Life and times

Sri Guru Hargobind Ji

Sri Guru Hargobind Ji, the sixth Guru, was born in 1595 and became Guru at eleven, after his father Sri Guru Arjun Dev Ji was martyred at Lahore in 1606. Guru Ji took up arms and horses, built the seat later known as the Akal Takht, was held for a time at Gwalior by Jahangir, fought Mughal detachments in the 1630s, and finally withdrew to Kiratpur in the Shivalik foothills, where he passed away in 1644.

The evidence includes something new, a first-hand witness from outside the community. The author of the Dabistan-i-Mazahib, traditionally Mohsin Fani, saw Guru Ji at Kiratpur and quotes him directly. He also shows how an outsider saw the change: a Guru who girded on a sword, kept servants and went hunting, unlike his father. Bhai Gurdas lived through most of this period as well.

Against that, much of the detail is less secure. The dates of the Gwalior detention vary by more than a decade. The release of fifty-two princes is tradition, as the Encyclopaedia itself says. The battle stories come mainly from the Gurbilas Chhevin Patshahi, a text that claims 1718 and that Mann dates to the 1840s. This life sets out what each source says.

Dates, family and related people →

The times

Jahangir

Jahangir ruled from October 1605 until he passed away in October 1627. The Encyclopaedia describes him as capricious, relying on orthodox courtiers early in his reign and later leaving much of the government to Nur Jahan. After Guru Ji was released from Gwalior, relations seem to have become friendlier. Sikh chronicles describe a journey to Kashmir together in 1620.

Prince Khusrau, whose rebellion had led to the passing of Sri Guru Arjun Dev Ji, was killed on 29 January 1622 in the custody of his brother Khurram, the future Shah Jahan. Gwalior fort, where Guru Ji was held, was a prison used for political detainees of high rank.[EoS][EoS][Gupta]

Shah Jahan

Shah Jahan succeeded in 1628. The Dabistan calls Guru Ji devoted to him at first, and says he gave service to a local faujdar, Yar Khan. The relationship broke down in the 1630s. The Encyclopaedia reports that the emperor's hunting near Amritsar on a visit to Lahore provided the spark. The Encyclopaedia adds that Wazir Khan, a physician remembered in Sikh sources as an admirer of Sri Guru Arjun Dev Ji, governed Lahore from 1628 until 1633, and so had left by the time the fighting began.

In the Encyclopaedia's account, the forces in these years were led by officers such as a faujdar of Lahore, a commander named Lalla Beg and a faujdar of Jalandhar. The Dabistan also speaks of armies sent on the emperor's orders. No Mughal chronicle of these battles was among the sources read.[Src][EoS][EoS]

The Shivalik hill chiefs

The hill states offered refuge, since the Mughals controlled them only partly. The Dabistan says Kiratpur lay in the land of Raja Tara Chand, who did not submit to Shah Jahan, and that an army took him prisoner in 1055 AH. It also records the temple of Naina Devi, and claims that many in these hills had become Sikhs. Moving there took the Sikh centre out of easy reach of Lahore, as the Dabistan points out.[Src][EoS]

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Childhood and the crisis of 1606

1595-1606

Sri Guru Hargobind Ji was born on 19 June 1595 (Har vadi 7, 1652 Bk) at Wadali near Amritsar, the only child of Sri Guru Arjun Dev Ji and Mata Ganga. The Encyclopaedia says that he survived a poison attempt by a jealous uncle, a cobra thrown in his way and a bad case of smallpox. Bhai Gurdas taught him the sacred texts, and Baba Buddha taught him sword and bow.

He was married to Mata Damodari on 15 February 1605. He later also married Mata Nanaki and Mata Maha Devi. He was not yet eleven when his father was taken to Lahore.[EoS][EoS][EoS][EoS]

Agreed in traditionMay 1606Lahore and Amritsar

Sri Guru Arjun Dev Ji's last instruction

From Lahore, Sri Guru Arjun Dev Ji names his son and, in a later source, tells him to sit armed on the throne.

Note. This is a 19th-century statement about 1606, so it should not be read as a record of what was said. It presents the change of direction as something Sri Guru Arjun Dev Ji commanded, which may also have been a later concern.

