Sikh Concepts and Teachings - Sikh culture and Heritage

Question / Answers

(221) Question:-	Where did the Guru halt next after leaving the fortress of Chamkor?
Answer:-	After leaving the fortress of Chamkor, the Guru had to pass through thick and thorny bushes in the pitched darkness and he went on till he reached a place called Machhiwaara. He was alone and because of his tiresome journey without any food he felt exhausted. The tradition records that he laid his head on a clod of clay and slept in the open field. Even in those moments the Guru remembered God and recited:- ਮਿਤ੍ਰ ਪਿਆਰੇ ਨੂੰ ਹਾਲੁ ਮੁਰੀਦਾਂ ਦਾ ਕਹਣਾ ॥ ਤੁਧ ਬਿਨੁ ਰੋਗੁ ਰਜਾਈਆਂ ਦਾ ਓਢਣੁ ਨਾਗ ਨਿਵਾਸਾਂ ਦੇ ਰਹਣਾ ॥ ਸੂਲ ਸੁਰਾਹੀ ਖੰਜਰੁ ਪਿਯਾਲਾ ਬਿੰਗ ਕਸਾਈਯਾਂ ਦਾ ਸਹਣਾ ॥ ਯਾਰੜੇ ਦਾ ਸਾਨੂੰ ਸੱਥਰ ਚੰਗਾ ਭੱਠ ਖੇੜਿਆਂ ਦਾ ਰਹਣਾ ॥1॥1॥6॥ (ਖਿਆਲ ਪਾਤਿਸਾਹੀ 10 ॥) Mitar piaare noon haal mureedaan da kehna. Tudh bin rog rajaaeeaan da odhan naag nivaasaan da rehna. Sool suraahi khanjar piaala bing kasaaeeaan da sehna. Yaarre da saanoon sathar changaa bath kheriaan da rehna. Go and tell the condition of his devotee to my dear Lord. The luxury of soft beds is extreme suffering without You. It is like to live in a snakepit. The goblet is a poisnous thorn, cup a daggar. Your separation is just like the strikes of a butcher's knife. I would rather like to sleep on straw with my Ranjha God. And it is hell to live on the soft beds of Kheraas. It was at this place that the three Sikhs, who had separated from him at Chamkor rejoined him. The two Ruhila Pathans namely Ghani Khan and Nabi Khan who lived there were horse dealers and had previously visited the Guru at Anandpur. It was an opportunity for them to prove their friendship for the Master by rendering him necessary assistance. In the words of Puran Singh, they provided the Guru shelter in their house. When the Imperial Army, which was still in hot pursuit, started searching houses, the two friends disguised the Guru and his followers in indigo-dyed garments as Mussalman Faquirs throwing their long tresses back—and carried him, thus disguised as Uch Ka Pir, through the camp to a more secure part of the country. The commander suspected and interrogated these two men closely, but they proved more than a match for him and carried the Master safely across. There are three Gurdwaras at present at Machhiwaara, which is a small town in Ludhiana District, as to commemorate the events associated with the life of the Guru. The Gurdwara Charankaval Sahib is a place where the three Sikhs had found the Guru asleep after the arduous journey through the thorny forest. Gurdwara Uchch Da Pir is that place from where the Guru had been carried in the disguise of a Muslim divine.
(222) Question:-	What is meant by Uchch Da Pir?
Answer:-	Uchch was an old seat of Muslim saint in south-west Punjab. As this saint was very well known and highly respected, the two brothers disguised the Guru as Uchch Da Pir i.e. the holy man of Uchch and they carried him in the palanquin up to Hehran, a village near Raikot in Ludhiana District, where a group of Sikhs relieved them. The Guru blessed the two brothers and gave them a letter of commendation (Hukamnama). This Hukamnama was reverently preserved by the. descendants of the said family who had migrated to Pakistan in 1947. Their house in Machhiwaara now converted into a Gurdwara called Uchch Da Pir reminds of their devotion towards the Master.
(223) Question:-	It is believed that the Guru had written a letter emperor Aurangzeb after the battle of chamkor said letter is stated to be different from zafarnamah Give brief information regarding this letter.
Answer:-	Zafamamah is definitely a composition of the Guru as becomes evident from the Dasam Granth, wherein it is included, but there is no other letter which was known before 1922. It was the year that the information regarding this letter believed to have been written by the Guru came to notice. Some of the couplets from this letter were reproduced out of memory by Sh. Jagan Nath Dass in his letter sent to S.Umrao Singh Majithia. S.Majithia arranged the couplets in order and sent a copy each to the Khalsa College, Amritsar, and to Bhai Vir Singh, who in turn published it with a Punjabi translation in Khalsa Samachar of 16th July 1942. When this composition was published with an introduction and translation in Urdu by S. Kapoor Singh in a weekly then published from Lahore named, Ajit, the composition was given a title as 'Fatehnamah.' Fatehnamah means a letter of victory. This letter appears to be incomplete as there are only twenty-three and a half couplets. Further, the letter seems to have been written at Machhiwara as the Guru refers therein to the martyrdom of his two elder sons Ajit Singh and Jujhar Singh, but there is no mention of the martyrdom of two younger sons about which he came to know at a later stage. The tone used in this letter is more severe than that of the Zafarnarnah, although the theme is the same i.e. the indictment of Aurangzeb for his tyranny', deceitful policy, and perjury. Some scholars opine that this letter was ..i.oppened in the fortress of Chain 9 written at sent to the emperor, and the second letter named Zafarnamah written at Dina was only in reply to Aurangzeb's response to Fatehnamah.
