On this 400th Prakash Divas of Guru Teg Bahadur I wanted to create a children's story that involved the Guru when he was young. With the invaluable help of Nihang Gurbaaj Singh (London) we researched historic sources for a story (The Stillness of Sri Teg Bahadur): Bansawli Nama, Suraj Prakash Granth and Gurbilas Patshahi 6. In this process I got interested in getting a sense of the age of the various prominent characters in Sikh history during the life of the 9th master. Below I present my timeline of Guru ji's life which states his age and the age of others at every event I could glean from history.
Before getting to the timeline I have to share something astonishing, from looking at these original sources, was an event that happened which would re-write our understanding of Guru Gobind Singh: The Joti Jot of Guru Har Rai.
You see, the Bansawli Nama (Kesar Singh Chhibar, 1769) is written in chronological order and it tells the story of the birth of Gobind Das BEFORE the story of Guru Har Rai's merging. It is widely accepted that Guru Har Rai left his body in 1661. This means Gobind Das was NOT born in 1666 and is at least 5 years older than mainstream thinking. Though most scholars reject the 1661 date it is directly stated in Guru Kian Sakhia, which is perhaps the earliest source of Sikh history outside of the Vaars of Bhai Gurdas. Guru Kia Sakhia does contain several elements that are found nowhere else so it is viewed cautiously. Nonetheless the corroboration of this date with the Bansawli Nama was enough for me to take the leap, also everything seemed to make sense with this format. But I do keep in mind that it really is anyone's guess at this point and it's not for arguing over.
The rest of the timeline follows sikhiwiki references and the 400 years app. Again, this is not meant to be authoritative, just an attempt to give a picture in the mind.
-Age 0 (1621) Teg Bahadur is born as the youngest son of Guru Hargobind who is 29. Guru Hargobind was about age 18 with the birth of his first son, Baba Gurditta, who is now 7-8 years old. His mother is Nanki who is age 23 at this birth (married at age 15). Mata Nanki was born in Amritsar, but her family, through her father, are from Bakala where her gentle son would later become quite familiar with.
-Age 0 (1621) Aurangzeb, who would later play a significant role in his life, is a 3-year-old toddler.
-Age 1-5 Elder brother Baba Gurditta is adopted by the son of Guru Nanak: Baba Siri Chand. This signifies that he will be the next head of the Udasi order of Sikh monks.
-Age 3 (1624) Future wife Gujri ji is born in Kartarpur area.
-Age 3 (1624) Eldest brother Baba Gurditta (11) marries Ananti (11), also known as 'Mata Natti', today known as Mata Nihal Kaur. Being groomed to be the head of an order of monks this marriage perhaps signifies a planned joining of the Gaddis of Udasi and Guru lineages?
-Age 5 (1626) He achieves the 'age of education'. It is said to learn reading and writing from Bhai Gurdas. Also, that he learned from Baba Buddha, his father the Guru, and Hazrat Mian Mir whenever the saint would visit.
-Age 6 (1627) Brother Atal Rai, who is two years older, leaves his body.
-Age 6 (1627) Nephew Dhir Mal is born to sister-in-law Mata Natti/elder brother Gurditta.
-Age 6 (1627) Emperor Jahangir, who ordered the execution of Guru Arjan and imprisoned Guru Hargobind, dies. His son Shah Jahan takes over as ruler.
-Many formative years go by with death and war, and his marriage:
-Age 7 (1628) First battle of Sikhi takes place at Amritsar's Lohgarh fort after emperor Shah Jahan sent his general Mukhlis Khan to 'teach the Sikhs a lesson', but the Guru was victorious.
-Age 8 (1629) Second battle of Sikhi: Hargobindpur in defense of the city against local governor Abdullah Khan who was sliced in half by the Guru.
-Age 8 (1630) Guru and family move from Amritsar to Kiratpur. He lives there for the next 14 years till moving to Bakala.
-Age 8 (1630) Nephew Sri Har Rai is born in Kiratpur from oldest brother Baba Gurditta, who is apparently age 17.
