After initiation, the Guru gave them a new name (identity). He first named himself as Gobind Singh (from Gobind Das) and then the five chosen ones were given new names, with
34 The story of first initiating the five and then getting intiated from them is a later concoction. If we accept it as true, then, the five had been initiated by a non-initiated person; hence the initiation was not valid. Secondly, if the Guru was already the ‘Khalsa of Akal Purakh’, then there was no need to initiate him as he was above the initiated ones. So, the writer of Guru Kian Sakhian is right that first the Guru initiated himself, and, then initiated the Punj Piaray. (Guru Kian Sakhian, sakhi no. 59, p. 123). The concept of ‘aapay Gur-chela’ as presented by Gurdas Singh, in his Vaar, does not refer to this any where. He has just written a vague wording. No where has he mentioned that Guru got initiation from the five. Some writers have concocted story from his verse ‘aapay Gur chela’ that Guru first initiated the five and then became their ‘chela’ (follower). Not a single source, prior to Santokh Singh, refers to any such wrong thing.
Singh as suffix: Daya Singh, Mohkam Singh, Sahib Singh, Dharam Singh, and Himmat Singh.
Now, the Guru pronounced the code of conduct for the five chosen ones:
Now, your earlier family of birth (caste), earlier faith, past deeds, doubts and hesitation don’t exist anymore; now you are Khalsa of (directly related to) Akal Purakh (God).
You will always keep Punj kakars (five articles of faith i.e. kirpan, kangha, kachhehra, kara, keski)35 with you.
You will not commit four bajar kurahits (acts strictly forbidden) i.e. cutting hair, eating halal meat, using tobacco, cohabiting with a woman who is not your wife; and one who commits any of these four will become Patit (fallen from religion) and shall have to get re-initiation after serving Tankhah (religious punishment) granted to him by the Punj Piaaray.
Bhatt Vahis have recorded this as such:
Guru Gobind Singh, mahal (Guru) tenth, son of Guru Tegh Bahadur ji, initiated five Sikhs with Khanday Di Pahul and gave them the name (suffix) Singh, on the (first) day of Visakh 1755 (1698 C.E.). First Daya Ram Sobti Khatri residence of Lahore stood up (to offer his head). He was followed by Mohkam Chand Chheepa (tailor) residence of Dwarka, Sahib Chand Naee (barber) residence of Bidar Zafarabad, Dharm Chand Jawanda Jaat residence of Hastinapur, Himmat Chand Jheevar (water-bearer) residence of Jagan Nath. (The Guru) gave all of them a blue dress. The same dress he himself wore. He declared Hukka (tobacco), Halal (koresh meat, i.e. animal cut in Muslim manner), shaving as haraam (unearned, i.e. sinful). (He) Banned Tikka (Hindu mark on forehead), Janjju (janeo, the Hindus’ ceremonial thread which they wear on their bodies), dhoti (a dress for lower part of body). (He) banned social relationship with the Meenas, Dhirmallias, Ramraiyas, Sirgumms (who cut their hair) and Masands. He gave kangha (comb), karad (kirpan, sword), kesgi (turban), kara (steel bracelet), kachhehra (special shorts) to all. All of them made kesdhari (with unshorn hair).37 [non-italic words in the text are mine – author].
After the initiation of the five chosen ones was finished, the Guru gave Khanday Di Pahul to the five Muktas (and gave them new names: Deva Singh, Ram Singh, Tehal Singh, Ishar Singh and Fateh Singh). It was followed by initiation of eleven more Sikhs: Bhai Mani Singh38, his six sons (Chitar Singh, Bachitar Singh, Udey Singh, Anik Singh, Ajab Singh,
35 ‘Kes’ (hair) as kakaar in stead of Keski have been adopted under mistake. The Guru had prescribed ‘kes’ as ‘bajar kurahit’ hence there was no question of making it a ‘kakaar’; moreover all the kakaars were presented by the Guru whereas ‘kes’ are a part of body and hence can not be given. All the rest four are movable; hence ‘keski’ is the fifth kakaar.
36 Guru Kian Sakhian, sakhi 59, Mahima Parkash, p. 825
37 Bhatt Vahi Bhadson, pargana Thanesar.
38 Shaheed Bilas, stanza 71, pp. 67-68. It mentions that the Guru presented ‘blue’ dress (not saffon/kesari) to Bhai Mani Singh and initiated him. Even in stanza 74 of the same book, the author mentions that Guru gave them blue dresses and Kachhehra (shorts) made from 1.25 yards of cloth (neelambar gaz savaa kachhehray).
Ajaib Singh),39 Chaupa Singh (Chaupati Rai), Diwan Dharam Singh Chhiber, Aalam Singh Nachanna, Gurbakhsh Singh (Ram Kanwar descendant of legendary Baba Buddha).
These twenty-one were followed by Rai Singh Multani (brother of Bhai Mani Singh), Gurbakhsh Singh, Gurbakhsheesh Singh, Kirpa Singh (Pandit Kirpa Ram Dutt) and his brother Sanmukh Singh Dutt and their father Gurmukh Singh (Aru Ram Dutt), Subeg Singh, Amrik Singh, Daya Singh (Daya Ram Purohit), Baran Singh, Ani Singh, Lal Singh Pishauria, Roop Singh, Dip Singh and his brother Nand Singh (both the sons of Suraj Mall and grandsons of Guru Hargobind Sahib), Nanu Singh Dilwali, three Bania brothers from Sarhind (Hazari Singh, Bhandari Singh, Darbari Singh).40
Having initiated these Sikhs, the duty of granting Khanday Di Pahul to the rest of the Sikhs was assigned to the Punj Piaaray; and they initiated a few Sikhs. As the number of the Sikhs was in thousands, the Guru formed several jathas of Punj Piaaray who began giving Khanday Di Pahul to the Sikhs. Thus, the act of giving Khanday Di Pahul continued for several days and thousands of Sikhs were initiated during Visakh (April) month.
Bhai Mani Singh sent to Amritsar
In this congregation, some residents of Guru-Da-Chakk (Amritsar) too had come to Anandpur; they told the Guru that the Minas (descendants of Pirthi Chand) had left the city and moved to different areas.41 This had happened because the Sikhs did not like to have relationship with the Minas; hence the number of the visitors to this city has gone much down, leading to loss of donations to them (Minas). They (Sikhs from Guru-Da-Chakk) requested the Guru to send some Sikhs who would perform services at Darbar Sahib and also manage the affairs of the city.42 At this, the Guru assigned this duty to Bhai Mani Singh and granted him a flag and a volume of (Guru) Granth Sahib;43 the Guru sent five more Sikhs44 to assist him. Bhai Mani Singh and his companions reached Guru-Da-Chakk in the last week of April and started regular services on the 2nd of May 1698 (Jeth sudi 4, 1755 Bikrami).
Anandpur attacked by the hill rulers
After the revelation of Khalsa and the new initiation rites (Khanday Di Pahul), thousands of the Hindus began getting initiation; to join Sikh faith they had to renounce ritualism and Hindu rites; this affected the income of the Brahmins and they began planning conspiracies against the Sikhs. The Brahmins of Bilaspur instigated Raja Ajmer Chand too; Ajmer Chand was already in the opposite front since he had sided with the Mughal invaders in the battles of Guler and Bhalan, in 1696.
In 1699, the Guru asked Ram Singh Sikligar to set up a factory in the Lohgarh fort to manufacture arms; he was a known artisan; he began manufacturing very fine swords and even guns; soon this factory became famous for manufacture of fine arms. Parma Nand, the priest of Raja Ajmer Chand, the ruler of Bilaspur, began provoking the Raja to expel the Sikhs from his country; he approached other hill states too and tried to instigate them against
39 Shaheed Bilas, stanza 72, p.68.
40 Guru Kian Sakhian, sakhi 60, pp. 124-25
41 Niranjan Rai moved to Gharachon, Kanwal nain to Dhilwan and Hargoapl to another village near Goluke (now Guru Har Sahai), all three in Malwa zone. See: Shaheed Bilas, stanzas 81-88, pp. 69-70; also Pirthi Chand Bansavali.
42 Guru Kian Sakhian, sakhi 61, pp. 125-26, Shaheed Bilas, stanzas 80-86, pp. 69-70.
43 At that time there was no Granth at Guru-Da-Chakk. The first volume of the Granth was with the descendants of Dhir Mall who lived at Kartarpur. Bhai Mani Singh was given a copy of the final version of Guru Granth Sahib. Secondly, he was given BLUE flag. At the time of guru Sahib the colour of the Sikh flag was blue. The present saffron/yellow colour is the colour of the Udasi flag and it was adopted by novice Sikh leaders after 1840s. See the book: Nanakshahi Calender, pp. 147-50.
44 Bhupat Singh, Gulzar Singh, Koer Singh Chandra, Dan Singh, Keerat Singh. Guru Kian Sakhian, sakhi 61, pp 125-26.
the Sikhs. But, the rulers of the Mandi, Nahan, Nadaun and Guler states rather asked Raja Ajmer Chand to leave the Guru alone; the only states which agreed to collaborate with Ajmer Chand were Kangra and Handur (Nalagarh); they began planning an attack on Anandpur.
