The Source Book On Sikhism

Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji (1621 - 1675)

Hearing that the last Guru had referred to the new Guru being found at Bakala, many claimants to the throne set up their gaddhis there and created confusion in the minds of the Sikhs as to who in fact the Guru was. But devout Sikhs found out Tegh Bahadur and installed him as the Guru, at the age of 44.

One of his rivals, Dhirmal, grandson of Guru Hari Rai, even tried to take his life and a shot was fired at him, and his house was ransacked. Tegh Bahadur escaped with minor injuries, but did not get provoked. However, the Sikhs attacked Dhirmal’s house, and took possession of all his property, including the original copy of the Adi Granth. The Guru, however, not only returned the property to Dhirmal but, it is said, deposited the copy of the Adi Granth in a safe bed of the river Beas while he was on his way to Kiratpur and sent word to Dhirmal, to recover it from there. This copy, now laying at Kartarpur with the descendants of Dhirmal, still shows signs of the borders having been soiled by water. It is in the possession of Amarjit Singh Sodhi.

With this, however, his troubles did not end, for elsewhere too he was facing hostility. He went to Amritsar to pay his homage at the Golden Temple, but the custodians shut its doors upon him. He left Bakala to live at Kiratpur, but here too, Dhirmal's followers caused much annoyance to him. The Guru thereupon purchased a piece of land in the Shivalik hills, and founded the city of Anandpur. Here too, he found no peace, and moved out in the Malwa region, and from there to Hariana, preaching his Gospel and digging up wells and tanks on the way for use of the peasants of that arid land. His travels caused such a consternation in Aurangzeb’s mind that he got him arrested. But due to the mediation of Raja Ram Singh, a Rajput general of Aurangzeb, the matter was amicably settled.

Thereafter, the Guru went towards the East, visiting on the way the historic cities of Agra, Allahabad, Banaras, Gaya and Patna. Leaving his family at Patna, he went to Dacca. Thus, the whole Eastern region right up to Assam was studded with Sikh shrines due to the missionary zeal of the Sikhs. While he was in Assam, his friend, Raja Ram Singh, came with an expeditionary force against Assam and requested the Guru to be with him for some time. Many expeditions had been sent by Aurangzeb before too, but the Assamese were unbeaten. This time a similar result would have ensued but for the intervention of the Guru who negotiated a settlement between the two parties. A Sikh temple stands at the place, called Dhubri, in memory of this event.

Meanwhile, a son had been born to the Guru at Patna, but the Guru, getting urgent summons from his followers in the Punjab, hastened back to his native land, taking good care that his son was brought up at Patna according to the traditions of his house. In Punjab and Kashmir he found the Hindus and Sikhs greatly terrorized on account of the bigoted policies of Aurangzeb. He put heart into them to face the situation with calmness and courage. He invited his family also to join him at Anandpur, but he soon left them again for a tour of the country right up to Agra. On the way, he was received with great ovation, people became his followers in large numbers and made offerings to him. The emperor was receiving alarming reports that the Guru was gathering great strength and instilling a spirit of resistance against forcible conversions. When the Pundits of Kashmir had visited him at Anandpur earlier, seeking his help to save their faith for they were being harassed into changing their religion, the Guruís reply to them was, “Don’t be afraid, nor make others so. I shall much rather lay down my head than that any harm comes to you. You may tell Aurangzeb’s governor that if he can convert me, you will only then follow suit”.

Aurangzeb decided to take no chances and once again issued orders for his arrest. Guru was taken prisoner and brought to Delhi in chains. He was asked either to accept Islam or death and he chose death. One of his followers, Mati Das, was sawn alive, and on November, 1675, he too was beheaded in the Chandni Chowk of Delhi where stands a great monument, Sis Ganj, to his memory. His body lay there with orders that no one would take it. However, a Sikh carter got hold of his body in the dark of night and cremated it with great respect burning his house along with it, to escape notice. His head was carried off by another Sikh who took it to Anandpur where his son, Gobind, was. The head was cremated there with full honours, his son swearing at this time that he would now create a body of the Sikhs who would not be able to hide their identity as they had done at the time of Guru Tegh Bahadur’s death, when no one had come forward in Delhi to claim his dead body, for fear of being identified and so persecuted by the Emperor.