Bhai Jiwan Singh and bhai Jaita
Bhai Jaita was born on 13 December 1649 to mother Premo (aka Kanno) and father Sada Chand. At the time of his birth, he was named Jag Chand, shortened to Jagu or Jota but it is said that Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib at some stage named him 'Jaita'. He and his younger brother Bhag Chand, also called Bhagu, were disciples of Guru Har Rai, Nanak VII from Kiratpur, in the Sivalik hills, Where the Guru then resided. They shifted along with their parents, to the village of Jhanda Ramdas where they stayed with Bhai Gurditta (1625-1675), the great-great-grandson of Bhai Buddha
As Bhai Gurditta was detained in Delhi following the arrest of Guru Tegh Bahadur, Jaita was sent by the family to bring news of him. He thereafter lived at Anandpur, becoming the first nagarchi or beater of the Guru Gobind Singh's awesome Ranjit Nagara.
He was: the first drummer of the Ranjit Nagara, the trainer of the Sahibzadas in the Art of Warfare, Martyr at the battle of Chamkaur
In 1691, he was married to Raj Kaur daughter of Sujan Singh of the village of Riar near Amritsar. Waheguru blessed the couple with four sons. He became famous as a marksman and trained the two elder sons of Guru Gobind Singh in the art of warfare. He himself took part in all of Guru Gobind Singh's battles against the hill chiefs and the Mughals.
Bhai Jivan Singh fell, a martyr, in the Battle of Chamkaur on 8 December 1705. Gurdwara-Shahid-Burj a (tower) now a Gurdwara stands on the site as a monument to his memory.
Tired of the orthodox attitude of Aurangzeb, a deputation of Kashmiri Pandits led by Padit Kirpa Ram approached Guru Ji with a petition at Anandpur Sahib on 25 May, 1675 A.D. Hearing the hair-raising story of the pandit, Guru ji was lost deep thoughts. Returning from his play young Gobind Rai Ji asked his father the reason of his being worried and suggested to him to offer himself for martyrdom for the protection of the Hindu religion.
Guru Ji left Anandpur Sahib along with his five loved ones on 20 July, 1675 A.D. On 15 September, 1675 A.D. Guru Ji and his five loved ones were arrested at Agra and imprisoned at Delhi. Bhai Jaita Ji escaped from the prison with the help of Aurangzeb’s daughter Zebunnissa, Kotwal Khwaja Abdullah and his uncle Bhai Agya Ram, and reached Anandpur Sahib with anointing material for guruship Ninth Master’s Hukamnamahs and 57 verses written by Guru Ji in the jail.
He handed over this material to young Gobind Rai Ji at Anandpur Sahib. Later on at Damadma Sahib (Talwandi Sabo) when Guru Gobind Singh Ji edited Guru Granth Sahib Ji, having got it written by Bhai Mani Singh Ji he included the verses of Guru Tegh Bahadur also. This was the special contribution of Baba Jiwan Singh Ji (Bhai Jaita Ji). It was on his account that verses of Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji in the rag Jaijaiwanti were preserved in Guru Granth Sahib Ji.
The Sikh Path will ever remain indebted to him. He enlightened the Tenth Master on the situation at Delhi. Young Gobind Rai Ji demanded in the open session of the congregation that some heroic dauntless person should come forward to take the responsibility of bringing back the head and the trunk of his father (The Ninth Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib Ji) after his martyrdom at Delhi. There was a pin drop silence on all sides.
At length, Bhai Jaita Ji took this responsibility on his own shoulders and set out for Delhi in disguise. He reached his Uncle Bhai Agya Ram’s house at Raisinha village. Bhai Sada Nand Ji was already there keeping an eye on the situation at Delhi. They made a plan to bring Guru Ji’s head and trunk after his martyrdom.
On 11 November, 1675 A.D., early in the morning Guru Ji while he was in a trance under a banyan tree, was martyred with a sword by the executioner Jalalludin of Samana in pursuance of the verdict pronounced by Qazi Abdul Wahab. The Government had announced the death sentence for anybody trying to carry away the head and the trunk of the Guru Ji. As a result no devotee showed the courage to do it and rather they avoided being called the Sikhs of the Guru Ji.
