Gave water to the wounded of both sides at Anandpur; founder of the Sevapanthi order
Bhai Kanhaiya
A Sikh of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji's time who, during the siege of Anandpur, carried water to wounded Mughal soldiers as readily as to Sikhs, and when accused told Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji that he saw no Mughal or Sikh, only Guru Ji's face. Guru Ji gave him ointment as well. The order he founded devoted itself to service.
Life
Kanhaiya was born in 1648 at Sodhara near Wazirabad into a Dhamman Khatri trading family. He was drawn to the company of holy men, became a Sikh under Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji at Anandpur, and was known there for carrying water for the congregation and the horses. Later he set up a dharamsala at Kavha in his home district.
He was back at Anandpur during the Mughal siege of 1704-1705. Sikhs complained that he was giving water to the enemy's wounded, who recovered and returned to fight. Called before Guru Ji, he said that on the field he had seen no Muslims and no Sikhs but Guru Ji in every face. Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji, according to all the accounts, approved, handed him a box of salve and told him to dress their wounds too.
He returned to Kavha and died there in 1718. The Sevapanthi order of his followers, small but long-lived, kept to a life of manual service and the free kitchen. The story has become the standard Sikh illustration of service without discrimination, and the Red Cross comparison is routine in modern retellings.[EoS][EoS]
Images
A fresco at Sri Khat Wari Darbar, Shikarpur, Sindh, imagining Bhai Kanhaiya meeting Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji. Commons gives only a broad date range.
Unknown, 18th to early 20th century, uncertain. Sri Khat Wari Darbar, Shikarpur, Sindh. Public domain. Source
