Introduction

The following paper was presented by Major General PJS Sandhu (Retd) at a seminar on “Role of Punjabi Warriors and relevance of lessons from their campaigns” at Punjab University on August 29, 2024.

Guru Hargobind Sahib was born on the 5^th of July 1595. His parents were Guru Arjan Dev Ji and Mata Ganga Ji. As a child, he was put under the care of Baba Budha and Bhai Guru Das for his spiritual education and under a team of experts to receive instructions in various fields like the use of weapons, horse riding, swimming, chemistry, astronomy, medicine, agriculture, administration and other sciences. Thus, he grew up as a rounded personality.

It is well known that Guru Arjun Dev Ji, the fifth Sikh Guru attained martyrdom on 30^th May 1606 by horrible torture on the orders of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir which was inflicted through Chandu Shah who was the Emperor’s Diwan (finance minister). At the time of his father’s death, Guru Hargobind Ji was hardly 11 years old.

On hearing of his father’s death, Guru Hargobind Ji requested Baba Budha to recite the Guru Granth Sahib and the ragis to sing the Guru’s hymns. This continued for ten days. After the Ardas, Guru Hargobind Ji spoke like this:-

“When a Sikh dies, let there be no elaborate rituals (as were the customs then). Let the Guru Granth Sahib be recited followed by the singing of Guru’s hymns and Guru ka langar be prepared and distributed. Lastly, the final prayer (Ardas) should be offered as I have done on hearing of my father’s death.” This custom continues to this day.

After the final rites were over, Baba Budha placed before Guru Hargobind Ji a ‘Seli’, a headgear of woven woollen cord and a turban, as per the prevailing custom. Guru Hargobind ordered that the ‘Seli’ be deposited in the treasury as it did not suit the prevailing political conditions. He then requested Baba Budha thus,” my endeavour would be to fulfil your prophecy. My ‘Seli’ should be a sword belt and I shall wear my turban with a royal aigrette.” He then asked for two swords to be carried in the sword belt, representing miri and piri; one to sybolise spiritual power and the other, temporal. Thus, was born the concept and the tradition of miri and piri which continued right up to the tenth Guru.

Soon after this, he laid the foundation of the Akal Takhat and on its completion took his seat on it. His first proclamation was that his followers should bring good horses and weapons as gifts. He also built a small fort in Amritsar and named it Lohgarh. This fort played a significant part in the First Battle of Amritsar. It would be appropriate to say that he had the foresight to prepare for the times to come! At this stage, it would be pertinent to have a brief look at the conditions prevailing in Punjab at that time.

Situation in Punjab (Early 17^th Century)

In India of the early 17^th Century, two major religious classes existed side by side, i.e. the Hindus and Muslims. The Muslims or more appropriately the Mughals were the ruling class; hence, they were the privileged ones. Hindus had to suffer many indignities. For example, Jazia, the tax on Hindus was re-imposed and they had to pay the same even for visiting pilgrimage centres.

Guru Nanak and the subsequent Gurus had preached the concept of One God Almighty and a classless society where all were equal. There were many conversions to Sikhism from both, Hindus and Muslims. Hindus did not mind this but the orthodox Muslims felt offended and the qazis issued a blanket order to stop joining this new religion. It was around this time that Shahjahan became the Mughal Emperor by killing many of his relatives and he started encouraging orthodox Muslims giving rise to an environment of intolerance to other religions. This was more pronounced in Punjab where the people, both Hindus and Muslims were attracted to the teachings of the Sikh Gurus. The Mughals first destroyed Sikh religious places in Lahore and were now looking for an excuse to attack Amritsar itself.

Shahjahan succeeded Jehangir in 1627 and with that started the troubles with Guru Hargobind Sahib. In the next 7-8 years, Guru Hargobind Sahib had to fight four major battles and a few minor skirmishes with the Mughal forces. These are:-

1. Battle of Amritsar – May 1628
2. Battle of Sri Hargobindpur   – Sept 1630
3. Battle of Nathana – Mehraj    -Dec 1631
4. Battle of Kartarpur  – Apr 1635

Note:- Historians differ on the dates of these battles. I have taken the ones which are widely accepted. I am open to correction regarding the same.