What the sources say (3)

ScholarshipGives the nomination date of 25 May 1606 and quotes the Suraj Prakash on the instruction to take his seat fully armed with armed men around him.[EoS]
ScholarshipReports a tradition that Sri Guru Arjun Dev Ji had already encouraged his son and other Sikhs to train as soldiers.[EoS]
Later traditionHas Guru Ji leave final instructions before he goes to Lahore and tell Mata Ganga not to end her life.[Macauliffe]

Miri and Piri

1606-c. 1610

The succession ceremonies are dated to 24 June 1606, less than a month after the martyrdom. Guru Ji sat armed before the Harmandir Sahib and asked for gifts of arms and horses. He kept fifty-two armed men around him, then many more, and bards sang heroic ballads. The Encyclopaedia also quotes Mahima Prakash, which says he still rose hours before dawn for private devotion.

Miri and Piri mean worldly and spiritual authority. The Encyclopaedia states that this idea is usually linked to Guru Ji but that it can be traced in earlier teaching, and it notes the royal language already applied to the Gurus by the Var of Balvand and Satta. The Dabistan confirms the outward change in plain words: he adopted the form of a soldier, against his father's practice. It does not mention two swords, or use these two terms.[EoS][EoS][Src][DB]

Agreed in tradition24 June 1606Amritsar

The two swords

At his installation, Guru Ji wears two swords, one for spiritual and one for worldly authority.

The Encyclopaedia gives the common account. For the ceremony Guru Ji chose a warrior's equipment over the usual marks of office, and Baba Buddha performed the investiture on the new platform. Guru Ji wore two swords, naming one as the sign of his spiritual office and the other as that of his worldly one.

Macauliffe has Baba Buddha gently question the young man on seeing him in armour. Guru Ji answers that the swords fulfil the old man's own blessing, and that under Guru Ji's roof faith and worldly life would be joined: a cauldron for feeding the poor and a blade for striking oppressors.

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Note. The Dabistan confirms that Guru Ji wore a sword against his father's practice. That is close support for the change of manner, not for two swords. The symbolism comes from later Sikh writing.

What the sources say (3)

ScholarshipDescribes the armed seat before the Harmandir Sahib and the meaning of the two swords.[EoS]
ScholarshipHas Baba Buddha carry out the investiture.[EoS]
Later traditionGives the dialogue about the two swords and the cauldron and the blade.[Macauliffe]

Well attestedFrom 1606

The change of style

Outside and inside sources agree that Guru Ji took to arms, horses, hunting and a body of retainers.

Note. The Dabistan also says he ate flesh and hunted, and that his followers copied him, in contrast with Sri Guru Arjun Dev Ji. That is an observation from a mid-century outsider.

What the sources say (3)

From the timeThe Dabistan says he adopted a soldier's form, girded a sword, kept servants and took to hunting. (p. 15)[Src]
ScholarshipGives a hukamnama of 12 June 1606 asking for arms and horses, and a retinue of fifty-two.[EoS]
ScholarshipShows Bhai Gurdas working with Guru Ji through this period at the Akal Takht and Gwalior.[EoS]

Agreed in traditionJune 1606Amritsar

Building the Akal Takht

Opposite the Harmandir Sahib, Guru Ji raises a platform for the community's worldly affairs.

According to the Gurbilas Chhevin Patshahi, as reported by the Encyclopaedia, Guru Ji laid the cornerstone himself. Only Baba Buddha and Bhai Gurdas were allowed to complete the work, and no third person could help. From here he dealt with the community's secular business and is said to have issued his first hukamnama, telling distant congregations to bring weapons and horses.

Bhai Gurdas was put in charge of the site. A building raised over the platform later came to be called the Akal Bunga.

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Note. The Encyclopaedia's two entries convert the same Bikrami date differently (3 June and 15 June), and Macauliffe's light half differs again. They also rest on the Gurbilas, whose claim to be old is doubted. A raised seat of this kind is plausible. Later sources may have projected the name Akal Takht and its later authority back onto 1606. The Dabistan does not mention it.

What the sources say (4)

ScholarshipGives Har vadi 5, 1663 Bk, as 15 June 1606, following the Gurbilas, and calls the Gurbilas the oldest account.[EoS]
ScholarshipGives Har 5, 1663 Bk, as 3 June 1606 for the same event.[EoS]
Later traditionDates it to the fifth of the light half of Har, 1663, and calls it the Takht Akal Bunga.[Macauliffe]
ScholarshipPresents it as the institutional expression of Miri and Piri.[EoS]

Single accountLahore

Bidhi Chand and the horses of Lahore

Two horses meant for Guru Ji are seized by the governor, and Bhai Bidhi Chand steals them back in disguise.