-Age 9 (1631) Third battle of Sikhi: Gurusar, after Bidhi Chand returned 2 horses that belonged to Guru Hargobind.
-Age 9 (1631) Baba Buddha passes away at age of 124.
-Age 11 (1632) Marries Gujri ji who is age ~9.
-Age 13 (1634) After impressing his father with his courage 16-year-old Aurangzeb attains the highest rank and now commands 10,000 and begins campaigning imperial strength.
-Age 13 (1634) Fourth battle of Sikhi takes place in Kartarpur when Painde Khan turned from ally to foe and convinced emperor Shah Jahan to attack the Guru, but the Sikhs were triumphant. It is said that the reclusive Teg Bahadur tests his steel and “wanders onto the battlefield” (Suraj Prakash).
-Age 14 (1635) Mian Mir passes away at age of 85.
-Age 15 (1636) Teenage Aurangzeb becomes the governor of Deccan where he expanded power, revenue and land.
-Age 16 (1637) Bhai Gurdas passes away at age of 86.
-Age 17 (1638) Eldest brother, head of Udasi order, and would-be succeeding Guru, Baba Gurditta, passes away at age of 24 (a month before Sri Teg Bahadur's 18th birthday).
-Age 17-18 (1638) Guru Hargobind prophesies to Mata Nanki (age 40) about the not well seen greatness of Sri Teg Bahadur and her future grandson (Gobind Das). This incident happened after the merging of Baba Gurditta.
-Age 22 (1643) After 11 years of construction emperor Shah Jahan completes the Taj Mahal.
-Age 22 (1643) Baba Siri Chand merges at age 149.
-Age 22 (1644) Guru Hargobind (age 48) merges and appoints the son of Baba Gurditta, 14-year-old nephew Guru Har Rai as successor.
-Age 23 (1644) Is said to move and lived in Bakala for the next 12 years, though some say the majority of this time was actually in Patna while he only visited family in Bakala occasionally.
-Age 24 (1644) Aurangzeb has a family emergency which leads to increased animosity between himself and Dara Shikoh. Aurangzeb starts making strategic moves against his elder brother.
-Age 25 (1645) Grandnephew Ram Rai is apparently born.
-Huge span of time goes without significant events as Sri Teg Bahadur apparently lives to his reputation as a recluse away from the goings on of the community though he is kept in touch be servants and messengers from the Guru's house. It is written in Guru Gobind Singh's biography that his parents did great difficult sadhana practices and became two bodies with one soul.
-Age 35 (1656) He is sent on a several (8) year preaching tour by the direction of 26-year-old Guru Har Rai. From this point on Sri Teg Bahadur doesn't rest long in any one place. Wife Sri Gujri ji is 32.
-Age 35 (1656) Grandnephew Har Krishan is born to Guru Har Rai and Mata Kishan ji while Teg Bahadur is touring.
-Age 37 (1658) Delhi is facing a war of succession as emperor Shah Jahan is too frail to rule. Aurangzeb allies with one brother in order to thwart Dara Shikoh as the rightful heir. It would be around this time that Guru Har Rai gave a rare remedy to Dara Shikoh who may have been poisoned by his brother.
-Age 38 (1659) Forty-one-year-old Aurangzeb wrestles his way on to the throne of India imprisoning one of his brothers, whom he'd just allied with, and one year later executing Dara Shikoh. He puts his father in house arrests in the Agra fort where the patriarch lives the rest of his years. He prides himself in being a hands-on ruler and is seen as relatively tolerant among his courtiers. He titles himself 'conqueror of the world'.
-Age 36-39? In these years Baba Ram Rai impresses the Delhi court and is disowned by Guru Har Rai. The next year, when Sri Teg Bahadur is 40, Guru Har Rai merges and passes Guruship on to nephew Guru Har Krishan.
-Age 40 (1661) The spiritual teacher of the late Dara Shikoh is Sarmad Kashani: a naked mystic who claimed no religion. Sarmad is beheaded by Aurangzeb for heresy after he argued that the Creation and the Creator are one and the same.
