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===Martyrdom===
===Martyrdom===
[[File:Coexist.JPG|thumb|The [[Gurdwara Dera Sahib]] in [[Lahore]], [[Pakistan]], commemorates the spot where Guru Arjan Dev is traditionally believed to have died.]]
[[File:Coexist.JPG|thumb|The [[Gurdwara Dera Sahib]] in [[Lahore]], [[Pakistan]], commemorates the spot where Guru Arjan Dev is traditionally believed to have died.]]
In 1606 CE, the Guru was imprisoned in [[Lahore Fort]] where he was tortured and executed.<ref name=lkca/><ref>{{cite book|author=Pashaura Singh| title= Life and Work of Guru Arjan: History, Memory, and Biography in the Sikh Tradition| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FbPXAAAAMAAJ| year=2006| publisher=Oxford University Press| isbn=978-0-19-567921-2| pages=23, 217–218}}</ref> Shaikh [[Ahmad Sirhindi]] cheered the punishment and execution of Guru Arjun, calling the Sikh Guru an infidel.<ref>Pashaura Singh (2005), [http://www.global.ucsb.edu/punjab/journal_12_1/3_singh.pdf Understanding the Martyrdom of Guru Arjan], Journal of Philosophical Society, 12(1), page 34</ref>{{refn|group=note|This is from records of Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi, composed after the punishment and execution of Guru Arjun:<br />These days the accursed infidel of Gobindwal was very fortunately killed. It is a cause of great defeat for the reprobate Hindus. With whatever intention and purpose they are killed – the humiliation of infidels is for Muslims, life itself. Before this Kafir ([[Infidel]]) was killed, I had seen in a dream that the Emperor of the day had destroyed the crown of the head of Shirk or infidelity. It is true that this infidel [Guru Arjun] was the chief of the infidels and a leader of the Kafirs. The object of levying [[Jizya]] (tax on non-Muslims) on them is to humiliate and insult the Kafirs, and [[Jihad]] against them and hostility towards them are the necessities of the Mohammedan faith. – [[Ahmad Sirhindi|Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi]], Letter to Murtaza Khan, On the execution of Guru Arjan<ref name=ps5/><ref name=smii>Sirhindi, Maktubat-i Imam-i Rabbani, I-iii, letter No. 193, pp. 95-6</ref><ref>Friedman Yohanan (1966), Shaikh Ahmad Sirhandi: An Outline of His Image in the Eyes of Posterity, Ph.D. Thesis, McGill University, pp. 110-112</ref>}}
In 1606 CE, the Guru was imprisoned in [[Lahore Fort]] where he was tortured and executed.<ref name=lkca/><ref>{{cite book|author=Pashaura Singh| title= Life and Work of Guru Arjan: History, Memory, and Biography in the Sikh Tradition| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FbPXAAAAMAAJ| year=2006| publisher=Oxford University Press| isbn=978-0-19-567921-2| pages=23, 217–218}}</ref> Shaikh [[Ahmad Sirhindi]] cheered the punishment and execution of Guru Arjun, calling the Sikh Guru an infidel.<ref>Pashaura Singh (2005), [http://www.global.ucsb.edu/punjab/journal_12_1/3_singh.pdf Understanding the Martyrdom of Guru Arjan], Journal of Philosophical Society, 12(1), page 34</ref>{{refn|group=note|This is from records of Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi, composed after the punishment and execution of Guru Arjun:<br />These days the accursed infidel of Gobindwal was very fortunately killed. It is a cause of great defeat for the reprobate Hindus. With whatever intention and purpose they are killed – the humiliation of infidels is for Muslims, life itself. Before this Kafir ([[Infidel]]) was killed, I had seen in a dream that the Emperor of the day had destroyed the crown of the head of Shirk or infidelity. It is true that this infidel [Guru Arjun] was the chief of the infidels and a leader of the Kafirs. The object of levying [[Jizya]] (tax on non-Muslims) on them is to humiliate and insult the Kafirs, and [[Jihad]] against them and hostility towards them are the necessities of the Mohammedan faith. – [[Ahmad Sirhindi|Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi]], Letter to Murtaza Khan, On the execution of Guru Arjan<ref name=ps5/><ref name=smii>Sirhindi, Maktubat-i Imam-i Rabbani, I-iii, letter No. 193, pp. 95-6</ref><ref>Friedman Yohanan (1966), Shaikh Ahmad Sirhandi: An Outline of His Image in the Eyes of Posterity, Ph.D. Thesis, McGill University, pp. 110-112</ref>}} A contemporary Jesuit account, written by Spanish Jesuit missionary [[Jerome Xavier]] (1549–1617), who was in [[Lahore]] at the time, records that the Sikhs tried to get Jahangir to substitute the torture and death sentence to a heavy fine, but this attempt failed.<ref>Father Jerome to Father Gasper Fernandes, (BM add MS 9854, ff. 38-52), 1617, in Sicques, Tigers or Thieves: Eyewitness Accounts of the Sikhs (1606-1809). Eds. Amandeep Singh Madra and Parmjit Singh. Palgrave Macmillan, 2004, p. 7.</ref> Jerome Xavier, in appreciation of the courage of Guru Arjun, wrote back to [[Lisbon]], that Guru Arjan suffered and was tormented.<ref name=mb12>{{cite book | last=Barnes | first=Michael | title=Interreligious learning : dialogue, spirituality, and the Christian imagination | publisher=Cambridge University Press | year=2012 | isbn=978-1-107-01284-4 | pages=245–246| quote=In that way, their good Pope died, overwhelmed by the sufferings, torments and dishonours. – Jerome Xavier, Letter to Gasper Fernandes in Lisbon, On the execution of Guru Arjan}}</ref>