The Encyclopaedia calls this Bhai Bidhi Chand's best known exploit. A reformed bandit who had joined Sri Guru Arjun Dev Ji and become a captain, he heard of two horses, Dilbagh and Gulbagh. They were being brought from Kabul by a Sikh as an offering, and had been seized on the way by the Mughal governor.

He recovered the first by going into the stables disguised as a seller of hay, and the second disguised as an astrologer.

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Note. This comes from later chronicles, and the Encyclopaedia cites the Gurbilas and similar works in its bibliography. It is a popular tale, not a recorded incident.

What the sources say (1)

ScholarshipSummarises the exploit with the two disguises and gives his career as a captain and preacher.[EoS]

Gwalior

Between 1609 and 1620

Jahangir sent Guru Ji to Gwalior fort. That much is secure. The Dabistan gives the reason as the fine imposed on Sri Guru Arjun Dev Ji, still unpaid, and adds the soldierly style as a further difficulty. The Encyclopaedia adds reports about the splendid way that Guru Ji lived.

How long he stayed is another matter. As the Encyclopaedia says, historians differ widely. The births of several of Guru Ji's children between 1613 and 1621 have been used as an argument against a long imprisonment. Gupta replies that high-ranking prisoners could keep their wives with them. Bhai Gurdas is said to have led a group of Sikhs to Gwalior, and the Dabistan says that masands and Sikhs went there and bowed down to the fort wall.[Src][EoS][EoS][Gupta][EoS]

DisputedDates vary from 1609 to 1620Gwalior

How long was the detention?

Estimates run from forty days to twelve years, and no one date is proven.

Note. This list is the honest answer: the Dabistan is the only near-contemporary witness and it says twelve years; most modern writers shorten this, because children were born in those years, but they do not agree on when. No imperial document read for this page gives the date.

What the sources say (5)

From the timeThe Dabistan says twelve years, with no salty food allowed; Ganda Singh's note says the stay seems to have been far shorter. (p. 15)[Src]
ScholarshipSays historians differ widely and suggests some months within 1617-1619.[EoS]
ScholarshipLists periods from forty days to twelve years, then suggests a few months in 1617-19 followed by time under watch in the royal camp.[EoS]
ScholarshipAlso gives some months within 1617-1619.[EoS]
ScholarshipArgues for arrest early in 1609 and release in October 1620, and reports Giani Gian Singh's two months and Teja Singh and Ganda Singh's limit of about two years, ending in about 1614. (pp. 160-162)[Gupta]

DisputedGwalior and the court

Who secured the release

The Dabistan credits Jahangir's kindness; Sikh tradition credits Mian Mir or Wazir Khan.

What the sources say (4)

From the timeThe Dabistan says the emperor freed him as an act of kindness, and mentions no one else. (p. 15)[Src]
ScholarshipSays Mian Mir was instrumental in the release.[EoS]
Later traditionGives Wazir Khan the main part as go-between.[Macauliffe]
ScholarshipThinks it probable that Mian Mir recommended release when he visited Jahangir in 1620, but offers this as a likelihood.[Gupta]

Agreed in traditionGwalior

The fifty-two princes

Tradition says Guru Ji refused to leave without fellow prisoners, and led out fifty-two holding the strings of his cloak.

The Encyclopaedia says Sikh tradition is unanimous on this, and labels it as tradition. When the emperor ordered his release, Guru Ji refused to walk out alone, because fifty-two chiefs and princes were held in the fort with him. The emperor said that any prisoner able to grasp Guru Ji's robe might go with him. So Guru Ji had a cloak made with 52 strings, each captive took a string, and they all walked out. From that day he has been remembered as Data Bandi Chhor, the generous liberator.

Macauliffe tells it differently, with no cloak. Wazir Khan persuades the emperor, who agrees to free the rajas on condition that Guru Ji stands as their surety. Guru Ji has their fetters struck off, and they hold the hem of his garment, while reciting a verse of Sri Guru Arjun Dev Ji, until he promises them salvation too.

When Guru Ji reached Amritsar, the Encyclopaedia adds, Sikhs lit up the town. The anniversary is still marked at the Harmandir Sahib with lights and fireworks.