(224) Question:-	What happened in the fortress chamkor after the Guru and three Sikhs had left the same?
Answer:-	As stated above, the five Sikhs had taken derision (Gurmatta) that the Guru along with the three Sikhs should leave and the remaining two Sikhs should stay back with a view to engage the enemy in a fight with them. One of these Sikhs, because of his close resemblance in physical appearance to the Guru, had donned Guru's dress and plume in order to beguile the enemy. When in the morning, the besiegers stormed the fortress, Sangat Singh opposed them single-handed and fell fighting valiantly. The Mughal Commander Khwaza Mardool became very happy on the thought that he had killed the Guru and for this achievement, he would be handsomely rewarded by the emperor. However, when the truth was revealed on the identification that the Guru had already escaped from the Garhi, a hot pursuit restarted.
(225) Question:-	What happened to the younger sons of the Guru, who along with their grand-mother had been separated from the family?
Answer:-	Mata Gujari, the mother of Guru Gobind Singh, and his two younger sons, Sahibzada Zoravar Singh and Sahibzada Fateh Singh, when separated from the Guru on the banks of river Sarsa, were provided shelter by one of their old servants named, Gangu. They trusted him as Gangu was a Brahman and had served as a cook in the Guru's household. However, he was a greedy person, and with a view to getting a heavy reward, he gave the information through the Hakim of Morinda to the Suba of Sirhind regarding the stay of the family of the Guru with him. The Suba was highly vindictive and as such he wanted to take revenge on the Guru by torturing his children. The young ones were persuaded, tempted, and frightened with the consequential death as to make them agree to be converted to Islam. However, the children had been well taught by their grand-mother to follow their faith even at the cost of their life. Whereas others associated with Suba Sirhind instigated him against the children, Nawab Malerkotla was not in favour of taking revenge on young Children. Sucha Nand supported the Suba by stating that the children of a Snake should never be left alive. The Suba Sirhind, namely, Wazir man ultimately decided to award the death punishment to both the children. It was on 13th December 1705 that these two children were bricked alive. The greedy people of the Suba declared that they will handover the dead bodies of the two children for the purpose of cremation only on payment of Mahars. It was Thdarmal, a resident of Sirhind who made a huge payment in the form of Mohars for taking possession of the dead bodies to perform the cremation. When Mata Gujari came to know of the martyrdom of her two grandsons, she also passed away. The site of the martyrdom of the two young ones is now the site of a beautiful Gurdwara called Gurdwara Fatehgarh Sahib. There is another Gurdwara named as Gurdwara Jyoti Sarup situated at the place where Mata Ji and the children were cremated.
(226) Question:-	In which direction did Guru decide to move after leaving Machhiwara? Why did he take this decision?
Answer:-	Since it was not possible for the Guru to stay at Machhiwara for a long time as the Mughal army was hotly pursuing him and was looking for him in various directions, the Guru decided to move towards Malwa. The Malwa region is at present comprised of the areas of Bhatinda, Faridkot, and parts of Ferozepur. During that period, it was forest land with burning sandy wastes in between. The people of this area had a great devotion to the Guru. They had been sending arms, men, and horses to him. The Guru, therefore, might have thought of rallying his forces in the sandy areas of Rajasthan for continuing his struggle against the imperial forces. It needs to be mentioned here that there were a number of Muslim devotees of the Guru who sheltered him in the course of his journey from Chamkor onwards.
(227) Question:-	Who was Rai Kalha? What role did he play in the life of Guru Gobind Singh Ji?
Answer:-	Rai Kalha was a Muslim Chief of Raikot, a township in the Ludhiana district. He had been converted from Hinduism to Islam, but was among the admirers Of the Guru. When the Guru was passing through his territory after his escape from Chamkour, the feudatory Chief welcomed him and served him with devotion. He also sent one of his men to Sirhind to bring the news of Guru's mother and his two younger Sons. The Guru was so pleased with his devotion and concern that before departing bestowed upon him a sword, a water jug, and a rack to hold a religious book for recitation. These articles were kept by the family as sacred relics for a long time. However, a descendant of the family presented the sword to the English Deputy Commissioner of Ludhiana during the British period. This sword is kept in the British Museum at present. The rack is also now not available with the family. The water jug popularly known as 'Ganga Sagar' is still in the possession of Rai Aziz Alla Khan a descendent of this family presently residing at Lahore.
