Sri Guru Arjan Dev Niwas

HISTORY

Guru Arjan Sahib, the youngest son of Guru Ramdas Sahib and Mata Bhani Ji was born at Goindwal Sahib on April 15, 1563, & was hardly 18 years old when his father Guru Ramdas Sahib installed him as the 5th Nanak. He was married to Mata Ganga Ji and had a son (Guru) Hargobind Sahib. He completed the work on two sacred tanks (Sarowars) Santokhsar and Amritsar. He got the foundation stone of Harmandir Sahib, laid by a Muslim Saint Hazrat Mian Mir Ji of Lahore on 1st Magh, Vikrami Samvat 1644 (December 1588). After the completion of Sri Harmandir Sahib, Guru Sahib completed the construction of Santhokhsar. Guru Arjan Sahib founded the town of Tarn Taran Sahib near Goindwal Sahib and also created a large tank and Gurdwara there. A house for lepers was also built. He also laid the foundation stone of the town Kartarpur in the Doaba region (near Jalandhar city). He constructed a Baoli in Dabbi-Bazar of Lahore. (Once Shah Jahan destroyed the Baoli and erected a mosque there. But later on, Maharaja Ranjit Singh re-excavated the Baoli. Again, after the partition of India in 1947, it was demolished by the Muslim mob). Guru Sahib also established another town, Hargobindpur on the river Bias and sunk a big well for irrigation at Chheharta, a few miles away from Amritsar. After collecting the hymns of the first four Guru Sahibs and several other Hindu and Muslim Saints, and compiled Guru Granth Sahib (written by Bhai Gurdas Ji). Guru Sahib himself contributed about 2000 verses for it, installed it at Sri Harmandir Sahib on Bhadon Sudi 1st Samvat 1661 (August/September 1604), and made Baba Budha Ji as the first Granthi. During the period of Guru Arjan Sahib, the Amritsar city became the central institution where all the Sikhs used to gather annually on Baisakhi and the Massands began to deposit the collected offerings from the different parts of India in Guru Sahib's treasury. Guru Arjan Sahib was arrested and brought to Lahore where he was charge-sheeted and implicated in the false cases. The Governor of Lahore was assigned the task of the execution. He handed over Guru Sahib over to Chandu, a petty businessman and an orthodox Hindu of Lahore city. He tortured Guru Sahib about three days in a manner unknown in the history of mankind. It is said that Mian Mir (a Muslim Sufi Saint and friend of Guru Sahib) tried to intercede on behalf of Guru Sahib but the later forbade him. During the torturing period, Guru Sahib was made to sit on the hot iron plates and burning sand was poured over his naked body. When his body was blistered, he was chained and thrown into the river Ravi. Thus Guru Sahib embraced martyrdom on Jeth Sudi 4th (1st Harh) Samvat 1663, (May 30, 1606)