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Note. The Dabistan, the only near-contemporary witness, says nothing about other prisoners. The Encyclopaedia also says Raja Kalyan Chand of Kahlur won his freedom through Guru Ji, so individual hill chiefs may stand behind the story. Fifty-two is also the number given for Guru Ji's first retinue, which may be a coincidence or may suggest how the tradition grew.

What the sources say (4)

ScholarshipGives the 52 captives and the cloak with strings as Sikh tradition, and explains the title Data Bandi Chhor.[EoS]
ScholarshipRecords his refusal to leave unless the others were freed, the fifty-two prisoners and the lights at Amritsar.[EoS]
Later traditionHas the rajas released on Guru Ji's surety, with their fetters struck off and the hem held.[Macauliffe]
ScholarshipSays he was released along with Raja Dharam Chand of Hindur, which is much more limited.[Gupta]

Agreed in traditionLahore

The end of Chandu Shah

Sikh tradition says Jahangir handed Chandu to Guru Ji and that Sikhs dragged him through Lahore.

As the Encyclopaedia reports the Sikh tradition, Jahangir became friendly to Guru Ji, had Chandu Shah arrested and gave him up to Guru Ji's custody. Angry Sikhs who remembered what had been done to Sri Guru Arjun Dev Ji dragged him through the streets of Lahore. The last blow is said to have come from the man whom Chandu had once made to pour hot sand on Guru Ji's father.

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Note. No outside source read for this page mentions this. The same applies to Chandu's role in the first place.

What the sources say (2)

ScholarshipTells the story of his arrest, the streets of Lahore and the final blow.[EoS]
ScholarshipMarks his being handed over as Sikh tradition and says he met a violent end.[EoS]

Agreed in tradition1620Kashmir

Kashmir with Jahangir

Guru Ji is said to have travelled to Kashmir in the emperor's company, as relations improved.

Note. Macauliffe's picture of Guru Ji and Jahangir hunting together, and a grass-cutter who mistook the emperor for Guru Ji, belongs to this memory of friendship, but is not independently supported.

What the sources say (3)

ScholarshipSays he went in 1620 in Jahangir's company, and names Srinagar, Baramula, Uri and Punchh.[EoS]
ScholarshipSays Sikh chronicles speak of a trip together to Kashmir.[EoS]
From the timeThe Dabistan says that he stayed attached to Jahangir and was not separated from him, without mentioning Kashmir.[Src]

Sri Hargobindpur and the years of peace

1620s-1633

Guru Ji had a large family. Mata Damodari had Baba Gurditta in 1613, Bibi Viro in 1615 and Ani Rai. Mata Maha Devi had Suraj Mall in 1617. Mata Nanaki had Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji in 1621. Atal Rai, born in 1619, is given to Mata Nanaki in his own entry and to Mata Maha Devi in the life of Guru Ji. In 1626 Guru Ji had Baba Sri Chand and Baba Gurditta break ground at Kiratpur, on land in the hills. He also travelled, visiting Nanakmata and Srinagar in Garhwal, where the Encyclopaedia says the Maratha saint Samarth Ramdas met him.

Bhai Gurdas and Baba Buddha continued to serve in these years. Baba Buddha passed away in November 1631 and Mata Damodari earlier in the same year (the Encyclopaedia gives 13 July in one entry and November in another), while Bhai Gurdas passed away on 25 August 1636.[EoS][EoS][EoS][EoS][EoS][EoS][EoS][EoS]

Disputed1621 or c. 1629Sri Hargobindpur (Ruhela)

Founding Sri Hargobindpur and fighting at Ruhela

Guru Ji rebuilds a ruined site, is challenged by a local landlord, and builds a mosque and a dharamsal.

Note. The mosque (Guru ki Masit) survives as a building, and Sikh chronicles report its construction. No near-contemporary text read for this page confirms the 1621 clashes. If Gupta's date for the Gwalior release is right, the 1621 clashes came very soon afterwards.

What the sources say (3)

ScholarshipSays the site was among Chandu's lands, dates two clashes with Bhagwan Das and his allies to 28 September and 4 October 1621, and says Guru Ji built a mosque.[EoS]
ScholarshipPlaces the arrival in the rainy season probably of 1629, and gives another view that Sri Guru Arjun Dev Ji founded it in 1587.[EoS]
ScholarshipCredits the rebuilding of Ruhela to Sri Guru Arjun Dev Ji.[EoS]

Single account1628Amritsar

Baba Atal Rai

The Gurbilas says a nine-year-old son revived a dead friend, was rebuked and passed away the same day.

