Stories
The sakhis and traditions of the Gurus, retold in plain English and credited to the sources that tell them. Each one carries a label showing how well it is supported, because some are recorded history and others have come down through devotion and memory.
Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji
Bhai Mardana joins Guru Ji
Bhai Mardana, a Muslim musician from the same village, came to Sultanpur and stayed with Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji as his rabab player.
Where to begin
Sri Guru Nanak Dev JiMecca: the moving mihrab
Sleeping with his feet towards the holy place, Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the sources say, told the qazi to turn them where God was not.
Sri Guru Gobind Singh JiVaisakhi at Anandpur: the older and later accounts
Sainapati describes a great gathering and the creation of the Khalsa, without the call for heads, which first appears in detail in 1751.
Sri Guru Hargobind JiThe fifty-two princes
Tradition says Guru Ji refused to leave without fellow prisoners, and led out fifty-two holding the strings of his cloak.
Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur JiMakkhan Shah finds Guru Ji
A trader who had vowed five hundred gold coins offered two to each claimant, until one man asked about the rest.
Sri Guru Gobind Singh JiThe forty at Muktsar
Men who had renounced Guru Ji at Anandpur came back led by Mai Bhago and fell fighting Wazir Khan's force. Guru Ji blessed them as the forty liberated ones.
Sri Guru Arjun Dev JiThe foundation of the Harmandir Sahib and Mian Mir
Popular tradition says the Sufi Mian Mir laid the foundation; the sources for this are late, and Macauliffe says Guru Ji laid it.
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Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji
The teachers: the pandit and the mullah
The Janamsakhis say the child astonished his teachers by asking what learning was for.
Agreed in tradition1 minTalwandi
The field and the shade
While the boy slept, the stories say, trampled wheat recovered and a tree's shadow stood still over him.
Agreed in tradition1 minTalwandi
Sacha Sauda, the true bargain
Given money to trade, Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji is said to have spent it feeding hungry ascetics, and called this the best bargain.
Single account1 minNear Chuhar Kana
Marriage to Mata Sulakhni
Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji married the daughter of Mul Chand of the Chona Khatris, but the date and his age are given differently in each source.
Disputed1 minBatala
Accused of mismanaging the stores
Tale-bearers accused the young storekeeper of giving goods away, but an audit, the stories say, found everything correct.
Agreed in tradition1 minSultanpur Lodhi
Bhai Mardana joins Guru Ji
Bhai Mardana, a Muslim musician from the same village, came to Sultanpur and stayed with Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji as his rabab player.
Well attested1 minTalwandi and Sultanpur Lodhi
The disappearance in the river
Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji vanished while bathing and returned, the Janamsakhis say, after an encounter with the Divine.
Agreed in tradition1 minKali Bein, Sultanpur LodhiNo Hindu and no Muslim, and the prayer with the Nawab
Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji's first words were reported as 'There is no Hindu, there is no Muslim', and the qazi challenged him before the Nawab.
Agreed in tradition1 minSultanpur Lodhi
Bhai Mardana on the road
The rabab player was Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji's companion, and the Puratan stories make him a figure of affectionate comedy.
Well attested1 min
Sajjan the thug
A pious-seeming host who murdered his guests was turned by a hymn, the stories say, and made his house the first dharamsala.
Disputed1 minNear Tulamba in the Bala; south India in Miharban; Hastinapur in the Gyan Ratnavali
Bhai Lalo and Malik Bhago
Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji stayed with a poor carpenter and refused a rich steward's feast; the two loaves, the story says, gave milk and blood.
Disputed1 minSaidpur, now Eminabad
Haridwar: watering the fields
Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji threw water the other way at Haridwar, the story says, to question offerings sent to the ancestors.
Disputed1 minHaridwar
Varanasi: Pandit Chatur Das
A leading pandit asked about Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji's lack of the marks of devotion, and was answered with a hymn.
Agreed in tradition1 minVaranasi
Duni Chand and the needle
A rich man proud of his flags was given a needle to return in the next world.
