Bidhi Chand Chhina (

Gurmukhi Gurmukhī ( , Shahmukhi: ) is an abugida developed from the Laṇḍā scripts, standardized and used by the second Sikh guru, Guru Angad (1504–1552). Commonly regarded as a Sikh script, Gurmukhi is used in Punjab, India as the official scrip ...

: ਬਿਧੀ ਚੰਦ; 26 April 1579 – 30 August 1638 or 1640) was a Sikh religious preacher and military commander. He was a disciple of

Guru Arjan Guru Arjan (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਅਰਜਨ, pronunciation: ; 15 April 1563 – 30 May 1606) was the fifth of the ten total Sikh Gurus. He compiled the first official edition of the Sikh scripture called the Adi Granth, which later expande ...

and served

Guru Hargobind Guru Hargobind (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਹਰਿਗੋਬਿੰਦ, pronunciation: l 19 June 1595 – 28 February 1644) was the sixth of ten Gurus of the Sikh religion. He had become Guru at the young age of eleven, after the execution of his ...

for most of his life.

Biography

Early life

He was born into a

Jat Sikh Jat Sikh or Jatt Sikh (Gurmukhi: ਜੱਟ ਸਿੱਖ) is an ethnoreligious group, a subgroup of the Jat people whose traditional religion is Sikhism, originating from the Indian subcontinent. They are one of the dominant communities in Pu ...

family of the Chhina

clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, a clan may claim descent from a founding member or apical ancestor who serves as a symbol of the clan's unity. Many societie ...

. His father may have been Hindal, a Sikh of Guru Amar Das. As a young man, Bidhi Chand was an inhabitant of the Sur Singh village of Lahore district and had fallen into bad company and taken

banditry Banditry is a type of organized crime committed by outlaws typically involving the threat or use of violence. A person who engages in banditry is known as a bandit and primarily commits crimes such as extortion, robbery, kidnapping, and murder, ...

. One day, a pious Sikh, Bhai Adali of the village of Chohia, led him into Guru Arjan Dev 's presence where he underwent a remarkable transformation. His life of banditry and misdeeds ended for he knew now wanted nothing more than life of dedication to the service of the Guru. He became a devotee of Guru Arjan.

Later life

He was one of the five Sikhs chosen to accompany Guru Arjun on his journey to martyrdom at Lahore in 1606. On the death of his father, Guru Hargobind turned his thoughts to training and raising an army to resist the dangers that threatened the peace-loving Sikhs. He chose Baba Bidhi Chand to be one of the commanders of the Risaldari (cavalry) he was raising. Baba Bidhi Chand was the first ever commander in chief of cavalry who fought with Mughals in the absence of Guru Hargobind Sahib . Baba Bidhi Chand displayed great feats of valour in several battles with the Mughal troops. Guru Hargobind Sahib Blessed Baba Bidhi Chand as saying (Bidhi Chand Chhina Guru Ka Seena) means Bidhi Chand is the Chest of Guru. He was one of the first four commanders of the

Akal Sena The Akāl Sena (Gurmukhi: ਅਕਾਲ ਸੈਨਾ; meaning 'Army of the Akal Purakh, Immortal', 'God in Sikhism, God's Army', or 'Eternal Army'; alternatively transcribed as Akaal Sena) was the Sikh military force established by the sixth Sikh ...

, the first standing Sikh army which was started by Guru Hargobind.

Dilbagh and Gulbagh

A Sikh '' sakhi'' narrates a story involving the recapture of two horses, which had been forcibly taken from the Sikhs by the Mughals, by Bidhi Chand. The horses had been seized as the owner, a Sikh who had raised and trained them, was bringing them from

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

as an offering for the Guru in the company of two '' masands'' who had been dispatched to the local Sikh congregation of Kabul. Bidhi Chand was chosen as the best choice for the mission to recapture the prized horses, named Dilbagh and Gulbagh, from the hands of the Mughal emperor

Shah Jahan Shah Jahan I, (Shahab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram; 5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), also called Shah Jahan the Magnificent, was the Emperor of Hindustan from 1628 until his deposition in 1658. As the fifth Mughal emperor, his reign marked the ...