-Age 40 (1661) Gobind Das is born in Patna to wife Mata Gujri ji who is now 37. Teg Bahadur first heard the prophecy of his son 22 years ago, when he was 18 and she was 15.
A lot of the entourage, including Gujri ji's brother ‘Mama’ Kirpal ji, all stayed with Gujri ji in Patna.
Mata Gujri either got pregnant during a travel stop in Patna or while living in Patna while her husband generally travelled a lot. Bansawli Nama says that the couple prayed for 5 years and finally God answered them with a child. According to this timeline they apparently started praying for a child near the time the Udasis started.
Sri Teg Bahadur continues Udasi. Wherever his mother Mata Nanki was at this time she would be age 63. She would have waited over 2 decades for the fruition of the prophecy of her grandson the great warrior blazing with light. [From Suraj Prakash: “When the 10th king was born she was filled with bliss. She remembered and meditated on the words of her husband [Guru Hargobind], the glory increased with every passing day.”]
-Age 40 (1661) During his travels (or according to other accounts his long term stay in Patna) nephew Guru Har Rai merges. Gobind Das is less than a year old.
-Age 41 (1662) It takes 1 to 3 years to receive the delayed news of 7th Gurus jyoti jot. Gobind Das is between 1 and 4 years old at this time.
-Age 41 (1662) Bhikan Shah arrives in Patna while Baba Teg Bahadur is traveling, Gobind Das is 1 years old.
-Age 42 (1664) After finally getting the news about the 7th Guru he travels and meets 8th Guru Harkrishan in Delhi apparently for the first, and only, time. One week later the child Guru merges. He was Guru for about 2.5 years. Gobind Das is 3. This means that 8th, 9th and 10th Guru were all alive at the same time. Though they never met, Guru HarKrishan would be only a few years older than Gobind Das, surely they would have been legendary playmates!
-Age 42 (1664) Then Sri Teg Bahadur received Gurgaddi in Bakala on April 16th 1664 which was two days before his 43rd birthday (making Gobind Das ~3 years old).
-Age 43 (1665) Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Sahib ji rides the horse of destiny and does a whirlwind of activity, miracles, traveling and spreading Sikhi. Many gurdwaras are founded marking the steps of the 9th Nanak.
-Age 44 (1665) Guru purchases the land and lays the foundation stone of Chhak Nanki (Anandpur Sahib) and leaves later that same year, continuing his travels.
-Age 45 (1665) Emperor Aurangzeb starts issues many fundamentalist edicts starting with music being disallowed from be played in his court.
-Age 45 (1665) Guru Teg Bahadur is arrested for the first time. The charge from Aurangzeb was that only Muslims can own and train with weapons. Aurangzeb orders the death penalty but is convinced to retract. Guru is kept for 1 month then released. Gobind Das would be 4.
-Age 45 (1666) apparently returns to and then soon leaves Patna to preach in Dhaka on another Udasi (which ends 4 years later when he is arrested a 2nd time) Gobind Das is 5 years old when his father makes this visit. Possibly the first time he’s seen his father since being an infant? This would be the first time seeing him as the holder of the throne of Nanak.
-Age 45 (1666) Shah Jahan dies at the age of 74 after being imprisoned by his son Aurangzeb for 8 years.
-Age 46 (1667) Aurangzeb has a popular mandir in Delhi, Kalka temple, destroyed. The emperor issues an order to replace Hindu officials in his court with Muslims. He also restricts fireworks in order to stop Diwali celebrations. This seemed to foreshadow a growing religious conviction.
-Age 47 (1669) Emperor Aurangzeb issues a general order to destroy mandirs and places of learning of the infidel kaafirs (non-Muslims), as well as suppress the teaching of, and public practice of, their religion. Gobind Das is 8 years old.
-Age 47 (1669) Guru Teg Bahadur reaches Kamrup, converts black magic using witches, and creates peace between neighboring kingdoms.
-Age 48 (1669) Aurangzeb has the great Keshav Rai temple, supposed birthplace of Lord Krishna, destroyed. The following year a mosque built in its place is completed.
-Age 49 (1670) Guru is arrested a 2nd time. Guru and accompanying Sikhs were released after 2.5 months. This event seems to end this particular Udasi.
