GURU GOBIND SINGH SAHIB JI
Guru Gobind Singh was formally installed Guru on Maghar Sudi 5th (11 Maghar), 1732 Samvat (11th Nov, 1675). In the midst of his engagement with the concerns of the community, he gave attention to the mastery of physical skills and literary accomplishment. He had grown into a energectic youth. He had a natural genius for poetic composition and his early years were assiduously given to this pursuit. The Var Sri Bhagauti Ji Ki, popularly called Chandi di Var. written in 1684, was his first composition. The poem depicted the legendary contest between the gods and the demons as described in the Markandeya Purana . The choice of a warlike theme for this and a number of his later compositions such as the two Chandi Charitras, mostly in Braj, was made to infuse martial spirit among his followers to prepare them to stand up against injustice and tyranny.
Much of Guru Gobind Singh’s creative literary work was done at Paonta, he had founded on the banks of the River Yamuna and to which site he had temporarily shifted in April 1685. Poetry as such was, however, not his aim. For him it was a means of revealing the divine principle and concretizing a personal vision of the Supreme Being that had been vouchsafed to him. His Japu and the composition known as Akal Ustati are in this tenor. Through his poetry he preached love and equality and a strictly ethical and moral code of conduct. He preached the worship of the One Supreme Being, deprecating idolatry and superstitious beliefs and observances. The glorification of the sword itself which he eulogized as Bhaguati was to secure fulfilment of God’sjustice. The sword was never meant as a symbol of aggression, and it was never to be used for self-aggrandizement. It was the emblem of manliness and self-respect and was to be used only in self-defence, as a last resort. For Guru Gobind Singh said in a Persian couplet in his Zafarnamah:
When all other means have failed,
It is but lawful to take to the sword.
During his stay at Paonta,
Guru Gobind Singh availed himself of his spare time to practise
different forms of manly exercises, such as riding, swimming and
archery. His increasing influence among the people and the martial
exercises of his men excited the jealousy of the neighbouring Rajput
hill rulers who led by Raja Fateh Chand of Garhwal collected a host to
attack him. But they were worsted in an action at Bhangani, about 10 km
northeast of Paonta, on 18 Assu 1745 sk/18 September 1688. Soon there
after Guru Gobind Singh left Paonta and returned to Anandpur which he
fortified in view of the continuing hostility of the Rajput chiefs as
well as of the repressive policy of the imperial government at Delhi.
The Guru and his Sikhs were involved in a battle with a Mughal
commander, Alif Khan, at Nadaun on the left bank of the Beas, about 30
km southeast of Kangra, on 22 Chet 1747 Bk/20 March 1691. Describing the
battle in stirring verse in Bachitra Natak, he said that Alif Khan fled
in utter disarray “without being able to give any attention to his
camp.” Among several other skirmishes that occurred was the Hussain
battle (20 February 1696) fought against Husain Khan, an imperial
general, which resulted in a decisive victory for the Sikhs. Following
the appointment in 1694 of the liberal Prince Muazzam (later Emperor
Bahadur Shah) as viceroy of northwestern region including Punjab, there
was however a brief respite from pressure from the ruling authority.
In 1698, Guru Gobind Singh issued directions to Sikh sangats or
communities in different parts of India not to acknowledge masands, the
local ministers, against whom he had heard complaints. Sikhs, he
instructed, should come to Anandpur straight without any intermediaries
and bring their offerings personally. The Guru thus established direct
relationship with his Sikhs and addressed them as his Khalsa, Persian
term used for crown-lands as distinguished from feudal chiefs. The
institution of the Khalsa was given concrete form on 30 March 1699 when
Sikhs had gathered at Anandpur in large numbers for the annual festival
of Baisakhi. Guru Gobind Singh appeared before the assembly dramatically
on that day with a naked sword in hand and, to quote Koer Singh,
Gurbilas Patshahi 10, spoke: “Is there present a true Sikh who would
offer his head to the Guru as a sacrifice?” The words numbed the
audience who looked on in awed silence. The Guru repeated the call. At
the third call Daya Ram, a Sobti Khatri of Lahore, arose and humbly
walked behind the Guru to a tent near by. The Guru returned with his
sword dripping blood, and asked for another head. At this Daram Das, a
Jatt from Hastinapur, came forward and was taken inside the enclosure.