The Gurbilas Chhevin Patshahi, as reported by the Encyclopaedia, says Atal Rai had been playing with a friend named Mohan. Mohan lost the game and was to pay a forfeit in the morning, but he was bitten by a snake in the night and passed away. When he did not turn up, Atal Rai went to the house, found the family mourning and walked up to the covered body. He told his friend that it was no time for sleep and that he owed them the forfeit, touched him with his stick, and the boy stood up.

When Guru Ji heard, he was not pleased, and said that making miracles was a form of violence against God's will. The nine-year-old took this to heart. He bathed in the pool, recited the Japji by the bank of Kaulsar, lay down with his stick beneath his head, and passed away, on 13 September 1628. The nine-storey tower called Baba Atal stands in Amritsar.

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Note. This reports what the Gurbilas says, without asserting or denying the miracle. The same shape of story is told about Baba Gurditta later.

What the sources say (1)

ScholarshipRetells the story from the Gurbilas with the date, the rebuke and the memorial tower.[EoS]

The battles of the 1630s

1634-1635

Four battles followed in quick succession, according to the Encyclopaedia: Amritsar, Lahira near Mehraj and Kartarpur, with fighting also at Phagwara. The Dabistan confirms that this happened, in general terms. It says that Guru Ji fought the armies of Shah Jahan's servants, lost his baggage, went to Kartarpur and fought again, then moved to Phagwara and on to Kiratpur because places near Lahore had become risky.

The exact dates come from Bhatt Vahis and the details from the Gurbilas and Suraj Prakash. Those details include named heroes and speeches, and are told in the manner of epic poetry. The Sikh accounts include Muslim soldiers on Guru Ji's side, such as Painda Khan before he changed sides, so these were not simply fights of Sikh against Muslim.[Src][EoS][EoS][EoS]

Disputed14 April 1634, or 1629Amritsar

The hawk and the battle of Amritsar

A dispute over Shah Jahan's escaped hawk is said to have brought Mughal troops under Mukhlis Khan to Amritsar.

The Encyclopaedia gives the common story. Shah Jahan, visiting Lahore, was hunting near Amritsar when a favourite hawk flew off and came into the hands of the Sikhs. Royal messengers came to claim it and were refused. The emperor sent soldiers led by Lahore's faujdar, Mukhlis Khan. They met armed resistance, and he lost his life.

The Dabistan has no hawk. It says that a force sent by order of the emperor attacked at Ramdaspur and that Guru Ji's baggage and goods were plundered. Ganda Singh adds that, when the site of Khalsa College was levelled, heaps of bones were found there.

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Note. The battle itself is close to certain. The hawk is a chronicle explanation for a conflict that probably had broader causes, and the Encyclopaedia itself calls the cause minor. The date 1629 appears in only one entry.

What the sources say (4)

ScholarshipGives the hawk story and Vaisakh 17, 1691 Bk, or 14 April 1634, from the Bhatt Vahi Multani Sindhi.[EoS]
From the timeRecords a fight with Shah Jahan's men at Ramdaspur, and plunder of Guru Ji's goods. (p. 16)[Src]
ScholarshipDates the fighting at Amritsar in which Painda Khan took part to 1629.[EoS]
Later traditionGives Mukhlis Khan's army, Painda Khan's combats and heroic speeches.[Macauliffe]

Agreed in tradition16 December 1634Lahira, near Mehraj

The battle at Lahira, near Mehraj

In the Malwa, a Mughal force under Lalla Beg is defeated, and the fallen are given Muslim and Sikh rites.

The Encyclopaedia says Guru Ji had sent the family and the Granth to Kartarpur from Daroli and was travelling in the Malwa when a Mughal force led by Lalla Beg came against him. He took up a position around a pool south of Mehraj. The Sikhs, heavily outnumbered, won the fight and Lalla Beg was killed.

Guru Ji had the Mughal dead buried in Muslim fashion and cremated the fallen Sikhs, and a tower marks the place. Bhai Jetha, one of the five who had gone with Sri Guru Arjun Dev Ji to Lahore, fell here, a grey-bearded veteran. The yogi Kalu Nath of Nathana is said to have fed the Sikhs during the fighting.

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Note. This battle is not named in the passage read from the Dabistan, though it speaks of several large armies. It says generally that Guru Ji escaped them with the loss of what he owned, which is a more modest picture than the chronicles' string of victories.

