Chaar Sahibzade

The Chaar Sahibzade are the four sons of Guru Gobind Singh Ji: Ajit Singh, Jujhar Singh, Zorawar Singh and Fateh Singh. The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism says the term is used endearingly for them, that all four died as martyrs while still very young, and that their names are recalled every time the Sikh ardas is recited, at a congregation or alone.

The four

• Ajit Singh, born at Paonta on 26 January 1687 to Mata Sundari. At about twelve he led 100 Sikhs to punish the Ranghars who had looted a Sikh sangat, and in 1700 he defended Taragarh fort at Anandpur.
• Jujhar Singh, born at Anandpur on 14 March 1691 to Mata Jito. He took the Khalsa rites in 1699, when he was eight.
• Zorawar Singh, born at Anandpur on 17 November 1696, and Fateh Singh, born there on 25 February 1699, were also sons of Mata Jito. After she died on 5 December 1700 their grandmother, Mata Gujri, brought them up.

The elder two at Chamkaur. Anandpur was vacated on the night of 5 to 6 December, and the column, with Ajit Singh commanding the rearguard, crossed the Sarsa in spate and reached Chamkaur that evening. Guru Gobind Singh Ji took shelter in a walled house with about forty Sikhs and his two elder sons. The battle began at sunrise on 7 December, and as ammunition ran out the Sikhs went out in batches of five. Ajit Singh led one sally and fell. Jujhar Singh led the last sally towards the end of the day and laid down his life near the place where he had seen his brother fall. Gurdwara Qatalgarh marks the spot. An official letter of Aurangzeb's letter-writer, preserved in the Ahkam-i-Alamgiri, records the killing of two of the Guru's sons at Chamkaur.

The younger two at Sirhind. Separated from the Guru at the Sarsa, Zorawar Singh, Fateh Singh and Mata Gujri were taken by their cook, Gangu, to his home near Morinda, and he then betrayed them. On 7 December, says the Encyclopaedia's Zorawar Singh entry, they were taken into custody by Jani Khan and Mani Khan Ranghar and next day sent to the Cold Tower at Sirhind; its Gujari entry says they were arrested on 8 December. On 9 December they were brought before the faujdar, Wazir Khan, who offered them riches and honours if they would accept Islam. They refused. On 11 December they were ordered sealed alive in a wall, which by tradition crumbled at chest height (Zorawar Singh entry), before it covered their heads (Gujari entry). On 12 December, after refusing again, they were put to death. Mata Gujri died in the Tower as the news reached her.

Dating. The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism dates these events to December 1705, as above. Some modern works date them to December 1704; the Wikipedia article on Chamkaur records that Hari Ram Gupta converted the Bikrami date to 22 December 1704 and that Pal Singh Purewal argues the date is 7 December.

What they are remembered for. The Panth keeps their memory in every ardas and at an annual fair: at Chamkaur on the 8th of Poh, and at Fatehgarh Sahib, close to old Sirhind, from 25 to 28 December, where four shrines mark the place of the events.