The tenth Guru Gobind Singh was a saint, leader, soldier & scholar/poet – a rare combination. He wrote many books in Punjabi, Persian & Hindi. Guru’s literary works were of the highest philosophical and poetical quality. His poetry shows a mastery of the musical metre.

Dasam Granth is the name given to the compositions of Guru Gobind Singh. These compositions were lost when the Guru vacated Anandgarh. They were later gathered and reproduced by his companion and disciple Bhai Mani Singh who also filled in some of the gaps.

Dasam Granth includes Jap (similar to Vishnu Sahasranama), Akal Ustat, Gyan Prabodh and Bachittar Natak. It is semi autobiographical with ruminations on Guru’s past lives.

Dasam Granth also delves into avatars of Vishnu, Brahma, Rudra and Chandi Charitra (from Markandeya Purana). Some question the authenticity of authorship of these parts.

Source: Gurudwara Gazette, SGPC

Picture Credit: Dasam Granth at British Library, Wikimedia Commons

Guru Tegh Bahadur was executed on the orders of Emperor Aurangzeb in 1675. He paid the price for espousing the cause of the freedom of worship of Kashmiri Pandits. He was executed at Chandni Chowk in Delhi at a place marked by Gurudwara Sis Ganj, ‘sis’ means head. His followers escaped with his severed head to Anandpur Sahib in Punjab under great danger.

His headless body was secretly carried by Lakhi Shah and his son to their house in Delhi to avoid any desecration. They burned down their house to cremate the Guru. Gurudwara Rakabganj (‘rakab’ colloquially means body and in Persian it refers to stirrup of a horse) stands at this spot, very close to Parliament house.

The Sikh General Baghel Singh captured Delhi in 1783CE and forced the weak Emperor Shah Alam to allow him to build small shrines at the two locations. These were expanded later in the 20th cent CE after multiple legal disputes with local Muslims were settled.

Source: SikhWiki

Picture Credit: The picture of Gurudwara Sisganj from Flickr (dan Be)

Guru Har Rai (1630-1661CE) became the seventh Guru at age 14. Inspite of his age, he was an inspiring military leader following the footsteps of his grandfather, the sixth Guru Hargobind. He strove to maintain friendly relations with the Mughals. He once possibly helped cure Dara Shikoh from poisoning.

Aurangzeb became the Emperor after defeating Dara Shikoh. Aurangzeb summoned the Guru to explain his friendship with the defeated prince. The Guru sent his son Ram Rai to the new emperor.
Aurangzeb questioned Ram Rai about a line in the Adi Granth, deeming it against Islam. To appease the emperor, Ram Rai offered to amend the line. When the Guru came to know of this, he excommunicated his son. He then named his younger son Har Kishan as the next Guru.

Source: Britannica

Picture Credit: Wikimedia Commons

The eighth Guru Harkrishan stayed at Gurudwara Bangla sahib in Delhi. Guru Harkrishan was appointed as the eight Guru by his predecessor, Guru Har Rai. His elder brother disputed the succession and approached Emperor Aurangzeb to intercede. Guru Harkrishan came to Delhi to meet the emperor and stayed here.

Mirza Raja Jai Singh of Amber (Jaipur) made his stay comfortable and the Guru took the opportunity to serve the people of Delhi who were facing an epidemic of cholera & small pox.

Source: “Sikh Shrines in India”, GS Randhir.

Picture Credit: Wikimedia Commons, Nimit Nigam

The land that is now Amritsar was donated to the Gurus by their followers. Guru Amardas chalked out a plan to excavate a sarovar (Amrit Sarovar shortened to Amritsar). Guru Ramdas executed this plan under the supervision of Baba Budha ji. Later the fifth Guru Arjan built the Sri Harmandir Sahib (the main shrine in the Golden Temple) in the sarovar to have a focal pilgrimage centre for Sikhs – ‘ath sath tirath’. The design of Sri Harmandir sahib was personally made by Guru Arjan.

Darshani Deori (main gate) and Har ki Paure (Holy Steps) are part of Sri Harmandir.

Source: GoldenTempleAmritsar.org

Picture Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Guru Angad (1504 – 52 CE) is credited with organizing the Sikh sangat. The first organized meeting of the community (sangat) took place at his family home at Taran Taran in Punjab. It is now marked by the Gurudwara Mal Akhara. Its name reflects the emphasis Guru Angad placed on physical fitness. He standardized the Gurumukhi script of the Punjabi language so that the discourses could be available to the common man in the sangat. He started the langar tradition to foster a feeling of oneness in the sangat.

Source: Britannica

Picture Credit: The picture of Gurudwar Mal Akhara is from Sikhwiki.

Akal Takht is adjacent to the Harmandir Saheb at the Golden Temple in Amritsar. Guru Sri Hargobind constructed the Akal Takht in 1609. The place where the Takht stands was a playground of the Guru. As Guru, he himself sat there and held a court of justice, redressing grievances of the Sikhs. Thus, the Hukumnama (order of justice) issued by the Jathedar of Akal Takht is binding on all Sikhs.

Source: “Sikh Shrines in India”, GS Randhir.

Picture Credit: The picture of Akal Takht is from Wikimedia Commons (Amarpreet Singh).

Guru Arjan Dev (1563-1606 CE) profoundly shaped Sikhism. He compiled the Adi Granth, completed construction of the Golden Temple and stabilized the masand (tax) system of administering the community.

In 1605 CE, Jahangir ascended the Mughal throne. His son Khusrau rebelled against him. The Guru’s detractors spread rumours that he had blessed or supported Khusrau. He was taken before Jahāngīr, who fined him and either asked him to convert to Islam or eliminate sections of the Adi Granth deemed objectionable. Guru Arjan refused and was tortured and executed by drowning. Some say he died during torture.

His martyrdom made the Sikhs more militaristic and sowed the seeds of a prolonged Sikh-Mughal conflict.

Source: Britannica

Picture Credit: Sikhwiki image of Baba Buddha placing a tikka (a mark of distinction) on the forehead of Guru Arjan Dev, pronouncing him the fifth Guru

Adi Granth (First Book) is the sacred scripture of the Sikhs. It has 6000 hymns. The first version of the book was compiled by the 5th Sikh Guru, Arjan, at Amritsar in 1604 CE. He collected the hymns of the first three Gurus, added his own compositions as also those of many other great saints of the country. In 1704 CE, the 10th and last Guru, Gobind Singh, added some more hymns.

The book starts with the Mul Mantra (“Basic Prayer”), which is a declaration of the nature of God as Truth, followed by the Japji (“Recital”), the most important Sikh scripture, written by Guru Nanak, the first Guru. The hymns are arranged according to the musical modes (ragas) in which they are to be sung.

Source: “Sikh Shrines in India”, GS Randhir; Britannica.

Picture Credit: SikhWiki image is the last page of the Granth Sahib at first floor of Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar.

Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, was born in 1469 CE in the village Rai Bhoi di Talvandi. It is about 90 km west of Lahore. It has been renamed as Nankana Sahib in his honour. A Gurudwara was built there around 1600 CE and was renovated by Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1819-20.

Guru Nanak travelled across India and returned to Punjab by 1520. He witnessed the attacks of Babur, the first Mughal emperor. He spent his remaining years till he passed away in 1538 CE in Kartarpur, on the Indo-Pak border.

Two Gurudwaras mark his stay – Dera Baba Nanak in India is where he meditated and Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan where he breathed his last. A visa free Kartarpur corridor enables Indians to visit Kartarpur.

Source: Britannica

Picture Credit: The Wikimedia image is of Gurudwara Nankana Sahib.