Prithi Chand
Baba Prithi Chand | |
|---|---|
ਪ੍ਰਿਥੀ ਚੰਦ | |
 Fresco artwork of Prithi Chand with attendants and devotees from Pothi-Mala, Guru Harsahai, Punjab | |
| Head of Mina sect | |
| Preceded by | None (founder) |
| Succeeded by | Manohar Das |
| Personal | |
| Born | 1558 Goindval, Tarn Taran, Punjab |
| Died | April 1618 Hehar, Punjab |
| Religion | Sikhism |
| Spouse | Karmo |
| Parents |
|
| Sect | Mina (Miharvan) |
| Relatives | Baba Mahadev (brother) Guru Arjan (youngest brother) |
| Religious career | |
| Based in | Hehar, Punjab Kotha Guru, Bathinda, Punjab[1] |
| Part of a series on |
| Sikhism |
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Prithi Chand (Gurmukhi: ਪ੍ਰਿਥੀ ਚੰਦ; 1558–April 1618)[2] was the eldest son of Guru Ram Das – the fourth Guru of Sikhism, and the eldest brother of Guru Arjan – the fifth Guru.[3][4] He wanted to inherit the Sikh Guruship from his father, who instead favored and appointed his youngest son the 18-year old Arjan Dev as the next Guru. Chand was embittered and notably started one of the major subsects of early Sikhism. This subsect came to be labelled as the Minas, literally "unscrupulous scoundrels", by his competition.[3][4][5] According to The Encyclopaedia Britannica, Prithi Chand was "distinctly hostile" of his brother's appointment as Guru. His unscrupulous means and support for atrocities committed by the Mughal empire, did not find favour with Guru Ram Das, who bestowed the Guruship on Guru Arjan.[6] Modern scholars have called his movement as one of the unorthodox sects that emerged in the history of Sikhism.[7]
Chand was an accomplished devotional poet, however, he did not use his talents to good means.[7] He created a parallel scripture which included the hymns of earlier Gurus and his own poetry. His spiritual discourses used teachings of Sikh Gurus but were aimed to attract his own following and the official support of the Mughal Empire. His followers forcibly and by covert means, gained control of the Sikh holy city of Amritsar and neighboring region, while Guru Hargobind – the sixth Guru of Sikhism, had to relocate his Guruship to the Himalayan Shivalik foothills.[8] Chand and his followers tried to establish his own Guruship opposing Guru Arjan and Guru Hargobind as the official followers of Guru Nanak – the founder of Sikhism.[3] His poetic abilities and use of hymns of Guru Nanak for his ulterior motives is believed to have likely triggered Guru Arjan to compose the official first manuscript of the Adi Granth.[7]
There was a bitter attempt by Prithi Chand and his followers to oppose Guru Arjan for three generations. He conspired with Chandu Shah, an official from Lahore, against the Guru at the suggestion of his wife, Karmo.[9] In contemporary Sikhism, the followers and movement led by Prithi Chand are considered as "dissenters".[4] In the hagiographies and Sikh history, Chand is accused of attempting to poison Hargobind when he was a young boy. He and his descendants – his son, Manohar Das (Meharban) and Mehrban's son, Harji (Hariji) conspired with the Muslim leaders such as Sulahi Khan to hurt and end the later Sikh Gurus, as well prevent them from entering Amritsar.[3][4][7] However, Minas' literature does not support these allegations, on the contrary presenting Chand as a devout supporter of Guru Arjan and suggesting a likely "bias" against Chand.[7]
Prithi Chand established his Guruship in Kotha Guru (about 35 kilometers northeast of Bathinda). He died there in 1618.[7] His son Manohar Das, popularly known as Meharban, was attached to both his father Prithi Chand and his uncle Guru Arjan. Meharban succeeded Chand-led Sikh sect's fellowship. He was also a literary talent and a "luminary among medieval Sikh and Panjabi litterateurs" states Syan, and he composed hymns under the pen name of Prithi Chand.[7] Prithi Chand and his early Sikh sect claimed to have the Guru Harsahai pothi, the earliest compiled Sikh scripture from the time of Guru Nanak.[10] According to the literature of the Miharvan Sikhs, the pothi was given to Prithi Chand by Guru Arjan and this was in part the reason they claimed authenticity of their hymns and movement.[11]
The wars of Guru Gobind Singh against the Muslim commanders and the rise of the Khalsa brotherhood ultimately ended the control of Amritsar by the followers of Prithi Chand. His movement and the "Minas" sect thereafter became largely extinct.[4] According to Gurinder Singh Mann, the Sodhis of Guru Harsahai (35 kilometers west of Faridkot) and of Malwa region are the descendants of the Prithi Chand and Miharvan movement.[11]
Dispute with Ram Rai
The two Sikh leaders involved in the conflict were Ram Rai and Sodhi Prithi Chand. The conflict arose over who would succeed Guru Har Rai as the next leader of the Sikh community.