During the first quarter of the night Bhai Jaita Ji along with his father Bhai Sada Nand Ji, his uncle Bhai Agya Ram Ji and Oodai Singh Ji succeed in approaching the Guru Ji’s dead body taking the cover of the pitch-dark, taking advantage of the torrential rains and creeping near the walls of the residential houses. According to the pre-devised plan the head of Bhai Sada Nand Ji was severed by Bhai Jaita Ji so that his trunk and head could be exchanged with those of the Guru Ji.
Baba Jiwan Singh Ji himself bears witness to this fact on Page 35 of his sacred book “Shri Gur Katha” as under:
The entire project was successfully executed,
He put his father's head in place of the Guru Ji’s head,
It bears resemblance to the Guru Ji’s looks,
All the courtiers say so,
Just as you have protected me from the enemy forces,
In the same way O Guru save me from going to the hell,
The face of the Guru Ji was shown to all the Sikhs,
if some body talks of dying for love,
Let him stand by love like my father,
He got his head severed,
And placed at the feet of the Guru,
And this way he gave a demonstration of love.
Bhai Jaita Ji, his uncle Bhai Agya Ram Ji and Bhai Oodai Ji hurriedly removed the head and trunk of Guru Ji, put Bhai Sada Nand Ji's head and trunk at that place and disappeared on tiptoe. Putting Guru Ji’s head and trunk on their horses tethered at some distance, Bhai Agya Ram Ji reached his house at Bhai Kaliana’s Dharamshal in village Raisinha near Delhi. They cremated Guru Ji’s body by raising a pyre within the house.
The Kotwal of Chandni Chowk, Khwaja Abdullah and Aurangzeb’s daughter Zebunnisa had assisted in this act. Later when Emperor Aurangzeb came to know of the cremation, he martyred Bhai Agya Ram Ji and his family by torturing them to death. However, no reference is available regarding what happened to Pandit Shiv Narain Ji’s family. Aurangzeb confiscated the site of Bhai Agya Ram’s house and built a mosque there. Later on Jathedar Baghel Singh demolished this mosque and built there a Gurdwara named Rakab Ganj Sahib.
After he cremated the Guru Ji’s trunk in his uncle’s house, Bhai Jaita took the head along, taking advantage of the dark of the night and rainy weather and deceiving the royal forces. Following a zig-zag passage and passing through Bagpat, Taraori, Ambala, Nabha etc. he reached Kiratpur Sahib on 15 November, 1675 A.D.
As per the wishes for the members of the Guru Ji’s family, here onwards Guru’s head was decked in a palanquin and placed on the head of Bhai Jaita Ji it was carried to Anandpur Sahib in a procession. There it was respectfully cremated according to the conventions of the Guru’s establishment. This place of cremation is graced today by Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib.
The young Gobind Rai embraced Bhai Jaita who had brought the head and granted him the title of “Ranghrete Guru Ke Bete” (Son of Guru). Bhai Jaita Ji narrated to Guru Ji his experiences at Delhi from the time 9th Master’s Martyrdom to the time of the cremated of his trunk. He also told him how the Sikh devotees watched this incident quietly and helplessly for fear of death.
Guru Ji resolved that very soon he would bring about such important changes in the Sikh form that a Sikh would be distinguishable automatically among millions of people. Guru Ji fulfilled this resolved by created the Khalsa on 30 March, 1699 A.D. Guru Ji asked Bhai Jaita Ji to demand a boon and he requested that he may be allowed to take a bath in the holy tank of Shri Harmandir Sahib at Amritsar. Guru Ji granted this boon and also got constructed a Bunga of Ranghretas quite close to Dukh Bhanjni Beri. Here the Ranghreta Sikhs assemble and hold a fair every year.
After some time Aurangzeb came to know about the soft corner which Kotwal Khwaja Abdullah and Zebunnisa had towards the Guru Ji, help rendered by them in Bhai Jaita Ji’s escape from the jail, carrying away of the Guru Ji's head and trunk from Chandni Chowk and the cremation of the trunk at Bhai Agya Ram’s house in Bhai Kalyana’s Dharamshal in village Raisinha Sahib. He got his daughter Zebunnisa killed by slow poisoning, but the Kotwal had already left his job at Delhi and gone to the protection of the Tenth Master at Anandpur Sahib.