⚫
The Guru was made to seat on a hot plate, boiling water had hot sand poured on him.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Mahindar|first1=Joshi|title=Guru Arjan Dev|date=1994|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|isbn=9788172017699|page=16}}</ref> One notable feature of Guru Arjan's martyrdom was that while he was being tortured he remained calm,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Anand|first1=T.K.|title=The Essence of Sikhism|date=1997|page=28}}</ref> this was shown as a reoccuring lesson to the Sikhs to obey and be content [[Hukam]] (God's command).<ref>{{cite book|last1=Mahindar|first1=Joshi|title=Guru Arjan Dev|date=1994|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|isbn=9788172017699|page=16}}</ref> The exact cause of his death is unknown<ref name= "McLeodp20"/> some scholars state that the evidence is unclear whether his death was due to execution, torture or forced drowning in the [[Ravi river]].<ref name="Gandhi"/><ref name= "McLeod">{{cite book|title= The A to Z of Sikhism|author= [[W.H. McLeod]]|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=vgixwfeCyDAC|publisher= Scarecrow Press|year= 2009|isbn= 9780810863446|page= 20}}</ref><ref name= "Bhalla">{{cite book|title= In Search of Roots: Guru Amar Das and Bhallas|author= A.S. Bhalla|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=1KfLydMHLhYC|publisher= Rupa & Co. |year= 2008|isbn= 9788129113337|page= 20}}</ref> J.S. Grewal notes that Sikh sources from the seventeenth and eighteenth century contain contradictory reports of Guru Arjan's death.<ref>J.S. Grewal, The Sikhs of the Punjab, in [[The New Cambridge History of India]]. 2, 3. Gen eds. Chris Bayly, Gordon Johnson, [[John F. Richards]]. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998, pp. 63-64.</ref> J. F. Richard states that Jahangir was persistently hostile to popularly venerated non-Islamic religious figures, not just Sikhism.<ref>Richards, John F. The Mughal Empire, in The New Cambridge History of India. 1, 5. Gen eds. Chris Bayly, Gordon Johnson, [[John F. Richards]]. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993, p. 97.</ref> [[Bhai Gurdas]] was a contemporary of Guru Arjan and is a noted 17th-century Sikh chronicler.<ref>Vir Singh, ed. Varam Bahi Gurdas Satki, 9th edition. New Delhi: Bhai Vir Singh Sahitya Sadan, 1997), p. 386.</ref> His eyewitness account recorded Guru Arjan life, and the order by Emperor Jahangir to torture the Guru to death.<ref>{{cite book|isbn=978-8172012182|title=Bhai Gurdas|author=Prītama Siṅgha|date=1992|pages=25–32}}</ref>
A contemporary Jesuit account, written by Spanish Jesuit missionary [[Jerome Xavier]] (1549–1617), who was in [[Lahore]] at the time, records that the Sikhs tried to get Jahangir to substitute the torture and death sentence to a heavy fine, but this attempt failed.<ref>Father Jerome to Father Gasper Fernandes, (BM add MS 9854, ff. 38-52), 1617, in Sicques, Tigers or Thieves: Eyewitness Accounts of the Sikhs (1606-1809). Eds. Amandeep Singh Madra and Parmjit Singh. Palgrave Macmillan, 2004, p. 7.</ref> Jerome Xavier, in appreciation of the courage of Guru Arjun, wrote back to [[Lisbon]], that Guru Arjan suffered and was tormented.<ref name=mb12>{{cite book | last=Barnes | first=Michael | title=Interreligious learning : dialogue, spirituality, and the Christian imagination | publisher=Cambridge University Press | year=2012 | isbn=978-1-107-01284-4 | pages=245–246| quote=In that way, their good Pope died, overwhelmed by the sufferings, torments and dishonours. – Jerome Xavier, Letter to Gasper Fernandes in Lisbon, On the execution of Guru Arjan}}</ref>

⚫
The exact cause of his death is unknown<ref name= "McLeodp20"/> some scholars state that the evidence is unclear whether his death was due to execution, torture or forced drowning in the [[Ravi river]].<ref name="Gandhi"/><ref name= "McLeod">{{cite book|title= The A to Z of Sikhism|author= [[W.H. McLeod]]|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=vgixwfeCyDAC|publisher= Scarecrow Press|year= 2009|isbn= 9780810863446|page= 20}}</ref><ref name= "Bhalla">{{cite book|title= In Search of Roots: Guru Amar Das and Bhallas|author= A.S. Bhalla|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=1KfLydMHLhYC|publisher= Rupa & Co. |year= 2008|isbn= 9788129113337|page= 20}}</ref> J.S. Grewal notes that Sikh sources from the seventeenth and eighteenth century contain contradictory reports of Guru Arjan's death.<ref>J.S. Grewal, The Sikhs of the Punjab, in [[The New Cambridge History of India]]. 2, 3. Gen eds. Chris Bayly, Gordon Johnson, [[John F. Richards]]. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998, pp. 63-64.</ref> J. F. Richard states that Jahangir was persistently hostile to popularly venerated non-Islamic religious figures, not just Sikhism.<ref>Richards, John F. The Mughal Empire, in The New Cambridge History of India. 1, 5. Gen eds. Chris Bayly, Gordon Johnson, [[John F. Richards]]. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993, p. 97.</ref> [[Bhai Gurdas]] was a contemporary of Guru Arjan and is a noted 17th-century Sikh chronicler.<ref>Vir Singh, ed. Varam Bahi Gurdas Satki, 9th edition. New Delhi: Bhai Vir Singh Sahitya Sadan, 1997), p. 386.</ref> His eyewitness account recorded Guru Arjan life, and the order by Emperor Jahangir to torture the Guru to death.<ref>{{cite book|isbn=978-8172012182|title=Bhai Gurdas|author=Prītama Siṅgha|date=1992|pages=25–32}}</ref>