First Battle – Battle of Amritsar – 1628

In 1628, it was time to perform the marriage of Veero, the eldest daughter of Guru Hargobind sahib. All arrangements for the marriage as per the custom, including sweets for the marriage feast were made. Emperor Shahjahan who at that time was camping at Lahore decided to go for Shikar near the jungles of Amritsar. As luck would have it, Guru Ji along with his party had also gone for Shikar in the same area. During the course of the hunt, the emperor’s white hawk which was a gift from the King of Iran was captured by the Sikhs. The Sikhs refused to accept the ownership of the hawk by the strangers and said that as per the custom of the land, whosoever caught a hawk, became the owner. The incident resulted in a skirmish and acted as a spark for the attack on Amritsar by the Mughal forces at a time when Guru Hargobind was busy with the arrangements for his daughter’s marriage.

The Emperor nominated his most trusted Commander Mukhlis Khan who was commanding an army of about 7,000 men. He was ordered to proceed to Amritsar at once, capture the Sikh Guru and bring him back to Lahore. The Sikhs in Lahore came to know of these developments and they sent a swift message to Guru Ji that Mukhlis Khan with an Army of 7,000 men was coming to arrest him.

Guru Ji received this message on the eve of the marriage. The time was at a premium and Guru Ji could only muster a force of about 700 men. He posted a small detachment of 25 Sikhs at the Lohgarh Fort which was on the direct approach from Lahore to Amritsar, in anticipation of the attack. Guru Ji, in consultation with his most trusted Commander Bhanu decided to fight the main battle outside the city to prevent the enemy from entering the houses and looting property. He further instructed that all the families of the Sikhs be moved out of the city to a safer place taking only the essentials with them. He further entrusted an elderly person, Bhai Niwala to move the marriage party consisting of women and children from Guru ka Mahal to a house near Ramsar on the outskirts of Amritsar. In the short time available, they were able to take with them only the expensive and essential items; all the food and sweets prepared for the marriage feast had to be left behind at the Guru Ka Mahal.

Mukhlis Khan with his army reached the outskirts of Amritsar after dark. They were confronted by the detachment of Sikhs at Lohgarh Fort. There was much confusion in the Mughal ranks as they had no idea of the strength of the Sikhs opposing them and their dispositions. They were delayed and could not enter the city. However, a few soldiers of the Mughal Army managed to enter the city and proceeded to the Guru Ka Mahal in search of Guru Hargobind Ji, but found it empty. They found the place where the food and sweets for the marriage had been stored and gorged to their fill.

The irony was that when the womenfolk reached Ramsar they discovered that the bride Veero was missing. Her rescue is a fascinating story by itself. Suffice to say that she was rescued from the upper storey of Guru Ka Mahal by two faithful Sikhs successfully and escorted to Ramsar where the rest of the family had taken shelter.

Guru Ji thought about the impending battle. He decided to send his family to Goindwal, a village on the banks of River Beas. The family and all the non-combatants of the city were to halt at Chabal, a town about 12 Km southwest of Amritsar. After the battle, Guru Ji planned to join them there and then they were to proceed to Goindwal for the marriage ceremony. He sent a small section of troops along for their protection.

The main body of the Mughal forces under Mukhlis Khan was still at Lohgarh and they were not aware of what was happening in the city. They were under the impression that the Guru had either been killed or had run away.

There still remained three hours of the night and Guru Ji decided to launch a surprise attack without waiting for the dawn. The Mughals were taken by total surprise. The Sikhs knew the area well, so they were able to inflict great losses on the Mughal army in the first encounter. The battle continued throughout the next day. Many senior commanders on both sides were killed. When Mukhlis Khan realised that they were losing the battle, he proposed to the Guru to make peace and surrender to the Emperor. Guru Ji spurned the offer saying that their fight was for a just cause.