Guru Gobind Singh made three more calls. Muhkam Chand, a washerman from
Dvarka, Himmat, a water-carrier from Jagannathpur, and Sahib Chand, a
barber from Bidar (Karnataka) responded one after another and advanced
to offer their heads. All the five were led back from the tent dressed
alike in saffron-coloured raiment topped over with neatly tied turbans
similarly dyed, with swords dangling by their sides. Guru Gobind Singh
then introduced Khande Di Pahul, i.e. initiation by sweetened water
churned with a double-edged broadsword (khanda). Those five Sikhs were
the first to be initiated. Guru Gobind Singh called them Panj Piare, the
five devoted spirits beloved of the Guru. These five, formed the
nucleus of the self-abnegating, martial and casteless fellowship of the
Khalsa. All of them surnamed Singh, meaning lion, were required to wear
in future the five symbols of the Khalsa, all beginning with the letter
K-the kesh or long hair and beard, Kangha, a comb in the kesh to keep it
tidy as against the recluses who kept it matted in token of their
having renounced the world, Kara, a steel bracelet, Kachch, short
breeches, and Kirpan, a sword. They were enjoined to succour the
helpless and fight the oppressor, to have faith in one God and to
consider all human beings equal, irrespective of caste and creed. Guru
Gobind Singh then himself received initiatory rites from five disciples,
now invested with authority as Khalsa, and had his name changed from
Gobind Rai to Gobind Singh. “Hail,” as the poet subsequently sang,
“Gobind Singh who is himself Master as well as disciple.” Further
injunctions were laid down for the Sikhs. They must never cut or trim
their hair and beards, nor smoke tobacco. A Sikh must not have sexual
relationship outside the marital bond, nor eat the flesh of an animal
killed slowly in the Muslim way.
These developments
alarmed the casteridden Rajput chiefs of the Sivalik hills. They rallied
under the leadership of the Raja of Bilaspur, in whose territory lay
Anandpur, to forcibly evict Guru Gobind Singh from his hilly citadel.
Their repeated expeditions during 1700-04 however proved abortive . They
at last petitioned Emperor Aurangzeb for help. In concert with
contingents sent under imperial orders by the governor of Lahore and
those of the faujdar of Sirhind, they marched upon Anandpur and laid a
siege to the fort in Jeth 1762 sk/May 1705. Over the months, the Guru
and his Sikhs firmly withstood their successive assaults despite dire
scarcity of food resulting from the prolonged blockade. While the
besieged were reduced to desperate straits, the besiegers too were
chagrined at the tenacity with which the Sikhs held out. At this stagy
the besiegers offered, on solemn oaths of Quran, safe exit to the Sikhs
if they quit Anandpur. At last, the town was evacuated during the night
of Poh suds 1, 1762 sk/5-6 December 1705. But soon, as the Guru and his
Sikhs came out, the hill monarchs and their Mughal allies set upon them
in full fury. In the ensuing confusion many Sikhs were killed and all of
the Guru’s baggage, including most of the precious manuscripts, was
lost. The Guru himself was able to make his way to Chamkaur, 40 km
southwest of Anandpur, with barely 40 Sikhs and his two elder sons.
There the imperial army, following closely on his heels, caught up with
him. His two sons, Ajit Singh (b. 1687) and Jujhar Singh (b. 1691) and
all but five of the Sikhs fell in the action that took place on 7
December 1705. The five surviving Sikhs bade the Guru to save himself in
order to reconsolidate the Khalsa. Guru Gobind Singh with three of his
Sikhs escaped into the wilderness of the Malva, two of his Muslim
devotees, Gani Khan and Nabi Khan, helping him at great personal risk.
Guru Gobind Singh’s two younger sons, Zorawar Singh (b. 1696) and
Fateh Singh (b.1699), and his mother, Mata Gujari, were after the
evacuation of Anandpur betrayed by their old servant and escort, Gangu,
to the faujdar of Sirhind, who had the young children executed on 13
December 1705. Their grandmother died the same day. Befriended by
another Muslim admirer, Rai Kalha of Raikot, Guru Gobind Singh reached
Dina in the heart of the Malva. There he enlisted a few hundred warriors
of the Brar clan, and also composed his famous letter, Zafarnamah or
the Epistle of Victory, in Persian verse, addressed to Emperor
Aurangzeb. The letter was a severe indictment of the Emperor and his
commanders who had perjured their oath and treacherously attacked him
once he was outside the safety of his fortification at Anandpur. It
emphatically reiterated the sovereignty of morality in the affairs of
State as much as in the conduct of human beings and held the means as
important as the end. Two of the Sikhs, Daya Singh and Daram Singh, were
despatched with the Zafarnamah to Ahmadnagar in the South to deliver it
to Aurangzeb, then in camp in that town.From Dina, Guru Gobind Singh continued his westward march until, finding the host close upon his heels, he took position astride the water pool of Khidrana to make a last-ditch stand. The fighting on 29 December 1705 was hard and desperate. In spite of their overwhelming numbers, the Mughal troops failed to capture the Guru and had to retire in defeat. The most valorous part in this battle was played by a group of 40 Sikhs who had deserted the Guru at Anandpur during the long siege, but who, chided by their womenfolk at home, had come back under the leadership of a brave and devoted woman, Mai Bhago, to redeem themselves. They had fallen fighting desperately to check the enemy’s advance towards the Guru’s position. The Guru blessed the 40 dead as 40 mukte, i.e. the 40 Saved Ones. The site is now marked by a sacred shrine and tank and the town which has grown around them is called Muktsar, the Pool of liberations.
After spending some time
in the Lakkhi Jungle country, Guru Gobind Singh arrived at Talvandi
Sabo, now called Damdama Sahib, on 20 January 1706. During his stay
there of over nine months, a number of Sikhs rejoined him. He prepared a
fresh recension of Sikh Scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib, with the
celebrated scholar, Bhai Mani Singh, as his amanuensis. From the number
of scholars who had rallied round Gura Gobind Singh and from the
literary activity initiated, the place came to be known as the Guru’s
Kashi or seat of learning like Varanasi.