What the sources say (4)

ScholarshipGives the date, Lalla Beg, the pool and the rites for the fallen.[EoS]
ScholarshipSays Bhai Jetha fell at Mehraj on this date, as an old man in the Suraj Prakash.[EoS]
ScholarshipSays Kalu Nath of Nathana supplied food and milk to the Sikhs during the battle.[EoS]
Later traditionHas Guru Ji and Lala Beg fight in single combat.[Macauliffe]

Well attested26-28 April 1635Kartarpur (Jalandhar)

Painda Khan and the battle of Kartarpur

A trusted Pathan follower turns against Guru Ji over a gift and a stolen hawk, and is killed in battle.

The Gurbilas, as reported by the Encyclopaedia, says Painda Khan was an Afghan orphan whom Guru Ji took on at sixteen and trained as a soldier. At Vaisakhi in 1635 a merchant named Chitra Sain gave Guru Ji a fine horse, a white hawk, a costly robe and a sword. Baba Gurditta received the hawk, and Painda Khan received the rest. His son-in-law Asman Khan then took the gifts for himself, rode out in them, and came home with the white hawk as well.

When asked, Painda Khan denied all of this before Guru Ji. Bhai Bidhi Chand went to Asman Khan's village and brought everything back. Exposed, Painda Khan went over to the Mughals and came back with the faujdar of Jalandhar. On the last day of the fighting he fell to Guru Ji's sword. The Gurbilas says that as he lay dying Guru Ji told him to recite the kalima, and shaded his face from the sun with a shield.

The Dabistan tells a story from a Sikh named Sadh. In the fight a man struck at Guru Ji, who parried and told him that this was not the way to strike, and then showed him the way with a blow that felled him. When asked what this meant, the author said that the teacher's stroke was a lesson, not anger.

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Note. The battle and Painda Khan's death are confirmed by the Dabistan. The quarrel over the gifts appears only in later chronicles, and it repeats the motif of a hawk.

What the sources say (4)

From the timeRecords a battle at Kartarpur in which Mir Badehra and Painda Khan were killed, and repeats the anecdote of the swordsman. (p. 16)[Src]
ScholarshipGives the hawk quarrel and the Bhatt Vahi date of 26 to 28 April 1635.[EoS]
ScholarshipGives 26-27 April 1635 for the clash at Kartarpur.[EoS]
ScholarshipSays the three-day battle involved the young Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji and ended with Guru Ji's departure for Kiratpur.[EoS]

Kiratpur and the last years

1635-1644

Guru Ji settled at Kiratpur for the last nine years, as the Encyclopaedia reports. He took the Granth from Amritsar in 1634 and sent it ahead with the family, and the volume then stayed at Kartarpur. His grandson Dhir Mall refused to give it up and later set up as a rival Guru. At Amritsar, control passed to Miharban and then Harji, descendants of Prithi Chand.

The Dabistan gives the clearest outside picture of this period. Guru Ji kept seven hundred horses in his stables, with three hundred horsemen and sixty gunners in his service, though many of them also worked at trades. He also gave refuge to anyone fleeing trouble. The author saw him at Kiratpur in 1053 AH, and quotes him on the emperor and on the nature of the world. Veterans such as Bhai Bidhi Chand were sent out to preach.[Src][EoS][EoS][EoS][EoS]

Well attested1635Kiratpur

The move to Kiratpur

After Kartarpur and Phagwara, Guru Ji withdraws to a town he had founded in the hills.

Note. The Encyclopaedia's entries name different hill rulers as the source of the land (Tara Chand or Kalyan Chand). The Dabistan's mention of Tara Chand supports the first.

What the sources say (4)

From the timeThe Dabistan describes the journey by way of Phagwara to Kiratpur, on the land of Raja Tara Chand. (p. 16)[Src]
ScholarshipSays the town was founded on 1 May 1626 on land from Raja Tara Chand, on the evidence of the Bhatt Vahis.[EoS]
ScholarshipGives the same founding date but says the land was a gift from Raja Kalyan Chand.[EoS]
ScholarshipCredits Baba Gurditta with founding it on Guru Ji's instructions, and Baba Sri Chand with breaking the ground.[EoS]

Single accountNear Kiratpur

Bhairo and the goddess's nose

A Sikh breaks the idol's nose at Naina Devi and answers the rajas with a joke.