Bhai Jaita was born on 13 December 1649 to mother Premo (aka Kanno) and father Sada Chand. At the time of his birth, he was named Jag Chand, shortened to Jagu or Jota but it is said that Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib at some stage named him 'Jaita'. He and his younger brother Bhag Chand, also called Bhagu, were disciples of Guru Har Rai, Nanak VII from Kiratpur, in the Sivalik hills, Where the Guru then resided. They shifted along with their parents, to the village of Jhanda Ramdas where they stayed with Bhai Gurditta (1625-1675), the great-great-grandson of Bhai Buddha
As Bhai Gurditta was detained in Delhi following the arrest of Guru Tegh Bahadur, Jaita was sent by the family to bring news of him. He thereafter lived at Anandpur, becoming the first nagarchi or beater of the Guru Gobind Singh's awesome Ranjit Nagara.
He was: the first drummer of the Ranjit Nagara, the trainer of the Sahibzadas in the Art of Warfare, Martyr at the battle of Chamkaur
In 1691, he was married to Raj Kaur daughter of Sujan Singh of the village of Riar near Amritsar. Waheguru blessed the couple with four sons. He became famous as a marksman and trained the two elder sons of Guru Gobind Singh in the art of warfare. He himself took part in all of Guru Gobind Singh's battles against the hill chiefs and the Mughals.
Bhai Jivan Singh fell, a martyr, in the Battle of Chamkaur on 8 December 1705. Gurdwara-Shahid-Burj a (tower) now a Gurdwara stands on the site as a monument to his memory.
Ranghrete Guru Ke Bete (Son of Guru)
Bhai Jivan Singh returns with the Head of Guru Tegh Bahadur
Guru Ji left Anandpur Sahib along with his five loved ones on 20 July, 1675 A.D. On 15 September, 1675 A.D. Guru Ji and his five loved ones were arrested at Agra and imprisoned at Delhi. Bhai Jaita Ji escaped from the prison with the help of Aurangzeb’s daughter Zebunnissa, Kotwal Khwaja Abdullah and his uncle Bhai Agya Ram, and reached Anandpur Sahib with anointing material for guruship Ninth Master’s Hukamnamahs and 57 verses written by Guru Ji in the jail.
He handed over this material to young Gobind Rai Ji at Anandpur Sahib. Later on at Damadma Sahib (Talwandi Sabo) when Guru Gobind Singh Ji edited Guru Granth Sahib Ji, having got it written by Bhai Mani Singh Ji he included the verses of Guru Tegh Bahadur also. This was the special contribution of Baba Jiwan Singh Ji (Bhai Jaita Ji). It was on his account that verses of Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji in the rag Jaijaiwanti were preserved in Guru Granth Sahib Ji.
The Sikh Path will ever remain indebted to him. He enlightened the Tenth Master on the situation at Delhi. Young Gobind Rai Ji demanded in the open session of the congregation that some heroic dauntless person should come forward to take the responsibility of bringing back the head and the trunk of his father (The Ninth Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib Ji) after his martyrdom at Delhi. There was a pin drop silence on all sides.
At length, Bhai Jaita Ji took this responsibility on his own shoulders and set out for Delhi in disguise. He reached his Uncle Bhai Agya Ram’s house at Raisinha village. Bhai Sada Nand Ji was already there keeping an eye on the situation at Delhi. They made a plan to bring Guru Ji’s head and trunk after his martyrdom.
On 11 November, 1675 A.D., early in the morning Guru Ji while he was in a trance under a banyan tree, was martyred with a sword by the executioner Jalalludin of Samana in pursuance of the verdict pronounced by Qazi Abdul Wahab. The Government had announced the death sentence for anybody trying to carry away the head and the trunk of the Guru Ji. As a result no devotee showed the courage to do it and rather they avoided being called the Sikhs of the Guru Ji.
