Guru Tegh Bahadur: journeys, poetry and freedom of conscience

From Amritsar and Bakala to the Guruship

Tegh Bahadur was born at Amritsar in 1621, the son of Hargobind and Nanaki. A. C. Banerjee’s encyclopaedia account places him later at Kiratpur and Bakala, with his wife Gujri and mother. He became the ninth Guru in 1664. His responsibilities included maintaining relationships with distant congregations through representatives and hukamnamas, the Guru’s written directions. The account thus describes active leadership alongside his reputation for contemplation.[1]

A new settlement and connections to the east

The SGPC connects him with founding Chakk Nanaki in 1665, named for his mother and later known as Anandpur. It also describes journeys through northern India towards Patna, Dhaka and Assam, renewing congregations and establishing preaching centres. Gobind, his son and future successor, was born at Patna in 1666. These journeys place the Punjab community within a much wider geography of teaching and family relationships.[2]

A distinctive voice within the scripture

Banerjee identifies fifty-nine shabads and fifty-seven slokas in Tegh Bahadur’s contribution to the Guru Granth Sahib. His account describes restrained Braj diction and a sustained reflection on the limits of human life. Remembrance of the divine Name and liberation are central concerns. The poetry does not advocate permanent withdrawal from life: human existence is treated as an opportunity for spiritual fulfilment, even while its instability is repeatedly acknowledged.[1]

J. S. Grewal reads these compositions in the setting of confrontation with the state and treats the hukamnamas as evidence of the Guru’s leadership. His analysis connects devotion with the singing of divine praise and the pursuit of liberation, expressed through several terms. This scholarly interpretation helps place the verse beside the Guru’s public responsibilities, keeping poetry and political circumstances within the same life.[3]

Execution and the defence of belief

Mughal authorities executed Tegh Bahadur in Delhi in 1675. The SGPC remembers his intervention on behalf of Kashmiri Pandits as a defence of their faith and of freedom of religious conscience. Its account locates the execution at Chandni Chowk, commemorated by Sis Ganj, and records Gobind as his successor. These are attributed elements of Sikh remembrance; the narrative’s detailed speeches and precise sequence of imprisonment are not treated here as independently settled.[2]

Rajbir Singh Judge’s study begins from the beheading in 1675 and examines how its interpretation became a contested historical question. He follows debates about the demands historians place on Sikh tradition, including Kapur Singh’s criticism of those demands. This distinction matters: acknowledging the execution does not mean every account gives the same explanation of its causes or the same language for its enduring religious significance.[4]