Dabistan-i Mazahib Mobad states Jahangir tortured Guru Arjan in the hopes of extracting the money and public repudiation of his spiritual convictions, but the Guru refused and was executed.<ref>Mobad', Dabistan-i Mazahib, 1645-46, in Sikh history from Persian sources. Eds. J.S. Grewal and Irfan Habib. Indian History Congress: Tulika, 2001. p. 67.</ref> Michael Barnes states that the resolve and death of Guru Arjun strengthened the conviction among Sikhs that, "personal piety must have a core of moral strength. A virtuous soul must be a courageous soul. Willingness to suffer trial for one's convictions was a religious imperative".<ref name=mb12/>
Dabistan-i Mazahib Mobad states Jahangir tortured Guru Arjan in the hopes of extracting the money and public repudiation of his spiritual convictions, but the Guru refused and was executed.<ref>Mobad', Dabistan-i Mazahib, 1645-46, in Sikh history from Persian sources. Eds. J.S. Grewal and Irfan Habib. Indian History Congress: Tulika, 2001. p. 67.</ref> Michael Barnes states that the resolve and death of Guru Arjun strengthened the conviction among Sikhs that, "personal piety must have a core of moral strength. A virtuous soul must be a courageous soul. Willingness to suffer trial for one's convictions was a religious imperative".<ref name=mb12/>

Revision as of 09:09, 7 May 2018

Guru Arjan
Guru Arjan
Portrait Carved on Gold
Gurdwara Lachi Ber, Amritsar
Title5th Guru Of Sikhism
Personal
Born(1563-04-15)15 April 1563
Goindval, Tarn Taran district, Mughal Empire (Present day India)
Died30 May 1606(1606-05-30) (aged 43)[1]
Lahore, Mughal Empire (Present day Pakistan)
Resting placeGurdwara Dera Sahib, Walled City of Lahore
ReligionSikhism
SpouseMata Ganga
ChildrenGuru Hargobind
Parent(s)Guru Ram Das and Bibi Bhani
Known for
Other namesThe Fifth Master
OccupationGuru
Religious career
PredecessorGuru Ram Das
SuccessorGuru Hargobind
Part of a series on
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Sikhism and other religions

Guru Arjan or Guru Arjun[2][3] (Template:Lang-pa Guru Arjan [ɡʊru əɾdʒən]) 15 April 1563 – 30 May 1606)[1] was the first of the two Gurus martyred in the Sikh faith and the fifth of the ten total Sikh Gurus. He compiled the first official edition of the Sikh scripture called the Adi Granth, which later expanded into the Guru Granth Sahib.

He was born in Goindval, in the Punjab, the youngest son of Bhai Jetha, who later became Guru Ram Das, and Mata Bhani, the daughter of Guru Amar Das.[4] He was the first Guru in Sikhism to be born into a Sikh family.[5] Guru Arjan led Sikhism for a quarter of a century. He completed the construction of Darbar Sahib at Amritsar, after the fourth Sikh Guru founded the town and built a pool.[6][7][8] Guru Arjan compiled the hymns of previous Gurus and of other saints into Adi Granth, the first edition of the Sikh scripture, and installed it in the Harimandir Sahib.[6]

Guru Arjan reorganized the Masands system initiated by Guru Ram Das, by suggesting that the Sikhs donate, if possible, one tenth of their income, goods or service to the Sikh organization (dasvand). The Masand not only collected these funds but also taught tenets of Sikhism and settled civil disputes in their region. The dasvand financed the building of gurdwaras and langars (shared communal kitchens).[9]

Guru Arjan was arrested under the orders of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir and asked to convert to Islam.[10][11] He refused, was tortured and executed in 1606 CE.[10][12] Historical records and the Sikh tradition are unclear whether Guru Arjan was executed by drowning or died during torture.[10][13] His martyrdom is considered a watershed event in the history of Sikhism.[10][14] It is remembered as Shaheedi Divas of Guru Arjan every year on 16 June, according to the Nanakshahi calendar released by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee in 2003.[15]

