Kiratpur and the last years
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.
How do we know?
The sources conflict on this story, or scholars doubt it.
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.
Read the full life and times of Sri Guru Hargobind Ji
