Painting of Kashmiri Pandits Seek Help From Guru Tegh Bahadur

KASHMIRI  PANDITS  SEEK  HELP  FROM GURU TEGH BAHADUR

Zindagi aap ki inaayat hai

Varna hum Kab ke mar gaye hotay..

(जिन्दगी आप की इनायत है

वरणा हम कब के मर गए होते।)

(Our existence is a boon that you granted us , Else, we would have been finished  long back)

Iftikhar Khan ruled Kashmir from 1671 to 1675. He was the cruelest governor sent to Kashmir during the tyrannical rule of Aurangzeb.Aurangzeb was very eager to convert India, “the land of the infidels into the land of the faithfuls”. 

Iftikhar Khan used  ruthless force  to convert Kashmiri Pandits to Islam. Faced with  grave threats from all sides , Kashmiri Pandits started leaving  Kashmir to save their lives ,honour and Dharma. History and many Sikh scriptures inform us that there was a heap of a maund and quarter of Janeus (sacred threads) of the Pandits who had embraced Islam under the ruthless orders  of Iftikhar Khan. Further ,it is also mentioned in many books  that the embankment of Dal Lake was created from the sacred scriptures and religious books of Kashmiri Pandits who were forcibly converted  .

Tortured and suppressed , On May 25,1675, about 500 Kashmiri Pandits led by Pandit Kirpa Ram Dutt of Mattan went to  Anandpur Sahib to seek help from Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji. 

 The Guru was moved by their painful stories.  He  told them that their woes would end if some truthful and saintly person  offers himself for sacrifice.At that moment,  Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji's  son, Gobind Singh Ji , who was  nine years old, said; ”Who else can be more truthful and saintly  than you! You alone can protect the Hindu religion and help these troubled people ” Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji was delighted  to hear the brave words of his son. He told the Kashmiri Pandits to meet   Aurangzeb and tell him  that if he can  convert the Guru to Islam, they would gladly follow him. 

Aurangzeb summoned the Guru  and tortured him for his refusal to convert to Islam.The Guru remained steadfast in his conviction  and Dharma . Unable to change Guru's faith,  Aurangzeb ordered the killing of the pious and saintly Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji. On November 11, 1675, Guru Tegh Bahadur attained martyrdom at Chandi Chowk, Delhi. Gurdwara Sees-ganj Sahib has been built at the spot to commemorate his martyrdom. Three of the Guru’s devotees, Bhai Mati Das, Bhai Sati Das and Bhai Dayala, were   tortured to death a day earlier on the very spot on which the Guru was martyred.

Guru Tegh Bahadur’s martyrdom is an event of greatest importance . He attained martyrdom for  the protection of  Dharma.

How Guru Gobind Singh Ji later formed KHALSA and led a firm resistance against Mughals is a glorious chapter in the Sikh and Hindu history of the country. 

Pandit Kirpa Ram Dutt  became Kirpa singh and sacrificed his life in the historic battle of Chamkaur sahib when he joined  Sikh  soldiers of  Guru Gobind Singh Ji . Sanmukh Singh ( Sanmukh Ram Dutt younger brother of Kirpa Ram ) was another martyar in the battle of Chamkaur Sahib. Both the brothers stayed at Anandpur Sahib Sahib after the martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji.Pandit  Kripa Ram taught Sanskrit to young Gobind Singh Ji.

This painting is my humble tribute to the supreme  sacrifice of  Shree Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji.

Soora so pehchaaniye ladde deen ke hait

Purza purza kat marey kab hu na chhade khait.

(सूरा सो पहचानिए लडे दीन के हेत।

पुर्जा-पुर्जा कट मरे कबहूँ ना छडे खेत।।)

( Guru Gobind Singh Ji)

He alone is known as a warrior, who fights for the rights  of the oppressed .

His body may be cut apart, piece by piece, but he never leaves the battle field .