Biography

Arjan was born in Goindval to Bibi Bhani and Jetha Sodhi. Bibi Bhani was the daughter of Guru Amar Das, and her husband Jetha Sodhi later came to be known as Guru Ram Das. Arjan's birthplace site is now memorialized as the Gurdwara Chaubara Sahib.[16] He had two brothers: Prithi Chand and Mahadev.[17][18] Various Sikh chroniclers give his birth year as 1553 or 1563, the latter is accepted by scholarly consensus as the actual year of birth with 15 April as the accepted birth date.[19] Arjan spent the first 11 years of his life in Goindwal, and the next seven years with his father in Ramdaspur.[17] Per Sikh tradition, he had stayed for two years in Lahore during his youth after being sent by his father to attend the wedding of his first cousin Sahari Mal's son as well as to establish a Sikh congregation.[20] He was appointed as the Sikh Guru in 1581 after the death of his father.[21] Ram Das was a Khatri of the Sodhi sub-caste. With Arjan's succession, the Guruship remained in the Sodhi family of Ram Das.[22]

Succession

Arjan had five elder brothers, Prithi,Chand and Mahadev. Guru Ram Das chose Arjan, the youngest, to succeed him as the fifth Sikh Guru. Mahadev, the middle brother chose the life of an ascetic.[23] His choice of Arjan as successor, as throughout most of the history of Sikh Guru successions, led to disputes and internal divisions among the Sikhs.[6][24]

The stories in the Sikh tradition about the succession dispute around Guru Arjan are inconsistent.[23] In one version, Prithi Chand is remembered in the Sikh tradition as vehemently opposing Guru Arjan, creating a faction Sikh community.[25] The Sikhs following Guru Arjan called the Prithi Chand faction as Minas (literally, "scoundrels"), who are alleged to have attempted to assassinate young Hargobind,[26][27] and befriended Mughal agents.[23] However, the second version, found in alternate competing texts written by the Prithi Chand led Sikh faction contradict this version (their non-derogatory name is Miharvan Sikhs). They offer a different explanation for the attempt on Hargobind's life, and present the elder son of Guru Ram Das as devoted to his younger brother Guru Arjan. The competing texts do acknowledge disagreement, Prithi Chand leaving Amritsar, and describe him as having become the Sahib Guru after the martyrdom of Guru Arjan and disputing the succession of Guru Hargobind, the grandson of Guru Ram Das.[28]

The mainstream Sikh tradition recognised Guru Arjan as the fifth Guru, and Hargobind as the sixth Guru.[14][25][29] Arjan, at age 18, became the fifth Guru in 1581 inheriting the title from his father. According to the Sikh tradition, before his execution, Guru Arjan instructed his son and successor Hargobind to take up arms, and resist tyranny.[30] His execution led the Sikh Panth to become armed and pursue resistance to persecution under the Islamic rule.[11][31] After his execution by the Officials of the Mughal Empire for attempting to hinder with the Mughal succession of ruler. After him, the Sikh Gurus were hereditary, as his son Hargobind became the sixth Guru in 1606 CE and later the title of Guru remained within the family.[14]

Martyrdom

The Gurdwara Dera Sahib in Lahore, Pakistan, commemorates the spot where Guru Arjan Dev is traditionally believed to have died.

In 1606 CE, the Guru was imprisoned in Lahore Fort where he was tortured and executed.[11][32] Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi cheered the punishment and execution of Guru Arjun, calling the Sikh Guru an infidel.[33][note 1] A contemporary Jesuit account, written by Spanish Jesuit missionary Jerome Xavier (1549–1617), who was in Lahore at the time, records that the Sikhs tried to get Jahangir to substitute the torture and death sentence to a heavy fine, but this attempt failed.[36] Jerome Xavier, in appreciation of the courage of Guru Arjun, wrote back to Lisbon, that Guru Arjan suffered and was tormented.[2]

The Guru was made to seat on a hot plate, boiling water had hot sand poured on him.[37] One notable feature of Guru Arjan's martyrdom was that while he was being tortured he remained calm,[38] this was shown as a reoccuring lesson to the Sikhs to obey and be content Hukam (God's command).[39] The exact cause of his death is unknown[40] some scholars state that the evidence is unclear whether his death was due to execution, torture or forced drowning in the Ravi river.[41][42][43] J.S. Grewal notes that Sikh sources from the seventeenth and eighteenth century contain contradictory reports of Guru Arjan's death.[44] J. F. Richard states that Jahangir was persistently hostile to popularly venerated non-Islamic religious figures, not just Sikhism.[45] Bhai Gurdas was a contemporary of Guru Arjan and is a noted 17th-century Sikh chronicler.[46] His eyewitness account recorded Guru Arjan life, and the order by Emperor Jahangir to torture the Guru to death.[47]

Dabistan-i Mazahib Mobad states Jahangir tortured Guru Arjan in the hopes of extracting the money and public repudiation of his spiritual convictions, but the Guru refused and was executed.[48] Michael Barnes states that the resolve and death of Guru Arjun strengthened the conviction among Sikhs that, "personal piety must have a core of moral strength. A virtuous soul must be a courageous soul. Willingness to suffer trial for one's convictions was a religious imperative".[2]

Martydom perspectives

Guru Arjan's martyrdom in Mughal custody has been a controversial issue in Sikh history, and has been variously interpreted.[49][40] Most Mughal historians considered Guru Arjan's execution as a political event, stating that the Sikhs had become formidable as a social group, and Sikh Gurus became actively involved in the Punjabi political conflicts.[10][40][note 2] A similar theory floated in early 20th-century, asserts that this was just a politically-motivated single execution.[50] According to this theory, there was an ongoing Mughal dynasty dispute between Jahangir and his son Khusrau suspected of rebellion by Jahangir, wherein Guru Arjan blessed Khusrau and thus the losing side. Jahangir was jealous and outraged, and therefore he ordered the Guru's execution.[51][41][6]

