Guru Arjan

Guru Arjan Biography

Guru Arjan was the fifth of the eleven Sikh Gurus, the eleventh being the living Guru, Guru Granth Sahib, and the first Sikh martyr. He lived during the period, 15 April 1563 – 30 May 1606. He lost his life following the torture of Mughal Emperors as they dreamt of converting the whole Indian nation to Muslim country. He was preceded by his son Guru Hargobind, who was only eleven then. Guru Arjan completed the construction of Amritsar and founded other cities such as Taran Taran and Kartarpur. He compiled all of the past Gurus' writings along with selected writings of other saints from different backgrounds, which is regarded as his significant contribution to the religion. It is the only script which still exists in a hand-written manuscript format.

It was Guru Arjan who established Amritsar as a primary Sikh pilgrimage destination. He has written numerous Sikh scriptures including the famous Sukhmani Sahib. He compiled the Adi Granth and gives example of religious and moral conduct. He also included the compositions of both Hindu and Muslim saints with the teachings of Sikhism. But Mughal Emperor Jahangir was angry with this act and he ordered to remove all Islamic and Hindu references from the Holy book. When Guru Arjan hesitated to follow his instructions, Jahangir sentenced him to death. He was seated on a burning hot sheet while boiling hot sand was poured over his body. After 5 days of torture, he was taken for a bath in the river. Suddenly he disappeared from the river in the presence of the huge crowd. This particular incident made many people follow Sikh religion.

Now also, historians have not been able to point out how his death really took place. It’s also believed that he was arrested by the attempts of Chandu Shah, a Hindu official in Lahore, when Guru Arjun declined the marriage proposal with Chandu Shah’s daughter. Now also there are contradictory opinions regarding this matter.     

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Updated: January 08, 2014