ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>GOBIND SI&#7748GH GUR&#362 (1666-1708)</TITLE> <style type="text/css"> .BODY { background-color: #EAF1F7; background-image: url('images/gtbh.jpg'); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; background-position: center; color: #0066CC;} .C1{text-align: justify;color: #0066CC;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .BIB{text-align: center;color: #000099;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .CONT{text-align: right;color: #FF0000;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} </style><META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="GOBIND,SIDGH,GURj,Person,Person"> <META http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"></HEAD> <BODY class="BODY" oncontextmenu="return false" ondragstart="return false" onselectstart="return false"> <FONT ALIGN="JUSTIFY" FACE="Tahoma"> <p class="C1">&#65279GOBIND SI&#7748GH, GUR&#362 (1666-1708), the tenth and the last Gur&#363 or Prophet-teacher of the Sikh faith, was born Gobind R&#257i on Poh <i>sud&#299</i> 7, 1723 Bk/22 December 1666 at Pa&#7789n&#257, in Bih&#257r. His father, Gur&#363 Te<u>gh</u> Bah&#257dur, the Ninth Gur&#363, was then travelling across Bengal and Assam. Returning to Pa&#7789n&#257 in 1670, he directed his family to return to the Punjab. On the site of the house at Pa&#7789n&#257 in which Gobind R&#257i was born and where he spent his early childhood now stands a sacred shrine, Ta<u>kh</u>t Sr&#299 Harimandar S&#257hib, one of the five most honoured seats of religious authority (<i>ta<u>kh</u>t</i>, lit. throne) for the Sikhs. Gobind R&#257i was escorted to Anandpur (then known as Chakk N&#257nak&#299) in the foothills of the &#346iv&#257liks where he reached in March 1672 and where his early education included reading and writing of Punjabi, Braj, Sanskrit and Persian. He was barely nine years of age when a sudden turn came in his own life as well as in the life of the community he was destined to lead. Early in 1675, a group of Kashm&#299r&#299 Br&#257hma&#7751s, driven to desperation by the religious fanaticism of the Mu<u>gh</u>al satrap, Ifti<u>kh</u>&#257r <u>Kh</u>&#257n, visited Anandpur to seek Gur&#363 Te<u>gh</u> Bah&#257dur's intercession. As the Gur&#363 sat reflecting what to do, young Gobind R&#257i, arriving there in company with his playmates, asked him why he looked so preoccupied. The father, as records Kuir Si&#7749gh in his <i>Gurbil&#257s P&#257tsh&#257h&#299 10</i>, replied, "Grave are the burdens the earth bears. She will be redeemed only if a truly worthy person comes forward to lay down his head. Distress will then be expunged and happiness ushered in." "None could be worthier than yourself to make such a sacrifice," remarked Gobind R&#257i in his innocent manner. Gur&#363 Te<u>gh</u> Bah&#257dur soon afterwards proceeded to the imperial capital, Delhi, and courted death on 11 November 1675.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh was formally installed Gur&#363 on the Bais&#257kh&#299 day of 1733 Bk/29 March 1676. In the midst of his engagement with the concerns of the community, he gave attention to the mastery of physical skills and literary accomplishment. He had grown into a comely youth -- spare, lithe of limb and energetic. He had a natural genius for poetic composition and his early years were assiduously given to this pursuit. The <i>V&#257r Sr&#299 Bhagaut&#299 J&#299 K&#299</i>, popularly called <i>Cha&#7751&#7693&#299 d&#299 V&#257r</i>, written in 1684, was his first composition and his only major work in the Punjabi language. The poem depicted the legendary contest between the gods and the demons as described in the <i>Mark&#257&#7751&#7693eya Pur&#257&#7751a</i>. The choice of a warlike theme for this and a number of his later compositions such as the two <i>Cha&#7751&#7693&#299 Charitras</i>, mostly in Braj, was made to infuse martial spirit among his followers to prepare them to stand up against injustice and tyranny.