The battle was resumed again with the Mughal forces making one last determined effort. After the last of the Mughal commanders had been killed, Mukhlis Khan himself decided to engage the Guru in combat. Guru Ji allowed Mukhlis Khan to strike the first two blows with his sword and having parried them, he made a fatal blow with his sword and severed Mukhlis Khan’s head. Finding themselves leaderless, the remnants of the Mughal forces fled from the battlefield. The battle had lasted for nine hours and Guruji’s victory was complete. On the Sikh’s side, Bidhi Chand and Painda Khan had particularly distinguished themselves. It may be mentioned that Painda Khan was a Pathan whom Guru Ji had brought him up from childhood.

The battle extended from Lohgarh Fort to a distance of about four miles to the South of Amritsar. The strength of the Sikh Army was estimated at around 700 (Max Arthur Macauliffe) and that of the Mughal forces at about 7,000. Many Muslims fought on the Guruji’s side also. It would be more appropriate to say that this was the first battle between the Imperial Mughal Army and the Sikhs. It also marked the beginning of armed resistance by the Sikhs against the Mughal Empire, a process that reached its culmination in the early years of the 19^th Century.

The Second Battle at Sri Hargobindpur – 1630

After the battle, Guru Ji shifted to Kartarpur. As the fame of Guru Ji spread people started coming to enlist under his banner. He soon reinforced his soldiers to make up the losses suffered in battle. He started training his soldiers in archery, firearms, swordsmanship, other weapons and in the science of war.

Guru Ji faced a fresh problem. His brave Pathan soldier, Painda Khan, whom he had brought up as his own child, started boasting that it was because of him that the battle of Amritsar had been won. When Guru Ji came to know that Painda Khan was no longer trustworthy, he decided to get him married and settle him down in the village by providing him a house and means of subsistence.

At this stage Guru Ji decided to move to a village called Ruhela, situated on the northern bank of River Beas which was thinly populated and had a lot of uninhabited area. He decided to build a new city here. The villagers were happy but the Chaudhri, named Bhagwan Das did not want the Guru to settle here. There was a conflict in which he was killed. The local people felt happy to be rid of the tyrant and welcomed Guru Ji. Soon the laying and construction of the new city commenced and it was named as ‘Sri Hargobindpur’ in honour of the Guru.

Rattan Chand, the son of the Chaudhri was not happy and vowed to kill the Guru. It so happened that Karam Chand, son of Chandu who had got Guru Arjan Dev Ji martyred was also a native of Ruhela and he too bore a grudge against the Guru Ji. The two of them (Rattan Chand and Karam Chand) together went to the Mughal Subedar of Jallandhar, named Abdulla Khan and complained about the Guru’s activities in the area, specially building of the new city. They convinced the Mughal Subedar that Guru’s army was an army of rag tags and if he could arrest the Guru and present him before the Mughal Emperor, he would be handsomely rewarded. Abdulla Khan fell in their trap and assembled an army of 10,000 troops to proceed against the Guru Ji.

Abdulla Khan divided his army into ten divisions of 1,000 men each under the command of various commanders; namely: Bairam Khan, Muhammad Khan, Balwand Khan, Ali Baksh who were to lead the main attack. He put 1,000 men each under the command of his two sons, Nabi Baksh and Karim Baksh, while keeping 2,000 men under his own command and another 1,000 men as his own bodyguards or may be as reserve.

When Guru Ji came to know about the assembling and move of the Mughal army, he summed up the situation by saying,” What pleaseth God is the best.” He too assembled his troops numbering about 3,700 and divided them into eight units of varying strengths as under:-

1. Bhai Jattu                                                                  – 2,000
2. Bhai Praga                                                                –    500
3. Bhai Mathura and Jagannath                                –    400 each
4. Bhai Kalyana, Nano, Shaktu and Paras Ram       –    100 each
5. Bhai Bidhi Chand, Jati Mal and Molak were retained as reserve commanders to be assigned troops and tasks as the battle developed.

When Abdulla Khan reached Sri Hargobindpur, he sent an envoy with a message that Guru Ji should leave the city or face the consequences. Guru Ji refused to comply and warned Abdulla that he was not seeking a fight but if Abdullah insisted on a fight, he would face destruction. The choice was his (Abdulla’s). Abdulla Khan had not come all the way to go back without achieving his aim. So, the stage was set for a battle. The Mughals attacked with Muhammad Khan in the lead and the battle raged to and fro for the whole day. Many commanders were killed on both sides but the Mughals had suffered greater losses. Abdulla Khan at this stage asked both Karan Chand and Rattan Chand to join the battle as he was falling short of commanders. He also ordered his eldest son, Nabi Baksh to enter the battlefield with his troops.

