|
 CHALI
MUKTE, lit. forty (chali) liberated
ones (mukte), is how a band of 40 brave
Sikhs who laid down their lives fighting
near the dhab or lake of Khidrana, also
called Isharsar, on 29 December 1705
against a Mughal force in chase of Guru
Gobind Singh are remembered in Sikh
history and daily in the Sikh ardas
or supplicatory prayer offered individually
or at gatherings at the end of all religious
services. Guru Gobind Singh, who had
watched the battle from a nearby mound
praised the martyrs' valour and blessed
them as Chali Mukte, the Forty Immortals.
After them Khidrana became Muktsar -
the Pool of Liberation. Etymologically,
mukta from Sanskrit mukt means 'liberated,
delivered, emancipated,' especially
from the cycle of birth and death. Mukti
(liberation, emancipation) in Sikhism
is the highest spiritual goal of human
existence, and mukt or mukta is the
one who has achieved this state of final
beatitude. Mukta, also means a pearl,
and the word would thus signify a title
or epithet of distinction. It was probably
in this sense that the five Sikhs, who
on 30 March 1699 received the vows of
the Khalsa immediately after the first
five Panj Piare (q.v.), were blessed
with the title mukta, plural mukte.
The term Chali Mukte is also used sometimes
for the martyrs whom a huge arrny, in
pursuit since the evacuation of Anandpur
by Guru Gobind Singh during the night
5-6 December, caught up with and encircled
at Chamkaur on 7 December, and who engaged
the enemy in small sorties throughout
the day with the result that the Guru
with three other survivors was able
to escape during the following night.
While there is no unanimity over the
names of the martyrs of Muktsar and
Chamkaur Sahib, the five Muktas who
comprised the first batch of Sikhs to
receive amrit at the hands of the Panj
Piare are given in Rahitnama by Bhai
Daya Singh as Ram Singh, Fateh Singh,
Deva Singh, Tahil Singh and Isar Singh.
No other details of these five are available
except that an old manuscript of Bhai
Prahlad Singh's Rahitnama is said to
contain a note associating Ram Singh
and Deva Singh with the village of Bughiana,
Tahil Singh and Isar Singh with Dall-Van
and Fateh Singh with Kurdpur Mangat.
According to Bhai Chaupa Singh, his
Rahitnama or code of conduct was drafted
by muktas. The text is said to have
received Guru Gobind Singh's approval
on 7 Jeth 1757 Bk / 5 May 1700. It appears
that the title of mukta was bestowed
subsequently also on persons other than
the original five. The number of muktas
is recorded variously in old Sikh texts.
For instance, Kesar Singh Chhibbar,
Bansavallnama Dasan Patshahlan Ka, mentions
14, and Kuir Singh, gurbilas Patshahi
X, 25.
But muktas universally celebrated in
the Sikh tradition are the forty martyrs
of Muktsar who earned this title by
sacrificing their lives for the Guru
and who redeemed their past apostasy
of having disowned the Guru and deserted
him driven to desperation by the prolonged
siege of Anandpur by the hill chiefs
and Mughal forces by having their disclaimer
torn by the Guru. They were led by Mai
Bhago and Mahan Singh Brar.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Copyright © Harbans Singh "The
encyclopedia of Sikhism."
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