How Bhai Singha Purohit Killed Mughal Commander and Facilitated Sikh Army to Win Battle

How Bhai Singha Purohit Killed Mughal Commander and Facilitated Sikh Army to Win Battle

Dr. Vivek Arya

Sikhism was established as a Panth by Guru Nanak ji while it was transformed as a Militia under the guidance of Guru Govind Singh, the 10th Guru. The main motive of Sikhism was to fight against the .tyranny of Muslim rulers on our Country. The basis tenants of our Dharma like Vedas, Cow, Temples, Yajnopavit and Agnihotra were under threat. When no other alternative was left, the struggle with arm was the only option. Hindus gifted their elder son to join the Khalsa Army for protection of our Motherland and Dharma. Whoever embraced the teaching of Gurus and became their disciple was considered as Sikh. There are vast stories of numerous sacrifices and inspiring tales full of bravery and valor in the Sikh History. One such tale is of Bhai Singha Purohit.

Bhai ji was a Brahmin by Birth and Kul-purohit of Guru Hargobind Singh family. So, he was very close to his family as well as a trusted lieutenant. Once Shah Jahan with his army invaded Amritsar. He wanted to crush the power of the Sikhs forever. So the Moghul army prepared itself for a direct blow at the Sikhs. The Emperor, Shah Jahan, wanted the Guru to stop preaching his faith to the people. A large army of Moghuls set out for Amritsar under Mukhlis Khan's command. Guru Hargobind instructed his Sikhs to leave Amritsar complex and decided to fight Mukhlis Khan outside of Amritsar complex. He wanted to minimize casualties for the battle and not disrespect by starting battle within the complex of Amritsar. When Guru’s family reached Ramsar Sahib, they came to know that Bibi Viro, the daughter of Guru Hargobind Sahib was missing. She was just a child at that time. When the family was leaving the city, she was playing with dolls and other toys. In such haste, no one could know that she did not sit on any carts, which were being used to take the family members out of the city. Meanwhile, the Mughal Army had entered in the city. Mughal army men were roaming here and there. In such a dangerous situation, Bibi Viro was all-alone there in the complex.

It was a very difficult situation. Guru Hargobind Sahib thought that any reliable warrior should go there and bring Bibi to Ramsar Sahib safely. Guru needed a person, who was a fearless warrior, reliable, and above all, known to Bibi Viro. It was obvious that Bibi would not go with an unknown person. In such a critical time, Guru selected his ‘Purohit’ for this challenging job. Bhai Singha Purohit was a great warrior. He was a mighty commander of Sikh Army. Above all, he was like a family member to Guru and Bibi Viro knew him very well. He originally belonged to Brahmin Purohit family, so he is mentioned as ‘Singha Purohit’ in few Sikh history books. Bhai Singha was accompanied by Bhai Babak Rababi. Both went to Amritsar in disguise of Mughal Soldier. Both the brave Sikhs reached in front of Guru’s palace. Bhai Singha Purohit called Bibi Viro. Bibi Viro opened the window and saw Bhai Singha out there. Bibi Viro came out of the palace and sat behind Bhai Singha on his horse.

Bhai Singha said to Bhai Baabak, “Let us go without any delay”. They prayed to almighty and Guru and left from there. A Mughal chief was on guard duty in the front of ‘Darshani Deodi’ (entrance door of Darbar Sahib) along with other soldiers. He had a spear in his hand. When Bhai Singha and Bhai Baabak reached near him, he said, “Who are you? Where are you going?”

Bhai Baabak replied, “All are our brothers. Be careful. Everybody is looking for the Guru. Have you not seen the Guru yet?”

When Bhai Singha ran his horse, Bibi Viro’s shoe fell down. Some small bells were attached to that shoe, which ringed. Mughal chief heard this and yelled very loud. Bhai Singha and Bhai Baabak did not waste their time and ran away on their horses. Bibi Viro, as said earlier, was with Bhai Singha. Mughal army men started to chase them. They were shouting, “Enemies are running. They are carrying Guru’s family. Catch them, catch them”. Moghuls saw Bhai Singha and Bhai Babak running on their horses and they tried to chase them. When Bhai Singha saw enemies coming near he asked Bhai Babak to shoot and kill enemies. Bhai Babak followed the instructions and shot and killed. Both the warriors reached in front of Guru Hargobind Sahib and thus saved Bibi Viro.
While this rescue was going on, the battle outside of the city of Amritsar had already started. Sikhs were fighting bravely in the dark of night. Many Sikhs were martyred in the battlefield. Guru Hargobind called Bhai Singha Purohit when he saw Bhai Bhanu, a Sikh warrior martyred in the battle. Guru Hargobind asked him to go to the battle because other Sikh warriors were being martyred by the Mughal Army.
Next morning Five hundred warrior Sikhs were under the command of Bhai Singha Purohit .Riding on horse’s back, Bhai Singha reached the battlefield. As soon as he reached there with his jatha, guns started to fire all around them. The enemy attacked like a full flowing river. Mohammed Ali was leading the enemy’s army. Bhai Singha Purohit deployed his soldiers in a trench. When he saw the enemy shouting near the holy city, Bhai Singha said to his warriors, “Fire at once at these ‘Malechh’ people you are looking at. Kill all of them”. As soon as Bhai Singha ordered to fire, Sikhs started to fire their guns. Many Mughal Army men were killed in great numbers instantly. With the guns now unloaded, it was time to use swords, the common weapon of those days. Bhai Singha advanced towards the enemy. Other Sikh warriors followed him. The limbs of the warriors were being cut into pieces.