Guru Ji realised that the battle had reached a crucial stage. So, he decided to enter the field. His entry into the battle was a great morale booster for his troops but at the same time it caused great panic amongst the enemy. In the fighting that followed, Abdulla Khan’s eldest son Nabi Baksh was killed. This brought Rattan Chand, Karam Chand, Abdullah himself and his younger son Karim Baksh into the battle as Abdulla had ordered a general advance as a final effort to kill or capture Guru Ji. There were about two hours of daylight left. In the ‘no holds barred’ battle that followed, all four were killed, Abdulla, Rattan Chand, Karam Chand and Karim Baksh at the hands of the Guru himself. With all their leaders killed, the remaining Mughal army just melted way in the dark. The Sikhs had secured a great victory. Guru Ji accompanied by Bhai Bidhi Chand went around the battlefield with a mashal and tended to the wounded. Next day, all the dead bodies, including that of the enemy were collected, covered with shrouds and cremated as per the custom.

When the Mughal Emperor learnt of the foolish deed of his Subedar of Jallandhar, he was furious. This was the second defeat that the Imperial Army had suffered within a short period from Sikhs. He ordered that all the properties of the Subedar be confiscated. Though the losses suffered by the Sikhs too were great but then they realised that under the leadership of Guru Ji, they could face the Imperial Army and defeat it. As a result, more brave men started coming forward to join the Guru Ji’s army.

Third Battle at Nathana – Mehraj in 1631

Guru Ji realised that Emperor Shahjahan would surely retaliate since his troops had been mauled twice and many of his commanders had been killed. So, he (Guru Ji) decided that the next battle would be fought in the Malwa region, around Bhatinda, also known as the Lakhi jungle where the wild and unchartered nature of the country and shortage of water would make pursuit difficult. He spent the next eight months in Malwa, travelling, preaching and building his own army. The earlier two battles had been forced on the Guru Ji and he had little time to plan his strategy. However, Guru Ji was able to foresee the inevitability of the third battle and thus was able to select the area and plan his strategy which we shall presently see.

When Emperor Shah Jahan, on his way back from Kashmir, stopped at Lahore, the Sikhs got worried! Guru Ji knew that it would be a decisive battle and that he would face a large Mughal army. He decided to give this battle in the under developed terrain of Bhatinda with hardly any water sources. He moved his family to Kartarpur near Kapurthala and instructed his eldest son, Baba Gurditta to escort them. He also handed over the ‘Bir’ of Granth Sahib which he had kept with him all along to be taken back to Kartarpur.

What then was the spark for the third battle? Guru Ji had sent two of his envoys, Bakhat Mal and Tara Chand to collect donations (daswand) from Kabul. Approximately, 1,000 Sikhs from Kabul accompanied his two envoys on their return journey to pay homage to Guru Ji. They brought numerous offerings and knowing Guru’s love for horses, they also brought along two horses of unsurpassed beauty. While crossing Lahore, these horses named, Dilbagh and Gulbagh were forcibly seized by Subedar Kasim Beg, the Governor of Punjab. His followers from Kabul were greatly distressed that they were not able to deliver their gift of the horses to their Guru.

Guru Ji decided that these horses which were meant for him, should somehow be brought back. He knew, it was a difficult task. Bhai Bidhi Chand rose to the occasion and accepted the challenge in all humility. How he accomplished the near impossible task is a long story. It would suffice to say that over the next two months or so, Bhai Bidhi Chand managed to rescue both the horses and delivered these to the Guru. When the Mughal Emperor came to know that the horses had been taken away from right under his nose, all hell broke loose. It was now a matter of days before the might of the Mughal Empire would descend on the Sikhs!

