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Guru Hargobind

Type Figure Region Punjab Time 1595–1644 Also known as Hargobind、Sixth Sikh Guru

Guru Hargobind (1595-1644) was the sixth Sikh Guru. After his father Arjan was executed by the Mughals in 1606, he used the twin swords of 'miri-piri…

Timeline

  1. 1595–1606Guru Ki Wadali · AmritsarGrew up around Amritsar. After his father was executed by Jahangir in 1606, he succeeded as Guru at eleven. At the installation ceremony he wore twin swords symbolizing temporal power and spiritual authority, and the Sikh community entered the stage of armed self-defense.
  2. 1606–1619Akal Takht, Amritsar · AmritsarHe built the Akal Takht beside the Golden Temple as a throne for handling both spiritual and temporal affairs, and constructed Lohgarh fort and organized the Akal army. Jahangir at one point imprisoned him in Gwalior Fort; after release the armed system was already in place.
  3. 1628–1635Amritsar · AmritsarOn acceding, Shah Jahan intensified pressure on Sikh arms. Hargobind repeatedly repelled Mughal local forces at Amritsar and elsewhere, shattering the myth of imperial invincibility, and led his followers northeast to evade pursuit.
  4. 1635–1644Kiratpur · RupnagarAfter crossing the Sutlej he made Kiratpur his center of preaching and residence, spending his last decade or so there. Before dying in 1644 he designated his grandson Har Rai as seventh Guru; his son Tegh Bahadur later became the ninth Guru.

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