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Much of Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh's creative literary work was done at P&#257o&#7751&#7789&#257 he had founded on the banks of the River Yamun&#257 and to which site he had temporarily shifted in April 1685. Poetry as such was, however, not his aim. For him it was a means of revealing the divine principle and concretizing a personal vision of the Supreme Being that had been vouchsafed to him. His <i>J&#257pu</i> and the composition known as <i>Ak&#257l Ustati</i> are in this tenor. Through his poetry he preached love and equality and a strictly ethical and moral code of conduct. He preached the worship of the One Supreme Being, deprecating idolatry and superstitious beliefs and observances. The glorification of the sword itself which he eulogized as <i>bhagaut&#299</i> was to secure fulfilment of God's justice. The sword was never meant as a symbol of aggression, and it was never to be used for self-aggrandizement. It was the emblem of manliness and self-respect and was to be used only in self-defence, as a last resort. For Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh said in a Persian couplet in his <i>Zafarn&#257mah</i>:</p> <blockquote class="C1"><p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;When all other means have failed,</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It is but lawful to take to the sword.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</blockquote></p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;During his stay at P&#257o&#7751&#7789&#257, Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh availed himself of his spare time to practise different forms of manly exercises, such as riding, swimming and archery. His increasing influence among the people and the martial exercises of his men excited the jealousy of the neighbouring R&#257jp&#363t hill rulers who led by R&#257j&#257 Fateh Chand of Ga&#7771hv&#257l collected a host to attack him. But they were worsted in an action at Bha&#7749g&#257&#7751&#299, about 10 km northeast of P&#257o&#7751&#7789&#257, on 18 Ass&#363 1745 Bk/18 September 1688. Soon thereafter Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh left P&#257o&#7751&#7789&#257 and returned to Anandpur which he fortified in view of the continuing hostility of the R&#257jp&#363t chiefs as well as of the repressive policy of the imperial government at Delhi. The Gur&#363 and his Sikhs were involved in a battle with a Mu<u>gh</u>al commander, Alif <u>Kh</u>&#257n, at Nadau&#7751 on the left bank of the Be&#257s, about 30 km southeast of K&#257&#7749g&#7771&#257, on 22 Chet 1747 Bk/20 March 1691. Describing the battle in stirring verse in <i>Bachitra N&#257&#7789ak</i>, he said that Alif <u>Kh</u>&#257n fled in utter disarray "without being able to give any attention to his camp." Among several other skirmishes that occurred was the Husain&#299 battle (20 February 1696) fought against Husain <u>Kh</u>&#257n, an imperial general, which resulted in a decisive victory for the Sikhs. Following the appointment in 1694 of the liberal Prince Mu'azzam (later Emperor Bah&#257dur Sh&#257h) as viceroy of northwestern region including Punjab, there was however a brief respite from pressure from the ruling authority.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In 1698, Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh issued directions to Sikh <i>sa&#7749gats</i> or communities in different parts not to acknowledge <i>masands</i>, the local ministers, against whom he had heard complaints. Sikhs, he instructed, should come to Anandpur straight without any intermediaries and bring their offerings personally. The Gur&#363 thus established direct relationship with his Sikhs and addressed them as his <i><u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257</i>, Persian term used for crown-lands as distinguished from feudal fiefs. The institution of the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 was given concrete form on 30 March 1699 when Sikhs had gathered at Anandpur in large numbers for the annual festival of Bais&#257kh&#299. Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh appeared before the assembly dramatically on that day with a naked sword in hand and, to quote Kuir Si&#7749gh, <i>Gurbil&#257s P&#257tsh&#257h&#299 10</i>, spoke: "Is there present a true Sikh who would offer his head to the Gur&#363 as a sacrifice?" The words numbed the audience who looked on in awed silence. The Gur&#363 repeated the call. At the third call Day&#257 R&#257m, a Sobt&#299 Khatr&#299 of Lahore, arose and humbly walked behind the Gur&#363 to a tent near by. The Gur&#363 returned with his sword dripping blood, and asked for another head. At this Dharam D&#257s, a Ja&#7789&#7789 from Hastin&#257pur, came forward and was taken inside the enclosure. Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh made three more calls. Muhkam Chand, a washerman from Dv&#257rk&#257, Himmat, a water-carrier from Jagann&#257thpur&#299, and S&#257hib Chand, a barber from Bidar (Karn&#257&#7789aka) responded one after another and advanced to offer their heads. All the five were led back from the tent dressed alike in saffron-coloured raiment topped over with neatly tied turbans similarly dyed, with swords dangling by their sides. Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh then introduced <i>kha&#7751&#7693e d&#299 p&#257hul</i>, i.e. initiation by sweetened water churned with a double-edged broadsword (<i>kha&#7751&#7693&#257</i>). Those five Sikhs were the first to be initiated. Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh called them <i>Pañj Pi&#257re</i>, the five devoted spirits beloved of the Gur&#363. These five, three of them from the so-called low-castes, a K&#7779atriya and a Ja&#7789&#7789, formed the nucleus of the self-abnegating, martial and tasteless fellowship of the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257. All of them surnamed Si&#7749gh, meaning lion, were required to wear in future the five symbols of the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257, all beginning with the letter K -- the <i>ke&#7779</i> or long hair and beard, <i>ka&#7749gh&#257</i>, a comb in the <i>ke&#7779</i> to keep it tidy as against the recluses who kept it matted in token of their having renounced the world, <i>ka&#7771&#257</i>, a steel bracelet, <i>kachch</i>, short breeches, and <i>kirp&#257n</i>, a sword. They were enjoined to succour the helpless and fight the oppressor, to have faith in one God and to consider all human beings equal, irrespective of caste and creed. Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh then himself received initiatory rites at the hands of his five disciples, now invested with authority as <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257, and had his name changed from Gobind R&#257i to Gobind Si&#7749gh. "Hail, " as the poet subsequently sang, "Gobind Si&#7749gh who is himself Master as well as disciple." Further injunctions were laid down for the Sikhs. They must never cut or trim their hair and beards, nor smoke tobacco. A Sikh must not have sexual relationship outside the marital bond, nor eat the flesh of an animal killed slowly in the Muslim way.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; These developments alarmed the caste-ridden R&#257jp&#363t chiefs of the &#347iv&#257lik hills. They rallied under the leadership of the R&#257j&#257 of Bil&#257spur, in whose territory lay Anandpur, to forcibly evict Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh from his hilly citadel. Their repeated expeditions during 1700-04 however proved abortive. They at last petitioned Emperor Aura&#7749gz&#299b for help. In concert with contingents sent under imperial orders by the governor of Lahore and those of the <i>faujd&#257r</i> of Sirhind, they marched upon Anandpur and laid a siege to the fort in Je&#7789h 1762 Bk/May 1705. Over the months, the Gur&#363 and his Sikhs firmly withstood their successive assaults despite dire scarcity of food resulting from the prolonged blockade. While the besieged were reduced to desperate straits, the besiegers too were chagrined at the tenacity with which the Sikhs held out. At this stage, the besiegers offered, on solemn oaths, safe exit to the Sikhs if they quit Anandpur. At last, the town was evacuated during the night of Poh <i>sud&#299</i> 1, 1762 Bk/5-6 December 1705. But soon, as the Gur&#363 and his Sikhs came out, the hill monarchs and their Mu<u>gh</u>al allies set upon them in full fury. In the ensuing confusion many Sikhs were killed and all of the Gur&#363's baggage, including most of the precious manuscripts, was lost. The Gur&#363 himself was able to make his way to Chamkaur, 40 km southwest of Anandpur, with barely 40 Sikhs and his two elder sons. There the imperial army, following closely on his heels, caught up with him. His two sons, Aj&#299t Si&#7749gh (b. 1687) and Jujh&#257r Si&#7749gh (b. 1691) and all but five of the Sikhs fell in the action that took place on 7 December 1705. The five surviving Sikhs bade the Gur&#363 to save himself in order to reconsolidate the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257. Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh with three of his Sikhs escaped into the wilderness of the M&#257lv&#257, two of his Muslim devotees, <u>Gh</u>an&#299 <u>Kh</u>&#257n and Nab&#299 <u>Kh</u>&#257n, helping him at great personal risk.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh's two younger sons, Zor&#257war Si&#7749gh (b. 1696) and Fateh Si&#7749gh (b. 1699), and his mother, M&#257t&#257 Gujar&#299, were after the evacuation of Anandpur betrayed by their old servant and escort, Ga&#7749g&#363, to the <i>faujd&#257r</i> of Sirhind, who had the young children executed on 13 December 1705. Their grandmother died the same day. Befriended by another Muslim admirer, R&#257i Kalh&#257 of R&#257iko&#7789, Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh reached D&#299n&#257 in the heart of the M&#257lv&#257. There he enlisted a few hundred warriors of the Br&#257&#7771 clan, and also composed his famous letter, <i>Zafarn&#257mah</i> or the Epistle of Victory, in Persian verse, addressed to Emperor Aura&#7749gz&#299b. The letter was a severe indictment of the Emperor and his commanders who had perjured their oath and treacherously attacked him once he was outside the safety of his fortification at Anandpur. It emphatically reiterated the sovereignty of morality in the affairs of State as much as in the conduct of human beings and held the means as important as the end. Two of the Sikhs, Day&#257 Si&#7749gh and Dharam Si&#7749gh, were despatched with the <i>Zafarn&#257mah</i> to Ahmadnagar in the South to deliver it to Aura&#7749gz&#299b, then in camp in that town.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; From D&#299n&#257, Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh continued his westward march until, finding the host close upon his heels, he took position astride the water pool of Khidr&#257&#7751&#257 to make a last-ditch stand. The fighting on 29 December 1705 was hard and desperate. In spite of their overwhelming numbers, the Mu<u>gh</u>al troops failed to capture the Gur&#363 and had to retire in defeat. The most valorous part in this battle was played by a group of 40 Sikhs who had deserted the Gur&#363 at Anandpur during the long siege, but who, chided by their womenfolk at home, had come back under the leadership of a brave and devoted woman, M&#257&#299 Bh&#257go, to redeem themselves. They had fallen fighting desperately to check the enemy's advance towards the Gur&#363's position. The Gur&#363 blessed the 40 dead as 40 <i>mukte</i>, i.e. the 40 Saved Ones. The site is now marked by a sacred shrine and tank and the town which has grown around them is called Muktsar, the Pool of Liberation.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; After spending some time in the Lakkh&#299 Jungle country, Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh arrived at Talva&#7751&#7693&#299 S&#257bo, now called Damdam&#257 S&#257hib, on 20 January 1706. During his stay there of over nine months, a number of Sikhs rejoined him. He prepared a fresh recension of Sikh Scripture, the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib, with the celebrated scholar, Bh&#257&#299 Man&#299 Si&#7749gh, as his amanuensis. From the number of scholars who had rallied round Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh and from the literary activity initiated, the place came to be known as the Gur&#363's K&#257sh&#299 or seat of learning like V&#257r&#257&#7751as&#299.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The epistle <i>Zafarn&#257mah</i> sent by Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh from D&#299n&#257 seems to have touched the heart of Emperor Aura&#7749gz&#299b. He forthwith invited him for a meeting. According to Ahk&#257m-i -'&#256lamg&#299r&#299, the Emperor had a letter written to the deputy governor of Lahore, Mun'im <u>Kh</u>&#257n, to conciliate the Gur&#363 and make the required arrangements for his journey to the Deccan. Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh had, however, already left for the South on 30 October 1706. He was in the neighbourhood of Baghor, in R&#257jasth&#257n, when the news arrived of the death of the Emperor at Ahmadnagar on 20 February 1707. The Gur&#363 thereupon decided to return to the Punjab, via Sh&#257hjah&#257n&#257b&#257d (Delhi). That was the time when the sons of the deceased Emperor were preparing to contest succession. Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh despatched for the help of the eldest claimant, the liberal Prince Mu'azzam, a token contingent of Sikhs which took part in the battle of J&#257ja&#363 (8 June 1707), decisively won by the Prince who ascended the throne with the title of Bah&#257dur Sh&#257h. The new Emperor invited Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh for a meeting which took place at &#256gr&#257 on 23 July 1707.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Emperor Bah&#257dur Sh&#257h had at this time to move against the Kachhv&#257h&#257 R&#257jp&#363ts of &#256mber (Jaipur) and then to the Deccan where his youngest brother, K&#257m Ba<u>kh</u>sh, had raised the standard of revolt. The Gur&#363 accompanied him and, as says <i>Tar&#299<u>kh</u>-i-Bah&#257dur-Sh&#257h&#299</i>, he addressed assemblies of people on the way preaching the word of Gur&#363 N&#257nak. The two camps crossed the River T&#257pt&#299 between 11 and 14 June 1708 and the B&#257&#7751-Ga&#7749g&#257 on 14 August, arriving at N&#257nde&#7693, on the God&#257var&#299, towards the end of August. While Bah&#257dur Sh&#257h proceeded further South, Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh decided to stay awhile at N&#257nde&#7693. Here he met a Bair&#257g&#299 recluse, M&#257dho D&#257s, whom he converted a Sikh administering to him the vows of the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257, renaming him Gurba<u>kh</u>sh Si&#7749gh (popular name Band&#257 Si&#7749gh). Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh gave Band&#257 Si&#7749gh five arrows from his own quiver and an escort, including five of his chosen Sikhs, and directed him to go to the Punjab and carry on the campaign against the tyranny of the provincial overlords.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Naw&#257b Waz&#299r <u>Kh</u>&#257n of Sirhind had felt concerned at the Emperor's conciliatory treatment of Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh. Their marching together to the South made him jealous, and he charged two of his trusted men with murdering the Gur&#363 before his increasing friendship with the Emperor resulted in any harm to him. These two Pa&#7789h&#257ns -- Jamshed <u>Kh</u>&#257n and W&#257sil Beg are the names given in the <i>Gur&#363 k&#299&#257&#7749 S&#257kh&#299&#257&#7749</i> pursued the Gur&#363 secretly and overtook him at N&#257nde&#7693, where, according to <i>Sr&#299 Gur Sobh&#257</i> by Sen&#257pati, a contemporary writer, one of them stabbed the Gur&#363 in the left side below the heart as he lay one evening in his chamber resting after the <i>Rahr&#257si</i> prayer. Before he could deal another blow, Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh struck him down with his sabre, while his fleeing companion fell under the swords of Sikhs who had rushed in on hearing the noise. As the news reached Bah&#257dur Sh&#257h's camp, he sent expert surgeons, including an Englishman, Cole by name, to attend on the Gur&#363. The wound was stitched and appeared to have healed quickly but, as the Gur&#363 one day applied strength to pull a stiff bow, it broke out again and bled profusely. This weakened the Gur&#363 beyond cure and he passed away on Kattak <i>sud&#299</i> 5, 1765 Bk/7 October 1708. Before the end came, Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh had asked for the Sacred Volume to be brought forth. To quote <i>Bha&#7789&#7789 Vah&#299 Talau&#7693&#257 Parganah j&#299nd</i>:</p> <blockquote class="C1"><p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749ghj&#299, mahil&#257 dasm&#257&#7749, be&#7789&#257 Gur&#363 Te<u>gh</u> Bah&#257dur j&#299 k&#257, pota Gur&#363 Hargobindj&#299 k&#257, pa&#7771pot&#257 Gur&#363 Arjunj&#299 k&#257, ba&#7749s Gur&#363 R&#257m