The epistle Zafarnamah sent by Guru Gobind Singh from Dina seems to
have touched the heart of Emperor Aurungzeb. He forthwith invited him
for a meeting. According to Ahkam-i-Alamgiri, the Emperor had a letter
written to the deputy governor of Lahore, Mun’im Khan, to conciliate the
Guru and make the required arrangements for his journey to the Deccan.
Guru Gobind Singh had, however, already left for the South on 30 October
1706. He was in the neighbourhood of Baghor, in Rajasthan, when the
news arrived of the death of the Emperor at Ahmadnagar on 20 February
1707. The Guru there upon decided to return to the Punjab, via
Shahjahanabad (Delhi) . That was the time when the sons of the deceased
Emperor were preparing to contest succession. Guru Gobind Singh
despatched for the help of the eldest claimant, the liberal Prince
Muazzam, a token contingent of Sikhs which took part in the battle of
Jajau (8 June 1707), decisively won by the Prince who ascended the
throne with the title of Bahadur Shah. The new Emperor invited Guru
Gobind Singh for a meeting which took place at Agra on 23 July 1707.Emperor Bahadur Shah had at this time to move against the Kachhvaha Rajputs of Amber (Jaipur) and then to the Deccan where his youngest brother, Kam Baksh, had raised the standard of revolt. The Guru accompanied him and, as says Tarkh-i-Bahadur Shahi, he addressed assemblies of people on the way preaching the word of Guru Nanak. The two camps crossed the River Tapti between 11 and 14 June 1708 and the Ban-Ganga on 14 August, arriving at Nanded, on the Godavari, towards the end of August. While Bahadur Shah proceeded further South, Guru Gobind Singh decided to stay awhile at Nanded. Here he met a Bairagi recluse, Madho Das, whom he converted a Sikh administering to him Khande Di Pahul, renaming him Gurbakhsh Singh (popular name Banda Singh ). Guru Gobind Siligh gave Banda Singh five arrows from his own quiver and an escort, including five of his chosen Sikhs, and directed him to go to the Punjab and carry on the campaign against the tyranny of the provincial overlords.
Nawab Wazir Khan of
Sirhind had felt concerned at the Emperor’s conciliatory treatment of
Guru Gobind Singh. Their marching together to the South made him
jealous, and he charged two of his trusted men with murdering the Guru
before his increasing friendship with the Emperor resulted in any harm
to him. These two pathans Jamshed Khan and Wasil Beg are the names given
in the Guru Kian Sakhian� pursued the Guru secretly and overtook him at
Nanded, where, according to Sri Gur Sobha by Senapati, a contemporary
writer, one of them stabbed the Guru in the left side below the heart as
he lay one evening in his chamber resting after the Rahras prayer.
Before he could deal another blow, Guru Gobind Singh struck him down
with his sword, while his fleeing companion fell under the swords of
Sikhs who had rushed in on hearing the noise. As the news reached
Bahadur Shah’s camp, he sent expert surgeons, including an Englishman,
Cole by name, to attend on the Guru. The wound was stitched and appeared
to have healed quickly but, as the Guru one day applied strength to
pull a stiff bow, it broke out again and bled profusely. This weakened
the Guru beyond cure and he passed away on Kattak sudi 5, 1765 Bk/7 OC
tober 1708. Before the end came, Guru Gobind Singh had asked for the
Sacred Volume to be brought forth. To quote Bhatt Vahi Talauda Parganah
Jind: “Guru Gobind Singh, the Tenth Master, son of Guru Teg Bahadur,
grandson of Guru Hargobind, great-grandson of Guru Arjan, of the family
of Guru Ram Das Surajbansi, Gosal clan, Sodhi Khatri, resident of
Anandpur, parganah Kahlur, now at Nanded, in the Godavari country in the
Deccan, asked Bhai Daya Singh, on Wednesday, 6 October 1708, to fetch
Sri Granth Sahib. In obedience to his orders, Daya Singh brought Sri
Granth Sahib. The Guru placed before it five pice and a coconut and
bowed his head before it. He said to the sangat, “It is my commandment:
Own Sri Granthji in my place. He who so acknowledges it will obtain his
reward. The Guru will rescue him. Know this as the truth”.
Guru Gobind Singh thus passed on the succession with due ceremony to
the Holy Book, the Guru Granth Sahib, ending the line of personal Gurus.
“The Guru’s spirit,” he said, “will henceforth be in the Granth and the
Khalsa. Where the Granth is with any five Sikhs representing the
Khalsa, there will the Guru be.” The Word enshrined in the Holy Book was
always revered by the Gurus as well as by their disciples as of Divine
origin. The Guru was the revealer of the Word. One day the Word was to
take the place of the Guru. The inevitable came to pass when Guru Gobind
Singh declared the Guru Granth Sahib as his successor. It was only
through the Word that the Guruship could be made everlasting. The Word
as contained in the Guru Granth Sahib was henceforth, and for all time
to come to be the Guru for the Sikhs.
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