Agreed in tradition1 minLahore
Raja Shivnabh of Sri Lanka
Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji's visit to a king who had long waited for him is told in several Janamsakhis, and whether it took place is debated.
Disputed1 minSinghaladip, Sri Lanka, in the Puratan and laterMount Sumeru and the Siddhs
Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji climbed to the Siddhs' mountain, the sources say, and refused their yoga and their jewels.
Disputed1 minMount Sumeru, a mountain of Puranic geographyMecca: the moving mihrab
Sleeping with his feet towards the holy place, Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the sources say, told the qazi to turn them where God was not.
Disputed1 minMecca
Baghdad and the inscription
Bhai Gurdas places Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji outside Baghdad; a Turkish inscription there may or may not name Guru Ji.
Disputed1 minBaghdad
Vali Qandhari and Panja Sahib
A hilltop recluse refused water to Mardana and hurled a boulder, which is said to have stopped against Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji's palm.
Disputed1 minHasan Abdal
The Chola Sahib
Bedi family tradition says Guru Ji received a robe inscribed with Quranic writing on the western journey. The robe is kept today at Dera Baba Nanak, and accounts of its origin differ.
Disputed1 minArabia or Baghdad, by differing accountsThe meeting with Babur
The Puratan says Babur saw Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji's load float and his horse follow unled, kissed his feet and released the captives.
Disputed1 minSaidpur
Founding Kartarpur
Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji settled at a new village on the Ravi, on land given by a devoted follower.
Well attested1 minRight bank of the Ravi
Sheikh Ibrahim at Pak Pattan
Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji met the successor of Shaikh Farid, and the two debated whether one can sail in two boats.
Agreed in tradition1 minPak PattanThe debate at Achal Batala
At a Shivratri fair the Nath yogis confronted Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji about giving up the ascetic life, and Guru Ji replied that they lived off householders.
Well attested1 minAchal, near BatalaMultan and the cup of milk
The pirs of Multan sent a full cup of milk; Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji floated a jasmine flower on it.
Disputed1 minMultanBhai Mardana's passing
Bhai Mardana passed away before Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, in 1534 by tradition, and the sources disagree about where.
Disputed1 minKartarpur, or the Kurram river
How Bhai Lehna came to Kartarpur
Two versions tell how Bhai Lehna, a devotee of Durga, became a Sikh.
Disputed1 minKhadur, Harike and KartarpurThe bundle of wet grass and the test of the pyre
The Janamsakhis say Bhai Lehna alone passed Guru Ji's tests, including an order to eat a corpse.
Disputed1 minKartarpurThe flowers and the sheet
The Janamsakhis say Hindus and Muslims argued over the body, and that under the sheet only flowers remained.
Disputed1 minKartarpur
Sri Guru Angad Dev Ji
How Bhai Lehna came to the faith
Two versions: he overhears a Sikh singing at Khadur, or he meets Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji on the way to a goddess shrine.
Disputed1 minThe bundle of wet grass
Told to carry a dripping load home, Bhai Lehna ruins his new clothes without complaint.
Agreed in tradition1 minKartarpur
The wall rebuilt three times
Bhai Lehna keeps rebuilding a fallen wall at night while the sons mock him.
Single account1 minKartarpurThe test of the shrouded body
Followers drop away at coins and jewels, and only Bhai Lehna is ready to eat from a shrouded corpse.
Agreed in tradition1 min
Installation as Guru
Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji bows to his disciple and installs him as successor, passing over his sons.
Well attested1 minKartarpur
Seclusion at Mai Bhirai's house
After the founder's passing, Guru Ji withdraws into a locked room until Baba Buddha brings him out.
Agreed in tradition1 minKhadurHumayun at Khadur
The fleeing emperor loses his temper with Guru Ji and is rebuked, in a story known only from Sikh tradition.
Agreed in tradition1 minKhadurThe yogi and the drought
A yogi blames Guru Ji for a drought and Guru Ji leaves the village until the villagers learn better.
Single account1 minKhan Rajada, near Khadur
Bibi Amaro's hymn
Sri Guru Amar Das Ji overhears Bibi Amaro singing and asks to be taken to her father.