The Emperor was thinking of leading his forces himself but he was persuaded by Wazir Khan not to do so. Instead, Lala Beg, a high ranking commander of the Imperial Army was nominated for the mission to punish the Guru and the Sikhs. Lala Beg’s brother, Qatar Beg with his two sons, Passim Beg and Shamas Beg, and his nephew, Kabuli Beg, also volunteered for the mission. As per the tradition, the Emperor presented them with the robes of honour and put Lala Beg in command of 35.000 men. He further ordered them to proceed at once and bring back the Guru in chains along with the horses. The dice for the impending battle was now cast.

Guru Ji came to know about the Emperor’s orders through Bhai Bohra, an informer from Lahore. He started searching for a suitable location from where he would be able to defend himself. Rai Jodh, a Muslim devotee suggested the area of Nathana – Mehraj near Bhatinda which are separated by about five miles and have a water tank at each of these places. Besides these two water tanks, no water was available in a radius of thirty miles. The area is marked with a jungle of thorny scrub and sand dunes which makes passage for large body of troops difficult. Guru Ji planned to ‘set himself up for battle’ in this area and take control of the water tanks so as to deny the same to the enemy. A sound strategy indeed!

When devoted Sikhs heard about Guru ji’s impending battle with the Imperial Army, the brave people from Malwa Region started joining the Guru’s Army in large numbers. Notably, Bhai Bhagta, Behlo, Bhagtu, Bhopa and Sarna, to name a few, brought large numbers of brave men along with horses, weapons and more importantly, rations as the area was sparsely populated and devoid of local resources. Within a few days of the receipt of the news about the Imperial Army, Guru Ji was able to assemble a force of about 3000 men.

Guru Ji appointed Bhai Rupa in charge of rations and he ensured that all the men got hot food and milk in plenty. He made arrangements for food to be delivered at various outposts by bullock carts. The two water tanks were also secured. As it was a bitterly cold winter, arrangements were made to collect a lot of firewood and cow-dung cakes to keep the troops warm. Since there were no defined tracks, troops were made familiar with the area so that they could move without getting lost. As soon as Gutu Ji got news about the departure of the Imperial Army, he occupied the defensive positions.

On the other hand, the Imperial Army, after crossing Sutlej, rested for a while. On the way, Rajputs from Rai de Kot and Ranghars from Halwara joined the Imperial Army. Lala Beg, the Commander of the Imperial Army sent a spy named Hasan Khan to collect information about Sikh strength and dispositions. Hasan Khan was caught red handed but Guru Ji, instead of putting him to death, ordered him to be released. He also provided valuable information about the Imperial Army. On his return to the Imperial Army, he apprised Lala Beg about all that he had observed and inadvertently also praised the Sikh troops. This annoyed Lala Beg no end. Hasan Khan was beaten and dismissed. On being ill-treated, he decided to go back to Guru Ji and became a valuable source of information during the battle. Later, he also became Governor of Kabul.

Lala Beg decided to capture the two water points in the initial phase of the battle and deputed Qamar Beg with about 7,000 troops for the same. They attacked at the end of days march as it was getting dark and the Imperial Army was in dire need of water. Sikhs were ready and caused a great number of casualties in this first engagement. Qamar Beg gave orders for retreat but the retreating troops ran into the following up troops of the Imperial Army. Due to darkness, there was utter confusion amongst the Mughal ranks and they fought each other for better part of the night. In the melee, Qamar Beg, the commander was also killed. When the day dawned, Lala Beg could see heaps of dead of his forces. Time does not permit me to go into a blow by blow account of the battle. Let me go straight to the final stages of the battle.

Having seen most of his commanders killed, Lala Beg advanced with about 3,000 men towards Guru Ji. He was confronted by Bhai Jati Mal but in the ensuing battle he was killed. Seeing Bhai Jati Mal fall, Guru Ji decided to enter the battlefield. Guru Ji shot an arrow which killed Lala Beg’s horse. Seeing his adversary on the ground, Guru Ji also dismounted and engaged Lala Beg in a sword duel. Having Parried Lala Beg’s attack, Guru Ji struck a fatal blow with his sword severing Lala Beg’s head.