Attack on the Guru by the Katoch rulers
On the 12th of July 1698, Guru Gobind Singh, accompanied by some Sikhs, went out for hunting in the Shivalik hills. When he reached inside the hill forest, he came across Aalam Chand, the Raja of Kangra and his general Balia Chand, who too had gone there for hunting. The Raja noticed that the number of the Sikhs accompanying the Guru was small, so he thought that his big contingent of security-men would easily kill or capture the Guru; with this thought he and his security men attacked the Guru but the Sikhs put a cordon around the Guru; it was followed by hand-to-hand fight in which Raja Aalam Chand Katoch was challenged by Aalam Singh Nachanna and Balia Chand by Udey Singh; in this fighting Balia Chand lost one of his arms and Aalam Chand too got seriously wounded.45 Later, Balia Chand succumbed to his injuries.46
Four-day Attack on Anandpur by Ajmer Chand
The news of defeat of the Katoch ruler and death of his general at the hands of the Sikhs disturbed Raja Ajmer Chand most; he decided to attack Anandpur. He knew that there were five forts in the Sikh city and he decided to first attack and occupy the weakest fort of Taragarh which was about five km from the village Anandpur; on the 29th of August 1700, a large force of the hill army marched toward Tarapur village. At that time Sahibzada Ajit Singh, along a small number of Sikhs was present there; when Sahibzada saw a big hill army rushing towards the fort, he sent a fast horse-rider to inform the Guru; within a short time one hundred and twenty-five Sikh soldiers, under the command of Bhai Udey Singh, reached near the fort. The hill soldiers began attacking them with arrows but the Sikh soldiers braved the arrows and reached inside the lines of the hill army; by that time Ajit Singh and his companions too opened the gate of the fort; and a full-fledged fighting began. As the Sikh soldiers were well trained, they killed a very large number of soldiers of the invading army; Ghumand Chand, leader of the hill army, too was seriously wounded by Bhai Udey Singh; after a battle of about three hours, the hill soldiers began fleeing the battle scene. In this battle, though a very large number of hill soldiers were killed, some Sikhs too embraced martyrdom. This battle has been recorded by Bhatt Vahis too:
Ishar Singh son of Kewal grandson of Aaru Binjalunt; Kalyan Singh son of Dial Das grandson of Mai Das Banjarunt, Mangat Singh son of Binna Uppal resident of Amb Marhi pargana Lahore, having received the orders from Sahibzada Ajit Singh, embraced martyrdom after killing several hill soldiers in the battle of Taragarh fort, pargana Tarapur, which was fiercely fought for one pahir (3 hours) on Thursday, Bhadon the 29th of 1757 (Bikrami calendar). Ghummand Chand son of Gambhir Chand was wounded by Bhai Udey Singh47.
[non-italic words in the text are mine – author].
After this battle the Guru cautioned the in charges of the rest of the forts too as he expected attacks on these fort too.
Attack on Fatehgarh
In spite of severe defeat, Ajmer Chand attacked Fatehgarh fort, the next day, Friday, the 30th of August. In fact the boundary wall of this fort on the side of Kesgarh Sahib was still
45 Guru Kian Sakhian, sakhi no. 64, pp. 128-29.
46 History of the Hill States.
47 Bhatt Vahi Tumar Binjalunton Ki.
incomplete; Bhai Bhagwan Singh (son of Bhai Mani Singh) was the in charge of this fort, and only a few Sikhs were present in this fort; but they gave a very tough fight to the Bilaspur army. This battle continued for the whole of the day and a very large number of hill soldiers were killed; in the evening the Bilaspuri army began fleeing the battlefield. In this battle, some Sikhs including Bhagwan Singh, Jawahar Singh (son of Lakhi Rai Wanjara), Nand Singh (son of Aalam Singh and grandson of Daria Parmar) embraced martyrdom; this finds mention in the Bhatt Vahis:
Bhagwan Singh, son of Mani Singh grandson of Mai Das Puar (Parmar); Jawahar Singh son of Lakhia (Lakhi Rai), grandson of Godhu, Barhtia Kanawat; Nand Singh son of Aalam Singh grandson of Daria… Puar (Parmar) Jallhana, etc, died fighting in hand-to-hand battle at Fatehgarh fort pargana Sahota, on Friday, Bhadarva the 30th of 1757 (Bikrami calendar). 48 [non-italic words in the text are mine – author].
Attack on Agammgarh
Even after defeat in two consecutive battles, Ajmer Chand made another attack the following day, on Saturday, the 31st of August 1700; this time he attacked the Agammgarh fort in village Agampur; this fort, which was at a distance of about two km from Anandpur, too had a small number of Sikhs; here too a battle was fought for one and a half pahir (4-5 hours), in which the hill soldiers had several causalities. Some Sikhs, including Bagh Singh (son of Rai Singh and nephew of Bhai Mani Singh), and Gharbara Singh (son of Nanu Singh Dilwali), embraced martyrdom.
Bagh Singh son of Rai Singh grandson of Mai Das; Gharbara Singh son of Nanu Singh grandson of Bagha, resident of Delhi breathed their last after they had got the Guru’s command, and, hand-to-hand fight for one and a half pahir (4-5 hours) against the hill rulers, at Agampura, pargana Agammpura, on Saturday, the 31st of Bhadon 1757.49
[non-italic words in the text are mine – author].
Attack on Lohgarh
Three consecutive defeats and heavy loss of lives could have taught Ajmer Chand a lesson but he was so hard-headed that he decided to make another attempt, this time an attack on the fort of Lohgarh. On the night of the 31st of August, Ajmer Chand, his ministers and their friendly rulers held a meeting to assess the situation; Ajmer Chand’s maternal uncle Raja Kesri Chand too was present in this meeting; it was he who instigated the meeting to attack the Guru once more; Kesri Chand’s minister Karam Chand tried to persuade them not to do so; he told them that the gate of the Lohgarh fort was very strong and it will be almost impossible to break it; reacting to this suggestion, Kesri Chand said that the Guru’s weapon factory was in that fort and if they were able to capture it, the Guru will become almost arm-less. He suggested that the gate should be broken with the help of elephants; and for this purpose iron plates should be tied on the forehead of an intoxicated elephant; and then that intoxicated elephant should be made to run towards the gate of Lohgarh fort to get the gate of the fort broken; and in this action the gate of the fort will get broken hill soldiers would occupy it after killing the Sikhs. When someone tried to suggest the otherwise, he called him coward and proclaimed: „I hereby declare that I shall cut the head of the Guru tomorrow and if I cannot do so I shall not come back home.‟50
That night the Guru was holding a congregation in Anandgarh fort; several Sikhs were present there; a Sikh, Chatar Singh Brar, entered the hall and reported about the planning of the hill army to break open the gate of Lohgarh with the help of a drunkard elephant. Hearing
48 Bhatt Vahi Jadobansian Ki, Khata Barhtia Kanaunton Ka.
49 Bhatt Vahi Talaunda, pargana Jind, khata Jaalahnay Puaron ka
50 Guru Kian Sakhian, sakhi no. 66, p. 132.
this, the Guru said: „We shall stop the drunkard elephant. Some brave Sikh should offer himself for this.‟ Duni Chand Dhaliwal was also sitting there; he had a very heavy body; the Guru looked towards him and said, „This Duni Chand masand is ‘Gurus elephant’. He will easily kill the drunkard elephant‟;51 at this, coward Duni Chand brought artificial smile on his face but was very much frightened just at the thought of facing an elephant; so after the congregation, he approached Bhai Udey Singh to request Guru Sahib not to offer him (Duni Chand) as a sacrifice to the hill army; but when Udey Singh asked him not to worry and be ready for fight and martyrdom, he (Duni Chand), at night, tried to climb down the wall of the fort with the help of a rope; but in this attempt the rope was broken and he got his leg fractured. When Bhai Bachitar Singh came to know that Duni Chand had run away, he requested the Guru to assign him that duty; the Guru gave him his Naagni spear (it has the shape of a she-snake, hence the name of the spear) and blessed him with the duty to stop the elephant. After this, his brother Bhai Udey Singh asked the Guru to bless him so that he may cut the head of Kesri Chand who has vowed to kill the Guru; the Guru gave him Karpa spear (name of a special spear) and blessed him.
The next day the hill army did what it had planned; they sent a drunkard elephant towards Lohgarh fort. Bhai Bachitar Singh was waiting for the same; he came out of the fort and rode towards the ground of Charan Ganga stream from where the elephant was coming. When the elephant reached near the fort, he used all his force and struck the forehead of the elephant on that part which had not been covered by iron plates, and also, immediately, he pulled out the spear. This grievously hurt the elephant and it groaned with pain; the wounded elephant took a U-turn and trampled several hill soldiers under its feet.
Raja Kesri Chand was standing a few metres away from the gate of the fort; he was monitoring his soldiers fighting against the Sikhs; Bhai Udey Singh saw him and rushed his horse towards him; on getting face to face with him, Udey Singh said: „You wanted to cut the head of the Guru? Now save your own head;‟ saying this he attacked Kesri Chand and cut off his head with just one stroke. He hung the head on ‘karpa’ spear and kicked his horse; when hill soldiers saw this they shot a volley of arrow at him but he disappeared unhurt and reached the Anandgarh fort and placed the head of Kesri Chand on the feet of the Guru and got his blessings.
After the killing of Kesri Chand, a fierce battle was fought in front of Lohgarh fort. Bhai Mani Singh, Sher Singh, Nahar Singh and others fought like valiant fighters and killed a large number of soldiers; by evening the whole ground between Lohgarh and Charan Ganga was filled with dead bodies of the hill soldiers. Defeated and battered, looser Ajmer Chand and hill soldiers. Defeated and battered, loser Ajmer Chand and his associates now thought of their own safety and they took to their heels on way to Bilaspur; in this battle some Sikhs too embraced martyrdom, including Aalam Singh Parmar, Khushal Singh (son of Makhan Shah Lubana), Sukha Singh son of Rai Singh (and nephew of Mani Singh). Mani Singh himself was seriously wounded. This battle has been recorded by the Bhatt Vahis:
Having received command from the Guru, Mani Singh son of Mai Das grandson of Ballu Rai; Bachitar Singh son of Mani Singh; Udey Singh son of Mani Singh; Aalam Singh son of Durga Das grandson of Padma Hajawat Ambiana led the Khalsa Dal from Lohgarh fort; fought a fierce hand to hand battle, in the ground of Charan Ganga stream, pargana Makhowal, on Sunday, the first of Assu, 1757 (Bikrami calendar).52.
[non-italic words in the text are mine – author].