According to the stories, Ram Rai and Prithi Chand both went to meet Guru Har Rai to ask for his blessing and support for their respective claims to leadership. Guru Har Rai told them that he would not interfere in their dispute and that they should resolve it between themselves.
In response, Ram Rai and Prithi Chand decided to have a competition to determine who was more deserving of the leadership position. They agreed to hold a contest in which they would each shoot an arrow and the person whose arrow flew the farthest would be declared the winner.
On the day of the contest, a large crowd gathered to watch Ram Rai and Sodhi Prithi Chand shoot their arrows. When Sodhi Ram shot his arrow, it flew a great distance and the crowd cheered. However, when Prithi Chand shot his arrow, it barely went a few feet before falling to the ground. The crowd was disappointed and many people began to doubt Prithi Chand's abilities as a leader.
At this point, Baba Biram Das intervened and suggested that there was another way to determine who was more deserving of the leadership position. He proposed that Ram Rai and Prithi Chand should each take turns saluting the Guru, and that the person who showed the greatest devotion and humility in their salute would be declared the winner.
Ram Rai went first and performed a grand and elaborate salute, which impressed many people in the crowd. However, when Prithi Chand's turn came, he simply walked up to the Guru and bowed his head in reverence. This simple and humble gesture moved many people in the crowd and they began to chant his name.
In the end, Guru Har Rai declared Prithi Chand to be the winner, citing his humility and devotion as evidence of his fitness to lead the Sikh community. This decision was accepted by both Ram Rai and Prithi Chand, and the potential split within the Sikh community was averted thanks to Baba Biram Das's wise intervention.[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]
References
- ^ The encyclopaedia of Sikhism, Vol.3. Patiala: Punjabi University. 1992–1998. p. 371. ISBN 978-8173801006.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date format (link) - ^ "PRITHI CHAND, BABA". The Sikh Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2022-08-19.
- ^ a b c d Hardip Singh Syan (2014). Pashaura Singh and Louis E. Fenech (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies. Oxford University Press. pp. 171–172. ISBN 978-0-19-969930-8.
- ^ a b c d e Minas, Masands, Dhir Malias, Ram Raiyas, Overview of World Religions, PHILTAR, University of Cumbria (2011)
- ^ Sikh history from Persian sources : translations of major texts. J. S. Grewal, Irfan Habib, Indian History Congress. Session. New Delhi: Tulika. 2001. p. 5. ISBN 81-85229-17-1. OCLC 47024480.
The author of the Dabistan does notice the claim of Prithi Chand and his descendants. He says in fact that after the death of Guru Arjan his brother Prithia became the Guru, and his followers used to call him 'Guru Miharban'. Actually, Prithi Chand was succeeded by his son Miharban as the seventh Guru. At the time of writing the Dabistan, 'Guru Harji' was Miharban's successor. The successors and followers of Prithi Chand thought of themselves as bhagats or the devotees of God but the followers of Guru Hargobind, who too claimed Guruship in his father's place, called them mina which was a term of reproach. Bhai Gurdas looks upon Prithi Chand and his successors as 'rebels' and 'false gurus'; he denounces the minas in choicest terms in a whole Vaar.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ Prithi Chand: Sikh Rebel Leader, Encyclopaedia Britannica
- ^ a b c d e f g Hardip Singh Syan (2013). Sikh Militancy in the Seventeenth Century: Religious Violence in Mughal and Early Modern India. I.B.Tauris. pp. 49–55. ISBN 978-1-78076-250-0.
- ^ Pashaura Singh; Louis E. Fenech (2014). The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies. Oxford University Press. pp. 638–639. ISBN 978-0-19-100411-7.
- ^ SINGH, KULJIT. SINGH, HARJINDER (2018). SRI GURU ARJAN DEV JEE - A SHORT BIOGRAPHY. [S.l.]: AKAAL PUBLISHERS. pp. 60–61. ISBN 1-9996052-0-9. OCLC 1253473111.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Arvind-Pal S. Mandair; Christopher Shackle; Gurharpal Singh (2013). Sikh Religion, Culture and Ethnicity. Taylor & Francis. pp. 20–22. ISBN 978-1-136-84634-2.
- ^ a b Gurinder Singh Mann (2001). The Making of Sikh Scripture. Oxford University Press. pp. 33–35. ISBN 978-0-19-513024-9.
- ^ "Guru Har Rai and the Bir Ras" by Giani Gian Singh
- ^ "Guru Har Rai and the Bir Ras" by Giani Gian Singh
- ^ "Baba Biram Das" by Giani Sant Singh Maskeen
- ^ "The Sikh Religion" by Max Arthur MacAuliffe
- ^ "Sri Gur Panth Prakash" by Rattan Singh Bhangu
- ^ "History of the Sikhs" by Khushwant Singh
- ^ "The Sikh Religion: Its Gurus, Sacred Writings and Authors" by Daljeet Singh
- ^ "The Sikh Gurus" by Gurbachan Singh Talib
