Guru Hargobind

Gur Hargobind, known as the sixth Nanak and the sixth of the ten Gurus of the Sikh religion, was born on June 19, 1595, and passed away on February 28, 1644. At the tender age of eleven, he had become Guru following the death of his father, Guru Arjan, at the hands of the Mughal emperor Jahangir. Sikhism was militarized by Guru Hargobind, most likely in response to his father’s execution and for the protection of the Sikh community. He represented it by donning two swords, one each for the concepts of Miri and Piri (temporal power and spiritual authority). Guru Hargobind built the Akal Takht in front of the Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar (the throne of the timeless one). The Akal Takht is the highest position of earthly authority of the Khalsa (the Sikhs’ collective body) today.

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About Guru Hargobind

Guru Hargobind was born at Guru ki Wadali, a village 7 kilometres (4.3 miles) west of Amritsar, to a Sodhi Khatri family, as the only son of Guru Arjan, the fifth Sikh Guru. As a child, he was infected with smallpox. According to orthodox Sikh hagiographies, he overcame a poisoning attempt by his uncle Prithi Chand, as well as an additional attempt on his life when a cobra was thrown at him. Bhai Gurdas taught him holy scriptures, and Baba Budda taught him swordsmanship and archery (not to be confused with the Gautama Buddha).

On May 25, 1606 – five days before his death – Guru Arjan chose his son Hargobind as his heir and told him to establish a military tradition to preserve the Sikh people and to always surround himself with armed Sikhs for safety. Following Guru Arjan’s capture, torture, and execution by order of Mughal Emperor Jahangir, Guru Hargobind’s succession event took place on June 24, 1606. He donned two swords, one for his spiritual authority (piri) and the other for his worldly authority (miri). He took his martyred father’s counsel and always surrounded himself with armed Sikhs for safety. In his life, the number fifty-two was significant, and his retinue was made up of fifty-two armed men. As a result, he established the military tradition in the Sikh faith.

Damodari, Nanaki, Kaulan, and Marvahi were Guru Hargobind’s four wives. He had three wives and three children. During his lifetime, two of his eldest boys from his first marriage died. His son from Mata Nanaki, Guru Tegh Bahadur, became the ninth Sikh Guru. The Anandpur Sahib Sodhis are descended from Baba Suraj Mal Sodhi, one of Guru Hargobind’s sons. The Guru was a martial artist (shastarvidya), and he encouraged people to stay physically strong and ready for physical confrontation. He even had his own Darbar (court). Some of his ardent followers were armed and trained. The Guru amassed seven hundred horses, and his Risaldari (army) grew to include three hundred horsemen and sixty musketeers. He nominated his grandson, Har Rai, to succeed him as the 7th Guru. He died in 1644 in Kiratpur Sahib, a settlement on the banks of the Sutlej, and was cremated on the banks of the Sutlej, where Gurdwara Patalpuri Sahib now exists. He nominated his grandson, Har Rai, to succeed him as the 7th Guru. He died in 1644 in Kiratpur Sahib, a settlement on the banks of the Sutlej, and was cremated on the banks of the Sutlej, where Gurdwara Patalpuri Sahib now exists.

Relations with Other Kings

Following Guru Arjan’s execution, Guru Hargobind spearheaded the Sikh response against the Mughal rule. He ostensibly recognised Shah Jahan’s authority but fought four wars against Shah Jahan’s army to oppose Islamic persecution. His endeavours to reform the Sikh community landed him in hot water with the Mughal authorities.

Jahangir and Guru Hargobind

Along with the killing of Guru Arjan by Mughal Emperor Jahangir, Guru Hargobind was an outspoken opponent of Mughal power from the start. He advised the Sikhs to arm themselves and fight the Mughals. His father’s death at the hands of Jahangir spurred him to emphasise the Sikh community’s military dimension. He carried two swords symbolically representing miri piri. He built a fort to defend Ramdaspur and established the Akal Takht, a formal court. In response, Jahangir imprisoned the 14-year-old Guru Hargobind at Gwalior Fort in 1609, claiming that the Sikhs and Guru Hargobind had not paid the punishment imposed on Guru Arjan. It’s unclear how much time he was imprisoned for. According to Persian archives such as Dabistn-e Mazhib, he was imprisoned for twelve years, including 1617 – 1619 at Gwalior, after which he and his camp were placed under Muslim army monitoring by Jahangir.

