 Painting of Guru Gobind Singh and Sahibzada Ajit Singh mounted atop of an elephant, circa late 17th to early 18th century | |
| Died | 1705 Anandpur |
|---|---|
| Cause of death | Mercy killing |
| Owner | Guru Gobind Singh |
Prasadi, also known as Prasadi Hathi, was an elephant that belonged to Guru Gobind Singh which was celebrated in the Sikh court. [1] [2] The elephant possessed notable white-streaks on certain areas of its body and could perform many tricks. [1]
Sikh sources claim that a man named Ram Rai had served Guru Tegh Bahadur whilst he was travelling in Assam in the mid-1660's. [1] Ram Rai, whom was childless, would eventually be blessed by the Sikh guru. [1] [2] After the blessing of Guru Tegh Bahadur, Ram Rai had a son named Ratan Rai (also known as Rattan Chand), who would become a zamindar of Assam. [1] [2] [3] : 716 When Ratan Rai became an adult, he learnt that Guru Tegh Bahadur had been succeeded by his son, Guru Gobind Singh. [1] Wishing to see the guru, Ratan Rai travelled to Anandpur to pay tribute to the Sikh guru. [1] Ratan Rai came bearing gifts to bestow to the Sikh guru, these gifts included a young and trained elephant, five horses whom belonged to a rare breed, and a five-in-one weapon (a contraption that contained a pistol, sword, lance, dagger, and a club). [1] [2] Other gifts included a special throne, a drinking cup, and jewels. [2] Thus, the young elephant was gifted to Guru Gobind Singh by the Assamese chief. [1] Sikh accounts claim the Assamese chief requested that Guru Gobind Singh never let go of possessing the elephant. [2]
Kavi Santokh Singh's Suraj Prakash narrates that Guru Gobind Singh named the young elephant Prasadi. [1] Prasadi had distinguishing characteristics, its head bore a round, white mark (like a tilak) and there were white-streaks running along its trunk and back. [1] [4] Prasadi also knew tricks, such as saluting the guru, washing the guru's feet, applying a saffron mark on the guru's forehead, waving a fly-whisk or fan (chaur sahib) over the guru, escort the guru at night whilst holding a torch in its trunk, and it also could retrieve arrows that had been fired by the guru. [1]
Fame of the elephant grew in the Punjabi Hills region and the raja of Kahlur State, Bhim Chand, drew jealous of the guru's possession of such a well-trained beast, after witnessing the animal during a visit to the guru. [1] Whilst visiting the guru, Prasadi, elaborately decorated, was displayed before Bhim Chand, who was seated under an expensive Kabuli tent that had been gifted by Duni Chand, a Sikh from Afghanistan. [2] Bhim Chand attempted to obtain the elephant through scheming, by requesting the guru lend him the elephant for the purpose of displaying it during his son's, Ajmer Chand, wedding. [1] [2] According to Kesar Singh Chibber's account of the events, the Sikh guru replied that Prasadi was originally a gift and gifts should not be loaned-out. [5] The Sikh guru was aware that this was a ploy of Bhim Chand in-order to gain permanent possession of Prasadi. [6] After his non-military attempts at taking possession of the elephant failed, Bhim Chand eventually launched a military attack on the guru at Anandpur over the matter of the elephant. [1] Bhim Chand's attack failed to gain possession of Prasadi. [1]
Guru Gobind Singh utilized Prasadi in his battles. [3] : 716 However, Prasadi was not the only elephant possessed by the Sikh guru, another elephant had been donated by the local Sikh congregants (sangat) of Dhaka to the guru. [3] : 716
According to the Gurbilas Dasvin Patshahi by Sukha Singh, Prasadi became emaciated during the 1705 siege of Anandpur and eventually was killed by the Sikhs on the order of the guru to end the animal's suffering. [1] Some sources claim that the drunken elephant slain by Bachittar Singh at Lohgarh Fort was Prasadi. [3] : 816–817
Vir Singh's 1925 work, Sri Guru Kalgidhar Chamatkar, contains the tale of Prasadi, describing the elephant as "jet black animal whose forehead was white like ivory". [7]
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.