Kabuli Beg, the Chief’s sister’s son was the only surviving commander left in the Imperial Army. He collected all his troops and launched a desperate effort with full force. The battle was fought with full fury on both sides. Three of the Sikh commanders were wounded. One of his arrows killed Guru Ji’s famous horse Gulbagh. Guru ji in retaliation managed to kill Kabuli Beg’s horse. Now they were both on the ground engaged in mortal combat. Guru Ji managed to parry repeated strokes by Kabuli Beg and eventually beheaded him by a powerful blow with his sword. Thus ended the famous battle of Nathana – Mehraj. The surviving troops of the Imperial Army fled from the battlefield. Guru Ji gave orders not to chase the fleeing troops as he was a firm believer of not attacking those who had left the battlefield.

Hasan Khan went back to Lahore and gave the bad news of the defeat of the Imperial forces and killing of all the commanders to Emperor Shah Jahan. The battle which started around midnight had lasted for about 18 hours and the Imperial Army was completely routed. The wounded of the Imperial Army were also well attended and given an allowance, and allowed to return to Lahore when they recovered. This would show the humanitarian spirit and magnanimity of the Guru Ji which he demonstrated time and again while dealing with his enemies. The Sikh Army too lost 1273 troops, that is almost 40 percent of its strength. The place where the battle took place is now called Gurusar and it is now a pilgrimage centre for Sikhs. It is near the village of Nathana, about three miles from Rampura Phul railway station on the Bhatinda – Dhuri section of the northern railway. Guru Ji spent about 21 days in the area after the battle.

The Fourth Battle at Kartarpur – 1635

Kartarpur is situated on the main Grand Trunk (GT) road and is approximately 20 Km from Jallandhar, 60 Km from Amritsar and 11 Km from Kapurthala. The foundation stone for this city was laid by Guru Arjan Dev Ji, the fifth Sikh Guru, also the father of Guru Hargobind Sahib.

Guru Hargobind had become a champion of the people of Punjab and an irreconcilable foe of the Mughal Empire. He knew that the Mughals would try to take revenge for the humiliation they had suffered at Nathana – Mehraj, so he started adding fresh troops and training them methodically. For example, four hundred Brar Sikhs from Malwa came to join his army and so did many brave people from other regions of Punjab. Guru Ji was also busy in the marriage ceremony of his son, Teg Bahadur Ji (the ninth Sikh Guru) who was married to Mata Gujari with great rejoicing at Kartarpur.

The chain of events leading to the decision by the Mughal Emperor to undertake this military expedition against Guru Ji is rather long. Suffice to say, it was Painda Khan whom Guru Ji had brought up as his own child and bestowed many honour on him; with the help of Qutab Khan, the new Governor at Jallandhar had managed to convince the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan to undertake yet another military venture against Guru Hargobind Sahib.

An army of 50,000 under Kale Khan, the Governor of Peshawar was to capture Guru Ji and present him before the Emperor. Kale Khan had volunteered for the mission as he bore a personal grudge against Guru Ji. His brother Mukhlis Khan had been killed by the Guru Ji during the first battle of Amritsar. Other commanders under Kale Khan were: Anwar Khan Khoja, a friend of Abdullah Khan (killed in the second battle of Sri Hargobindpur), Jaffer Beg, son of Lala Beg (killed in the third battle at Nathana – Mehraj) and Qutab Khan, the present Governor of Jallandhar. It will be seen that all the Mughal commanders had their personal grudges against Guru Ji to be part of this military venture. Painda Khan and his son-in law Aasman Khan were to assist them.

Kale Khan with his army crossed the river Beas and proceeded to Jallandhar where they encamped for a few days. During this period, they sent Anwar Khan as an emissary to Guru Ji to ascertain whether the Guru would confront them or make peace at their terms which meant he would surrender.

In the meantime, Guru Ji had also received the information from his sources about the massing of the Mughal force that was planning to march against him. At this time, he had about 1800 troops only. He sent messages far and wide, and more devotees began to arrive to help him.

The emissary Anwar Khan returned empty handed and gave a grim picture of the strength and the quality of Guru Ji’s troops. Encouraged by this report, Kale Khan decided to attack immediately. There were no major obstacles in and around Kartarpur, and there was no fort to defend. It was just plain countryside. The Imperial Army decided to attack the city from all four sides; Qutab Khan with 10,000 troops from the East, Anwar Khan with another 10,000 troops from the South, Painda Khan from the West and Kale Khan with the main force from the North.