It’s unknown why he was let go. Scholars believe that by 1611, Jahangir had more or less reverted to Akbar’s lenient policies, and the Sunnis and Naqshbandhi court officials in the Mughal court had fallen out of his favour. According to another story, Jahangir uncovered the circumstances and decided Guru Hargobind was safe, therefore he authorised his release. Surjit Singh Gandhi stated that the 52 Rajas who were imprisoned in the fort as captives for “millions of rupees” and for defying the Mughal empire were heartbroken because they were losing a spiritual guru. Guru Hargobind demanded that the Rajas be released alongside him and guaranteed their loyalty. Jahangir had them released as well. Guru Hargobind had a special garment made with 52 hems. The prisoner kings seized the hems of Guru Hargobind’s cloak and followed him out of the fort.

Following his liberation, Guru Hargobind quietly reinforced the Sikh army and reestablished the Sikh community. His interactions with Jahangir were usually cordial. He accompanied Jahangir to Kashmir and Rajputana, where he conquered Tara Chand of Nalagarh, who had been in open rebellion for a long time and had resisted all attempts to control him. Guru Hargobind fought a battle against the Mughals in Rohilla during Jahangir’s reign. The war was fought in response to the Sikhs’ militarisation. The Sikhs overcame the Mughals, who were led by Governor Abdul Khan.

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Shah Jahan and Guru Hargobind

Relations deteriorated again during Shah Jahan’s reign, which began in 1627. Shah Jahan was a hardliner. He demolished the Sikh baoli in Lahore. In 1628, Shah Jahan’s hunting party raided Guru Hargobind’s farm, sparking the first violent confrontation. In 1630, Guru Hargobind travelled to Kenya’s Swahili Coast and camped at a temple run by traders in Mombasa. His 52 armed bodyguards accompanied him and roamed around the area, however, the preaching remained focused on the coast. He returned to Karachi by ship and then by horseback to Amritsar. Guru Hargobind’s army fought fights with Shah Jahan’s Mughal soldiers at Amritsar, Kartarpur, and other locations.  The Mughal forces were beaten by Guru Hargobind near Amritsar in the Battle of Amritsar in 1634.

A provincial force of Mughals attacked the Guru again, but the attackers were repulsed and their leaders were killed. Guru Hargobind led forces against the regional Muslim governors as well. Because the Guru expected a larger Mughal force to arrive, he retired into the Shivalik Hills to bolster his defences and army, with a base in Kiratpur where he remained until his death. Shah Jahan appointed Painde Khan as commander of the regional forces, who marched on the Guru. Guru Hargobind was attacked, but he triumphed again. Guru Hargobind fought at the Battle of Kartarpur as well. The Sikhs of Guru Hargobind tortured Chandu Shah, Guru Arjan’s killer, by putting a thick iron ring around his nose and dragging him on the floor until the man who killed Guru Arjan, who later became a Sikh, poured hot sand on him from the same ladle that was used on Guru Arjan. In 1638, Guru Hargobind lost his eldest son, Baba Gurdita. By splitting and influencing the succession, Shah Jahan aimed to weaken the Sikh tradition through political methods.

The Mughal ruler granted land concessions to Baba Gurdita’s eldest son Dhir Mal, who lived in Kartarpur, and attempted to persuade Sikhs to recognise Dhir Mal as Guru Hargobind’s rightful successor. Dhir Mal made speeches in support of the Mughal state and in opposition to his grandfather. Guru Hargobind died on 28 February 1644 in Kiratpur Rupnagar, Punjab, but before he died, he rejected his eldest grandson Dhir Mal’s politics and selected Guru Har Rai (Dhir Mal’s younger brother) to succeed him as Guru. The tradition was replicated when Guru Har Rai picked his second son to succeed him rather than his first son.

Samarth Ramdas and Guru Hargobind

Samarth Ramdas visited Guru Hargobind (1595-1644) in the Garhwal highlands of Srinagar, as per Sikh tradition based on an old Punjabi text Panjah Sakhian. The meeting, which is confirmed by a Marathi source, Ramdas Swami’s Bakhar, written in 1793 by Hanumant Swami, most likely took place in the early 1630s amid Samarth Ramdas’ pilgrimage journeys in the north and Guru Hargobind’s voyage to Nanakmata in the east. Guru Hargobind was supposed to have just returned from a hunting trip when they came face to face. He was heavily equipped and rode a horse. “I had heard that you occupied the Gaddi of Guru Nanak”, the Maratha saint Ramdas stated, before asking what kind of sadhu he was. In response, Guru Hargobind said, “Internally a hermit, and externally a prince. Arms mean protection to the poor and destruction of the tyrant. Guru Nanak had not renounced the world but had renounced Maya”.

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