Guru Tegh Bahadur was the ninth of ten gurus who founded the Sikh religion and was the leader of Sikhs from 1665 until his beheading in 1675. He was born in Amritsar, Punjab, India in 1621 and was the youngest son of Guru Hargobind, the sixth Sikh guru. Considered a principled and fearless warrior, he was a learned spiritual scholar and a poet whose 115 hymns are included in the Guru Granth Sahib, which is the main text of Sikhism.
The following outline is provides an overview of Sikhism, or Sikhi.
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.
Panj Pyare refers to a gathered ad hoc quintet of five baptised (Amritdhari) Khalsa Sikhs who act as institutionalized leaders for the wider Sikh community.
Kesgarh Qila or Takht Kesgarh Sahib, alternatively spelt as Keshgarh Qila, is one of the five takhts of the Sikhs located in Anandpur Sahib in Rupnagar district of Punjab, India. It is located just 40 km from Rupnagar city, the district headquarters and 78 km from state capital Chandigarh. The fort is also called Takhat Keshgarh Sahib. This Gurdwara was one of the forts constructed by Guru Gobind Singh at Anandpur Sahib for the defense of the Sikhs. He spent his 25 years at Anandpur Sahib and, to protect the Sikhs from the Rajas of the Hill States and Mughals, began the construction of five defensive Qilas (forts) all around the town.
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.
Bhai Dayala, also known as Bhai Dayal Das, was an early martyr of Sikhism. He was boiled alongside his Sikh companions Bhai Mati Das and Bhai Sati Das and the Ninth Guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur.
Sodhi is a clan of Khatris and Jatts originated from the Indian Punjab.
Bhai Sati Das along with his elder brother Bhai Mati Das were martyrs of early Sikh history. Bhai Sati Das, Bhai Mati Das and Bhai Dyal Das were all executed at kotwali (police-station) in the Chandni Chowk area of Delhi, under the express orders of emperor Aurangzeb just prior to the martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur. Bhai Sati Das was executed by the means of being wrapped in cotton wool soaked in oil and set on fire.
The Battle of Bhangani was fought between Guru Gobind Singh's army and Bhim Chand (Kahlur) of Bilaspur on 18 September 1686 or 1688, at Bhangani near Paonta Sahib. An alliance of Rajput Rajas of the Shivalik Hills participated in the engagement on behalf of Bhim Chand of Bilaspur State's side, including the states of Garhwal and Kangra. It was the first battle Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru, fought at the age of 19.
Baba Jiwan Singh was a Sikh general and companion of Guru Gobind Singh.
Kiratpur, also known as Kiratpur Sahib, is a town, just 30 km from Rupnagar city in Rupnagar district of Punjab, India. The town is the location of the Gurdwara Patal Puri where many Sikhs take ashes of their deceased.
The first siege of Anandpur was a thirty-five-day-long siege at Anandpur led by the Rajas of the Sivalik Hills and the Gujar and Ranghar tribesmen against the armies of the Sikh under Guru Gobind Singh.
The Akal Sena was the Sikh military force established by the sixth Sikh Guru, Guru Hargobind. It was the first standing Sikh army. It was also known as the Akali Dal.
The Battle of Anandpur was fought by the Sikh forces led by Guru Gobind Singh and the Kahlur forces led by Bhim Chand. This was also the first battle fought by Guru Gobind Singh.
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.
The Battle of Anandpur (1685) was fought between the Sikhs and an allied force of rajas of the Hill States of the Sivalik range, specifically Kahlur, Kangra, and Guler.
Kavi Darbar is a term that refers to historical Sikh durbars (courts) composed of congregations of poets, litterateurs, artists, and scholars that were established and had flourished during the guruship period of Guru Gobind Singh in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. These establishments served as Sikh centres of learning and scholarship. They played a pivotal role in the history of Sikh literature.
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