Guru Hargobind

Guru Har Gobind, ([ɡʊru həɾɡobɪnd sɑhɪb]) also Saccha Padshah ("True Emperor") (19 June 1595 – 3 March 1644)) was the sixth of the Sikh gurus. He was eleven years old when he became Guru on 30 May 1606, after the execution of his father, Guru Arjan, by the Mughal emperor Jahangir. He is remembered for initiating a military tradition within Sikhism to resist Islamic persecution and protecting the freedom of religion. He had the longest tenure as Guru, lasting 37 years, 9 months and 3 days.

Early years

Guru Hargobind was born in 1595 in Vadali Guru, a village 7 km west of Amritsar. His father, Guru Arjan, the fifth Guru of the Sikh faith, had been arrested, tortured and killed by order of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir. On 25 May 1606 Guru Arjan had nominated Hargobind as his successor and, after his execution on 30 May, the succession ceremony took place on 24 June 1606. Guru Hargobind had been advised by his father to start a military tradition to protect the Sikh people. and at the time of his ascension, he put on two swords: one indicated his spiritual authority (piri) and the other, his temporal authority (miri). He thus founded the military tradition in the Sikh faith. Guru Hargobind had three wives: Mata Damodiri, Mata Nanaki and Mata Maha Devi.