Agreed in tradition1 minBasarke
Sri Guru Amar Das Ji
The sadhu's reproach and Bibi Amaro's hymn
Chided for having no guru and moved by a hymn, the old pilgrim goes to Khadur.
Agreed in tradition1 minBasarke and KhadurThe home of the homeless
A weaver woman mocks him after a fall in a storm, and Sri Guru Angad Dev Ji turns the insult into praise.
Agreed in tradition1 minKhadurThe kick at Goindwal
Baba Datu kicks Guru Ji before the congregation, and Guru Ji responds by asking if his foot is hurt.
Agreed in tradition1 minGoindwal
The Baoli at Goindwal
Guru Ji begins a great stepped well that becomes a pilgrimage site and draws in many volunteers.
Agreed in tradition1 minGoindwalAkbar's visit to Goindwal
Sikh chronicles say the emperor ate in the langar and offered land; no Mughal record of it was found.
Agreed in tradition1 minGoindwal
Bhai Jetha's mission to Lahore
When Brahmins and Khatris complain to Akbar about the kitchen, Bhai Jetha defends Guru Ji before the emperor.
Agreed in tradition1 minLahoreBibi Bhani and the stool
Bibi Bhani holds up a breaking seat with her hand, and Guru Ji blesses her descendants.
Agreed in tradition1 minGoindwal
Sri Guru Ram Das Ji
The marriage to Bibi Bhani
Mata Mansa Devi sees the young hawker and tells the family to find a husband like him.
Agreed in tradition1 minGoindwal
How the land was acquired
Sources disagree: purchase from Tung villagers, a gift from Akbar to Bibi Bhani, or a mixture of both.
Disputed1 minTung, near the later Amritsar
Baba Sri Chand and the long beard
Asked in jest about his long beard, Guru Ji replies that it is for wiping the feet of holy men.
Single account1 minRamdaspurThe letters from Lahore
Sent to a family wedding, the youngest son writes longing verses that his brother intercepts.
Agreed in tradition1 minLahore and Ramdaspur
Sri Guru Arjun Dev Ji
The verses from Lahore
Left in Lahore to care for the Sikhs, the young man writes verses of longing to his father and is chosen as successor.
Agreed in tradition1 minLahoreSulahi Khan and the brick kiln
Prithi Chand wins over a Mughal officer against Guru Ji, and the officer is burned in a kiln before he can act.
Agreed in tradition1 minHehar and Lahore district
The birth of Sri Guru Hargobind Ji
After years without a child, Mata Ganga gives birth to a son, and Guru Ji's hymns give thanks.
Well attested1 minWadaliThe foundation of the Harmandir Sahib and Mian Mir
Popular tradition says the Sufi Mian Mir laid the foundation; the sources for this are late, and Macauliffe says Guru Ji laid it.
Disputed1 minAmritsar
Tarn Taran and the seized bricks
Guru Ji builds a tank at Tarn Taran, and a local official takes the bricks for an inn.
Agreed in tradition1 minTarn TaranAkbar calls on Guru Ji
Abu'l Fazl records the emperor alighting at Guru Ji's house while crossing the Beas.
Well attested1 minNear Goindwal
The complaint against the Granth
Rivals tell Akbar that the scripture insults Islam. Bhai Buddha and Bhai Gurdas read it to him and he makes an offering.
Disputed1 minKartarpur or Batala, or Gurdaspur
Baba Mohan and the Goindwal Pothis
Guru Ji sings beneath Baba Mohan's window until he comes down with the old manuscripts, in a story with a contested basis.
Disputed1 minGoindwalInstallation in the Harmandir Sahib
Bhai Buddha carries the Granth on his head, Guru Ji follows with a whisk, and the first reading is taken.
Agreed in tradition1 minHarmandir Sahib, Amritsar
Bhai Banno's copy
Sent to Lahore to have the volume bound, Bhai Banno travels slowly and has it copied on the way.
Agreed in tradition1 minLahore and Khara MangatThe musicians Balvand and Satta
Two court musicians quarrel with Guru Ji over offerings, are later forgiven, and compose the Var that enters scripture.