(228) Question:-	Describe the period spent by the Guru after the Guru left Machhiwara
Answer:-	When the Guru was escorted out of Machhiwara by the two brothers Ghani Khan and Nabi Khan, he passed through various villages in the area of Raikot. The notable among them is the village of Lamma-Jatpura. The said village in the Ludhiana District now falls on what is called Guru Gobind Singh Marg. It is said that the Guru stayed in this village for a few days on his way to Dina Kangar. It is at this place only that one messenger named, Nura Mahi sent to Sirhind for bringing the news of the two younger sons and the mother of the Guru met the Guru and narrated to him the tragic happenings at Sirhind. The Guru listened to all the details with perfect composure, but, at the same time, continued digging at the root of a Dab weed plant (Erogrostis cynosures) with the tip of his arrow. When Num concluded his doleful tale, he pulled out the Dab plant and said that the roots of the tyrants have been dug and shall soon be uprooted. He told his Sikhs not to grieve and himself thanked God for having returned to him what was His. He blessed the Nawab of Malerkotla for his gesture. He also blessed, Rai Kalha for his devotion and service. 'There are two Gurdwaras in this village to commemorate the Guru's visit.
(229) Question:-	What is meant by Zafarnamah? Briefly introduce the Contents of this composition?
Answer:-	Zafar is an Arabic word meaning victory, whereas Namah in Persian means a letter. Thus, Zalarnamah means a letter of victory. This letter was written by Guru Gobind Singh to Aurangzeb in 1706 from Dina Kangar. Guru Ji had reached this place from Raikot. In this letter, the Guru has clarified to the emperor that despite the fact that he had to sacrifice most of his persons and family members, the victory was his and not that of the emperor. In this letter, written in the verse form, comprising of 127 stanzas, the Guru in an exalted mood of righteous fervour has brought out clearly that the victory and defeat are to be judged by the ultimate standards of morality, and not by temporary material advantage. In the first 12 Stanzas, the Guru has sung the praises of the Almighty God by calling him eternal, beneficient, bestower of grace, remitter of sins etc. In the subsequent 111 stanzas, the Gum has indicted the Mughal Emperor for his hollow faith, false oaths and egoistic acts. The unjust and cruel acts of the emperor including the attack made by his troops on the Sikhs after they had vacated Anandpur on the solemn assurance given by the emperor have been severely condemned in this letter. The Guru has stated that although the emperor was a clever administrator, skilled in yielding The sword, prompt in crushing the enemies, he lacked morality as a ruler and as a ruler and as a human being. The Guru emphasised upon the sovereignty of morality in the affairs of the state as much as in the conduct of human beings. According to him, absolute truthfulness is as much the duty of a sovereign as of any line of the ordinary citizens. Towards the end of his letter, the last four Stanleigh have again been devoted to the praise of God. Bhai Daya Singh and Bhai Dharam Singh were deputed by the Guru to carry this letter and deliver it to Aurangzeb who was at Ahmed Nagar in Deccan at that time.
(230) Question:-	Where did Guru Ji go after Dina Kangar? What important events took place there?
Answer:-	Guru Ji, on his journey in the Malwa Region, was proceeding towards the deep desert for the fulfillment of his mission. On the way, there was a pool known as Khidrana Dhaab. (Dhaab means a pool which used to be made in those days for storing water as there was a severe scarcity of water in this part of the region) This place is about 45 km. to the north of Faridkot. One of the devotees of the Guru, Chaudhary Kapoora, who owned a fortress in the area, was, guiding the Guru to be escorted further. However, a small party of 40 Sikhs from Majha, who are believed to have deserted the Guru on an earlier occasion, was also proceeding in this direction in search of the Guru. Those Sikhs came into direct confrontation with the pursuing Mughal Armies and the result was a skirmish between them. The 40 Sikhs led by a courageous lady, named, Mai Bhago, took their positions near the Dhaab and then followed a grim action in which there was a hand to hand fight of the Sikhs with the Mughal forces. Guru Gobind Singh and his three companions, along with some Brar soldiers recruited from the Malwa region, were also near that Dhaab. They also took positions giving a fight to the enemy. Guru stood on a mound (Tibbi) and started showering the brave Sikhs. The Sikhs fought so ferociously that although each of them died fighting, the enemy had to retreat. Guru the Tibbi to the battlefield and blessed his person who had valiantly down their lives. Bhai Maahan Singh, who is stated to be the Leader of the 40 persons, who had deserted the Guru at one point of time gravely wounded, but was still alive when the Guru reached him and praised him for his gallantry. Maahan Singh requested the Guru that the letter of desertion given by them to the Guru be destroyed and they should all be pardoned. The Guru granted the request and blessed Maahan Singh who then died in peace. These 40 persons were pardoned by the Guru and declared as 40 Muktas or the 40 saved ones. Following this historic incident, Dhaab Khidrana came to be called Mukatsar which literally means the tank of immortals. Now there is a Gurdwara named, Shaheed Ganj, situated at this site. There is another Shrine Shri Darbar Sahib, which is the principal shrine in this town and is situated on the western bank of the Sarover. The sandy mound on which the Guru had stood and had showered arrows on the enemy is also now the site of the Gurdwara called Gurdwara Tibbi Sahib. An Annual Fair is also held at Mukatsar on the first day of the month of Magh.