Guru Arjan Dev
This first Sikh martyr was born on the 18th of Bisakh, Tuesday, 1610 Vik., according to 1554 A.D. He was the second son of Guru Ram Das, the first Guru…
From: 1563 C.E. To: 1606 C.E.
Location: Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Note: This article has been excerpted from a larger work in the public domain and shared here due to its historical value. It may contain outdated ideas and language that do not reflect TOTA’s opinions and beliefs.
“Guru Arjan Dev” from Sikh Martyrs by Bhagat Lakshman Singh, 1923.
This first Sikh martyr was born on the 18th of Bisakh, Tuesday, 1610 Vik., according to 1554 A.D. He was the second son of Guru Ram Das, the first Guru of the Sodhi clan, that has played so noble a part in Sikh history. As a child he was so sweet, loving, humble and dutiful that his parents doted on him. These qualities he retained till the close of his earthly career. From his early years, he devoted himself to self-culture, and grew to be a man of great scholarship and piety. He was particularly fond of the company of ascetics of both the Hindu and Mussulman persuasions. Among the chief saints, with whom he had formed ties of attachment, were Hazart Mian Mir, whose remains are enshrined in the tomb close to the Lahore Cantonment, Shah Hussain, whose sublime and stirring hymns still apeal to so many pious people in our land, and Bhagat Chhajju, the famous Hindu saint of Lahore, whose simple and upright living people remember so admiringly, and whose place of abode is still visited as a shrine. But from his very childhood young Arjan had a mortal enemy in his elder brother, Prithi Chand, a haughty, greedy, intriguing, and unscrupulous person, who had conceived a dislike for him because of the special fondness which his parents showed to him. Prithi Chand feared lest this partiality for his younger brother might lean to his own claim to the Gadi (succession) being overlooked.
The fact was that the Gadi of the Sikh Gurus had by this time become a seat of might and influence, through the loving sympathy and magnanimity of Guru Ram Das. And it came about in this way. During one of his preaching tours, the Guru had halted at a secluded spot in the wilds Manjha. Close by was a pool of water, the sanctity of which had been demonstrated in a very remarkable manner.
The Guru enlarged this pool and laid on its bank the foundations of a splendid temple, which took several generations to complete. He also built here a house for his own residence, and quarters for the reception of visitors. Round this group of buildings sprang a large town which, at the present time, is the most populous and wealthy in the province, being the premier seat of Sikh pilgrimage and central market for trade. Guru Ram Das was, moreover, a model benefector. The poor and the needy found in him a generous patron, and the rich loved to honour him. In fact, all sections of the community looked up to him for advice in matters worldly and spiritual.
His elder son, Prithi Chand, shrewd as he was, saw the growing influence of the place and, therefore, felt very much annoyed when he noticed his father’s partiality for the young Arjan. He, accordingly intrigued with the Mussalman Governor of Lahore for the removal of his youngest brother from Amritsar. The plot does not appear to have succeeded and Arjan continued to reside in Amritsar. A small incident, however, soon developed into a serious quarrel between the father and the son. Lahori Mal, a cousin of Guru Arjan Dev was to be married at Lahore. The Guru was invited to attend with his wife and sons. Prithi Chand was requested to go and represent the family; but he refused to comply. He felt it hard to leave, even for a while, the lucrative position of chief steward, that he held in the Guru’s household, and Arjan Dev had to be sent instead. But this only precipitated the consequence of which Prithi Chand was so mightly afraid. Arjan Dev was not only a son to the Guru he was his counterpart. To live away from his father was to him as good as death. He had not been long in Lahore before he began to send to his father epistle after epistle, showing how disconsolate he had become and how he yearned to return. These letters were intercepted by Prithi Chand. The fact came to the knowledge of the Guru. A search being made, the letters were found on the person of Prithi Chand. The Guru was naturally incensed. He forthwith sent for Arjan Dev, and in order to to prevent internecine feuds afterwards, he was anointed as successor to the then and there. But this was by no means the end of the matter, as will subsequently appear.
The succession of Guru Arjan Dev to the Gadi was the introduction of a new era in the history of Sikhism. His manifold activities infused public spirit into the community. Places of worship were built wherever Sikh influence was felt. Large tanks were dug and lands were set apart, the proceeds of which went to defray the expenses of their upkeep. Men took pleasure in succouring those in need. Each well-to-do individual was a banker to the community and he advanced money at a nominal rate of interest, perfectly sure that his money was safe. The practice of requiring written or sealed bonds from the creditors was unknown, and community showed signs of affluence that it had never before known.
Another remarkable achievement of the Guru was the compilation of the Granth, The Sikh Bible, The writings of the previous Gurus had been preserved on stray scraps of paper stitched together. The Guru consolidated them in chronological order and set them to the sublimest music then known. He incorporated into the volume a number of hymns composed by Hindu and Mussalman saints, who had striven to lead a life of godliness and had thus set the highest and noblest example of right living to their fellow-beings. This was an example of catholicity, quite unique. Men remember it with a feeling of pride now. But in the Guru’s time they thought differently. The Sikhs, of course, submitted deferentially to whatever the Guru did.
