Guru Har Krishan

Guru Har Krishan Biography

Guru Har Krishan was the eighth of the eleven Sikh Gurus. He was born on 7 July 1656 and became Guru Ji on 7 October 1661, succeeding his father, Guru Har Rai. Following his death on 30 March 1664, he was succeeded by his granduncle Guru Tegh Bahadur. Guru Har Krishan is the youngest guru in Sikh history. He became the Sikh guru at the age of 5 and died two years later of smallpox at the age of 7.

He was born in Kiratpur Sahib, Rupnagar, Punjab, India to Guru Har Rai and Kishan dei. His mother later came to be known as Mata Sulakhni. He was born as their younger son and Har Krishan’s elder brother was Ram Rai. As Ram was in collusion with the Mughal Empire, Guru Har Rai chose his younger son as his predecessor. When Har Rai died in March 1664, Har Krishan succeeded his father at the age of 5. According to Guru Har Rai, Har Kishan was soft hearted than his elder brother though both used to recite the same bani and followed the same religion. Thus Guru Har Rai preferred his younger son to elder son.  

When he reached Delhi, he was the guest of Raja Jai Singh. He was followed by his flock. At the same time, smallpox epidemic had already spread in the princely state. He was visited daily by a large number of devotees and he too, served the sick people without thinking about its after affects. The epidermic caught him too and he became too weak. On March 30, 1664, Guru Har Krishan decided to name his successor. He called for five coins and a coconut. As he was too weak, waved his hand three times in the air, and said "Baba Bakala". It meant that his successor will be found from Bakala. Thus he died on March 30, 1664 aged 7.  

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Updated: January 08, 2014