The Dabistan tells this story. When Guru Ji came to the hills, a Sikh named Bhairo went into the temple of the goddess Naina Devi on a mountain peak and broke the idol's nose. The local rajas complained and named him. Guru Ji called Bhairo, and he denied it. The rajas' men said that they recognised him.

Bhairo told them to ask the goddess, and said that if she named him they could kill him. The rajas called him a fool, since a goddess could not speak. Smiling, he asked who the fool was then, if she could not protect her own head or name her attacker. The rajas had nothing to say, according to the author, who adds that most people in the area became disciples of Guru Ji.

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Note. It comes from a near-contemporary who lived among the Sikhs, but it is an anecdote he may have heard from them and not something he saw. It also suits his interest in Sikh views on idols.

What the sources say (1)

From the timeTells of Bhairo, the idol and the argument with the rajas. (pp. 16-17)[Src]

Disputed1638Kiratpur

Baba Gurditta's passing

Two different accounts: a miracle rebuked, or a disputed marriage and sudden death.

The legend cited by the Encyclopaedia says that Baba Gurditta killed a cow by accident while hunting and restored it to life the same day. Guru Ji admonished him for displaying a miracle. Filled with remorse, Baba Gurditta went off to a lonely place outside Kiratpur and passed away there, on 15 March 1638 (Chet sudi 10, 1695 Bk).

The Dabistan tells a quite different story. A Sikh named Gurditta Ghora brought his daughter to marry Baba Gurditta, known as Babajio. The mother of Sri Guru Har Rai Ji, who felt neglected, complained to Guru Ji, who objected and said that this marriage should not take place. Babajio could not refuse the father's pleas, and Guru Ji said it would never be fulfilled. Babajio then passed away still wearing the bridegroom's clothes, and the young woman went home unmarried.

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Note. Baba Gurditta was also appointed head of the Udasis by Baba Sri Chand, as the Encyclopaedia reports, with Guru Ji's approval. The Dabistan's account is the nearer in time. The cow story closely parallels the Atal Rai story and may be a variation of the same teaching tale.

What the sources say (2)

ScholarshipGives the date and calls the cow story a legend.[EoS]
From the timeGives the marriage story and his passing with the bridegroom's robes on. (pp. 20-21)[Src]

Agreed in traditionFrom 1635Kartarpur (Jalandhar)

Dhir Mall and the Kartarpur volume

Guru Ji's grandson stays behind with the original volume and later sets up as a rival Guru.

Note. All these accounts come from outside the Dhirmallia group, and no statement of its own position was found.

What the sources say (3)

ScholarshipSays he stayed at Kartarpur, kept the Granth and declared himself Guru when his younger brother was chosen.[EoS]
ScholarshipGives the same outline and says his line became the Sodhis of Kartarpur.[EoS]
ScholarshipConfirms that part of the family stayed on at Kartarpur with the Pothi after the centre moved to the Shivaliks.[Mann]

Well attested3 March 1644Kiratpur

The passing of Guru Ji and the choice of Sri Guru Har Rai Ji

Guru Ji passes away at Kiratpur after naming his grandson; two followers throw themselves on the pyre.

The Dabistan says that Parrah Kaivan Yazdani came to see Guru Ji, and that less than a week after he left, Guru Ji made his last journey. When the body was on the pyre and the flames were high, a Rajput servant named Rajaram leaped into the fire, walked a few paces through it and put his face on Guru Ji's feet, and stayed there until he passed away. A Jat's son followed him. Many others wanted to do the same, until Sri Guru Har Rai Ji forbade it.

Before he passed away, the same writer says, Guru Ji had shown favour to the elder son of Babajio. He put the robe of succession on him, seated him in his own place, and told his family to obey him.

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Note. The Dabistan's text gives 1055 AH, which Ganda Singh treats as a slip for 1054. Its author is the closest witness, and the Hijri and Bikrami dates agree only after that correction. The Dabistan's calling Sri Guru Har Rai Ji the elder son also differs from the Encyclopaedia, which makes Dhir Mall the elder.