Bhai Singha started to shot his arrows towards enemies. Wherever he shots his arrows, they would cross the bodies of enemies. Hissing like snakes, Bhai Singha’s arrows were flying here and there. Bhai Singha Purohit killed whoever came in his way. The fight by Bhai Singha created tumult (commotion and disturbance) in the enemy’s camp. The enemies could not face the bloodthirsty arrows of Bhai Singha Sahib. At last, the enemies had to run away. Mohammed Ali, the enemy’s chief, gathered his army again and thus Mughal army men again came in the battlefield. Until now, Mohammed Ali had understood that it was Bhai Singha Purohit, who was creating trouble for Mughals. In anger, he came to fight with Bhai Singha. Bhai Singha was a target of many guns, he continued to shot his arrows and was killing the enemies continuously. This made Mohammad Ali very mad. Now, he fired at Bhai Singha Purohit’s horse. Bhai Singha’s horse was shot and Singha’s fell down on the ground. Bhai Singha was now without horse among the hundreds of enemy horsemen. Hundreds of Mughal horsemen surrounded Bhai Singha, who was fighting all alone there. He was very alert; he continued to shot his arrows towards enemies. Whoever came near to him, Singha donated him an arrow and sent him to the other world.

A single man was killing many Mughal soldiers. This made Mohammed Ali very angry. He ordered to fire at Bhai Singha from all the directions. It was not possible for Bhai Singha to save him from bullets. He was all alone there in the battlefield fighting against the hundreds of Mughal horsemen. Some bullets injured him. Even then, Bhai Singha Purohit continued to transfer enemies to the other world. Bhai Singha shot an arrow, which struck into Mohammed Ali’s forehead. The gun fell down from Ali’s hand. Now, Bhai Singha shot another arrow, which gave salvation to Mohammed Ali. Ali died there and his horse ran away.

Bhai Singha Purohit shot all of his arrows. Now he was without arrows. The enemies came forwarded towards Bhai and fired at once. Bhai Singha fell down. Even then, enemy’s soldiers continued to attack him using swords. His limbs were cut to small pieces. Thus, a wonderful warrior received a wonderful death. His martyrdom in the battlefield caused Guru’s participation in the battle. When Guru heard that Bhai Singha Purohit had been martyred, he himself came in the battlefield and won the battle.
Why I am writing this article is to give a remarkable message to all readers. We often see that few radicalized Sikhs are constantly attacking Hindus on name of Gangu Brahmin. Gangu is considered as the person who betrayed Sikhs and he told Nawab of Sirhind the hiding place of Mata Gujri and young sahibzadeys. Few Sikhs often tries to blame Brahmin Community for the betrayal of Gangu. I want to ask the same Sikhs that

1. Will they praise Brahmin community for giving birth to Bhai Singha Purohit, the Brave heart who saved the daughter of Guru Hargobind Singh?
2. How come a wrong act of one person is being considered as a crime done by the whole community?
3. Hindus provided their sons for joining Khalsa. Even Guru Nanak was born to a Hindu Family. Then how come few persons claim that Sikhs are not Hindus.
4. How come the great sacrifice of Guru Teg Bahadur who was also known as Hind-Ki-Chadar a messenger of Hindu-Sikh Unity be forgotten?
5. Why should majority of Sikhs listen to few radical Sikhs who are betraying Sikhs by playing as a tool in the hands of conspirators?
6. They are many instances in our History when Hindus, especially Brahmins sacrificed their lives for the Noble cause of Dharma. Are all such sacrifices goes vain?
7. We cannot change our History, our pride, our heritage, our sacrifices. So, instead of forgetting it we must take inspiration from it.