India GOGuru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Sikh Guru: his life, his death and where to remember him
ਗੁਰੂ ਤੇਗ਼ ਬਹਾਦਰ
The ninth Guru, beheaded in Delhi in 1675 for defending the right of Kashmiri Hindus to their faith: “the shield of India”.
Guru Tegh Bahadur was the ninth of the ten Sikh Gurus, from 1664 until his execution in Delhi on 11 November 1675. Sikhs call him Hind di Chadar, the shield of India, because he died defending the freedom of people outside his own faith to keep theirs. His 116 hymns are part of the Guru Granth Sahib, and gurdwaras in Agra and Delhi mark the places of his arrest and death.
Story
When Kashmiri pandits came to Anandpur begging protection from forced conversion, he rode to Delhi (by tradition giving himself up at Agra, where the gurdwara Guru ka Tal now stands) and in prison refused to abandon either their cause or his own faith. He was beheaded in Chandni Chowk; one disciple carried the head to Anandpur, another burned down his own house to cremate the body. The gurdwaras Sis Ganj and Rakab Ganj mark the two places.
ਭੈ ਕਾਹੂ ਕਉ ਦੇਤ ਨਹਿ ਨਹਿ ਭੈ ਮਾਨਤ ਆਨ
“One who frightens no one and fears no one — know that one as wise.”
Salok Mahalla 9, ang 1427
Places linked to them
Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib · Delhi Gurudwara Guru ka Tal · AgraLife before the guruship
He was born Tyag Mal in Amritsar on 1 April 1621, a son of Guru Hargobind, the sixth Guru (the line of ten begins with Guru Nanak). After he fought bravely at the Battle of Kartarpur, his father renamed him Tegh Bahadur, “brave of the sword”. He married Mata Gujri; their son became Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Guru.
When the child Guru Har Krishan died in 1664, he named his successor only as “Baba Bakala”, the village where Tegh Bahadur lived in retreat, and several claimants appeared. In the traditional story, a trader, Makhan Shah Labana, had vowed 500 gold coins to the Guru. He offered each claimant two coins; only Tegh Bahadur remarked that the offering was short of the promised five hundred, and Makhan Shah proclaimed that the Guru had been found (“Guru ladho re”).
As Guru he travelled widely, through Malwa, Bihar, Bengal and as far as Assam. His son was born in Patna in 1666 while he was away at Dhubri on the Brahmaputra. In 1665 he founded Anandpur on the edge of the Shivalik hills, where his son would found the Khalsa in 1699. His 116 hymns, in 15 ragas, are part of the Guru Granth Sahib.
The martyrdom, 11 November 1675
The Guru was held in Delhi on Aurangzeb’s orders and executed in Chandni Chowk on 11 November 1675. Three of his companions were tortured and executed alongside him, at the kotwali (the city police post) by the Sunehri Masjid. By Sikh accounts, Bhai Mati Das was sawn in two while reciting the Japji Sahib, Bhai Dayala was boiled alive in a cauldron of oil, and Bhai Sati Das was wrapped in cotton and set on fire. This is the answer to the question “which Guru was boiled?”: it was not a Guru but his companion.
After the beheading, Bhai Jaita carried the Guru’s head to Anandpur, to his young son Gobind. Lakhi Shah Banjara and his son cremated the body by burning down their own house; Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib stands on that site. The Bhai Mati Das Sati Das Museum faces Gurdwara Sis Ganj in Chandni Chowk.
The gurdwaras that mark his last journey
Entry to every gurdwara is free; cover your head and leave shoes at the counter.
Guru ka Tal, Agra
At Sikandra, by tradition the place where he gave himself up in 1675. The gurdwara was raised in the 1970s inside a Mughal rainwater tank of 1610, and eight of its twelve carved red sandstone towers still stand. Langar, the free community meal, runs daily, and Akbar’s tomb is minutes away.
Sis Ganj Sahib, Delhi
In the middle of Chandni Chowk, on the spot of the execution. The Sikh leader Baghel Singh raised the first gurdwara here in 1783; the present building from 1930 keeps the trunk of the tree under which he was beheaded and the well he used in prison. More on the Sis Ganj Sahib page.
Rakab Ganj Sahib, Delhi
Where Lakhi Shah Banjara cremated the body.
Martyrdom Day
Shaheedi Divas, the Guru’s martyrdom day, is observed every year on 24 November. The observance falls on a different date from the 11 November 1675 given by historians for the execution.
❓ FAQ
Why was Guru Tegh Bahadur executed?
By Sikh tradition, Kashmiri pandits asked him for protection from forced conversion; he refused to give up their cause or his own faith, and was beheaded in Delhi on Aurangzeb’s orders on 11 November 1675.
Which Guru was boiled?
None of the Gurus. It was Bhai Dayala, one of Guru Tegh Bahadur’s companions, who was boiled alive in a cauldron in Chandni Chowk before the Guru’s execution.
Who was the wife of Guru Tegh Bahadur?
Mata Gujri, the mother of Guru Gobind Singh.
What was Guru Tegh Bahadur’s original name?
Tyag Mal. His father, Guru Hargobind, renamed him Tegh Bahadur, “brave of the sword”, after the Battle of Kartarpur.
When is Guru Tegh Bahadur’s martyrdom day?
It is observed on 24 November each year.