Family trees
The Guruship did not simply pass from parent to child. The first three successions went outside the Guru's own sons, and from the fourth Guru onward every Guru came from one Sodhi family. These trees show the relatives the sources record, including those who were passed over and the lines they went on to found.
Bedi clan
The family of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji
Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji passed the Guruship to a disciple, not to either son. His elder son founded the Udasi order, and the Bedi family line continued through the younger.
- Married Jai Ram. An official at the Sultanpur court of Nawab Daulat Khan Lodhi.
Five years older than her brother, and remembered as the first to recognise his spiritual standing. She had no children, and she arranged his marriage.
Elder son and founder of the ascetic Udasi order. He never married. He named Baba Gurditta, Sri Guru Hargobind Ji's eldest son, to succeed him as head of the Udasis.
Younger son, who married and lived as a householder.
Settled at Dera Baba Nanak, carrying on the Bedi line. The Encyclopaedia gives both forms of his name. The line below him follows the genealogy in the Chola Sahib custodian's booklet.
- Several generations not shown
Tenth in direct descent from Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji. He passed away at Una, where his parents had moved around 1770.
- Baba Manak Chand Ji[Src]
Trehan clan
The family of Sri Guru Angad Dev Ji
Sri Guru Angad Dev Ji also passed over his sons. His daughter Bibi Amaro is the link to the next Guru: hearing her recite Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji's hymns is what brought Sri Guru Amar Das Ji to Khadur.
A Trehan Khatri trader of modest means. His wife's name is given variously as Sabhirai, Ramo, Daya Kaur and Mansa Devi.
Eldest son. He proclaimed himself Guru at Khadur after his father's passing, then withdrew the claim and apologised.
Like his brother, he did not accept Sri Guru Amar Das Ji as their father's successor.
Bhalla clan
The family of Sri Guru Amar Das Ji
Sri Guru Amar Das Ji chose his son-in-law over his sons, which brought the Guruship into the Sodhi family, where it stayed. Manuscript collections of the Gurus' hymns stayed with his son Mohan.
- Bibi Dani[EoS]
Elder daughter, married to Bhai Rama. The couple lived at Goindwal.
Wife of one Guru, daughter of another and mother of a third. Her line continues in the Sodhi tree.
Lived a retired life at Goindwal and held the manuscript collections of hymns inherited from his father. He handed them to Sri Guru Arjun Dev Ji, and they survive as the Goindwal Pothis.
Ran Guru Ji's household and accepted his brother-in-law's succession without objection.
- Anand Das[EoS]
Sodhi clan
The Sodhi family: Sri Guru Ram Das Ji to Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji
Every Guru from the fourth to the tenth belongs to this one family. Disputes over succession created rival seats, and one of those lines kept the original volume of the Adi Granth.
Eldest son. He opposed his younger brother's succession and set up a rival seat.
For a time he sided with Prithi Chand against Sri Guru Arjun Dev Ji.
- Mother: Mata Damodari
Eldest son and founder of Kiratpur. Baba Sri Chand named him head of the Udasi order. He passed away before his father.
Set himself up as Guru at Kartarpur. His descendants, the Sodhis of Kartarpur, held the original volume of the Adi Granth prepared under Sri Guru Arjun Dev Ji.
- Mother: Mata Damodari
Married Bhai Sadhu in 1629. All five of her sons fought at Bhangani in 1688, and two of them, Sango Shah and Jit Mall, attained martyrdom there.
- Ani Rai[EoS]Mother: Mata Damodari
- Mother: Mata Maha Devi
The Sodhis of Anandpur descend from him.
- Mother: Mata NanakiMarried Mata Gujri 1624–1705. Daughter of Lal Chand Subhikkhi and Bishan Kaur. Married 4 February 1633. Her brother Kirpal Chand looked after the family at Patna.[EoS][EoS]
- Married Mata Sundari d. 1747. Married 4 April 1684. She later adopted a boy at Delhi and named him Ajit Singh.[EoS]Married Mata Sahib Devan. Married 15 April 1700. She had no children, and by tradition is the mother of the Khalsa.[EoS]
He named no human successor. All four sons were martyred before him, in December 1705.
- Mother: Mata Jito
Executed at Sirhind on 12 December 1705, aged nine.
- Mother: Mata Jito
Executed at Sirhind on 12 December 1705, aged six.
How the Guruship passed
Each Guru's tie to the one before, and the relatives who were not chosen.
| Guru | Tie to the previous Guru | Passed over |
|---|---|---|
| 1Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji | Founder[EoS] | None recorded |
| 2Sri Guru Angad Dev Ji | Disciple, with no family tie to Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji[EoS][EoS] | Baba Sri Chand and Baba Lakhmi Das, Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji's sons |
| 3Sri Guru Amar Das Ji | Disciple. A nephew of his had married Sri Guru Angad Dev Ji's daughter[EoS][EoS] | Baba Dasu and Baba Datu, Sri Guru Angad Dev Ji's sons |
| 4Sri Guru Ram Das Ji | Son-in-law of Sri Guru Amar Das Ji[EoS][EoS] | Baba Mohan and Baba Mohri, Sri Guru Amar Das Ji's sons |
| 5Sri Guru Arjun Dev Ji | Youngest son of Sri Guru Ram Das Ji[EoS][EoS] | Prithi Chand and Mahadev, his elder brothers |
| 6Sri Guru Hargobind Ji | Only son of Sri Guru Arjun Dev Ji[EoS] | None recorded |
| 7Sri Guru Har Rai Ji | Grandson of Sri Guru Hargobind Ji[EoS][EoS] | Dhir Mall, his elder brother |
| 8Sri Guru Har Krishan Ji | Younger son of Sri Guru Har Rai Ji[EoS][EoS] | Ram Rai, his elder brother |
| 9Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji | Great-uncle of Sri Guru Har Krishan Ji, and youngest son of Sri Guru Hargobind Ji[EoS] | None recorded |
| 10Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji | Son of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji[EoS] | None recorded |
Cite this page
"Family trees of the Sikh Gurus". Sikh History: lives of the Gurus. https://sikh-history.co.uk/family/