Guru Har Rai | |
|---|---|
ਗੁਰੂ ਹਰਿ ਰਾਇ | |
 Guru Har Rai receives a devotee. Family workshop of Nainsukh of Guler, Punjab Hills, ca.1790 | |
| Personal | |
| Born | 16 January 1630 |
| Died | 6 October 1661 (aged 31) Kiratpur Sahib, Lahore Subah, Mughal Empire |
| Religion | Sikhism |
| Spouse | Mata Krishen Devi (also known as Sulakhni, Kot Kalyani,[1] or Kishan Kaur) |
| Children | Baba Ram Rai Guru Har Krishan |
| Parent(s) | Baba Gurditta (father) ,
Mata Nihal Kaur (mother) Baba Daya Ram (father in law) Mata Ananti (mother in law)[2][3][4][5] |
| Other names | Seventh Master Seventh Nanak' |
| Signature | _of_Guru_Har_Rai,_at_the_beginning_of_a_Guru_Granth_Sahib_manuscript_dated_1716_Bikrami_Samvat_(1659_C.E.).jpg) |
| Religious career | |
| Period in office | 1644–1661 |
| Predecessor | Guru Hargobind |
| Successor | Guru Har Krishan |
| Part of a series on |
| Sikhism |
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Guru Har Rai (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਹਰਿ ਰਾਇ, pronunciation: [gʊɾuː ɦəɾ ɾaːɪ]; 16 January 1630 – 6 October 1661)[6] revered as the seventh Nanak, was the seventh of ten Gurus of the Sikh religion.[7] He became the Sikh leader at age 14, on 3 March 1644, after the death of his grandfather and the sixth Sikh leader Guru Hargobind.[8] He guided the Sikhs for about seventeen years, till his death at age 31.[8][9]
Guru Har Rai is notable for maintaining the large army of Sikh soldiers that the sixth Sikh Guru had amassed, yet avoiding military conflict. He supported the moderate Sufi influenced Dara Shikoh instead of conservative Sunni influenced Aurangzeb as the two brothers entered into a war of succession to the Mughal Empire throne.[8]
After Aurangzeb won the succession war in 1658, he summoned Guru Har Rai in 1660 to explain his support for the executed Dara Shikoh. Guru Har Rai sent his elder son Ram Rai to represent him. Aurangzeb kept Ram Rai as hostage, questioned Ram Rai about a verse in the Adi Granth – the holy text of Sikhs at that time. Aurangzeb claimed that it disparaged the Muslims.[7][9] Ram Rai changed the verse to appease Aurangzeb instead of standing by the Sikh scripture, an act for which Guru Har Rai is remembered for excommunicating his elder son, and nominating his younger son Har Krishan to succeed him.[10] Har Krishan became the eighth Guru at age five after Guru Har Rai's death in 1661.[7]
- ^ "History - Darbar Shri Guru Ram Rai Ji Maharaj - Dehradun". www.sgrrdarbar.org.
- ^ "Sri Gur Panth Prakash" by Rattan Singh Bhangoo:
- ^ "Sri Gur Sobha" by Sainapati
- ^ Bhai Gurdas Vaaran
- ^ "Gurbilas Patshahi 6" by Koer Singh
- ^ Bhagat Singh. Harbans Singh; et al. (eds.). "Har Rai, Guru (1630–1661)". Encyclopaedia of Sikhism. Punjabi University Patiala. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
- ^ a b c Har Rai: Sikh Guru, Encyclopedia Britannica (2015)
- ^ a b c Arvind-Pal Singh Mandair (2013). Sikhism: A Guide for the Perplexed. Bloomsbury Academic. pp. 50–51. ISBN 978-1-4411-0231-7.
- ^ a b J. S. Grewal (1998). The Sikhs of the Punjab. Cambridge University Press. pp. 67–69. ISBN 978-0-521-63764-0.
- ^ William Owen Cole; Piara Singh Sambhi (1995). The Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices. Sussex Academic Press. pp. 33–34. ISBN 978-1-898723-13-4.