Companion of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji; martyred at Delhi
Bhai Mati Das
Bhai Mati Das served Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji as diwan, or manager of the household. He travelled with Guru Ji in the east, was arrested with him in 1675 and was martyred at Delhi on 11 November 1675, on the same day as Guru Ji.
Family and service
His father, Bhai Hira Mal, also called Hira Nand, belonged to the Chhibber family of Karyala, now in Pakistan. The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism says his grandfather Bhai Praga became a Sikh under Sri Guru Hargobind Ji and fought in the battles of that time. His uncle Dargah Mall managed the household of Sri Guru Har Rai Ji and Sri Guru Har Krishan Ji.
Bhai Mati Das and his brother Bhai Sati Das assisted their uncle during Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji's time, and Bhai Mati Das was himself made diwan alongside the aged Dargah Mall. He went with Guru Ji on the eastern journey of 1665-70. He was among those detained with Guru Ji at Dhamtan in 1665 and released from Delhi through Kanwar Ram Singh of Amber. Macauliffe calls him Guru Ji's treasurer.[EoS][Gupta][Macauliffe]
Arrest and martyrdom
He left Anandpur with Guru Ji in July 1675 and was arrested with him. Gupta quotes a Bhatt Vahi entry that records the arrest at Malikpur Rangharan near Ropar on 12 July, and four months in custody at Bassi Pathanan before the party was taken to Delhi.
At Delhi he refused to give up his faith. The Encyclopaedia says he was sawn in two from the head downward on 11 November 1675. Gupta adds that he was bound between two posts in the open space before the Kotwali, in Guru Ji's sight. Macauliffe says he kept reciting the Japji under the saw. Macauliffe adds a further report that the recitation continued to its end after his body was parted, and this is told as tradition.
Gupta says his courage earned his name a place in the Sikh daily prayer.[EoS][Gupta][Macauliffe]
What the sources disagree on
- Why he was singled out
The Encyclopaedia and Gupta describe a refusal to convert. Macauliffe gives a different cause: a priest overheard him urging Guru Ji to act against Mughal rule and reported it to the emperor.[EoS][Gupta][Macauliffe]
- His office
The Encyclopaedia calls him diwan, Macauliffe treasurer, and Gupta says that at one stage he was responsible for Guru Ji's bodyguard. The Bhatt Vahi entries quoted by Gupta call him Diwan.[EoS][Macauliffe][Gupta]
- Place of arrest
Sources for Guru Ji's arrest in 1675 differ, and the site's life of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji sets them out. Macauliffe does not give the same sequence as the Bhatt Vahi entries Gupta quotes.[Gupta][Macauliffe]