Agreed in tradition1 minAmritsarKhusrau's meeting with Guru Ji
Sources agree that the prince and Guru Ji met, but not on where or what took place.
Well attested1 minGoindwal or Tarn Taran
Why Guru Ji was condemned: Jahangir's own words
The emperor writes that he had long wanted to end Guru Ji's mission or convert him, and used the Khusrau incident.
Well attested1 minLahoreThe fine: the Dabistan and the Jesuits against Jahangir's silence
The Dabistan and Guerreiro speak of a heavy fine and death under torture by those collecting it, but Jahangir mentions no fine.
Disputed1 minLahore
Chandu Shah in the Sikh accounts
Sikh chronicles blame a slighted Khatri official whose offer of his daughter for marriage had been refused.
Disputed1 minLahoreThe ordeal at Lahore and the Ravi
Sikh tradition says Guru Ji endured hot iron, burning sand and boiling water, and passed away in the Ravi.
Disputed1 minLahore
Sri Guru Hargobind Ji
The two swords
At his installation, Guru Ji wears two swords, one for spiritual and one for worldly authority.
Agreed in tradition1 minAmritsar
Building the Akal Takht
Opposite the Harmandir Sahib, Guru Ji raises a platform for the community's worldly affairs.
Agreed in tradition1 minAmritsarBidhi 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.
Single account1 minLahoreThe fifty-two princes
Tradition says Guru Ji refused to leave without fellow prisoners, and led out fifty-two holding the strings of his cloak.
Agreed in tradition1 minGwaliorThe end of Chandu Shah
Sikh tradition says Jahangir handed Chandu to Guru Ji and that Sikhs dragged him through Lahore.
Agreed in tradition1 minLahore
Baba Atal Rai
The Gurbilas says a nine-year-old son revived a dead friend, was rebuked and passed away the same day.
Single account1 minAmritsarThe 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.
Disputed1 minAmritsarThe 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.
Agreed in tradition1 minLahira, near MehrajPainda 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.
Well attested1 minKartarpur (Jalandhar)Bhairo and the goddess's nose
A Sikh breaks the idol's nose at Naina Devi and answers the rajas with a joke.
Single account1 minNear Kiratpur
Baba Gurditta's passing
Two different accounts: a miracle rebuked, or a disputed marriage and sudden death.
Disputed1 minKiratpurThe 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.
Well attested1 minKiratpur
Sri Guru Har Rai Ji
The torn flowers
As a boy, Guru Ji damaged a flowering bush with a robe and wept over it, and the grandfather turned the moment into a lesson.
Agreed in tradition1 minKiratpurHerbs for the prince
Sikh tradition remembers that Dara Shukoh recovered from a grave illness with herbs sent by Guru Ji.
Agreed in tradition1 minHolding the ferry
Guru Ji is said to have posted troops at a river crossing to slow down the pursuit of Dara Shukoh.
Single account1 minGoindwal, on the BeasRam Rai alters the verse
Asked about a line of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji that seemed to slight Muslims, Ram Rai changed a word to satisfy the emperor.
Agreed in tradition1 minDelhi
Sri Guru Har Krishan Ji
The water-carrier and the Gita
Challenged by a learned Pandit, Guru Ji had an illiterate water-carrier explain the Bhagavad Gita.
Single account1 minPanjokhara, near Ambala
The test of the queens
Asked to test Guru Ji, the raja had his chief queen dressed as a servant, and Guru Ji is said to have picked her out.
Single account1 minDelhiDid Guru Ji meet the emperor?
One line of tradition gives a visit to court and a test with two trays, while another has Guru Ji refusing to go.
Disputed1 minDelhi
Baba Bakale
Too weak to say more, Guru Ji named a successor with two words: Baba Bakale, the elder at Bakala.
Agreed in tradition1 minDelhi
Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji
Makkhan Shah finds Guru Ji
A trader who had vowed five hundred gold coins offered two to each claimant, until one man asked about the rest.