The competing view is that of the Sikh tradition which states that the Guru's execution was part of the ongoing persecution of the Sikhs by Islamic authorities in the Mughal Empire,[52] and that the Mughal rulers of Punjab were alarmed at the growth of the Panth.[11][40][53] According to Jahangir's autobiography Tuzk-e-Jahangiri (Jahangirnama), too many people were becoming persuaded by Guru Arjan's teachings and if Guru Arjan did not become a Muslim, the Sikh Panth had to be extinguished.[40][note 2]

Historical revisionism, reconstruction and disputes

There are several stories and versions about how, where and why Guru Arjan died.[54][55][56] Recent scholarship[57][58] has questioned many of these, calling them as fictional interpretation, reflecting an agenda, or "exaggerating fragmentary traces of documentary evidence in historical analysis". The alternate versions include stories about the role of Guru Arjan in a conflict between the Mughal Emperor Jahangir and his son who Jahangir suspected of trying to organize a patricidal coup, or alternatively a Hindu minister of Jahangir named Chandu Shah, who in one version takes revenge on Guru Arjan for not marrying his son Hargobind to Chandu Shah's daughter, and in another Lahore version where Chandu Shah actually prevents Guru Arjan from suffering torture and death by Muslims by paying 200,000 rupees (100,000 crusados) to Jahangir, but then keeps him and emotionally torments him to death in his house.[59] All these versions and meta-narratives became popular in 19th century British colonial literature, such as those of Max Arthur Macauliffe.[60] Several alternative versions of the story try to absolve Jahangir and the Mughal empire of any responsibility,[55][61] but have no trace or support in the documentary evidence from early 17th century, such as the records of Jesuit priest Jerome Xavier and the memoirs of Jahangir.[10][12][62]

Influence

Guru Arjan being pronounced as fifth Guru.

Amritsar

Guru Arjan's father Guru Ram Das founded the town named after him "Ramdaspur", around a large man-made water pool called "Ramdas Sarovar". Guru Arjan continued the infrastructure building effort of his father. The town expanded during the time of Guru Arjan, financed by donations and constructed by voluntary work. The pool area grew into a temple complex with the gurdwara Harmandir Sahib near the pool. Guru Arjan installed the scripture of Sikhism inside the new temple in 1604.[6] The city that emerged is now known as Amritsar, and is the holiest pilgrimage site in Sikhism.[6][63]

Continuing the efforts of Guru Ram Das, Guru Arjan established Amritsar as a primary Sikh pilgrimage destination. He wrote a voluminous amount of Sikh scripture including the popular Sukhmani Sahib. Guru Arjan is credited with completing many other infrastructure projects, such as water reservoirs called Santokhsar (lake of peace) and Gangsar (lake of Ganga), founding the towns of Tarn Taran, Kartarpur and Hargobindpur.[64][65]

Adi Granth

One of the Sikh community disputes following Guru Ram Das was the emergence of new hymns claiming to have been composed by Nanak. According to faction led by Guru Arjan, these hymns were distorted and fake, with some blaming Prithi Chand and his Sikh faction for having composed and circulated them.[23][66] The concern and the possibility of wrong propaganda, immoral teachings and inauthentic Gurbani led Guru Arjan to initiate a major effort to collect, study, approve and compile a written official scripture, and this he called Adi Granth, the first edition of the Sikh scripture by 1604.[26][28]

The composition of both Prithi Chand and his followers have been preserved in the Mina texts of Sikhism, while the mainstream and larger Sikh tradition adopted the Guru Granth Sahib scripture that ultimately emerged from the initiative of Guru Arjan.[28][67]

Guru Arjan was a prolific poet and composed 2,218 hymns, or more than a third and the largest collection of hymns in the Guru Granth Sahib. According to Christopher Shackle and Arvind-Pal Singh Mandair, Guru Arjan's compositions combined spiritual message in an "encyclopedic linguistic sophistication" with "Braj Bhasha forms and learned Sanskrit vocabulary".[68]

After its completion and installation in the Harimandir Sahib, Emperor Akbar was informed of the development with the allegation that it contained teachings hostile to Islam. He ordered a copy be brought to him. Guru Arjan sent him a copy on a thali (plate), with the following message that was later added to the expanded text:

In this thali (dish) you will find three things – truth, peace and contemplation:
in this too the nectar Name which is the support of all humanity.

— AG 1429, Translated by William Owen Cole and Piara Singh Sambhi[69]

The Akbarnama by Abu'l-Fazl Allami mentions that Guru Arjan met the Mughal emperor Akbar and his cortege in 1598. According to Louis Fenech, this meeting likely influenced the development of Sikh manuscriptology and the later martial tradition.[70]