During the first quarter of the night Bhai Jaita Ji along with his father Bhai Sada Nand Ji, his uncle Bhai Agya Ram Ji and Oodai Singh Ji succeed in approaching the Guru Ji’s dead body taking the cover of the pitch-dark, taking advantage of the torrential rains and creeping near the walls of the residential houses. According to the pre-devised plan the head of Bhai Sada Nand Ji was severed by Bhai Jaita Ji so that his trunk and head could be exchanged with those of the Guru Ji.
Baba Jiwan Singh Ji himself bears witness to this fact on Page 35 of his sacred book “Shri Gur Katha” as under:
The entire project was successfully executed,
He put his father's head in place of the Guru Ji’s head,
It bears resemblance to the Guru Ji’s looks,
All the courtiers say so,
Just as you have protected me from the enemy forces,
In the same way O Guru save me from going to the hell,
The face of the Guru Ji was shown to all the Sikhs,
if some body talks of dying for love,
Let him stand by love like my father,
He got his head severed,
And placed at the feet of the Guru,
And this way he gave a demonstration of love.
Bhai Jaita Ji, his uncle Bhai Agya Ram Ji and Bhai Oodai Ji hurriedly removed the head and trunk of Guru Ji, put Bhai Sada Nand Ji's head and trunk at that place and disappeared on tiptoe. Putting Guru Ji’s head and trunk on their horses tethered at some distance, Bhai Agya Ram Ji reached his house at Bhai Kaliana’s Dharamshal in village Raisinha near Delhi. They cremated Guru Ji’s body by raising a pyre within the house.
The Kotwal of Chandni Chowk, Khwaja Abdullah and Aurangzeb’s daughter Zebunnisa had assisted in this act. Later when Emperor Aurangzeb came to know of the cremation, he martyred Bhai Agya Ram Ji and his family by torturing them to death. However, no reference is available regarding what happened to Pandit Shiv Narain Ji’s family. Aurangzeb confiscated the site of Bhai Agya Ram’s house and built a mosque there. Later on Jathedar Baghel Singh demolished this mosque and built there a Gurdwara named Rakab Ganj Sahib.
After he cremated the Guru Ji’s trunk in his uncle’s house, Bhai Jaita took the head along, taking advantage of the dark of the night and rainy weather and deceiving the royal forces. Following a zig-zag passage and passing through Bagpat, Taraori, Ambala, Nabha etc. he reached Kiratpur Sahib on 15 November, 1675 A.D.
As per the wishes for the members of the Guru Ji’s family, here onwards Guru’s head was decked in a palanquin and placed on the head of Bhai Jaita Ji it was carried to Anandpur Sahib in a procession. There it was respectfully cremated according to the conventions of the Guru’s establishment. This place of cremation is graced today by Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib.
The young Gobind Rai embraced Bhai Jaita who had brought the head and granted him the title of “Ranghrete Guru Ke Bete” (Son of Guru). Bhai Jaita Ji narrated to Guru Ji his experiences at Delhi from the time 9th Master’s Martyrdom to the time of the cremated of his trunk. He also told him how the Sikh devotees watched this incident quietly and helplessly for fear of death.
Guru Ji resolved that very soon he would bring about such important changes in the Sikh form that a Sikh would be distinguishable automatically among millions of people. Guru Ji fulfilled this resolved by created the Khalsa on 30 March, 1699 A.D. Guru Ji asked Bhai Jaita Ji to demand a boon and he requested that he may be allowed to take a bath in the holy tank of Shri Harmandir Sahib at Amritsar. Guru Ji granted this boon and also got constructed a Bunga of Ranghretas quite close to Dukh Bhanjni Beri. Here the Ranghreta Sikhs assemble and hold a fair every year.
After some time Aurangzeb came to know about the soft corner which Kotwal Khwaja Abdullah and Zebunnisa had towards the Guru Ji, help rendered by them in Bhai Jaita Ji’s escape from the jail, carrying away of the Guru Ji's head and trunk from Chandni Chowk and the cremation of the trunk at Bhai Agya Ram’s house in Bhai Kalyana’s Dharamshal in village Raisinha Sahib. He got his daughter Zebunnisa killed by slow poisoning, but the Kotwal had already left his job at Delhi and gone to the protection of the Tenth Master at Anandpur Sahib.
