|
Mata JITOJI was ji was
the wife of Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708),
the daughter of Bhai Ram Saran, a Kumarav
Khatri of Bijvara, in present-day Hoshiarpur
district of the Punjab. She was married
to Guru Gobind Singh at Anandpur on
4 April 1684. The father-in-law had
desired that the bridegroom should come
at the head of a marriage party to Lahore
where the ceremony should be performed
with due dignity.
The fateful events leading to the martyrdom
of Guru Tegh Bahadur intervened, and
in the changed circumstances it was
not possible for the young Guru to go
to Lahore. Therefore a temporary encampment
was raised near the village of Basantgarh,
10 km north of Anandpur, and named Guru
ka Lahore where the nuptials were held
on 23 Har 1734 Bk/21 June 1684. Mata
Jito ji became Mata Sundari ji after
marriage as was the custom in Punjabi
families.
On 30th March 1699, Guru Gobind Singh
created Khalsa at Anandpur. He declared
that this Khalsa will be both Saints
as well as Soldiers. When Gobind Singh
was preparing amrit (nectar) for initiating
the Khalsa, on this occasion , stirring
clean water in an iron bowl with a khanda
or double-edged sword, Mata Sundari
ji, as the tradition goes, came with
sugar crystals (Patasha) which were
dropped into the vessel at the Guru's
bidding. Sweetness was thus added to
the alchemy of steel. Mata Sundari ji
was the first Khalsa Woman.
Four sons were born to Mata Jitoji/Sundajiji
Ajit Singh, Jujhar Singh (14 March 1691),
Zorawar Singh (17 November 1696) and
Fateh Singh (25 February 1699). Mata
Sundari Ji raised her four sons on the
martyrdom tales of their grandfather
Guru Tegh Bahadur and great great grandfather
Guru Arjan Dev ji. She told them a Sikh
never runs from a battle field. It was
because of her teachings that all her
three sons attained Martyrdom Jujhar
Singh when was only 15 years old fighting
with Mughals at Chamkaur, Zorawar Singh
and Fateh Singh who were only 9 and
6 years old at the hands of Wazir Khan,
Mughal Governor of Sarhind, when the
young Sahibzades would not convert to
Islam. Consequent upon the evacuation
of Anandpur on the night of 5-6 December
1705, Mata Sundari, along with Mata
Sahib Devan, was escorted by Bhai Mani
Singh to Delhi.
She rejoined Guru Gobind Singh in 1706
at Talvandi Sabo, where she heard the
news of the martyrdom of her sons also
of the death of her aged mother-in-law,
Mata Gujari. She went back to stay at
Delhi while Guru Gobind Singh left Talvandi
Sabo for the South. At Delhi, Mata Sundari
adopted a young boy whom she named Ajit
Singh because of his resemblance to
her own late son, Sahibzada Ajit Singh.
After the passing away of Guru Gobind
Singh at Nanded in October 1708, the
Sikhs looked up to her for guidance.
She appointed Bhai Mani Singh to manage
the sacred shrines at Amritsar and also
commissioned him to collect the writings
of Guru Gobind Singh. She also issued
under her own seal and authority hukamnamas
to sangats. The hukamnamas since discovered
and published bear dates between 12
October 1717 and 10 August 1730.
Mata Sundari was disappointed in her
adopted son, Ajit Singh. Emperor Bahadur
Shah treated him as the successor of
Guru Gobind Singh, called him to his
court and gave him a robe of honour
in September 1710. This went to his
head and he started living in style
as a courtier. He grew arrogant and
haughty even towards Mata Sundari who
disowned him, and migrated to Mathura.
Ajit Singh was later convicted for murder
and was put to death on 18 January 1725.
Mata Sundari returned to live in Delhi
where she ,died in 1747. A memorial
in her honour stands in the compound
of Gurdwara Bala Sahib, New Delhi.
Article taken from this book.
Encyclopedia of Sikhism edited by Harbans
Singh ji.