-Age 49 (1670) Guru ji returns to Patna. Sri Gobind Das would be 9 years old. This would mark the third time he's seen his father.
-Age 50 (1671) Preparations for the future are being made. Guru ji spends time in Patna with his 10-year-old son. For the next 4 years he may be grooming his son for leadership. Begins to move to Chhak Nanki: The next Sikh headquarters.
-Age 51 (1672) Guru ji, Gobind Das at age 11, and family move to Chhak Nanki. They have an extended stay in Lakhnaur on the way.
-Age 53 (1674) Bhai Ghaneya (age 25-26) meets Guru Teg Bahadur in Chhak Nanki which is now blossoming. Sri Gobind Das is 13.
-Age 54 (1675) Guru is beseeched by Kashmiri pandits who apparently saw him in a vision. It is said that his son encouraged him to give his life as this was needed to end the animal like behavior of the rulers. Guru ji takes on the challenge and openly states he will stand by the Kashmiris. An arrest warrant is issued against him for defying the emperor.
-Aurangzeb's actions in the life of Guru Teg Bahadur are a preview of the destruction he would go on to enact. During his reign thousands of mandirs were destroyed, countless more were damaged. In the six major regions of Hindu learning and worship no temple was left unmolested.
-Age 54 (1675) 7 months have passed since receiving the arrest warrant, in that time Guru Teg Bahadur wrote poetry and taught the masses the impermanence of our reality. Guru ji notifies authorities of his presence in Agra while on his way to Delhi. He is arrested for a 3rd and final time. While in prison he anoints his only son as Guru: Gobind Das inherits Guruship at age 14. He later writes in ‘apuni katha’ (bachitr natak dasam granth) that when he had ‘reached the age of reason’ his father went to the realm of angels. Guru Teg Bahadur achieves martyrdom (like his grandfather Guru Arjan Dev) along with Bhai Mati Das, his younger brother Bhai Sati Das as well as Bhai Dyal Das.
~Mata Gujri ji was 51 when she became a widow. She lived on for another 30 years (age 81), when she oversaw the martyrdom of the Chhote Sahibzade. She intimately interacted with 4 Gurus (Guru HarKrishan she perhaps never had darshan of). Her father-in-law was Guru Hargobind, her husband was Guru Teg Bahadur, her son was Guru Gobind Singh and grandsons were Sahibzaade. Among Mata ji's her name is mentioned more than most, she played a strong role during the reign of her son.
~Mata Nanki was 77 years old when her son was martyred. She passed away at 80, 3 years later. In that time, she could witness Guru Gobind Das presiding as Guru and become a strong young man at the age of 17. Her eyes had years to behold the fulfilment of the prophecy she heard about 40 years prior. She was the daughter in law of Guru Arjun, wife of Guru Hargobind, mother of Guru Teg Bahadur, Grandmother of Guru Gobind Singh and great grandmother of Sahibzade. Of all Matas she perhaps had darshan of more Gurus than anyone: 5th Guru onwards.
-Aurangzeb continued to rule for 3 decades more. His zeal for destroying non-Muslim ways continued. He went on to impose a tax on non-Muslims and destroy many more places of worship. He was eventually chastised by Guru Gobind Singh for breaking an oath he swore on the Quran and for the killing of the younger Sahibzade. He died with regret in his heart.
~The lineage of these Matas and their accompanying husbands, the Gurus, live on forever: In the eyes of Dasam Pita the Khalsa are equal to his own sons. Whoever embodies the commitment and teachings of our Guru Father also inherits the Sahibzade as brothers, the Matas as mother (specifically Mata Sahib), Guru Teg Bahadur and grandfather, Guru Hargobind as great grandfather, Guru Arjan as great great grandfather and Guru Ram Das as great great great grandfather (just as was the case for the Sahibzade).
I know while composing this timeline it brought a certain impression in the mind, I do feel closer to Guru ji from getting into these details, I hope this effort inspires you as well.
The story that inspired this research is: 'The Stillness of Sri Teg Bahadur'
Dhan SatGuru