See Also

Notes

  1. ^ This is from records of Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi, composed after the punishment and execution of Guru Arjun:
    These days the accursed infidel of Gobindwal was very fortunately killed. It is a cause of great defeat for the reprobate Hindus. With whatever intention and purpose they are killed – the humiliation of infidels is for Muslims, life itself. Before this Kafir (Infidel) was killed, I had seen in a dream that the Emperor of the day had destroyed the crown of the head of Shirk or infidelity. It is true that this infidel [Guru Arjun] was the chief of the infidels and a leader of the Kafirs. The object of levying Jizya (tax on non-Muslims) on them is to humiliate and insult the Kafirs, and Jihad against them and hostility towards them are the necessities of the Mohammedan faith. – Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi, Letter to Murtaza Khan, On the execution of Guru Arjan[10][34][35]
  2. ^ a b The following is from Jahangir's memoirs:
    There was a Hindu named Arjan in Gobindwal on the banks of the Beas River. Pretending to be a spiritual guide, he had won over as devotees many simple-minded Indians and even some ignorant, stupid Muslims by broadcasting his claims to be a saint. They called him guru. Many fools from all around had recourse to him and believed in him implicitly. For three or four generations they had been peddling this same stuff. For a long time I had been thinking that either this false trade should be eliminated or that he should be brought into the embrace of Islam. At length, when Khusraw passed by there, this inconsequential little fellow wished to pay homage to Khusraw. When Khusraw stopped at his residence, [Arjan] came out and had an interview with [Khusraw]. Giving him some elementary spiritual precepts picked up here and there, he made a mark with saffron on his forehead, which is called qashqa in the idiom of the Hindus and which they consider lucky. When this was reported to me, I realized how perfectly false he was and ordered him brought to me. I awarded his houses and dwellings and those of his children to Murtaza Khan, and I ordered his possessions and goods confiscated and him executed. – Emperor Jahangir's Memoirs, Jahangirnama 27b-28a, (Translator: Wheeler M. Thackston)[12]