Guru Ji’s forces were organised under the command of Bhai Bidhi Chand along with Jati Mal, Mehar Chand and Bhai Lakhu, each having about 500 men.

Time does not permit to go into the ups and downs of the battle, so I will mention only a few salient points. Kale Khan had told his troops that the Guru hardly had any army and victory was theirs. They could plunder Kartarpur to their heart’s content. Hence, Mughal Army expected a quick victory and had attacked at night itself without a coordinated plan. In the first attack itself, they lost about 12,000 men with negligible losses to the Sikhs. The battle continued throughout the night and the morning found the Mughal Army greatly decimated and in disarray. At this stage, Painda Khan along with his son-in-lar Aasman Khan volunteered to enter the battle and capture the Guru. He was to die at the Guru’s hands in the battle. His son-in law was killed in another combat with Guru Ji’s eldest son Guruditta later in the day.

Finally, Kale Khan in a desperate bid collected the remnants of his force and made a determined bid to kill or capture the Guru. Guru Ji engaged him in one to one combat and after a prolonged sword fight managed to behead him with his double edged scimitar. With the commander’s death the Imperial Army fled from the battlefield. The Sikhs under Guru Ji had secured yet another decisive victory against a vastly superior Imperial Army. The Sikh losses were about 700 killed. You can well imagine the feeling of shock and despondency which the Emperor must have felt as the news of yet another defeat reached him. As per historical records available, this battle was fought on 27-28 April 1635.

This was the last battle that Guru Ji fought against the mighty Mughal Emperor. Guru Ji realised that it would be better if he stayed away from the plains of Punjab and retired towards the hills. He spent the rest of his life at Kiratpur in the hill state of Bilaspur and passed away on 19 Mar 1644 at the age, a few months short of 49 years.

Guru Ji as a Military Leader

Apart from being a spiritual leader, Guru Hargobind Ji was also a great General. Based on the battles which he fought during his lifetime, and he won them all, I will summarise a few of his qualities as a military leader:

1. Great importance to administration.
2. Arming and training of his troops. All his troops were mounted.
3. He fought only to defend himself and never sought battle till it was forced on him.
4. Most of his battles were over in about 24 hours with the enemy defeated decisively.
5. He never carried out pursuit of the retreating enemy as a matter of policy.
6. He had the mental resilience to withstand the shocks of war, especially when faced with superior numbers.
7. He had devised an excellent system for intelligence about the enemy and was therefore, never surprised.
8. He had great physical courage and was well versed in the use of weapons which were in use those days. His use of ‘falchion’ and ‘scimitar’ were deadly in close quarter combat.  He was of extremely strong build and a superb horseman.
9. He knew when to enter the battlefield. It would be at the decisive stage of the battle and his entry would raise the morale of his troops. In all the four battles, he ended up fighting the enemy commanders in mortal combat. In the third battle of Nathana, his horse Gulbagh was killed. So, Guru Ji fought his opponent Lala Beg dismounted and still got the better of him.

Conclusion

Guru Hargobind Sahib adopted the concept of Piri and Miri and practised it in letter and spirit. He always fought for justice and righteousness of his cause. He never initiated a conflict but once he knew that a battle was imminent, he would prepare for it most meticulously and not panic, even when faced by a vastly superior enemy. He understood what war meant and was always victorious. By all standards, he was a great spiritual and military leader of his times.

About the Author

Major General Sandhu retired from the Army after 37 years of service on 31 July 2003.  Post retirement, he worked as Deputy Director and Editor at the United Service Institution of India (USI) from 2007 – 2016. He was also the Honorary Director of Gyan Chakra, a think tank established by HQ Western Command from January – August 2019.

He led a USI delegation to China in 2013 at the invitation of the China Institute for International Strategic Studies (CIISS).

He has done extensive research on India’s wars since Independence. He has contributed to and edited a USI Study titled “1962 – A View from Other Side of the Hill” which was released in 2015. He is a keen student of Military History,  Geo-politics and Strategy.