NOTE: (based on the following results
on the research by Dr. Gurbaksh Singh
ji
The wrong impression that the Guru had
more than one wife was created by those
writers who were ignorant of Punjabi
culture. Later authors accepted those
writings indicating more than one marriage
of the Guru and presented it as a royal
act. During those days kings, chiefs,
and other important people usually had
more than one wife as a symbol of their
being great and superior to the common
man. Guru Gobind Singh, being a true
king, was justified in their eyes to
have had more than one wife. This is
actually incorrect. In Punjab, there
are two and sometimes three big functions
connected with marriage, i.e., engagement,
wedding, and Muklawa. Big gatherings
and singings are held at all these three
functions. In many cases, the engagement
was held as soon as the person had passed
the infant stage. Even today engagements
at 8 to 12 years of age are not uncommon
in some interior parts of India. The
wedding is performed a couple of years
after the engagement. After the wedding,
it takes another couple of years for
the bride to move in with her in laws
and live there. This is called Muklawa.
A dowry and other gifts to the bride
are usually given at this time of this
ceremony to help her to establish a
new home. Now, the wedding and Muklawa
are performed on the same day and only
when the partners are adults.
A big befitting function and other
joyful activities were held at Anand
Pur, according to custom, at the time
of the engagement of the Guru. The bride,
Mata Jeeto Ji, resided at Lahore, which
was the capital of the Mughal rulers
who were not on good terms with the
Gurus. When the time for the marriage
ceremony came, it was not considered
desirable for the Guru to go to Lahore,
along with the armed Sikhs in large
numbers. Furthermore, it would involve
a lot of traveling and huge expenses,
in addition to the inconvenience to
the Sangat, younger and old, who wished
to witness the marriage of the Guru.
Therefore, as mentioned in the Sikh
chronicles, Lahore was 'brought' to
Anand Pur Sahib for the marriage instead
of the Guru going to Lahore. A scenic
place a couple of miles to the north
of Anand Pur was developed into a nice
camp for the marriage. This place was
named Guru Ka Lahore. Today, people
are going to Anand Pur visit this place
as well. The bride was brought to this
place by her parents and the marria
ge was celebrated with a very huge gathering
attending the ceremony.
The two elaborate functions, one at
the time of engagement and the other
at the time of the marriage of the Guru,
gave the outside observers the impression
of two marriages. They had reason to
assume this because a second name was
also there, i.e., Mata Sundari Ji. After
the marriage, there is a custom in the
Panjab of giving a new affectionate
name to the bride by her inlaws. Mata
Jeeto Ji, because of her fine features
and good looks, was named Sundari (beautiful)
by the Guru's mother. The two names
and two functions gave a basis for outsiders
to believe that the Guru had two wives.
In fact, the Guru had one wife with
two names as explained above. Some historians
even say that Guru Gobind Singh had
a third wife, Mata Sahib Kaur. In 1699,
the Guru asked her to put patasas (puffed
sugar) in the water for preparing Amrit
when he founded the Khalsa Panth. Whereas
Guru Gobind Singh is recognized as the
spiritual father of the Khalsa, Mata
Sahib Kaur is recognized as the spiritual
mother of the Khalsa. People not conversant
with the Amrit ceremony mistakenly assume
that Mata Sahib Kaur was the wife of
Guru Gobind Singh. As Guru Gobind Singh
is the spiritual but not the biological
father of the Khalsa, Mata Sahib Devan
is the spiritual mother of the Khalsa,
Mata Sahib Devan is the spiritual mother
of the Khalsa but not the wife of Guru
Gobind Singh. From ignorance of Punjabi
culture and the Amrit ceremony, some
writers mistook these three names of
the women in the life of Guru Gobind
Singh as the names of his three wives.
Another reason for this misunderstanding
is that the parents of Mata Sahib Devan,
as some Sikh chronicles have mentioned,
had decided to marry her to Guru Gobind
Singh. When the proposal was brought
for discussion to Anandpur, the Guru
had already been married. Therefore,
the Guru said that he could not have
another wife since he was already married.
The dilemma before the parents of the
girl was that, the proposal having become
public, no Sikh would be willing to
marry her. The Guru agreed for her to
stay at Anand Pur but without accepting
her as his wife. The question arose,
as most women desire to have children,
how could she have one without being
married. The Guru told, "She will
be the "mother" of a great
son who will live forever and be known
all over the world." The people
understood the hidden meaning of his
statement only after the Guru associated
Mata Sahib Devan with preparing Amrit
by bringing patasas. It is, therefore,
out of ignorance that some writers consider
Mata Sahib Devan as the worldly wife
of Guru Gobind Singh.
Copyright © Harbans Singh "The
encyclopedia of Sikhism. " |