References

  1. ^ a b "Arjan, Sikh Guru". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
  2. ^ a b c Barnes, Michael (2012). Interreligious learning : dialogue, spirituality, and the Christian imagination. Cambridge University Press. pp. 245–246. ISBN 978-1-107-01284-4. In that way, their good Pope died, overwhelmed by the sufferings, torments and dishonours. – Jerome Xavier, Letter to Gasper Fernandes in Lisbon, On the execution of Guru Arjan
  3. ^ Dehsen, Christian (1999). Philosophers and religious leaders. Routledge. p. 14. ISBN 978-1-57958-182-4.
  4. ^ Mcleod, Hew (1997). Sikhism. London: Penguin Books. p. 28. ISBN 0-14-025260-6.
  5. ^ William Owen Cole; Piara Singh Sambhi (1995). The Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices. Sussex Academic Press. p. 24. ISBN 978-1-898723-13-4., Quote: "He was the first Guru to have been born a Sikh".
  6. ^ a b c d e f Christopher Shackle; Arvind Mandair (2013). Teachings of the Sikh Gurus: Selections from the Sikh Scriptures. Routledge. pp. xv–xvi. ISBN 978-1-136-45101-0.
  7. ^ Pardeep Singh Arshi (1989). The Golden Temple: history, art, and architecture. Harman. pp. 5–7. ISBN 978-81-85151-25-0.
  8. ^ Louis E. Fenech; W. H. McLeod (2014). Historical Dictionary of Sikhism. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 33. ISBN 978-1-4422-3601-1.
  9. ^ DS Dhillon (1988), Sikhism Origin and Development Atlantic Publishers, pp. 213-215, 204-207
  10. ^ a b c d e f g Pashaura Singh (2005), Understanding the Martyrdom of Guru Arjan, Journal of Philosophical Society, 12(1), pages 29-62
  11. ^ a b c d Kulathungam, Lyman (2012). Quest : Christ amidst the quest. Wipf. pp. 175–177. ISBN 978-1-61097-515-5.
  12. ^ a b c Jahangir, Emperor of Hindustan (1999). The Jahangirnama: Memoirs of Jahangir, Emperor of India. Translated by Thackston, Wheeler M. Oxford University Press. p. 59. ISBN 978-0-19-512718-8.
  13. ^ Louis E. Fenech, Martyrdom in the Sikh Tradition, Oxford University Press, pp. 118-121
  14. ^ a b c WH McLeod (1989). The Sikhs: History, Religion, and Society. Columbia University Press. pp. 26–51. ISBN 978-0231068154.
  15. ^ Eleanor Nesbitt (2016). Sikhism: a Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press. pp. 6, 122–123. ISBN 978-0-19-874557-0.
  16. ^ Arjan Birthplace
  17. ^ a b Arvind-pal Singh Mandair (2013). Sikhism: A Guide for the Perplexed. Bloomsbury. p. 39, 40.
  18. ^ Mcleod, Hew (1997). Sikhism. London: Penguin Books. p. 26. ISBN 0-14-025260-6.
  19. ^ Pashaura Singh (2006). Life and Work of Guru Arjan: History, Memory, and Biography in the Sikh Tradition. Oxford University Press. p. 50, 64, 98.
  20. ^ Life and Work of Guru Arjan: History, Memory, and Biography in the Sikh Tradition. Oxford University Press. p. 69.
  21. ^ Sikhism. University of Hawaii Press.
  22. ^ J.S. Grewal (1990). The Sikhs of the Punjab, Volumes 2-3. Cambridge University Press. p. 46.
  23. ^ a b c d Hardip Singh Syan (2013). Sikh Militancy in the Seventeenth Century: Religious Violence in Mughal and Early Modern India. I.B.Tauris. pp. 50–52. ISBN 978-1-78076-250-0.
  24. ^ J. S. Grewal (1998). The Sikhs of the Punjab. Cambridge University Press. pp. 54–55, 62–63. ISBN 978-0-521-63764-0.
  25. ^ a b Prītama Siṅgha (1992). Bhai Gurdas. pp. 27–28. ISBN 978-8172012182.
  26. ^ a b Louis E. Fenech; W. H. McLeod (2014). Historical Dictionary of Sikhism. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 39. ISBN 978-1-4422-3601-1.
  27. ^ W. H. McLeod (2009). The A to Z of Sikhism. Scarecrow Press. p. 20. ISBN 978-0-8108-6344-6.
  28. ^ a b c Pashaura Singh; Louis E. Fenech (2014). The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies. Oxford University Press. pp. 171–172. ISBN 978-0-19-969930-8.
  29. ^ DS Dhillon (1988), Sikhism Origin and Development Atlantic Publishers, pp. 99-110
  30. ^ W.H. McLeod (2009). The A to Z of Sikhism. Scarecrow Press. pp. 20–21. ISBN 9780810863446.
  31. ^ Pashaura Singh, Louis Fenech (2014). The Oxford handbook of Sikh studies. Oxford University Press. pp. 236–237. ISBN 9780199699308.
  32. ^ Pashaura Singh (2006). Life and Work of Guru Arjan: History, Memory, and Biography in the Sikh Tradition. Oxford University Press. pp. 23, 217–218. ISBN 978-0-19-567921-2.
  33. ^ Pashaura Singh (2005), Understanding the Martyrdom of Guru Arjan, Journal of Philosophical Society, 12(1), page 34
  34. ^ Sirhindi, Maktubat-i Imam-i Rabbani, I-iii, letter No. 193, pp. 95-6
  35. ^ Friedman Yohanan (1966), Shaikh Ahmad Sirhandi: An Outline of His Image in the Eyes of Posterity, Ph.D. Thesis, McGill University, pp. 110-112
  36. ^ Father Jerome to Father Gasper Fernandes, (BM add MS 9854, ff. 38-52), 1617, in Sicques, Tigers or Thieves: Eyewitness Accounts of the Sikhs (1606-1809). Eds. Amandeep Singh Madra and Parmjit Singh. Palgrave Macmillan, 2004, p. 7.
  37. ^ Mahindar, Joshi (1994). Guru Arjan Dev. Sahitya Akademi. p. 16. ISBN 9788172017699.
  38. ^ Anand, T.K. (1997). The Essence of Sikhism. p. 28.
  39. ^ Mahindar, Joshi (1994). Guru Arjan Dev. Sahitya Akademi. p. 16. ISBN 9788172017699.
  40. ^ a b c d e W.H. McLeod (2009). The A to Z of Sikhism. Scarecrow Press. p. 20 (Arjan's Death). ISBN 9780810863446. The Mughal rulers of the Punjab were evidently concerned with the growth of the Panth, and in 1605 the Emperor Jahangir made an entry in his memoirs, the Tuzuk-i-Jahāṅgīrī, concerning Guru Arjan's support for his rebellious son Khusrau Mirza. Too many people, he wrote, were being persuaded by his teachings, and if the Guru would not become a Muslim the Panth had to be extinguished. Jahangir believed that Guru Arjan was a Hindu who pretended to be a saint, and that he had been thinking of forcing Guru Arjan to convert to Islam or his false trade should be eliminated, for a long time. Mughal authorities seem plainly to have been responsible for Arjan's death in custody in Lahore, and this may be accepted as an established fact. Whether death was by execution, the result of torture, or drowning in the Ravi River remains unresolved. For Sikhs, Arjan is the first martyr Guru.