51 Ibid, sakhi no. 67.
52 Bhatt Vahi Talaunda
Anandpur to Nirmohgarh
Defeat in four consecutive days‟ battles, killing of maternal uncle Raja Kesri Chand and several hill soldiers, did not teach Ajmer Chand a lesson; and he still wanted to act; to discuss the feasibility, he called a meeting of the hill rulers; only a few responded to his call; those who attended the meet suggested Ajmer Chand to have a compromise with the Guru; they told him that the Guru’s Sikhs fight with religious fervour; whereas our soldiers are mercenaries, and, they are no match to the brave and sturdy Sikh soldiers in any manner. Ajmer Chand agreed to this but his Brahmin minister Parma Nand was a hard nut to crack; he suggested a cunning plan to cheat the Guru.
On the night of the first of October 1700, Parma Nand, came to Anandgarh and placed a slaver (platter) at the gate of Anandgarh fort; in this he had placed a replica of cow made of wheat-floor, along with a letter, which said: „Guruji, we are ashamed of our acts and beg your pardon; we have suffered heavy losses and have earned so much insult that we can’t show our faces in public; everyone curses and chides us. Please help us so that we may regain some respect among our subject. We request you to vacate Anandpur for a couple of days so that we may boast among our people that we have occupied Anandpur and you may return after a few days.‟ The next morning, on the 2nd of October, when this platter was seen by the watchman of the fort, he picked it up and handed it over to the Guru. The Guru read it aloud and asked the Sikhs as to what to do with that letter? Some Sikhs wanted the Guru to take mercy and agree to their request, but most of them did not agree. The Guru heard both views and said: „These stone-worshippers hill rulers are not trustworthy; they will not stand to their word.‟ But, when the Sikhs insisted, the Guru discussed it with Bhai Daya Singh, Udey Singh; they too took pity on the hill rulers and requested the Guru to accept their apology.
Guru Gobind Singh left Anandpur on the 4th of October 1700 and went to the hills in between the villages of Nirmoh and Hardo (about 4 km beyond even Keeratpur); there was no fort but this hill, later, was known as Nirmohgarh because the Guru used this place as a fort. The Sikhs had taken with them horses, weapons, food, and other household articles; and they had left everything else back in their homes; now Anandpur was again a dead village.
Attack on Nirmohgarh
When Ajmer Chand got message that the Guru has left Anandpur, he sent some senior officers to Anandpur to confirm it; they confirmed it and also brought the news that the Guru had moved to the hills between Nirmoh and Hardo villages and were living in tents and not in any building; at this, Ajmer Chand took a large number of people from Bilaspur to Anandpur to show that the hill army had expelled the Guru; this re-established lost honour of Ajmer Chand; then, he decided to take step as per his conspiracy and attack the Guru at Nirmohgarh. He had thought that on the bare hill the Sikhs did not have any fort or other protection would result into heavy losses for him and the Sikhs. When Salahi Chand, the Raja of Basali (whose wife was the sister of Rani Champa, the grandmother of Ajmer Chand) came to know about his designs, he tried to stop him (Ajmer Chand) from being ungrateful; but, as Ajmer Chand was mad with enmity, he did not change his plan and began making preparations for attack on Nirmohgarh.
On the 8th of October 1700, Ajmer Chand led an army to Nirmohgarh and attacked; the Sikhs had not expected it but they got immediately ready to defend; it was followed by a fierce battle; Ajmer Chand had a lot of arms and the number of the hill army too was higher than the Sikhs; in spite of this the Sikhs fought „with their head on their palm’ (this is a proverb which means to fight bravely without caring for one’s life). [This proverb was born perhaps in this battle; later, some artist prepared a painting of Baba Dip Singh, having his head on his palm and some people began thinking that he (Dip Singh) really fought with his severed head on his palm].
By evening, several hill soldiers were killed; Ajmer Chand was badly shaken and he decided to flee. In this battle, some Sikhs too embraced martyrdom including Diwan Sahib Singh (son of Shaheed Bhai Mati Das), Mathra Singh (son of Shaheed Bhai Dial Das), Surat Singh, Deva Singh, Anup Singh and Sarup Singh (grandsons of the coward Duni Chand Dhaliwal, who had fled Anandpur on the night of the 31st of August, in order to save himself from participating in battle). This battle finds mention in Bhatt Vahis:
Sahib Singh son of Mati Das grandson of Heera Mall Chhiber Brahmin; Mathra Singh son of Dial Das grandson of Mai Das Banjharunt Jallhana; Surat Singh son of Kewal grandson of Aaru Tumar Binjalunt; Deva Singh son of Tegha grandson of Sukha Udana died in hand-to-hand fight in the battle of Nirmohgarh pargana Kehlur, on Tuesday, the 7th of Katak 1757 (Bikrami calendar).53
[non-italic words in the text are mine – author].
Having suffered another heavy defeat and a very large number of casualties, Ajmer Chand decided to approach Wazir Khan, the Governor of Sahrind (now Sarhind); he sent his minister Parma Nand to Sarhind along with a big amount of money to request him to attack the Guru. He told the Governor that the Guru was staying in tents on a hill and did not have a lot of weapons nor many soldiers; so it should not be difficult to kill or capture him; Wazir Khan agreed and sent a unit of trained soldiers, under the command of Rustam Khan. When Bhai Bachitar Singh and Udey Singh came to know of the expedition of Rustam Khan, they vowed to have a hand-to-hand fight with Rustam Khan.
Rustam Khan and his brother Nahar Khan reached Nirmohgarh on the early morning of the 13th of October 1700; they took positions on a hill near Nirmoh village and fired a canon ball towards the Guru; it killed Bhai Ram Singh Kashmiri who was standing behind the Guru who escaped unhurt. At this, the Guru shot an arrow towards the direction of position of the cannon; this arrow hit Rustam Khan who was killed instantly. Before his brother Nahar Khan could fire another shell, he too was killed by an arrow shot by Bhai Udey Singh. In spite of the death of both the brothers, the Sarhind forces did not stop and continued shooting arrows. After this, the invading army marched towards Nirmohgarh hill and a hand-to-hand fight began. The battle stopped when it was dark; after this the invading army carried the dead bodies of their generals and the other soldiers and returned to Sarhind. Thus, for a few thousand rupees, the Sarhind Governor lost two generals and several soldiers; and Ajmer Chand again met a shameful insult. In this battle some Sikhs embraced martyrdom, including Ram Singh, Himmat Singh and Mohar Singh etc. This battle has been recorded by Bhatt Vahis:
Himmat Singh son of Jeeta grandson of Rama Udana; Mohar Singh son of Dhooma grandson of Kahna Tumar Binjalunt, died in hand to hand fight at Nirmohgarh pargana Kehlur, on Thursday, the 12th of Katak 1757 (Bikrami calendar). 54 [non-italic words in the text are mine – author].
Ajmer Chand had faced six defeats since the 29th of August 1700, but he was still not vanquished; and, the following day, on the 14th of October, he himself led a bigger army and put siege to Nirmohgarh. Now, the Guru divided the Sikhs into four groups and a full-fledged fighting began on all the four fronts. It was really a fierce battle which led to several causalities on both sides. Among the Sikhs Bhai Jeeta Singh, Neta Singh and others embraced martyrdom.
The Guru goes to Basali
Basali (about 13-14 km from Nirmohgarh/Keeratpur) was a small hill state ruled by Raja Salahi Chand (whose wife Heera Devi was the sister of dowager Rani Champa). Salahi
53 Bhatt Vahi Multani Sindi, khata Puar Jalhanon ka..
54 Bhatt Vahi Talaunda, pargana Jind, khata Udanon ka.
Chand had been trying to persuade Ajmer Chand not to fight against the Guru but he did not stop. Now, when he (Salahi Chand) came to know about Ajmer Chand’s latest attack, he sent his emissary to the Guru asking him to move to his state; the Guru accepted Salahi Chand’s invitation and agreed to go to Basali (Basali was on the other side of Sarsa rivulet). So, on the 15th of October, Raja Salahi Chand came on the other side of the rivulet to escort the Guru to his place. When the Guru and the Sikh soldiers were crossing the rivulet, Ajmer Chand once more attacked the convoy; the Sikhs too fought a defensive battle; the volley of arrows shot by Bhai Udey Singh and other Sikhs did not allow the Bilaspur army to reach even near the rivulet. In this battle of arrows, a large number of soldiers of Ajmer Chand were killed; some Sikhs too embraced martyrdom; the Guru and the Sikhs, however, crossed the rivulet and reached Basali. The martyrs of this day‟s battle included Bhai Kesra Singh and Gokul Singh etc.
During his stay at Basali, the Guru went on a hunting tour on the 20th of October. During this tour the Ranghars of Kalmot village (between Kahnpur-Khoohi and Suhan stream) attacked the Sikhs; in these skirmishes Bhai Jeewan Singh was killed and the Rangarhs lost several of them.
Death of Mata Jeet Kaur
Guru Sahib spent fifteen days at Basali; during this period Salahi Chand mediated a compromise and the Guru returned to Anandpur on the 30th of October 1700; this time he took the route via Bibhaur state and spent some time at Bibhaur (now Naya Nangal) where the Raja of Bibhaur gave him a royal welcome.
On the 5th of December 1700, (Mata) Jeet Kaur (wife of the Guru) died at Anandpur; she was cremated at Agamgarh village, near the Holgarh/Agamgarh fort. At that time Sahibzada Fateh Singh was just one and a half years old; Mata Gujri brought up her grandson.
Punishing the Gujjars and the Rangharhs of Bajraur
On the 15th of March 1701, Sikhs from Darap area came to the court of the Guru to pay obeisance; on their way, the Gujjars and the Ranghars of Bajraur village (near Harian Velan) had waylaid the Sikhs of their valuables and money. Most of these Sikhs had not yet got Khanday Di Pahul; and they did not have kirpans; hence they could not defend themseles. When the Guru came to know about the incident, he asked Sahibzada Ajit Singh and Bhai Udey Singh to lead a jatha of Khalsa Dal and punish the criminals.