. Bidhi Chand accomplished this task by becoming employed at the stable of the

Lahore Fort The Lahore Fort (; ; ) is a citadel in the walled interior of Lahore in Punjab, Pakistan. The fortress is located at the northern end of the Walled City and spreads over an area greater than . It contains 21 notable monuments, some of which ...

where the horses were kept as the worker who brought the horses fresh grass to feed to the horses and their personal groomer, he used a false name of "Kasera" while he worked there. He stayed at the residence of a local Sikh named Jiwan during the time of his employment and he refused to accept the pay he was afforded by the officials. He eventually won the trust of the officials who were in-charge of guarding the fort after being employed there for some time. Every night, he would desensitize the guards to sounds coming from the

Ravi River The Ravi River is a transboundary river in South Asia, flowing through northwestern India and eastern Pakistan, and is one of five major rivers of the Punjab region. Under the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, the waters of the Ravi and two oth ...

by throwing large rocks into it and tell them it was just a large animal, to mask his coming plan. Later on, he managed to escape with one of the horses, Dilbagh, by jumping into the Ravi River (whose course at that time flowed near the fort) at night when the guards were sound asleep after being fed a large feast under the patronage of Bidhi Chand on his payday. He brought the horse back to the encampment of the Guru. However, this was only one of the horses, Dilbagh, and he still had to capture the other, Gulbagh. He returned to Lahore and was assisted by a local Sikh named Bhai Bohru. He managed to escape with the other horse by fooling the official caretaker of the horses, Sondha Khan, by disguising himself and pretending to be an astrologer investigating the disappearance of the first horse (which he had actually been the one who had stolen it). The horses were renamed by the Sikhs, with Dilbagh being renamed as ''Jan Bhai'' (meaning "as dear to life") and Gulbagh being renamed as ''Suhela'' (meaning "dear companion"). After the rescue of the horses, the Guru famously proclaimed: "Bidhichand Chhinā Guru ka Sīnā. Prem bhagat linā. Kade kami nān." (meaning: "Bidhi Chand Chhina is very near to Guru's heart. He is a lovable devotee. He will never suffer from want.")

Military service

All of the events associated with Dilbagh and Gulbagh led to the Battle of Lahira where over 35,000 Mughals were dispatched by

under the governor of

to finish off the Sikhs. 500-1500 Sikh soldiers were placed under Bidhi Chand's command during the battle. Bidhi Chand faced the Mughal general Shamas Beg who had 7,000 soldiers under him. The battle between the two forces lasted 1 hour and 30 minutes. Shamas Beg's entire force of 7,000 was killed with Beg being cut in half by Bidhi Chand in a duel.Gurbilas Patashai 6 Chapter 19 Later in the battle Bidhi Chand fought another Mughal general, Kabul Beg, who managed to gain the upper hand and injured Bidhi Chand. At the end the battle was a Sikh victory. Dilbagh later died on the banks of the Sutlej river, due to wounds sustained in the battle, during the journey and relocation of Guru Hargobind and his retinue to Kiratpur. Bidhi Chand also participated in the Battle of Kartarpur. He along with Baba Gurditta were given the lead responsibilities of defending Kartarpur. He was eventually sent into the battle when the Mughal governor of

Peshawar Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...

, Kale Khan, advanced with 20,00 troops. He along with Jati Mal held off the 20,000 Mughal soldiers.Gurbilas Patashahi 6 Chapter 20 A Mughal general, Anwar Khan, was killed by an arrow fired by Bidhi Chand.

Missionary work

Guru Hargobind instructed Bidhi Chand to travel to the eastern regions of the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

to act as a missionary to spread the teachings of the Sikh faith. At Deonagar (or Devnagar), he met Pir Sundar Shah, the disciple of Pir Budhan Shah, and the two developed a close bond. He also became close with Pir Budhan Shah. After the death of his master, Budhan Shah, Pir Sundar Shah visited Kiratpur where he petitioned Bidhi Chand to visit him at Deonagar once again, whom promised him that he shall fulfill this request within a month of his death as he refused to leave the side of his beloved Guru.

Death

In the year 1638, Bidhi Chand departed from Kiratpur, where he left his son, Lal Chand, in the service of Guru Hargobind, and died at Deonagar (or Devnagar) while in a state of meditation, on the banks of the river Gomti. He died alongside his friend, Sundar Shah.

Legacy

Many of Chand's swords and paintings are displayed in the museum of the

Golden Temple The Golden Temple is a gurdwara located in Amritsar, Punjab, India. It is the pre-eminent spiritual site of Sikhism. It is one of the Holy place, holiest sites in Sikhism, alongside the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur in Kartarpur, Pakistan, ...

. A faction of Akali-Nihangs, the Bidhi Chand Dal, is named for him.