  41. ^ a b Gandhi, R. Punjab:A History from Aurangzeb to Mountbatten. Aleph Book Company. p. 34. ISBN 9789383064410. Quote: Jahangir, Akbar's son and successor, had ordered the execution. We know from Jahangir's own handwriting that he was jealous of Guru Arjan Dev's popularity and that a gesture from the Guru towards Khusrau, a son rebelling against Jahangir, had outraged him.
  42. ^ W.H. McLeod (2009). The A to Z of Sikhism. Scarecrow Press. p. 20. ISBN 9780810863446.
  43. ^ A.S. Bhalla (2008). In Search of Roots: Guru Amar Das and Bhallas. Rupa & Co. p. 20. ISBN 9788129113337.
  44. ^ J.S. Grewal, The Sikhs of the Punjab, in The New Cambridge History of India. 2, 3. Gen eds. Chris Bayly, Gordon Johnson, John F. Richards. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998, pp. 63-64.
  45. ^ Richards, John F. The Mughal Empire, in The New Cambridge History of India. 1, 5. Gen eds. Chris Bayly, Gordon Johnson, John F. Richards. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993, p. 97.
  46. ^ Vir Singh, ed. Varam Bahi Gurdas Satki, 9th edition. New Delhi: Bhai Vir Singh Sahitya Sadan, 1997), p. 386.
  47. ^ Prītama Siṅgha (1992). Bhai Gurdas. pp. 25–32. ISBN 978-8172012182.
  48. ^ Mobad', Dabistan-i Mazahib, 1645-46, in Sikh history from Persian sources. Eds. J.S. Grewal and Irfan Habib. Indian History Congress: Tulika, 2001. p. 67.
  49. ^ Pashaura Singh (2005), Understanding the Martyrdom of Guru Arjan, Journal of Philosophical Society, 12(1), page 29, Quote: "The most controversial issue in Sikh history is related to Guru Arjan’s execution in Mughal custody. A number of interpretations of this event have emerged in scholarly and quasi-scholarly writings."
  50. ^ Pashaura Singh (2005), Understanding the Martyrdom of Guru Arjan, Journal of Philosophical Society, 12(1), page 29, Quote: Similarly, in the early decades of twentieth century Beni Prasad treated this whole affair as “a single execution due primarily to political reasons.”
  51. ^ Pashaura Singh (2005), Understanding the Martyrdom of Guru Arjan, Journal of Philosophical Society, 12(1), pages 32-33
  52. ^ Pashaura Singh (2005), Understanding the Martyrdom of Guru Arjan, Journal of Philosophical Society, 12(1), page 29, Quote: "In contrast to this viewpoint, however, most of the Sikh scholars have vehemently presented this event as the first of the long series of religious persecutions that Sikhs suffered at the hands of Mughal authorities."
  53. ^ J. S. Grewal (1998). The Sikhs of the Punjab. Cambridge University Press. pp. 63–64. ISBN 978-0-521-63764-0.
  54. ^ Sajida S. Alvi (1987), “Religion and State during the Reign of Mughal Emperor Jahangir (1605-27): Nonjuristical Perspectives,” in Studia Islamica, pp. 113-114
  55. ^ a b Pashaura Singh (2006). Life and work of Guru Arjan: history, memory, and biography in the Sikh tradition. Oxford University Press. pp. 211–219, 233. ISBN 978-0-19-567921-2.
  56. ^ Gandhi, Rajmohan (1999). Revenge and reconciliation. New Delhi New York, NY: Penguin Books. pp. 93–95. ISBN 978-0-14-029045-5.
  57. ^ Pashaura Singh (2005), Understanding the Martyrdom of Guru Arjan, Journal of Philosophical Society, 12(1), pp. 38-39
  58. ^ Louis Fenech (2001), Martyrdom and the Execution of Guru Arjan in Early Sikh Sources, Journal of the American Oriental Society, 121(1), pp. 20-31
  59. ^ Kirpal Singh (2000), Perspectives on Sikh Gurus, National Book Shop, pp. 125-127
  60. ^ Max Arthur Macauliffe (1883), The Sikh Religion: Its Gurus, Sacred Writings and Authors, ISBN 978-8187526032, Volume 3
  61. ^ Pashaura Singh (2011), Reconsidering the Sacrifice of Guru Arjan, Journal of Punjab Studies, University of California Press, 18(1&2), pp. 295-316
  62. ^ Louis E. Fenech (2010), Martyrdom: W.H. McLeod and his Students, Journal of Punjab studies, University of California Press, 17(1&2), pp. 75-94
  63. ^ W.H. McLeod (1990). Textual Sources for the Study of Sikhism. University of Chicago Press. pp. 28–29. ISBN 978-0-226-56085-4.
  64. ^ Mahindara Siṅgha Joshī (1994). Guru Arjan Dev. Sahitya Akademi. pp. 6–8. ISBN 978-81-7201-769-9.
  65. ^ Arvind-Pal Singh Mandair (2013). Sikhism: A Guide for the Perplexed. Bloomsbury Academic. pp. 42–43. ISBN 978-1-4411-5366-1.
  66. ^ W.H. McLeod (1990). Textual Sources for the Study of Sikhism. University of Chicago Press. pp. 29–30. ISBN 978-0-226-56085-4.
  67. ^ Hardip Singh Syan (2013). Sikh Militancy in the Seventeenth Century: Religious Violence in Mughal and Early Modern India. I.B.Tauris. pp. 52–54. ISBN 978-1-78076-250-0.
  68. ^ Christopher Shackle; Arvind Mandair (2013). Teachings of the Sikh Gurus: Selections from the Sikh Scriptures. Routledge. pp. xviii–xix, xxii. ISBN 978-1-136-45101-0.
  69. ^ William Owen Cole; Piara Singh Sambhi (1995). The Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices. Sussex Academic Press. p. 26. ISBN 978-1-898723-13-4.
  70. ^ Louis Fenech (2014). Pashaura Singh, Louis E. Fenech (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies. Oxford University Press. p. 45. ISBN 978-0-19-969930-8.

Bibliography

  1. Jahangir, Emperor of Hindustan (1909). Beveridge, Henry (ed.). The Tuzuk-i-Janhangīrī or Memoirs of Jahāngīr. Translated by Rogers, Alexander. London: Royal Asiatic Society.
  2. History of the Panjab, Syad Muhammad Latif, Published by: Kalyani Publishers, Ludhiana, Punjab, India. ISBN 978-81-7096-245-8
  3. Philosophy of 'Charhdi Kala' and Higher State of Mind in Sri Guru Granth Sahib, Dr. Harjinder Singh Majhail, 2010, Published by: Deepak Publishers, Jalandhar, Punjab, India. ISBN 81-88852-96-1
  4. SIKH HISTORY IN 10 VOLUMES, Dr Harjinder Singh Dilgeer, Published by: The Sikh University Press, Brussels, Belgium. ISBN 2- 930247-41-X
Preceded by Sikh Guru
1 September 1581 – 25 May 1606 		Succeeded by
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