On the 17th of March, Sahibzada Ajit Singh and Bhai Udey Singh, along with one hundred Sikh soldiers reached Bajraur and put siege to it. They asked all the male members of the village to come out; all of them were given punishment, and, Chittu and Mittu, the two leaders of the criminals, were executed; no elderly person, women folk and children were harmed even a little. The houses of the criminals were demolished and the money and valuables, looted by them from the Sikhs, were recovered.
Beginning of the Sikh Hola Mahalla
Between the 24th of February and the 2nd of March 1702, big gatherings were held at Anandpur; and, during these days some Hindus were celebrating their religious festival of Holi; some Sikhs who reached Anandpur had their clothes spoiled by colour and/or dye powder thrown upon them; it gave a grotesque look; seeing this, the Guru ordained the Sikhs not to observe any non-Sikh festivals; he said that spoiling the clothes in the name of celebrations and joy was a silly affair. He told the Sikhs that if one wants to celebrate a festival, fine activities can be observed; the Guru announced that from then they will begin celebrating a new festival of Hola Mahalla (Kahan Singh Nabha, in Mahan Kosh, mentions the name Halla Mahalla, literally Halla means „to attack‟ in battle). The first Hola Mahalla
was celebrated on the 3rd of March 1702. On this day a procession began from Anandgarh fort towards the plains on the bank of Charan Ganga rivulet, with five blue flags leading it; as all the Sikhs were wearing grey turbans, it seemed like a big cluster of clouds was moving in the town.
In the fields of Chakk Nanaki competitions of wrestling, fencing (gatka), horse-riding, arrow-shooting, sword-wielding, spear-wielding and spear-throw, guerrilla battles, polo etc were also held; in the evening the Guru distributed prizes and siropas to the winners; it was followed by keertan (recitation of hymns) and ardas (prayer). This was a unique celebration and thence in the forthcoming years the Sikhs visited Anandpur every year and celebrated Hola Mahalla. (Later, some ignorant persons adopted the Hindu activity of spraying colours dyes in the festival, apparently against the teachings of the Guru).
Death of Raja Salahi Chand
On the 25th of October, 1702, Raja Salahi Chand of Basali breathed his last; the Guru attended his last prayers at Basali, on the 14th of November. This meant that Ajmer Chand’s hostility could begin again any time as after Salahi Chand, there was none who would go in between the Guru and Ajmer Chand.
Another attack on the Guru
In January 1703, the Guru went to Kurukshetra area for missionary tour. Finding this, Ajmer Chand approached the chief of Rupar and asked him to attack the Guru on his return journey; hence when, on return journey, when the Guru was passing from Chamkaur, Syed Khan and Alif Khan attacked the Guru. At that time the Guru was accompanied by his both wives, Mata Gujri and about one hundred Sikhs; the Sikhs gave a good fight to the invaders and the Guru reached Anandpur safely.
Restoring Brahmin’s wife
In March 1703, Dewki Das, a Brahmin came to Anandpur and requested the Guru to help him in getting back his wife whom Chowdhry Jabar Khan, the chief of Dera Bassi, had taken away forcibly; the Guru asked Sahibzada Ajit Singh and Bhai Udey Singh to help the Brahmin. On the 7th of March 1703, both of them, joined by about one hundred Sikhs, went to Dera Bassi; they put siege to the town and sent a message to Jabar Khan to return the Brahmin’s wife; but Jabar Khan, instead of returning the Brahmin‟s wife, asked his soldiers to attack the Sikh; it was followed by a full-fledged battle, in which Jabar Khan was killed; the Brahmin’s wife was restored to him. When this news reached the people, they praised the Sikhs for their role; but, on the other hand. But, on the other hand, Ajmer Chand became angry with fresh jealousy.
New attacks by Ajmer Chand
Now, Salahi Chand was no more in this world and there was none to stop Ajmer Chand from his nefarious activities; hence in the second half of 1703, the soldiers of Ajmer Chand began visiting Anandpur in the name of cutting grass for their horses; but, instead of cutting grass they would try to create trouble on one or another issue. At that time, the Raja of Handur too joined him; he too began harassing the Sikhs passing through his state for going to Anandpur and even Keeratpur; thus several minor scuffles took place in the second half of 1703.
Attack of the 16th of January 1704
On the 16th of January 1704, Bilaspur and Handur armies suddenly attacked Anandpur Sahib; the Sikhs were not ready for it, still, they fought bravely. The Sikh army was headed
by Bhai Maan Singh Nishanchi; he pitched his blue flag on the ground and began fighting; during this battle he was wounded; the flag-pole was also broken and it fell down; this battle continued for the whole day and was stopped when it grew dark; but having lost several soldiers, Ajmer Chand fled the battlefield in the cover of darkness.
Beginning of Farra (the truban-flag)
When the news of wounding of Maan Singh and falling of flag reached the Guru, he was sitting under a banyan tree near Kesgarh Sahib; he declared: “In future the Khalsa blue flag (at Guru’s time the Sikh flag was blue) shall never fall on earth like that; it will always furl high over the heads;” saying this, the Guru tore a strip from his blue keski (small under turban) and hung it on the left side of his turban and said: “in future the jathedars of the Sikh army shall always have such a flag in his truban.” At that time Udey Singh, Himmat Singh, Sahib Singh, Mohkam Singh and Aalam Singh Nachanna were sitting there; they too tore strips from their under turbans and hung it in their truban, signifying Sikh flags.55 Fateh Singh, the youngest son of the Guru, who was observing all this, also tore a strip from his small turban and hung it in his turban; since then, this is known as Farra/Dumala/Farlaa (literally: which furls). Thus, the Farra of the Nihangs was thus born on the 16th of January 1704. The site where the Guru hung (furled) the Farra/Dumala is now known as Gurdwara Dumala Sahib.
Marriage of Sahibzada Ajit Singh
According to Bhatt Vahi Purabi Dakhanni, in December 1704, Bhai Jetha Singh of Burhanpur and his wife Lachhmi Kaur and daughter Tara Kaur (Tara Bai before initiation) visited Anandpur Sahib. One day, Tara Kaur went to the river along with her companions and saw Sahibzada Ajit Singh having a bath there; she was so much fascinated that she wanted to marry him; and when she came back, she talked to her mother, who further met Mata Gujri and conveyed the wish of her daughter. Mata Gujri discussed it with the Guru, Mata Sunder Kaur and the Sahibzada; all of them agreed and the marriage was performed on the 15th of January 1705. To quote the Bhatt Vahi:
“Ajit Singh son of Guru Gobind Singh Mahal tenth, grandson of Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji, great-grandson of Guru Hargobind Ji, descendants of Guru Arjan Ji, Surajbansi caste Sodhi Khatri, resident of Anandpur, pargana Kehlur, was married to Tara Bai daughter of Jetha Singh, at Anandgarh, on Magh Sudi one, 1761. Guru’s karah was served.”56
According to this Bhatt Vahi, a son was born to the Sahibzada on the 9th of December 1705, at Agra. The child was named Hatthi Singh:
“Hatthi Singh son of Ajit Singh, grandson of Guru Gobind Singh Mahal tenth, great-grandson of Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji, descendant of Guru Hargobind Ji, Surajbansi, caste Sodhi Khatri, residence of Anandpur, pargana Kehlur, was born at the residence of Sardha Singh Gulati son of Mohkam Das Gulati, at Agra, pargana Mathra, on Posh Sudi fifth, 1762. The poor and needy were served as guests.” 57
Some writers hesitate to accept Hatthi Singh as grandson of Guru Gobind Singh. They do so because a poet had written a poem which said that the Guru had sacrificed his ‘sarbans (whole family), hence a grandson should not be mentioned (and they present Hatthi Singh as son of Ajit Singh Palit). The marriage of Sahibzada Ajit Singh and birth of his son has been narrated in detail, by Swarup Singh Kaushish in his book Guru Kian Sakhian. Koer Singh has
55 Guru Kian Sakhian, sakhi no. 75, p. 148.
56 Bhatt Vahi Purabi Dakhanni. Also: Koer Singh also refers to this in Gur Bilas Patsahi 10, (1751), chapter 16, stanzas 110-11.
57 Bhatt Vahi Purabi Dakhanni, khata Hajavat Ambianon ka.
also mentioned it in his work Gur Bilas Patshahi Dasvin. Kesar Singh Chhibber too has referred to this marriage in his book Bansawlinama Dasan Patsahian Da.
Last attacks by Ajmer Chand
On the 13th of March 1705, Bilaspur and Handur armies attacked Anandpur again; this battle lasted for two days.58 Though the hill rulers lost this battle, yet they decided to follow a new strategy. In collaboration with Wazir Khan, the Governor of Sarhind and other associates, they planned to cut Anandpur from the rest of the world and thus compel the Guru to leave this place. And if he still did not leave the area, a joint attack should be made by all the armies. The Guru too received information about this. It meant a long battle, difficulties and possible loss of many lives. To discuss this issue the Guru called a major congregation of the Sikhs at Anandpur on the 29th of March 1705.59 This was to be one of the last gatherings at Anandpur. In this congregation the Guru announced that the next many months will be days of difficulties and struggle for the residents of Anandpur. All the families should leave the town for their native places, and, even among the rest of the Sikhs only those should remain in the city that would be ready to make every sacrifice.
In April 1705, all the families living at Anandpur left the city; both wives of Guru Gobind Singh (Sunder Kaur and Sahib Kaur) too left along with Tara Kaur, the wife of Sahibzada Ajit Singh, who was pregnant by then; they were escorted by Jetha Singh, the father of Tara Kaur.60 Now, there were a little over than two hundred Sikhs left at Anandpur and it included three ladies i.e. Mata Gujri, Bibi Bhikkhan, Subhikhi (the mother of Zorawar Singh Palit) and five children (four Sahibzadas and Zorawar Singh Palit).
