Guru
Gobind Singh Sahib
The tenth and the last Guru or Prophet-teacher of the Sikh faith, was
born Gobind Rai Sodhi on Poh Sudi 7th, 23rd Poh 1723 Bikrami Samvat
(22 December 1666) at Patna, in Bihar. His father, Guru Tegh Bahadur,
the Ninth Guru, was then travelling across Bengal and Assam. Returning
to Patna in 1670, he directed his family to return to the Punjab. On
the site of the house at Patna in which Gobind Rai was born and where
he spent his early childhood now stands a sacred shrine, Takht Sri Harimandar
Sahib, one of the five most honoured seats of religious authority (takht,
lit. throne) for the Sikhs. Gobind Rai was escorted to Anandpur (then
known as Chakk Nanaki) at the foothills of the Sivaliks where he reached
in March 1672 and there his early education included reading and writing
of Punjabi, Braj, Sanskrit and Persian languages. He was barely nine
years of age when a sudden turn came in his life as well as in the life
of entire Sikh community, he was destined to lead. Early in 1675, a
group Kashmiri Brahmans, driven to desperation by the religious fanaticism
of the Mughal General Iftikar Khan, visited Anandpur to seek Guru Tegh
Bahadur's intercession. As the Guru sat reflecting what to do, young
Gobind Rai, arriving there in company with his playmates, asked "Why
he looked so preoccupied". The father, as records Koer Singh in
his Gurbilas Patshahi 10, replied, "Grave are the burdens the earth
bears. She will be redeemed only if a truly worthy person comes forward
to lay down his head. Distress will then be expunged and happiness ushered
in." "None could be worthier than yourself to make such a
sacrifice," remarked Gobind Rai in his innocent manner. Guru Tegh
Bahadur soon aftenwards proceedcd to the imperial capital, Delhi, and
courted death on 11 November 1675.
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
Guru 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.
