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 Mata
Gujari was the daughter of Bhai lal
Chand Subulikka and Bishan Kaur, a pious
couple of Kartarpur, in present-day
kapurthala district of the Punjah. Lal
Chand had migrated from his ancestral
village, Lakhnaur, in Ambala district,
to settle at Kartarpur where his dauggter
Gujari was married to (Guru) Tegh Bahadur
on 4 February 1633. The betrothal had
taken place four years earlier when
Tegh Bahadur had come to Kartarpur in
the marriage party of his elder brother,
Suraj Mall. Bishan Kaur, the mother,
had been charmed by the handsome face
of Tegh Bahadur and she and her husband
pledged the hand of their daughter to
him. After the marriage ceremony, the
couple came to reside in Amritsar. Bride
Gujari won the appreciation of everyone
"Like bridegroom like bride"
records Gurbilas Chhevi patshsahi. "Gujari
is by destiny made worthy of Tegh Bahadur
in every way " In 1635, Mata Gujari
left Amritsar with the holy family and
went to reside at Kartarpur, in the
Sivalik foothills. After of Guru Hargobind
left this world in 1644, she came with
her husband and mother-in-law, Mata
Nanaki, to Bakala, now in Amritsar district
of the Punjab. There they lived in peaceful
seclusion, Tegh Bahadur spending his
days and nights in meditation and Gujari
performing the humble duties of a pious
and devoted housewife. After he was
installed Guru in 1664, Guru Tegh Bahadur,
accompanied by Mata Gujari, went on
a visit to Amritsar, travelling on to
Makhoval, near Kiratpur, where a new
habitation, named Chakk Nanaki (later
Anandpur) was founded in the middle
of 1665.
Soon after this,Guru Tegh Bahadur along
with his mother, Nanaki, and wife, Gujari,
set out on a long journey to the east
Leaving the family at Patna, he travelled
on to Bengal and Assam. At Patna, Mata
Gujari gave birth to a son on 22 December
1666. The child was named Gobind Rai,
the illustrious Guru Gobind Singh of
later day. Guru Tegh Bahadur returned
to Patna in 1670 for a brief stay before
he left for Delhi, instructing the family
to proceed to lakhnaur, now in Haryana.
Mata Gujari, accompanied by the aged
Mata Nanaki and young Gobind Rai, reached,
on 13 September 1670, Lakhnaur where
she stayed with her brother Mehar chand,
until she was joined by her husband.
An old well just outside Lakhnaur village
and reverently called Matta da Khuh
or Mata Gujari da Khuh still commemorates
her visit. From Lakhnaur the family
proceeded to Chakk Nanaki where Guru
Tegh Bahadur rejoined them in March
1671 after spending some more time travelling
through the Malva region and meeting
sangats. At Chakk Nanaki, 11 July 1675
was a momentous day when Guru Tegh Bahadur
left for Delhi prepared to make the
supreme sacrifice. She showed courage
at the time of parting and bore the
ultimate trial with fortitude. Guru
Tegh Bahadur was executed in Delhi on
11 November 1675, and, Guru Cobind Singh
then being very young, the responsibility
of managing the affairs at Chakk Nanaki,
initially, fell to her. She was assisted
in the task by her younger brother,
Kirpal Chand.
When in face of a prolonged siege by
hostile hill rajas and Mughal troops
Chakk Nanaki (Anandpur) had to be evacuated
by Guru Gobind Singh on the night of
5-6 December 1705, Mata Gujari with
her younger grandsons, Zorawar Singh
and Fateh Singh, aged nine and seven
year respectively, was separated from
the main body while crossing the rivulet
Sarsa. Thc three of them were led by
their servant, Gangu, to the latter's
village, Saheri, near Morinda in present
day Ropar district, where he treacherously
betrayed them to the local Muslim officer.
Mata Gujari and her grandsons were arrested
on 8 December and confined in Sirhind
Fort in what is referred to in Sikh
chronicles as Thanda Burj, the cold
tower. As the children were summoned
to appear in court from day to day,
the grandmother kept urging them to
remain steadfast in their faith. On
11 December they were ordered to be
bricked up alive in a wall, but, since
the masonry crumbled before it covered
their heads, they were executed the
following day. Mata Gujari ji were prisoned
on top of a tower which was opened from
all sides without any warm clothes in
very cold month of December. She continued
the tradition of Sikhism and without
complaints give her body singing guru
ki Bani. Mata Gujari ji attained martyrdom
the same day as her grandsons. No doubt
Guru Nanak Dev ji had said "Why
isn't woman equal to man when she is
who gave birth to kings, and protectors
of Dharma". Mata Gujari ji through
upbringing of her grandsons played such
an important role in Sikhism that as
sikhs, we can owe our existence to her.
It was due to her teachings that 6 year
old and 9 year old did not bulge from
their Dharma and attained martyrdom.,
thus continuing and emphasizing the
institute of martyrdom in Sikhism. Seth
Todar Mall, a kind-hearted wealthy man
of Sirhind, cremated the three dead
bodies the next day.
At Fatehgarh Sahib, near Sirhind, there
is a shrine called Gurdwara Mata Gujari
(Thanda Burj). This is where Mata Gujari
spent the last four days of her life.
Ahout one kilometre to the southeast
of it is Gurdwara Joti Sarup, marking
the cremation site. Here, on the ground
floor, a small domed pavilion in white
marble is dedicated to Mata Gujari.
The Sikhs from far and near come to
pay homage to her memory, especially
during a three-day fair held from 1113
Poh, Bikrami dates falling in the last
week of December.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Copyright © Trilochan Singh "Guru
Tegh Bahadur, Delhi, 1967"
Copyright © Harbans Singh "Guru
Tegh Bahadur, Delhi, 1982"
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