Siege of Anandpur
On the 3rd of May 1705, thousands of the soldiers of Bilaspur and Handur put siege to the city of Anandpur from all the sides; the city was cut from the rest of the world; none was allowed to enter or come out of the town; those who resisted were put to sword; the siege of Anandpur soon began affecting the food stocks; earlier, the Sikhs used to take two meals a day and soon they cut it to one meal and finally just one loaf or a handful of parched grams each day; most of the horses and the other animals too died for want of grass etc; even the Parsadi Haathi died because of hunger; the Sikhs had to kill some horses, buffaloes, cows, oxen and other animals for their food i.e. to survive.
Six months‟ long siege (May to November) created severe problems for the Sikhs; some Sikhs wanted the Guru to leave Anandpur, organise the Sikh army and then come back to Anandpur; though the Guru wanted to wait for some more time but when the majority of the Sikhs supported leaving the city, the Guru too consented.
On the 4th of December 1705, the Guru received a letter from Aurangzeb on a paper pasted on a volume of Quran, asking the Guru to leave Anandpur and reach Kangar village where he could have a dialogue with Aurangzeb (Kangar in those days was one of the major towns of the Punjab); it is possible that this letter was not sent by Aurangzeb and Wazir Khan or Ajmer Chand might have got it prepared under the false signatures of Aurangzeb; the Guru discussed61 this letter with Bhai Daya Singh and the other prominent Sikhs present there; all of them agreed that the Guru should visit village Kangar; but the Sikhs wanted that the Guru should secretly leave Anandpur along with some Sikhs and, in the situation of an attack by
58 Guru Kian Sakhian, sakhi no. 76, p. 150
59 Ibid, sakhi no. 77, p. 150.
60 Heresay account of their departure in December 1705, under the escort of Bhai Mani Singh is wrong and this story is not found in any comemporary source.
61 Whenever there was any crucial situation, the Guru always discussed the same with his followers; this is a great example of democracy and importance of sangat in Sikhism.
the enemy, the rest will fight against the invading armies and embrace martyrdom. But, the Guru said that he won‟t leave alone, and, all the Sikhs will leave Anandpur together.
So, on the night between the 5th and the 6th of December 1705, when it was a very cold and dark night, the Guru, along with his family and the Sikhs62, left Anandpur; he divided all of them in six groups, three groups headed by Bhai Jeewan Singh, Bachitar Singh and Udey Singh; the fourth comprising Mata Gujri and Sahibzadas etc to be escorted by some Sikhs, the fifth one headed by Sahibzada Ajit Singh, and the last one under his own command; here, forty Sikhs vowed that they would shield the Guru and escort him till their deaths. (These forty are known as Anandpur de Chalih Muktay).63
The first Jatha to leave was that of Mata Gujri and two younger Sahibzadas along with two attendants; the second was the Jatha of Bhai Udey Singh, comprising of about 50 Sikhs, which was to wait near Shahi Tibbi (about 4 km beyond Keeratpur); it was to be followed by the Jathas of Sahibzada Ajit Singh, Bhai Jeewan Singh and Bhai Bachitar Singh. These six groups secretly left Anandpur and reached Keeratpur before the sunrise; none could observe their movement; but, when they crossed Keeratpur, someone saw and reported it to the hill army and they began a hot chase, but, by this time, the Guru had reached near the Sarsa rivulet
As the enemy army was approaching near, the jathas of Bhai Udey Singh and Bhai Jeewan Singh took positions near Sarsa rivulet: Bhai Udey Singh took position at Shahi Tibbi and fought a pitched battle; and Bhai Jeewan Singh, fought a battle in the territory of village Jhakkhian (adjascent to present site of Gurdwara Privar Vichhora, near Sarsa rivulet); this Jatha had a female member also (Bibi Bhikkhan, the wife of Aalam Singh Nachanna); she too fought against the hill soldiers with a sword in her hand.
By this time four Jathas had crossed Sarsa rivulet:
The Bhatt Vahis have recorded the scene of the battles held on the morning of 6th of December 1705:
Battle of Shahi Tibbi:
Udey Singh son of Mani Singh grandson of Mai das, great-grandson of Ballu Rai, Chanderbansi Bhardwaj caste Puar, descendants of Binjha, Banjharunt Jallahana, fought a pitched battle for 12 ghari (about five hours) against the army of Raja Ajmer Chand son of Bhim Chand grandson of Dip Chand, great-grandson of Tara Chand descendant of Kalyan Chand, caste Chandel, at Shahi Tibbi, on Thursday the 7th of Posh, 1762 (corresponding to the 6th of December 1705). 64
[non-italic words in the text are mine – author].
62 According to Ram Sukh Rao (Sri Fateh Singh Pratap Parbhakar) 222 Sikhs left Anandpur on the night between 5 and 6 december 1705.
63 Giani Garja Singh, Anandpur Sahib De Chalih Muktay; also see: Harjinder Singh Dilgeer, Mata Gujri Char Sahibzaday Chhalih Muktay.
64 Bhatt Vahi Karsindhu, pargana Safidon.
Battle of Jhakkhian (Sarsa rivulet):
Jeewan Singh son of Agya grandon of Dulla resident of Mohalla Dilwali Sikhan Delhi, along with 100 Sikhs fought a pitched battle for 10 ghari (about 4 hours) against the army of Raja Ajmer Chand son of Bhim Chand, on the bank of rivulet Sarsa, on Thursday, Pokh Sudi 2, 1762. Rest, Guru is the master of will. Guru’s actions are known to him only. Meditate upon the name of Guru (and) this life will be improved. 65
[non-italic words in the text are mine – author].
Battle of Malakpur Rangharan
The Jatha led by Bhai Bachitar Singh, which was leading towards Rupar, was confronted by the armed Rangharh community at Malakpur Rangharan (now Malakpur); here too a fierce battle was fought; in this battle all the Sikhs embraced martyrdom except Bachitar Singh who had multiple and serious injuries; he was almost unconscious but still alive. Sahibzada Ajit Singh‟s Jatha, which happened to pass from that side after some time, saw him and found that he was still alive; they picked him up and took to the fort of Bhai Nihang Khan which was about 6 km from Malakpur.66
Battle of Chamkaur
Guru Gobind Singh reached the fort of Bhai Nihang Khan early in the morning of the 6th of December 1705; he was dead-tired after a walk of about 40 km; after explaining to Nihang Khan the situation and taking his meals, the Guru went to sleep; the two elder Sahibzadas and a few Sikhs too were with the Guru; all of them took rest for the whole day; and when it was dark, the Sikhs began leaving one by one. At midnight, the Guru too left the fort; Aalam Khan, son of Bhai Nihang Khan, escorted the Guru up to Bur Majra village; here, some Sikhs, who had left Nihang Khan’s fort as advance party, had been waiting for the Guru; and now the Guru and the Sikhs proceeded towards Chamkaur, where he was supposed to join Mata Gujri and decide the further course of action. Before it was dawn, the Guru, two Sahibzadas and about 45 Sikhs had reached Chamkaur. Guru Sahib enquired about the whereabouts of Mata Gujri and younger sons; he was told that they have gone with Dhumma and Darbari, the two Masands of Saheri village.67 After this, all the Sikhs entered the small fortress of Chamkaur; its owner Bhai Budhi Chand Rawat served the Guru and the Sikhs with food.68
When the Sikhs were entering the fortress, a Muslim saw them and he reported the matter to the chief of Rupar; at that time 700 soldiers of the Malerkotla army, led by Nahar Khan (brother of Sher Mohammed Khan, the chief of Malerkotla) had also reached there with the intention of attacking Anandpur and they were to proceed soon; but having received news that the Guru had left Anandpur, they were preparing to return but when they got the news of presence of Sikhs at Chamkaur, they thought the Guru might also be among them, so they decided to attack Chamkaur.
The Malerkotla army reached Chamkaur by noon; when the Guru saw the army, he posted the Sikhs on different sides of the fort, two of them guarding the gate. Having taken positions, the invading army began shooting arrows; the Guru himself was an expert par
65 Bhatt Vahi Multani Sindi.
66 Later, Bhai Bachitar Singh died at the residence of Bhai Nihang Khan, on the 8th of December. Nihang Khan’s daughter Mumtaj made a great sacrifice in trying to save him when Jafar Khan, the police chief of Rupar came there on getting report of Sikhs’ presence in their house. Her father lied by stating that he (Bachitar Singh) was her husband. Later, Mumtaj did not marry and spent rest of her life at Kotla and Barhi, a village in the nearby hills, about 20 km from Rupar, and served people as a widow of Bachita Singh. This is the greatest sacrifice by a Muslim girl (and her parents) for the Sikhs in the whole of the Sikh history.
67 Dunna Singh Handuri, Katha Guru Ke Suttan Ki, Piara Singh Padam, Char Sahibzaday.
68 But, Giani Gian Singh has concocted a story about Chamkaur also. According to him, this fortress-like mansion belonged to two brothers. One of them wanted the Guru to be allowed in and the other was against it. Giani Gian Singh has concoted two new names also.
excellence in arrow-shooting; he shot an arrow towards Nahar Khan, which killed him instantly. This was followed by full-fledged fight; the first to embrace martyrdom were Sher Singh and Nahar Singh who were gurading the gate; by evening, 38 Sikhs and both elder Sahibzadas had embraced martyrdom; only the Guru and six Sikhs (Sant Singh, Sangat Singh, Daya Singh, Dharam Singh, Ram Singh, and Maan Singh) were alive. It seems that Daya Singh Purohit too was among them because he too was present with the Guru at Machhiwara the following day.