What the sources say (4)

From the timeDescribes the passing on 3 Muharram, the pyre, Rajaram and the installation; Ganda Singh corrects the year to 1054 AH. (pp. 19-21)[Src]
ScholarshipGives Chet sudi 5, 1701 Bk, or 3 March 1644, and cremation by the Sutlej at Patalpuri.[EoS]
ScholarshipNotes that the Gurbilas wrongly dates the passing to 1695 Bk, or 1638.[EoS]
ScholarshipDates the installation of Sri Guru Har Rai Ji to 8 March 1644.[EoS]

Images

A later artist's imagining of the ten Gurus, from Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji to Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji, from the workshop of Purkhu of Kangra. No portrait from any Guru's lifetime is established.
Purkhu of Kangra, Early 19th century. Kapany Collection (as credited on Commons). Public domain. Source
A painting of Sri Guru Hargobind Ji in a provincial Mughal style, dated to the mid 1600s, around or just after Guru Ji's lifetime. Commons calls it contemporary, but this is not established, so treat it as an artist's imagining.
Unknown, Mid 17th century. Seattle Art Museum, 44.44 (as credited on Commons). Public domain. Source
A later artist's imagining of Sri Guru Hargobind Ji on horseback, from Kishtwar in Jammu, about 1700, with an identifying inscription in Takri script. No portrait from Guru Ji's lifetime is established.
Unknown, c. 1700. Archer Collection, later sold at auction (as stated on Commons). Public domain. Source
Gurdwara Data Bandi Chhor Sahib at Gwalior Fort, a modern photograph from 2017. It marks the tradition of the release of Sri Guru Hargobind Ji and 52 princes.
Kshitiz Sikka, 2017.CC BY-SA 4.0. Source
A hukamnama of Sri Guru Hargobind Ji to the eastern congregations, kept according to Commons at Takht Harmandir Sahib, Patna. The source is a social media post.
Sri Guru Hargobind Ji, 17th century. Takht Harmandir Sahib, Patna (as stated on Commons). Public domain. Source
A figure on the blade of a sword attributed to Sri Guru Hargobind Ji, held according to Commons by the Bhai Bidhi Chand Nihang Dal. The attribution is reported, not established.
Unknown, 17th century, as attributed. Bhai Bidhi Chand Nihang Dal (as stated on Commons). Public domain. Source

The sources, and how far to trust them

Dabistan-i-MazahibMid-17th century; saw Guru Ji at Kiratpur in 1053 AHFrom the time
The most valuable single source here. The author corresponded with Guru Ji and heard him speak. He was an outsider studying religions and was sympathetic in tone. The Encyclopaedia now attributes the work to Zulfiqar Ardastani rather than to Mohsin Fani, while Ganda Singh, whose translation is used here, follows the older attribution. It contains clear errors: Ganda Singh corrects its Hijri year for the passing of Guru Ji, and few now accept its twelve years at Gwalior. Gupta, however, defends the figure.[Src][EoS][Gupta]
Bhai Gurdasd. 1636From the time
Guru Ji's teacher and companion, who praised him as a defeater of armies with a loving heart. It is devotional verse and not a chronicle. It was read only through the Encyclopaedia's quotation. His Vars on the debate over Guru Ji's new way of life were not read independently.[EoS][EoS]
Gurbilas Chhevin PatshahiClaims 1718; Mann places it in the early 1840sLater tradition
The fullest narrative of Guru Ji's life, in Braj verse. It claims to pass on Bhai Mani Singh's memory, but contains post-1718 references and gets the date of Guru Ji's passing wrong. It is the main basis for the Akal Takht story and the battle narrative. Read only through the Encyclopaedia and Mann, so its details here should not be treated as firm.[EoS][Mann]
Bhatt VahisScribal registers, uncertain dateLater tradition
The Encyclopaedia draws its most exact dates for the battles and for Kiratpur from these family registers of bards, recently discovered at the time of writing. Those who use them regard them as close records, but they were seen only as cited, and their age and independence cannot be judged from the sources read.[EoS][EoS][EoS]
Macauliffe, The Sikh Religion, vol. 41909Later tradition
A long retelling of the chronicles with invented dialogue and many picturesque episodes. It preserves the traditional Gwalior story, but it is not independent evidence.[Macauliffe]
Gupta and the Encyclopaedia of Sikhism20th centuryScholarship
They disagree in useful ways. The Encyclopaedia puts Gwalior within 1617-19, a matter of months. Gupta argues for arrest in early 1609 and release in October 1620, taking the Dabistan at its word. Neither has a contemporary document with a date.[EoS][EoS][Gupta]

Cite this page

"Life and times of Sri Guru Hargobind Ji". Sikh History: lives of the Gurus. https://sikh-history.co.uk/lives/guru-hargobind/