Our Nineth Guru Teg Bahadur, in his efforts to protect Hindus from religious persecution, was executed on Nov. 11, 1675. Before body could be exposed to public view, it was stolen under cover of darkness by one his devotees. The site of the execution in Chandni ‘Chowk of Delhi is marked by a Gurdwara called “Sis Ganj” It is said that on Guru’s refusal to accept Islam, the Chief Kazi asked him to exhibit some of the miraculous powers he was supposed £0 possess. ‘There upon the Guru wrote something on a piece of paper and tied it with a string round his neck. This, he said, would prevent the executioner from cutting off his head. When the Guru’s head was severed, the piece of paper was opened. It read: “Sis diya par Sirar na diya’ (I gave my head but not my determination)”.
* Our tenth Guru Gobind Singh was born in 1666. He spent many years of his childhood in a small Himalayan town called Paonta on the banks of Jumna near Jagadhri.
The battle of Bhangani, near Paonta Sahib, fought in 1686 was Guru’s first baptism in steel. In the prayer he offered before the battle, he addressed God in the following words:
Eternal God, Thou art our Shield, ‘The dagger, knife, the sword we wield, To us protector there is given The timeless, deathless, Lord of Heaven, To us all steel’s unvanquished might, To us all time’s resistless flight,
But chiefly Thou, protector brave, all steel, wilt Thine own servant save.
Article extracted from this publication >> December 26, 1986
