 Bhai
Mati Das was a Mohyal Brahman of village
Kariala in Jehlam district, about 10
kilometres from Chakwal on the road
to Katas Raj. The village stands on
the top of Surla hills. This part of
the country is known as Dhani meaning
rich. A few kilometres away are the
Salt Mines and coal mines of Dandot.
The Katas lake is beautiful. A great
Hindu fair was held there upto 1947.
The Hindus always selected fine places
of enchanting natural beauty for their
fairs, festivals and pilgrimages. The
inhabitants upto 1947 were both Hindu
and Muslim, all handsome, tall, robust,
and strong, enjoying a good standard
of living. Mati Das was the son of Hira Nand a
devotee of Guru Hargobind under whom
he had fought in many battles. He survived
the Guru, and a little before his death
he had entrusted his two sons, Mati
Das and Sati Das to the care of Guru
Har Rae, who had assured the dying man
of his full attention and help. Both
the lads remained attached to the Guru's
family at Kiratpur. When Har Krishan
was summoned to Delhi by Aurangzeb,
both the brothers, Mati Das and Sati
Das, were present in his entourage along
with Dayal Das, Gurditta, a descendant
of Bhai Budha.
On Guru Rar Krishan's death at Delhi,
these two brothers were included in
the deputation of five men containing
Dayal Das and Gurditta also to declare
the nomination of Tegh Bahadur as the
ninth Guru at Bakala where the new Guru
was then residing. The Guru was pleased
to offer the two important portfolios
of finance and home departments to Mati
Das and Sati Das respectively. Both
knew Persian well, and were quite familiar
with the working of the Guru's durbar
The departmnent of household affairs
was entrusted to Dayal Das.
The two brothers accompanied Guru Tegh
Bahadur during his journey to Assam.
They were present at the foundation
of Anandpur by Guru Tegh Bahadur on
his return to Panjab. The Guru's council
of administration then consisted of
Mati Das, Sati Das, Dayal Das and Gurditta.
When the Guru was carried to Delhi,
these four persons followed the Guru.
At Delhi the Guru and his four companions
were summoned into the council chamber
of the Red Fort. The Guru was asked
numerous questions on rdigion, Hinduism,
Sikhism and Islam. It was suggested
that the Guru should embrace Islam,
an he was offered many temptations.
Several newly converted Hindus were
produced before the Guru to tell him
how happy they were in Islam. On Guru's
emphatic refusal to abjure his
faith, he was asked why he was called
Tegh Bahadur or gladiator. Bhai Mati
Das immediately replied that the Guru
had won the title by inflicting a heavy
blow on the imperial forces at the young
age of fourteen. He was reprimanded
for his breach of etiquette and outspokenness.
As Mati Das was a Brahman, the Guru
was asked why he had courted the company
of such men when he did not believe
in caste, and why he was defending the
Brahmans of Kashmir. The Guru replied
that when a person became a Sikh, he
lost his caste. As for the Kashmiri
Pandits, it was his duty to raise his
voice against cruelty and injustice.
The Guru and his companions were ordered
to be imprisoned and tortured until
they agreed to embrace Islam.
After a few days Guru Tegh Bahadur
and three of his companions were produced
before the Qazi of the city. Gurditta
had managed to escape. He remained in
hiding in the city, and in spite of
all the efforts of the Government, he
could not be traced. The Qazi first
of all turned to Mati Das and asked
him to embrace Islam. He replied that
Sikhism was true and Islam was false,
and he would not renounce virtue for
vice. If God had created only Islam,
all men would have been born circumcised,
he said. He was condemned to instantaneous
death.
The executioners were called and the
Guru and all the three of his companions
were made to sit at the place of execution.
Bhai MatiDas approached the Guru
with folded hands and asked for his
blessings, saying that he was happy
to be the first to achieve martyrdom.
The Guru blessed him telling that they
must resign themselves cheerfully
to the will of the Lord. He praised
him for his lifelong single-minded devotion
to him and his cause. With tears in
his eyes he bade him farewell saying
his sacrifice would occupy an abiding
place in history. Mati Das touched the
Guru's feet, embraced his friend and
brother, and came to his place.
Mati Das while standing erect was tied
between two posts. Two executioners
placed a double-handed saw on his head.
Mati Das serenely uttered "Ik Om"
and started repeating the Japji.' He
was sawn across from head to loins.
Dayal Das abused the Emperor and his
courtiers for this infernal act. He
was tied up like a round bundle and
thrown into a huge cauldron of boiling
oil. He was roasted alive into a block
of charcoal. Sati Das condemned these
brutalities. He was hacked to pieces
limb by limb. The Guru witnessed this
savagery with divine coolness. The world
history does not offer anything worse
than this halal butchery of human beings.
Bhai Mati Das, the martyr, was the son
of Bhai Hira Mal, also called Hiranand,
a Chhibbar Brahman of Kariala, now in
Pakistan. His grandfather, Bhai Paraga,
had embraced the Sikh faith in the time
of Guru Hargobind and had taken part
in battles with the Mughal forces. His
uncle Dargah Mall served Guru Har Rai
and Guru Har Krishan as Diwan or manager
of the household. Bhai Mati Das and
his brother, Bhai Sati Das, assisted
Dargah Mall in his work during Guru
Tegh Bahadur's time. The former was
himself appointed Diwan along with Dargah
Mall who was by then considerably advanced
in years. Diwan Mati Das accompanied
Guru Tegh Bahadur during his travels
in the eastern parts in 1665-70. He
was among those who were detained with
Guru Tegh Bahadur at Dhamtan in 1665
and then released from Delhi at the
intervention of Karivar Ram Singh, of
Amber. In 1675, when the Guru set out
from Anandpur for Delhi, Bhai Mati Das
accompanied him. He was arrested with
him under imperial orders and taken
to Delhi. Upon his refusal to forswear
his faith, he was tortured to death.
He was, on 11 November 1675, sawn into
two, from head downwards.
References
Bhalla, Samp Das, Mahima Prakash. Patiala,
1971
Gian Singh, Giani, Sri Gur Panth Prakash.
Patiala, 1970
Santokh Singh, Bhai, Sri Gur Pratap
Suraj Granth. Amritsar, 1927-35
Macauliffe, Max Arthur, The Sikh Religion.
Oxford, 1909
Trilochan Singh, Guru. Tegh Bahadur.
: Prophet and Martyr. Delhi, 1967
Harbans Singh, Guru Tegh Bahadur. Delhi,
1989
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