It was the orthodox Hindu priests who took umbrage at this. To them the idea of compiling a scripture in a language other than Sanskrit or Hindi and the inclusion therein of the word of low-caste Hindus or Mussalmans, was exceedingly abhorrent. The effort to organize the Sikh dissenters into a strong commonwealth, which aimed at casting off the irksome influence of many time-honoured institutions, spread a feeling of alarm throughout the orthodox circles. The leaders had recourse to the usual tactics in discrediting the Sikh propaganda. Failing in this, they represented to the rulers of the day that the Guru was preaching a revolt against the paramount power, and that the Granth he had compiled contained references derogatory to the founder of Islam. Prithi Chand heard this opposition. Through the good offices of Wazir Khan. Subah of Lahore, who admired the Guru as a man of God, this effort to discredit him and invite suspicion against his propaganda failed. But quite an unforeseen circumstance strengthened the cause of the Guru’s opponents and led to his incarceration and death by extreme torture.
Jehangir’s son, Khusro, rebelled against his father. Failing in his efforts to win popular sympathy for his cause, he fled to the Punjab. The Guru was the only man of note in the province. The prince took shelter with the Guru, who received him cordially. The Guru knew that he was thus giving mortal offence to Jehangir. He also knew what capital his opponents in the province would make out of this act. The die was, however, cast and there was no help for it. The law of hospitality was hard to break, especially by a successor of Guru Nanak. He had to use his own discretion and stake his all, regardless of the people's praise or dispraise, approval or disapproval. When Prince Khusro thought he should leave the Guru’s protection, he applied to him for financial assistance which was readily granted. The hapless prince was however soon arrested and deprived of his eyesight.
The behaviour of the Guru infuriated Jehangir and he lost no time in taking his revenge. This is how he writes of the Guru in his memoirs;—"So many of the simple-minded Hindus, nay many foolish Moslems, too, had been fascinated by his ways and teachings. He was noised about as a great religious and worldly leader. They called him Guru, and from all directions crowds of people would come to him and express great devotion to him. This busy traffic had been carried on for three or four generations. For many years the thought had presented itself to my mind that either I should put an end to this false traffic or that he should be brought uith- in the pale of Islam.”
The pious wish expressed in the italicised words was, however, not carried out, presumably because personal factor had now come in. A harder treatment was now thought necessary. He did not impale the Guru alive, as he did in the case of Khusro’s companions He thought it more politic to impose a heavy fine on the Guru, and placed him in the custody of Chandu Lai a powerful Hindu minister at the Lahore Court, who had become the Guru’s bitter enemy on account of the latter’s refusal to betrothe his son, Har Govind, to Chandu’s daughter. The torments that the Guru suffered at the hands of this infamous miscreant are difficult to describe. Blood freezes in the veins at the very thought of them. The Guru lay confined in a cell below the compartments occupied by Chandu. Here Chandu would approach the Guru daily to press his old suit.
At other times, he would ask him to insert valedictory hymns in praise of the Prophet Mohammad in the Granth Sahib, in consideration for which he would have the Guru’s life spared. Neither of these requests could be complied with. Guru Nanak’s was not the house for a marriage by force. And the Granth Sahib contained only the praise of God. No mortal man’s praise finds room in its pages. True, there are a few verses in it in praise of Guru Nanak; but no Guru has written anything else in it but the praise of the One Great Lord. In a word, when Chandu knew that there was no hope of the Guru giving way, he ordered hot burning sand to be poured on the Guru’s body. Not content with this, he made him sit on a red-hot iron plate. These inhuman tortures could not last long. The Guru soon gave up his ghost (1605 A.D.) and his remains were thrown into the Ravi which then flowed at the foot of the walls of the fortress! On this spot now stands a handsome temple where an annual fair takes place.
Chandu did not escape chastisement for his wicked deeds. The fickle Fortune forsook him before the lapse of many years, when the martyred Guru’s son and successor, Guru Har Govind, had him arrested and put to death.
There is a touching story of the great love in which the Moslem saint, Hazrat Mian Mir, held the Guru. It is said that the saint came to see the Guru during the days of his incarceration, and was struck with horror at the sight of the inhuman tortures to which the Guru was being subjected. He showered imprecations on Jehangir’s head and asked the Guru for permission to pray for the overthrow of the Mughal rule. But the Guru would not consent to such a course. He said he would resignedly leave himself in the hands of God, who alone knew what was good. And the Guru was right. Whatever dignity or nobility attaches to the name Sikh, is primarily due to this one of the most unostentatious, quotest and humblest of workers in the cause of Truth.
Singh, Bhagat Lakshman. Sikh Martyrs. S. Jiwan Singh, 1923.
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