Fighting stopped when it grew dark, but the Malerkotla army did not leave Chamkaur; they pitched their tents near the gate and on the slops of the fortress. At midnight, Nabi Khan and Ghani Khan, the two brothers from Machhiwara, who were in the Malerkotla army, reached near the fortress (they were the sons of Begum Umri, the sister of Bhai Nihang Khan of Kotla Nihang Khan, Rupar); they talked to the Guru and asked him to leave the fortress under their escort; they provided him with a Muslim soldier‟s dress too; the Guru wore the dress and climbed down the fortress; he was followed by three Sikhs, one by one; in the midst of dark, cold night, no body tried to check their identity and they easily left the scene. 69
The Khan brothers escorted the Guru to their town Machhiwara; but when the Guru reached near Machhiwara, they though it won’t be safe to stay at the residence of the Khan brothers, as that was a Muslim area and some of them might recognize him; so, he decided to stay with some Sikh family; it was decided that the Guru should first take rest in the garden of a Sikh, named Punjaba;70 having made arrangements, the Guru was taken to the house of Bhai Jeewan Singh where he spent two full days in the upper story of his house.71
Arrest of Mata Gujri and the two younger Sahibzadas
After leaving Anandpur, on the night between December 5 and 6, Mata Gujri and the two younger Sahibzadas had gone to Chamkaur, from where two former masands, Dhuma and Darbari, took them to their residence at village Saheri. At night, when the masands saw some diamonds and gold mohars with Mata Gujri, their mind changed and they planned to betray them. They stole all this and when Mata Gujri complained, they sent his servant Gangu to inform the Morinda poilce about the whereabouts of the Mata and the children. By noon, some soldiers came from Morinda and arrested Mata Gujri and the children; they were kept for the night at Morinda and the next day they were taken to Sarhind; there, they were detained in the tower of the fort where biting cold, chilling winds and hunger tormented them. The next day, they were produced before Wazir Khan, the Governor of Sarhind; at that time, Sher Mohammed Khan, the chief of Malerkotla was also present there; Wazir Khan asked Sher Mohammed Khan: “Their (Sahibzada‟s) father has killed your brother (at Chamkaur); you can have them from me and kill them and take your revenge”; but Sher Mohammed Khan said: “Their father has killed my brother and I shall take revenge from him in the battlefield and not from his minor children.” (It does not mean that Sher Mohammed Khan was sympathising with the children, but he was asserting his Pathan culture which prevents revenge from innocent children).
Now, Wazir Khan took formal and ususal procedure; he called the qazi and got a Fatwa issued for the children asking them to either embrace Islam or be ready to die (even according to Islam, such a fatwa cannot be issued for innocent children); when the sons of the Guru refused to embrace Islam, he ordered that the children should be walled alive. This order was carried out on the 12th of December 1705; while the order was being carried out the wall fell;
69 Santokh Singh (in Gur Parap Suraj Granth) concocted a story to establish that the Guru did not leave the place secretly. He says that the Guru clapped thrice with his hands and declared: ‘The pir of the Sikhs is leaving’, in order to create the impression that the Guru challenged the Muslim army before leaving. Now, a Gurdwara in the name of Taarhi (clap) Sahib has also been built in order to personify the story.
70 Gurdwara Charan Kamal has been built at the site of the garden.
71 Gurdwara Chaubara Sahib has been built at the site of Bhai Jeewan Singh’s house.
later, the next day, on the 13th of December, their heads were severed. The same day, Mata Gujri, who was almost dead (as she had remained exposed to chilly winds and had also been kept hungry for the past three days), too was pushed and thrown down from the tower; she died instantly. The bodies of all the three were cremated by the descendants of Todar Mall Shahjahani.
Three misrepresentations of history in this regard have been done by some writers:
Guru Sahib moves to Talwandi Sabo
On the 10th of December, Guru Gobind Singh left Machhiwara in the dress of a pir (Muslim holy man); he left the town, wearing a specially stitched Neel Bastar73, seated on a Manji (charpai / cot, an indigenous bed), escorted by five well known Muslims, four of which carried the manji (cot) and the fifth holding a chaur (signifying that he was a very holy man); their leader Haji Chirag Shah took the Guru first to his own village Ajner; the Guru spent the first night at his place in Ajner. The next morning he left Ajner for Aalamgir via Lall, Katani, Rampur and Doraha; here, the in charge of Doraha Sarai (a big inn, now partly in ruins) insisted upon him (the Guru) to dine and stay for the night with him; hence he had to
72 Mathur-ul-Umra, Vol. II, p 286-87.
73 In fact, Muslim Pirs wear dress of green colour and in Persian neel means coloured, it may be any colour.
Map Guru Gobind Singh travel Machhiwara to
spend the second night at Doraha. At night, when he (the Guru) was asked to have a discourse, the persons accompanying him told the Sarai in charge that he (the Guru) was observing roza (Muslims‟ religious fast) and won’t speak or eat anything.
The next day, the Guru reached Aalamgir; here, he thanked and bade farewell to Haji Chirag Shah and his four other murids74 (admirors). After this, the Guru borrowed a horse from a Muslim acquaintance and left for Kangar village; some Sikhs also accompanied him; when he reached Dina village (adjascent to Kangar), the local Sikhs gave a royal welcome; although the situation of Anandpur made them sad but they were pleased to see Guru among them.
Here, on the 22nd of December 1705, the Guru wrote a letter to Aurangzeb (it is generally believed that Zafarnama is the same letter that the Guru wrote to Aurangzeb, though this writer has reservations on this point). The Guru handed over this letter to Bhai Daya Singh and Dharam Singh and asked them to deliver it to Aurangzeb personally and not to anyone else.
After this he spent some days there and then left for Talwandi Sabo; from Dina-Kangar, he went to Bhagta, Saravan, Kotkapura, Dhilwan (where he met a descendant of Pirthi Chand Mina), Jaito, and Rameana etc. When he was going from Rameana to Rupeana, he got information that some Sikhs from Patti and around (the Majha area) were on their way to see him; so, he stopped outside the village and waited upon this Jatha; soon they reached there and payed obeisance to the Guru. This Jatha included 40 male and one female; prominent among them were Bhag Singh Dhillon, Dilbag Singh Dhillon of Jhabal village, their sister Bhago (Bhag Kaur) and her husband Nidhan Singh Waraich, Rai Singh (brother of Bhai Mani Singh) and his son Mahan Singh, Sital Singh Jhallianwala etc. They talked to Guru Sahib about the situation after leaving Anandpur; Bhag Singh, a leader of the Jatha, suggested the Guru that he (Bhag Singh) had good relations with the Governor of Lahore and he could mediate the issue so that the Guru may be able to regain Anandpur; at this the Guru asked him: “Now you are talking of a compromise; but, where were you when the fifth Guru was martyred; when the sixth Guru was imprisoned in Gwalior; when the ninth Guru was martyred, when Mata Gujri and Sahibzadas were martyred?” Hearing this, the ego of the Jhabal leader was hurt and he said: “Guruji we respect you very much, but if you don’t want to agree to our advice then it means that we can’t continue as such.” The Guru retorted, “I had not invited you; and you came of your own; I did not seek your mediation; but, if you want cessation of relationship with me simply because I don‟t want to negotiate with the Governor of Lahore, then it is your own pleasure; you should write it down on paper that you are not
74 Inanyat Ali of Nurpur, Qazi Pir Mohammed of Saloh, Subeg Shah Halvarvi, Hassan Ali of Mothu Majra.
my Sikhs and I am not your Guru!” With this he asked Bhai Maan Singh to place paper and pen before Bhag Singh and when Maan Singh placed paper before Bhag Singh, in a fit of anger, he signed the letter and it was signed by three more (Dilbag Singh, Gharbara Singh and Darbara Singh) from Jhabal; but the rest did not sign.
When this dialogue was going on someone appeared there and reported that a big army from Sarhind was chasing them; hearing this, the Guru took no time and left the place, and after this the above Jatha of the Sikhs too left for their own destination.
Battle of Khidrane-di-Dhab
This jatha had not gone far away that Mai Bhago stopped them and began chiding them for their action of renouncing Guru; she asked them to go back to the Guru and apologize. At that time, they were taking rest at Khidrane-di-Dhab (a pond which was property of Khidrana; later the place was also known as Khidrana Dhab, now Muktsar); and before they could leave to follow the Guru’s route, the army of Sarhind reached there; on seeing the Sikhs, the army attacked them; the Sikhs defended themselves but the number of the enemy army was so large that they could not fight for long, and after killing several of them, all the Sikhs fell down. When all of them had fallen, the Sarhind army noticed that the Guru was not among them; so they thought of chasing him; hence they asked some local person of possible route of the Guru; but he, instead of passing information, discouraged them by telling that they won’t find drinking water for miles ahead; hearing this, Wazir Khan’s army took a U-turn.
After some time Guru too reached there (some people believe that Guru was present at the time of battle, but contemporary evidence does not confirm this).75 The Guru saw that almost all of them were dead, except Rai Singh (brother of Bhai Mani Singh), his son Mahan Singh, Mai Bhag Kaur (Bhago) and Sital Singh Jhallianwala, who too were seriously wounded; he (the Guru) tried to dress their wounds but he found that that they had been so seriously wounded that it was impossible to save them; so, the Guru and the Sikhs began performing keertan and path (recitation of hymns). After some time, the Guru asked the wounded Sikhs what he (the Guru) could do for them; Bhai Rai Singh said: “Guruji! Tear off the bedawa (disclaimer) written by the Jhabal brothers;” and the Guru took no time and tore the letter into pieces. Soon, Rai Singh died, followed by Seetal Singh; Mahan Singh was the last to die (due to this someone wrote that it was Mahan Singh who had asked the Guru to tear off the bedawa); the next morning, the Guru cremated the bodies of the 40 Sikhs (later known as Chalih Muktay) and performed path, keertan and ardas.
From here, the Guru went to Talwandi Sabo; Kapur Singh, the chief of Kotkapura (then just a village), had already sent message to his sister and her husband Bhai Dalla (the chief of the village) that Guru would reach their place any time and they should give him full co-operation; the Guru reached there on the 16th of January 1706;76 on the way he had visited Bandi, Jassi and Pakka villages also.
