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 The
tenth and the last Guru or Prophet-teacher
of the Sikh faith, was born Gobind Rai
Sodhi on Poh 7, 1723 sk/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)on the foothills of
the Sivaliks where he reached in March
1672 and where his early education included
reading and writing of Punjabi, Braj,
Sanskrit and Persian. He was barely
nine years of age when a sudden turn
came in his life as well as in the life
of tile community he was destined to
lead. Early in 1675, a group Kashmiri
Brahmans, drivels to desperation by
the religious fanaticism of the Mughals
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 Kuir 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 proceeded to the imperial
capital, Delhi, and courted death on
11 November 1675.
Guru Gobind Singh was formally installed
Guru on the Baisakhi day of 1733 Bk/29
March 1676. 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 comely youth spare,
lithe of limb and energetic. 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
and his only major work in the Punjabi
language. 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 Rajpat hill rulers who
led by Raja Fateh Chand of Garhval collected
a host to attack him. But they were
worsted in an action at Bhangam, 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 Husaim
battle (20 Februaly 1696) fought against
Husain K an, 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 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. Gurb Gobind
Singh appeared before the assembly dramatically
on that day with a naked sword in hand
and, to quote Kuir Singh, Gurbilas Patshahz
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 Gurb 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 Gurb returned with his sword
dripping blood, and asked for another
head. At this Dharam Das, a Jat 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 Jagannath puri, 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 da pahul,
i.e. initiation by sweetened water churned
with a double-edged broad sword (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, three
of them from the so-called low-castes,
a Ksatriya and a Jatt, 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 kes
or long hair and beard, kangha, a comb
in the kes 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 (or
in any sacrificial ceremony).
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, Ral 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
Dharam 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, Munim 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 Tarzkh-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 the vows of the Khalsa, 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 Rahrasi
prayer. Before he could deal another
blow, Guru Gobind Singh struck him down
with his sabre, 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 October 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, 7 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.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Copyright © Harbans Singh "The
encyclopedia of Sikhism. "
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