D&#257sj&#299 k&#257, S&#363rajba&#7749s&#299 Gosal gotra, So&#7693h&#299 Khatr&#299, b&#257s&#299 Anandpur parganah Kahl&#363r, muq&#257m N&#257nde&#7771 ta&#7789 God&#257var&#299, des dakkha&#7751, sammat satr&#257&#7749 sai painsa&#7789h K&#257rtik m&#257s k&#299 chauth, &#347ukla pakkhe budhv&#257r ke dihu&#7749, Bh&#257&#299 Day&#257 Si&#7749gh se bachan hoy&#257, Sr&#299 Granth S&#257hib lai &#257o, bachan p&#257i Day&#257 Si&#7749gh Sr&#299 Granth S&#257hib lai &#257ye, Gur&#363j&#299 ne p&#257ñch paise n&#257rial &#257ge bhe&#7789&#257 r&#257kh&#257, m&#257th&#257 &#7789ek&#257, sarbatt sa&#7749gat se kah&#257 mer&#257 hukam hai mer&#299 j&#257g&#257h Sr&#299 Gr&#257nthj&#299 ko j&#257&#7751an&#257, jo Sikh j&#257&#7751eg&#257 tis k&#299 gh&#257l th&#257e&#7749 paeg&#299 Gur&#363 tis k&#299 bahu&#7771&#299 ka&#7771eg&#257, satt kar m&#257nan&#257</i></p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh, the Tenth Master, son of Gur&#363 Te<u>gh</u> Bah&#257dur, grandson of Gur&#363 Hargobind, great-grandson of Gur&#363 Arjan, of the family of Gur&#363 R&#257m D&#257s, . Surajba&#7749s&#299, Gosal clan, Sodh&#299 Khatr&#299, resident of Anandpur, <i>parganah</i> Kahl&#363r, now at N&#257nde&#7693, in the God&#257var&#299 country in the Deccan, asked Bh&#257&#299 Day&#257 Si&#7749gh, on Wednesday, 6 October 1708, to fetch Sr&#299 Granth S&#257hib. In obedience to his orders, Day&#257 Si&#7749gh brought Sr&#299 Granth S&#257hib. The Gur&#363 placed before it five pice and a coconut and bowed his head before it. He said to the <i>sa&#7749gat</i>, "It is my commandment: Own Sr&#299 Granthj&#299 in my place. He who so acknowledges it will obtain his reward. The Gur&#363 will rescue him. Know this as the truth".</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</blockquote></p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh thus passed on the succession with due ceremony to the Holy Book, the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib, ending the line of personal Gur&#363s. "The Gur&#363's spirit, " he said, "will henceforth be in the Granth and the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257. Where the Granth is with any five Sikhs representing the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257, there will the Gur&#363 be."</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Word enshrined in the Holy Book was always revered by the Gur&#363s as well as by their disciples as of Divine origin. The Gur&#363 was the revealer of the Word. One day the Word was to take the place of the Gur&#363. The inevitable came to pass when Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh declared the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib as his successor. It was only through the Word that the Gur&#363ship could be made everlasting. The Word as contained in the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib was henceforth, and for all time to come, to be the Gur&#363 for the Sikhs.</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"> Kuir Si&#7749gh <i>Gurbil&#257s P&#257tsh&#257h&#299 10</i>. Patiala, 1968<BR> <li class="C1"> Sukh&#257 Si&#7749gh, <i>Bh&#257&#299, Gurbil&#257s Dasv&#299&#7749 P&#257tsh&#257h&#299</i>. Lahore, 1912<BR> <li class="C1"> Senapati, <i>Sr&#299 Gur Sohh&#257</i>. Patiala, 1967<BR> <li class="C1"> Chibbar, Kesar Si&#7749gh, <i>Ba&#7749s&#257v&#257l&#299nam&#257 Das&#257&#7749 P&#257tsh&#257h&#299a&#7749 K&#257</i>. Chandigarh, 1972<BR> <li class="C1"> Harbans Singh <i>Guru Gobind Si&#7749gh</i>. Chandigarh, 1966<BR> <li class="C1"> Grewal, J.S. and S.S. Bal, <i>Guru Gobind Singh</i>.Chandigarh, 1966<BR> <li class="C1"> Verma, Devinder, <i>Guru Gobind Singh on the Canvas of History</i>. Delhi, 1995<BR> <li class="C1"> Talib, Gurbachan Si&#7749gh, <i>The Impact of Guru Gobind Si&#7749gh on Indian Society</i>. Chandigarh, 1966<BR> <li class="C1"> Sher Si&#7749gh, <i>Social and Political Philosophy of Guru Gobind Si&#7749gh</i>. Delhi, n.d.<BR> <li class="C1"> Lakshman Singh, Bhagat, <i>A Short Sketch of the Life and Work of Guru Gobind Si&#7749gh</i>. Lahore, 1909.<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">Ga&#7751&#7693&#257 Si&#7749gh<br></p><BR> </font> <img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""> </HTML></BODY>