Bhai Dalla was pleased to welcome Guru Sahib; he, along with about four hundred companions, came out of the village to welcome Guru Sahib; the Guru spent the next nine months at Talwandi; Bhai Dalla served the Guru and the Sikhs with full devotion. Later, some writer77 concocted stories about Bhai Dalla and wrongly presented him as proud, hypocrite, cowardly etc.
75 Guru Kian Sakhian has given clear description of the scene of the battle, see sakhi no. 91 an 92, pp. 171-74. Also see entry about the martyrdom of the Sikhs, in Bhatt Vahi Multani Sindhi, Khata Puar Banjhaunton Ka.
76 Guru Sahib reached Talwandi Sabo on 20th of Magh, 1763 Bk.
77 Santokh Singh in Gur Partap Suraj Granth, was the first to do create such malicious stories.
When the Sikhs got the news of the Guru’s arrival in Talwandi Sabo, they began visiting the village in large numbers; the Guru sent messages to all the Sikhs to visit Talwandi Sabo on the 31st of March 1706 (the first of Visakh 1763, Bikrami calender). On this day thousands of Sikhs reached there and hundreds of them got Khanday Di Pahul; these Sikhs included Ram Singh and Tilok Singh (the founders of the Patiala, Nabha and Jind states); Abhey Singh, a descendant of Pirthi Chand Mina, too joined the Sikh Panth.
During his stay at Talwandi Sabo, the Guru visited Bathinda fort too (Razia Sultana, the Queen of Islamic Indian empire, had been kept here as a prisoner for some months. Some years after the visit of the Guru, the Patiala rulers captured it and established a Gurdwara in the memory of the visit of the Guru.
Guru’s journey towards Deccan (Nander)
The Guru had sent Daya Singh and Dharam Singh to deliver his letter to Aurangzeb, in December 1705, and eight months had passed but he got no information about them. On the other hand the letter of the Guru was finally delivered to Aurangzeb in October 1706. After reading this letter Aurangzeb wrote letters to Wazir Khan (Governors of Sarhind) and Munim Khan (the Governor of Lahore) and also sent two officers to convey the Guru the message to see him at Aurangabad but the Guru could not get any information about Aurangzeb’s orders. So, having waited for more than eight months, he decided to set out to find the whereabouts of the two Sikhs, Daya Singh and Dharam Singh. On the 20th of October 1706, the Guru sent letters to prominent Sikhs inviting them to join him on his tour towards Deccan.78
On the 30th of October 170679, the Guru left Talwandi Sabo along with more than one hundred Sikhs. His first stopover was at Sirsa city where he spent a night; from here he went to Akbarpur Khudal to help a Sikh; and then set out for his journey towards Deccan via Nohar, Bhadra, Suheva, Pushkar (Ajmer) and Naraina (where he visited the dera of Dadu). From here Guru proceeded further; he reached Baghaur in the second half of February 1707; Daya Singh and Dharam Singh too reached here, as they were on their way to Talwandi Sabo; they told the Guru that they had delivered the letter to Aurangzeb who had given commands to his officers to take action on that letter and had invited the Guru for a meeting;
78 One of this letters was written by the Guru to the family of Bhai Rupa. It is dated 20th Katak, 1763 Bk (the 21st of October 1706).
79 Guru Sahib left Talwandi Sabo on 29th of Katak 1763 (Bk). As per Bikrami calendar, the Guru stayed there for 9 months and 9 days (20 Magh to 29 Katak; in fact it was 9 months and 8 days, as he stayed up to 28th and left early in the morning on 29th Katak); but as per Gregorian calendar the duration is from 16th of Janaury 1706 to 29th of October 1706 (he left on 30th), hence, according to Gregorian calender it is 9 months and 13 days. Any way, it was duration of 287 days (Jan=15, Feb=28, March=31, April=30, May=31, June=30, July=31, Aug=31, Sep=30, Oct=29 days).
Map: Guru Gobind Singh travel from Delhi to Chittaur
hearing this the Guru said: “I have got reports that Aurangzeb’s health is deteriorating fast and he may die any time; hence it won’t be possible to have a meeting with him”. As the Guru had predicted, Aurangzeb died, died on th 20th of February and the news reached Baghaur within a week; and the Guru gave up the idea to go further; and on the 19th of March 1707, he left Baghaur for Shahjahabad (now Delhi) where Mata Sunder Kaur and Sahib Kaur had been staying.
After the death of Aurangzeb, his sons were expected to fight against each other to occupy the throne; Muazzam Shah Aalam (Bahadur Shah) was the eldest among them. At the time of the death of Aurangzeb, he was in Jamraud, and the second one, Tara Azam, was in Deccan; when Muazzam got the news of Aurangzeb’s death, he immediately left for Delhi and reached there much before any of his brothers could; here, Muazzam held a meeting with Guru Gobind Singh too and sought his help. (Muazzam had already met the Guru at Anandpur in 1696, when he had been sent to enquire about the activities in the Sikh city).
The decisive battle between the armies of Tara Azam and Muazzam (Bahadur Shah) took place at Jajau, on the 8th of June1707, in which Tara Azam was killed and Muazzam was victorious; a unit of the Sikh soldiers too had fought as allies of Muazzam; now, Muazzam sat on the Mughal throne as Bahadur Shah; and held a darbar to thank and award his supporters. On the 23rd of July 1707, he welcomed the Guru in his darbar, thanked him for his blessings and help and presented him a diamond-studded khillat (robe of honour); besides, he (Bahadur Shah) promised to punish those who had perpetrated atrocities on Guru‟s mother, Sahibzadas and the Sikhs; the Guru presented him a list of ten persons, including Wazir Khan (the Governor of Sarhind), who were responsible for the killings of Sahibzadas and Mata Gujri as well as others. But, before he could take action on his promise made to the Guru, he had to leave Agra to quell the rebellion of the Rajput Rajas of Amber (Jaipur), Jodhpur and Ajmer; he requested Guru to accompany him during the expedition so that they may finalise the line of action regarding Wazir Khan and others.
According to another tradition, the Guru did not accompany him, but when he remained engaged in Rajput-expedition for about five months, he sent an emissary to the Guru to visit
him at Ajmer. The Guru reached Ajmer in the beginning of March 1708; but, before he could discuss further on Wazir Khan’s issue, Bahadur Shah received reports that his second brother Kam Bakhsh too has rebelled; so he decided to go to Deccan to quell his rebellion; he requested the Guru too to accompany him so that during the journey they may discuss something.
During their journey towards South, the Guru had a couple of sittings with Bahadur Shah and dicussed line of action; both the camps reached Burhanpur in May 1708; during those days there was a great flood in Narmada River so they had to stay back in Burhanpur. Here, the Guru stayed at the residence of Bhai Jetha Singh, the father-in-law of Sahibzada Ajit Singh; Mata Sunder Kaur, Tara Kaur and Hatthi Singh (son of Sahibzada Ajit Singh) too were present there. As per the Guru’s wish, widow Tara Kaur consented to remarry and she was married to a young Sikh boy (son of a goldsmith of Burhanpur). [It seems that though she married him but she did not consummate this marriage].
By this time, Wazir Khan, the Governor of Sarhind, had come to know about Guru’s meeting with the emperor; and he knew that Bahadur Shah was already friendly to the Guru and some action on him (Wazir Khan) was a must. So, it seems that he planned to create differences between the Guru and Bahadur Shah; and, as a part of this planning, he sent a big amount (8 lakh rupees) to Bahadur Shah as his contribution to war expenses. He also sent some Pathans to infiltrate the Guru’s camp and to eliminate him (Guru) at the first opportunity.
Bahadur Shah and the Guru crossed Narmada in the second half of May 1708; by this time, Bahadur Shah had received money from Wazir Khan; hence there was no question of taking any action against him; as a result Bahadur Shah began avoiding meeting with the Guru; however, after crossing Tapti River, on the 25th of June 1708, a meeting between the Guru and Bahadur Shah took place at or near Balapur (sometimes in July 1708); and it seems that in this meeting Bahadur Shah gave an indication of his soft stand regarding Wazir Khan. Having smelt Bahadur Shah‟s intentions, the Guru, now, decided to forget about him (Bahadur Shah) and to himself take action against Wazir Khan; so, the Guru left the caravan of Bahadur Shah and decided to return to the Punjab; but, before leaving for the Punjab, he decided to visit Madho Das Bairagi, who had established his dera at Nander (Madho Das had met the Guru in 1694 at Rishikesh).
On the other hand, Bahadur Shah crossed the river Ban Ganga, on the 24th of August, 1708, and went towards his brother’s capital.
Banda Singh joins Sikh faith
Guru Gobind Singh Sahib visited the dera of Madho Das on the 3rd of September 1708; he (Madho Das) himself was not present when the Guru visited.80In his absence, the Sikhs slaughtered his goat and had their lunch; when Madho Das returned to his dera, he became angry with the Guru but when he came to know about the identity of the Guru, he apologized and proffered himself as a banda (slave) of the Guru.81
On the 4th of September, Madho Das got Khanday-Di-Pahul and was named Banda Singh; the next one full month he got a lot of knowledge about Sikh faith; soon, Banda Singh became eager to go to the Punjab and punish the cruel rulers. In the last week of September or the first week of October, Bhai Bhagwant Singh Bangeshri and his brothers, along with a big caravan, who were on their way back from business tour, reached there and paid obeisance to the Guru. It was planned that Banda Singh will go to the Punjab in the caravan
80Description of the meeting has been detailed in the history of Banda Singh Bahadur, in the second volume of this book.
81 For details of this meeting, read Sikh History-2 by the author.
of Bhagwant Singh. Banda Singh left on the morning of the 5th of October; the Guru gave him hukamnamas (edicts) for the Sikhs asking them to give full support to Banda Singh; the Guru also wrote that he himself would be returning to the Punjab very soon.