Agreed in tradition1 minBakalaDhir Mall's attack and the forgiveness
Men of Dhir Mall attacked Guru Ji's house, and when Makkhan Shah retaliated, Guru Ji had everything returned, including the old scripture volume.
Disputed1 minBakala
Assam and the peace with the Ahoms
Guru Ji travelled with Raja Ram Singh, and Sikh chronicles say Guru Ji brought the two sides to a truce.
Disputed1 minDhaka, Rangamati, DhubriThe Kashmiri Pandits come to Anandpur
A group led by Kirpa Ram brought news of forced conversions, and the child is said to have told Guru Ji that no one was worthier to give a head.
Agreed in tradition1 minChakk NanakiMalikpur or Agra? The arrest
Older narrative places the arrest at Agra, while the Bhatt Vahi chronology has it near Ropar, a day after leaving home.
Disputed1 minMalikpur Ranghran or Agra
The martyrdom
Guru Ji refused both conversion and a miracle and was publicly martyred.
Well attested1 minChandni Chowk, DelhiLooking towards the Europeans
Macauliffe reports that Guru Ji, charged with looking towards the emperor's private rooms, said he was looking towards the Europeans who would overthrow the empire.
Single account1 minDelhi
Saving the head and the body
Bhai Jaita carried the head to Anandpur, and Lakkhi Shah burned his own house to cremate the body.
Agreed in tradition1 minDelhi and Anandpur
Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji
The Ranghreta is Guru Ji's son
Bhai Jaita arrived with the head, and Guru Ji is remembered as honouring him despite his low caste.
Agreed in tradition1 minAnandpur
Pir Buddhu Shah at Bhangani
When most of his hired Pathans deserted, a Muslim saint brought his own followers and lost two sons fighting for Guru Ji.
Agreed in tradition1 minBhangani and SadhauraVaisakhi at Anandpur: the older and later accounts
Sainapati describes a great gathering and the creation of the Khalsa, without the call for heads, which first appears in detail in 1751.
Disputed1 minAnandpur
A Mughal newswriter on the Khalsa
Macauliffe, citing a Persian historian, gives a newswriter's report of Guru Ji telling the four castes to abandon their rules, with about twenty thousand men agreeing.
Single account1 minAnandpur
Bachitra Singh and the elephant
A Sikh on horseback drove back a drunken elephant sent to break a fort gate.
Agreed in tradition1 minLohgarh fort, Anandpur
The battle of Chamkaur
In a walled house, some forty Sikhs held off a far larger force for a day, and the two elder sons were martyred in sallies.
Well attested1 minChamkaurThe five order Guru Ji to leave
Five survivors told Guru Ji to escape, and Guru Ji is said to have clapped and called out while slipping through the besiegers.
Agreed in tradition1 minChamkaur
Disguised as the Pir of Uchch
Two Pathan horse dealers carried Guru Ji in a palanquin, disguised as a Muslim holy man.
Agreed in tradition1 minMachhiwara to Hehran
The younger sons at Sirhind
Sahibzada Zorawar Singh and Sahibzada Fateh Singh refused to convert and were martyred. Mata Gujri passed away the same day. The Encyclopaedia gives both 12 and 13 December.
Disputed1 minSirhindThe forty at Muktsar
Men who had renounced Guru Ji at Anandpur came back led by Mai Bhago and fell fighting Wazir Khan's force. Guru Ji blessed them as the forty liberated ones.
Well attested1 minKhidrana, later Muktsar
Banda Singh is sent north
Guru Ji met the Bairagi Madho Das, initiated him, and sent him to the Punjab with five arrows and five Sikhs.
Agreed in tradition1 minNanded
The attack at Nanded
Two Pathans, by most accounts hired by Wazir Khan, reached Guru Ji, and one stabbed Guru Ji below the heart. Guru Ji struck back.
Well attested1 minNandedThe Guruship passes to the Granth and the Khalsa
Before passing away, Guru Ji ended the line of personal Gurus, with sources stressing the Granth, the Khalsa, or both.
Well attested1 minNanded
Cite this page
"Stories of the Sikh Gurus". Sikh History: lives of the Gurus. https://sikh-history.co.uk/stories/