Battle of Sarsa | |||||||
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Part of Mughal-Sikh Wars and Hill States-Sikh Wars | |||||||
Parivar Vichora gurdwara | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Khalsa (Sikhs) | Alliance of Hill Rajas, led by Kahlur | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Guru Gobind Singh Bhai Jiwan Singh † Bhai Udai Singh † Bhai Mani Singh Ajit Singh | Wazir Khan (Sirhind) Raja Ajmer Chand General Khawaja Mohammed General Nahar Khan Governor Zabardast Khan | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
400–500 [2] | Unknown | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
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The Battle of Sarsa was fought in 21 December 1704 [3] between the Khalsa and the Mughal Empire.
Guru Gobind Singh's family got separated and Mani Singh, along with other Sikhs, took Mata Sundar Kaur and Mata Sahib Kaur to Delhi, whereas Guru Gobind Singh, the Panj Piare, Ajit Singh, Jujhar Singh and a handful of Sikh warriors went to Chamkaur for the last stand.[ citation needed ]
Even as Mughal General Wazir Khan promised Guru Gobind Singh safe passage after the siege of Anandpur, he still pursued the survivors. At Shahi Tibbi, Jiwan Singh was killed and the Sikhs were destroyed while crossing the Sarsa River, with Guru Gobind Singh's two younger sons, Zorawar Singh and Fateh Singh being captured and later extrajudicially executed. Gobind was defeated the next day at Chamkaur. [3]
Guru Gobind Singh was the tenth and last human Sikh Guru. He was a warrior, poet, and philosopher. In 1675, at the age of nine he was formally installed as the leader of the Sikhs after his father Guru Tegh Bahadur was executed by Emperor Aurangzeb. His father was the ninth Sikh Guru. His four biological sons died during his lifetime – two in battle and two executed by the Mughal governor Wazir Khan.
Dal Khalsa was the name of the combined military forces of 11 Sikh misls that operated in the 18th century (1748–1799) in the Punjab region. It was established by Nawab Kapur Singh in late 1740s.
Anandpur Sahib, also referred simply as Anandpur, is a city in Rupnagar district (Ropar), on the edge of Shivalik Hills, in the Indian state of Punjab. Located near the Sutlej River, the city is one of the most sacred religious places in Sikhism, being the place where the last two Sikh Gurus, Guru Tegh Bahadur and Guru Gobind Singh, lived. It is also the place where Guru Gobind Singh founded the Khalsa Panth in 1699. The city is home to Takhat Sri Kesgarh Sahib, the third of the five Takhts in Sikhism.
The Takht Sri Darbar Sahib Damdama Sahib, is one of the five takhts or Seat of Temporal Authority of Sikhism, located in Talwandi Sabo, near the city of Bathinda in Bathinda district of Punjab, India. At this place Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru, prepared the full version of the Sikh scriptures called Sri Guru Granth Sahib in 1705. The other four Takhts are the Akal Takht, Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib, Takht Sri Patna Sahib and Takht Sri Hazur Sahib.
Bhai Mani Singh was an 18th-century Sikh scholar and martyr. He was a childhood companion of Guru Gobind Singh and took the vows of Sikhism when the Guru inaugurated the Khalsa in March 1699. Soon after that, the Guru sent him to Amritsar to take charge of Harmandir Sahib, which had been without a custodian since 1696. He took control and steered the course of Sikh destiny at a critical stage in Sikh history. He was also a teacher of the Gianian Bunga, later becoming known as the "Amritsari Taksal", currently located in Sato Ki Gali.
Mata Gujri, also spelt as Mata Gujari, was the wife of Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Guru of Sikhism, and the mother of Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Guru of Sikhism. She played a central role in the history of Sikhism and is one of the four consorts bestowed with the title of Guru-Mahal.
Zorawar Singh, alternatively spelt as Jorawar Singh, was a son of Guru Gobind Singh who was executed in the court of Wazir Khan, the Mughal Governor of Sirhind.
Ajit Singh, also referred to with honorifics as Sahibzada Ajit Singh or Baba Ajit Singh, was the eldest son of Guru Gobind Singh and the son of Mata Sundari. His younger brothers were Jujhar Singh, Zorawar Singh and Fateh Singh, but they had been born to Mata Jito. He was killed in the Second Battle of Chamkaur along with his brother Jujhar Singh. His other two brothers, Zorawar Singh and Fateh Singh, nine and seven years old, respectively, were bricked alive at Fatehgarh Sahib on order of Wazir Khan, governor of Sirhind-Fategarh.
Mai Bhago also known as Mata Bhag Kaur, was a Sikh woman who led Sikh soldiers against the Mughals in 1705. She was an exceptionally skilled warrior on the battlefield and is revered as a warrior saint in Sikhism. She was known for rallying the 40 Sikhs who abandoned Guru Gobind Singh at the siege of Anandpur Sahib and bringing them back to fight.
The Battle of Chamkaur, also known as Battle of Chamkaur Sahib or the Second battle of Chamkaur, was fought between the Khalsa, led by Guru Gobind Singh, and the coalition forces of the Mughals led by Wazir Khan and of Hindu hill chief. Guru Gobind Singh makes a reference to this battle in his letter Zafarnama.
The Battle of Anandpur was fought at Anandpur, between the armies of the Sikh Guru Gobind Singh and the Mughal forces aided by the Nawab of Bahawalpur state, Rajas of the Sivalik Hills.
The second siege of Anandpur, also known as the second battle of Anandpur (1704), was a siege at Anandpur, between Sikhs and the Mughal governors, dispatched by Aurangzeb, Wazir Khan, Dilwaar Kahn and Zaberdast Khan, and aided by the vassal Rajas of the Sivalik Hills which lasted from May 1704 to 19 December 1704.
The Saka Sirhindor the Chhotte Sahibzada Saka refers to the killing and martyrdom (Shaheedi) of the two sons of Guru Gobind Singh, named Zorawar Singh and Fateh Singh. The two Sikh children are remembered as the Chhotte Sahibzade. They are believed to have attained martyrdom on 26 December 1704 at the ages of 5(or 6) and 9 respectively. In remembrance of this occasion, the Shaheedi Jor Mela is organised annually at Fatehgarh Sahib Punjab, India, to commemorate the supreme sacrifice at the place of their martyrdom on the 24th to 26 December.
The Battle of Sri Muktsar Sahib(Muktsar) or Battle of Khidrāne Dee Dhāb took place on 29 December 1705, (29 Poh) following the siege of Anandpur Sahib. In 1704, Anandpur Sahib was under an extended siege by the allied forces of the Mughals and the Hill States of Shivalik.
Baba Jiwan Singh was a Sikh general and companion of Guru Gobind Singh.
The First Battle of Anandpur in 1704 was fought between the Mughal Empire and the Sikhs.
Sangat Singh was a Sikh warrior and martyr of Battle of Chamkaur.
The First battle of Chamkaur was fought in 1702 between the Sikhs and the Mughals. It resulted in a Sikh victory and the Mughal General Sayyad Beg defecting to the Sikhs with some troops.
The Khalsa Fauj were the military forces of the Khalsa order of the Sikhs, established by the tenth guru, Guru Gobind Singh, in 1699. It replaced the Akal Sena that had been established by the sixth guru, Guru Hargobind.
The Hill States–Sikh wars, also known as the Sikh–Pahari Raja wars, was a set of battles and conflicts fought by the Sikhs and the rajas (kings) of the Hill States located in the Sivalik Hills.