Death of Guru Gobind Singh
The same day in the evening, when the Guru was taking rest in his tent and his only attendant had left the tent just for a short time, two Pathans (Jamshed Khan and Gul Khan) whom Wazir Khan (in collaboration with Bahadur Shah) had sent and had been living in the Guru’s camp posing themselves to be Sikh-sympathisers, thought it to be the best opportunity to murder the Guru; one of them Jamshed Khan entered the tent stealthily and attacked the Guru with his dagger three times; the attack was so quick and so fierce that gush of blood began flowing from the Guru’s chest; in spite of this, the Guru attacked Jamshed Khan with his sword and killed him at the spot.
The Sikhs soon heard the noise and reached there; Jamshed Khan was already dead; the Sikhs tried to dress the wound of the Guru but it did not help; the wounds were so grave and serious that it was impossible to save the Guru; and, at the same time, some of the Sikhs chased the second Pathan and killed him too.
The next morning, on the 6th of October 1708, the Guru asked the Sikhs to bring Granth Sahib before him; after the parkash (opening) of the Granth a prayer was offered, he told the Sikhs: “It is now time for me to depart; and after my death Granth will be the Guru (Eternal); when you read Guru Granth Sahib, it will be like listening to me”; then in the early hours of the 7th of October, the Guru breathed his last; he was cremated the same day on the bank of river Godavari; the death of the Guru has been reported in a Bhatt Vahi by Narbud Singh Bhatt (who embraced martyrdom in November 1711, at Alowal, near Lahore):
At Nander, on the bank of river Godavari, in Deccan land, on Wednesday, Katak sudi 4, descending days (of moon), 1765 (Bikrami calendar), Guru Gobind Singh Ji Mahal (Guru) tenth, son of Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji, asked Bhai Daya Singh to bring Granth Sahib to his presence. Having got command, Daya Singh brought the Granth. Gurji told all the Sikhs, ‘it is my command; consider the Granth as Guru after me. A Sikh who accepts so, his service will be rewarded; Guru would (always) come to his help. Believe it as truth’.82
[non-italic words in the text are mine – author].
It is generally believed that Jamshed Khan had been sent by Wazir Khan (the Governor of Sarhind); but it is most likely that it was a joint conspiracy of both, Wazir Khan and Bahadur Shah; and, it is also possible that it might be only Bahadur Shah’s conspiracy; as according to the records of the court of Bahadur Shah, the latter presented khillat (robe of honur) to the son of the killer Jamshed Khan (entry of Akhbarat-i-Darbar-i-Moalla, dated the 30th of October 1708, clearly mentions that that khillat was presented to the son of Jamshed Khan who had been killed by the Guru); and this Khillat was presented by Bahadur Shah, within 24 days of his killing, in Deccan and it also means that Jamshed Khan’s son was also tarvelling with the emperor, or was a part of, the royal army.
Similarly, another story was concocted by Bahadur Shah’s camp to propagate that Bahadur Shah was not involved in attack on the Guru. According to this story, when Bahadur Shah came to know about attack on the Guru, the former sent a doctor (an English man) who stitched Guru’s wounds; later, the Guru, while trying to shoot an arrow, used too much force and his stitches got broken, leading to extreme bleeding which took Guru’s life. This is definitely Bahadur Shah’s concoction as no Sikh would have asked the Guru to use force to shoot an arrow in such a position, nor Guru would have done this; and secondly, the Guru
82 Bhatt Vahi Talaunda, pargana Jind.
himself could have realized the results of using force; moreover, this is, in a way, like saying that the Guru lost his life due to his ignorance of the results of using force for arrow-shooting.
The death of the Guru has been reported by Sainapati (in Gursobha, 1709) as well as three contemporaries of Bahadur Shah and Farukhsiyar: Mirza Mohammed (in Ibratnama, 1726), Mohammed Qasim (Ibratnama, 1723) and Mohammed Shafi (Mirat-i-Wardat, 1734); and even a Hindu writer Chaturman Saxena (in Chahar Bagh Gulshan), has mentioned the attack on the Guru; and none of them mentions Bahadur Shah sending his doctor or the Guru‟s death due to bleeding after arrow-shooting. In fact, Bahadur Shah had gone several miles away when the Guru was attacked.
The Guru‟s death has been distorted even to this extent that one writer even said that the Guru had himself provoked the attacker to kill him. Still another propagandist wrote that a Pathan attacked the Guru in a dispute over payment of the price of the horses.
Some vested interests have propagated that the Guru was not cremated and his body disappeared; according to this concoction, the Guru did not die; he disappeared and lived at a secret place for several years; and he died during the rule of the Sikh Misls; and still no Sikh ever knew it, nor did he appear even during the Sikh rule. This gossip makes the Guru die at the age of more than 120 years. This conspiracy was, in fact, concocted by the British and propagated by the Kukas (now they call themselves Namdharis) in an attempt to prove their Guru-dum.
Guru Gobind Singh lived in this world only for 46 years, 9 months and 18 days (as per his birth in 1661 and not 1666); all this time was period of struggle for the Guru; there was not a single month in the life of the Guru when he was not facing one or another problem; throughout 33 years of his life as the Guru he was in the battle-field, it may be religious, political or military.
A study of the life of the Guru makes one wonder whether such a person really existed on this earth: he founded two new towns (Anandpur and Paonta); built six forts; defended himself and the Sikhs during more than 15 attacks by the Mughals and the hill rulers; he granted protection to the hill states (though they too betrayed); he had to face two Mughal emperors (Aurangzeb and Bahadur Shah); he prepared final version of Guru Granth Sahib; he patronized several poets and artists; he preached Sikh mission far and wide, from Patna to Bakala, from Majha to Jungle Des and Bangar Des, from Anandpur to Paonta, Dehradun and Hardwar, and even during his last journey from Talwandi Sabo (Jungle Des) to Nander (Deccan).
He sacrificed his father, mother, his four sons, two (according to a tradition four) sons of his aunt (Bibi Veero), hundreds of his beloved Sikhs and eventually even himself. Each and every moment of his life was spent for the Sikh Panth, maybe it was missionary activity, battle-field or in any other action. He gave his blood for the preservation of the Khalsa and promotion of Sikhism. I can’t dare compare such a great phenomenon on this earth with any human being at least (and I don’t believe in the existence of so-called gods).
The truth of so-called Dasam Granth
About one hundred years after the death of Guru Gobind Singh, anti-Sikh forces began attempts to distort Sikh philosophy and history; such attempts included propagating that the Guru did not die; the second major conspiracy was the creation of the so-called Dasam Granth. During the time of Guru Gobind Singh, and after his death, some poets, including Ram, Shyam, Kunvaresh, and later Sukha Singh of Patna and his son, had written and translated a large number of books of fiction and myth, including stories of Ram, Krishan, Chandi, Shiv and others. Some of these books were even erotic, rather filthy and ribald, in nature. The English and the other anti-Sikh forces (to distort Sikh philosophy and to confuse
the Sikhs) tried to establish that writings were that of the Guru; it is shocking to attribute such literature, which is erotic, vulgar and totally in rejection of the Sikh philosophy, to the Guru.
The first persons to promote the so-called Dasam Granth were Charles Wikinson and John Malcolm, an English officer; Malcolm, in his book Sketch of the Sikhs, introduced Bachitar Natak as the so-called Dasam Granth; he also coined the terms „followers of Nanak‟ and „followers of Guru Gobind Singh‟; his intention was to divide the Sikhs first into two blocks and then induce them towards Christianity; but in spite of his efforts, the Sikhs could not be wooed. After this, the English used their agents Shardha Ram Phillauri and the Nirmalas, and finally their touts, such as Khem Singh Bedi and Awtar Singh Vahiria. All of these made endless efforts, under the patronage of the Hindus and the English, but they too could not succeed. However, their propaganda did attract some Sikhs like Bhai Jodh Singh, Bhai Vir Singh etc; it was this element which played a major role in distorting the Sikh ideology and became instrumental in establishing Bachitar Natak as socalled Dasam Granth; their first act was to add some poems of Bachitar Natak to the Nitnaym of the Sikhs; this conspiracy came into action sometimes in the last days of the nineteenth century and in the beginning of the twentieth century.
This is interesting to note that when the present Nitnaym was being finalized, some of the verses from the translations of the Hindu mythology and even from erotic works (Charitropakhayan) too were added to it. (These include ‘Chaupai‘ which is from erotic work Charitropakhayan), first part of Ardas (which is from Vaar Bhagauti, a ballad about the fictitious goddess Bhagauti) etc. Even later, some groups (which are visibly Sikh but Brahminic in practice) added more un-Sikh like verses even to the Nitnaym of 1936 (particularly in Chaupai and Rahiras). The anti-Sikh forces like Rashtriya Sikh Sangat (which has been created by the fanatic Hindu organization R.S.S. (Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh) and other fundamental and fanatic Hindu organizations wanted not only to insult and degrade the personality of Guru Gobind Singh (by presenting him as author of erotic work like Charitropakhayan) but also to create a rival to Guru Granth Sahib.
To translate this conspiracy into action, anti-Sikh forces got these verses bound into one volume, named it ‘dasam granth’ and even started reciting and finally placing it equal to Guru Granth Sahib. The most shocking step was initiated on the 13th of November 2006, at Dyalpura Bhaika, where this book was installed along with Guru Granth Sahib and all the anti-Sikh sections performed its recitation and worship; still more shocking was the participation of the priests of Akal Takht, Darbar Sahib and some other Gurdwaras. Since then, the Sikhs are struggling hard to combat the Sikh-looking Brahmin who are destroying the Sikh ideology, under the banner of Bhindra-Mehta Jatha (who wrongly claim themselves as Damdami Taksal), (a section of) the Nihang Singhs, (a section of) Akhand Keertani Jatha; this onslaught on Sikhism is still going on even in 2010-11 and is likely to continue pretty long if the Guru‟s Sikhs failed to wake up.
–Dr. Harjinder Singh Dilgeer