Guru Hargobind was the sixth of ten Gurus in the Sikh religion. He was born on June 19, 1595, and passed away on February 28, 1644. He is revered as the sixth Nanak.

After the assassination of his own father, Guru Arjan, at the hands of the Mughal emperor Jahangir, he became the Guru at the tender age of eleven.

Sikhism was likely introduced to the practice of militarism by Guru Hargobind, most likely as a reaction to the murder of his father and with the intention of defending the Sikh community.

He did this by symbolically wielding two swords, one to represent the dual notion of mar and pr, which may be translated as spiritual authority and temporal power.

The Akal Takht, also known as the throne of the timeless one, was constructed by Guru Hargobind ji in Amritsar, in front of the Harmandir Sahib. The Akal Takht is the highest seat of earthly power held by the Khalsa (the collective body that the Sikhs make up) at the present time.

Guru Hargobind was the only son of the Sikh Guru Guru Arjan, and he was born in the hamlet of Gur K Wal, which is located seven kilometers west of Amritsar. His family was of the Sodhi Khatri caste.

As a young child, he is afflicted with a disease known as smallpox. According to the hagiographies published by old Sikh tradition, he is surviving an attempt at poisoning by his uncle Prithi Chand, as well as another attempt on his lifecycle.

Both of these attempts were made during his lifecycle. He had previously received instruction in swordsmanship and archery from Baba Budda (not to be confused with Gautama Buddha), who had taught him holy writings that he had studied with Bhai Gurdas.

On May 25, 1606, five days before his own death, Guru Arjan selected his son Hargobind as his successor. He also urged his son to create a military tradition to cover up the Sikh people and to always maintain himself surrounded by armed Sikhs for protection.

Guru Arjan passed away the next day. Shortly after that, the Mughal Emperor Jahangir had Guru Arjan imprisoned and then had him put to death on his orders. On June 24, 1606, the ritual marking the transition of power from Guru Hargobind to his successor took place.

He wore two swords, one of which represented his spiritual authority (pr), while the other sword represented his temporal authority (mr). He had taken the advice of his father, who had been killed in the conflict, and ensured that he was constantly protected by a group of armed Sikhs.

In his life cycle, the number 52 held significant significance, and his retinue comprised of fifty-two individuals equipped with weapons. As a result, he established the Sikh faith’s long-standing military heritage.

Marvahi, Damodari, and Nanaki were the three women who Guru Hargobind married throughout his life. He had offspring from all three of his marriages.

During his lifetime, he lost two of his eldest boys from his first marriage to his first wife. His son from Mata Nanaki, Guru Tegh Bahadur, would later ascend to the position of ninth Sikh Guru. One of Guru Hargobind’s sons, Baba Suraj Mal Sodhi, is the spiritual ancestor of the Sodhis who resides at Anandpur Sahib.

Guru Hargobind Sahib ji, a forerunner of Miri Piri

The Guru was a skilled martial artist (shastarvidy), and he advised human figures to keep up with their physical condition and always have their bodies in a state where they are nearly ready for physical conflict.

He presided over his own court, known as a Darbar. A few of his ardent followers were first given instruction and then armed themselves. The Guru eventually amassed a herd of seven hundred horses, and the size of his Risaldari, or army, increased to 360 musketeers and riders.

He had proposed that his grandson take over as the seventh Guru Har Rai once he passed away. He passed away in the year 1644 at the city of Kiratpur Sahib, which is located on the banks of the river Sutlej. He was cremated on the banks of the river Sutlej, which is where the Gurdwara Patalpuri Sahib is located today.

Following Guru Arjan’s assassination, it was Guru Hargobind who spearheaded the Sikh resistance against the Mughal rule. He did, however, oppose Islamic persecution and fight four battles against Shah Jahan’s soldiers, despite the fact that he formally accepted Shah Jahan’s rule.

Because of his efforts to modernize the Sikhist community, he found himself in opposition to a Mughal authority.

Jahangir

Guru Hargobind was a staunch opponent of Mughal power from the very beginning of his life, and Emperor Jahangir was the one who eventually had Guru Arjan put to death. He encouraged Sikhs to fight against and arm Mughal forces.

The fact that his father was killed by Jahangir inspired him to emphasize the military nature of the Sikh community after Jahangir was responsible for his killing.

He exhausted two swords, which is a symbolic representation of the miri piri strategy. He constructed a fort to protect Ramdaspur and established an official court known as the Akal Takht.

In response, Jahangir imprisoned Guru Hargobind at the Gwalior Fort when he was just 14 years old in 1609, using the excuse that a fine that had been imposed on Guru Arjan had not been paid by Guru Hargobind and the Sikhs.

It is not quite clear how long he was held in solitary confinement as a prisoner. It is believed that Guru Hargobind was around 16 years old when he was set free, which would have occurred either in the year 1612 or 1611, respectively.

According to Persian documents such as Dabistan-e Mazhib, he may have been detained for the better part of a decade and a half, including the years 1617–1619 at Gwalior. Afterward, both he and his group were placed under the watchful eye of Jahangir, who commanded the Muslim army.

It is not really obvious why he was allowed to go free. Scholars believe that Jahangir had more or less reverted to the liberal policies of Akbar by about the year 1611 when he had felt much more comfortable about his monarchy and the Naqshbandhi and Sunnis court officials in the Mughal court had fallen out of his favor.

According to a second story, Jahangir discovered the facts, evaluated them, and decided that Guru Hargobind posed no threat, therefore he issued an order releasing him.