Guru Tegbahadur’s invaluable sacrifice for Dharma

Refusal to convert to Islam

​Aurangzeb invited Guru Tegbahadur to his royal court in Delhi with the intention of converting him into Islam. He asked Tegbahadur, “You are a Sikh by religion. Then why are you offering your leadership to the Hindus ? You either convert to Islam or be prepared to die.” Guru Tegbahadur replied, “I will not sacrifice my religion due to fear of death; I am ready to die.” Aurangzeb then tried to lure him by offering high positions in his royal court, but Tegbahadur refused to budge from his stand.

Suffering great torture

In order to scare Guru Tegbahadur and get him to convert him to Islam, Aurangzeb tried various tactics. He ordered his men to cut Bhai Matidas’s body into small pieces in front of Guru Tegbahadur. Bhai Dayal was put in a huge vessel containing boiling oil. However, none of these could scare Guru Tegbahadur. He stood firm. So, Aurengzeb ordered his men to torture Guru Tegbahadur. For five days Guru Tegbahadur was subjected to unspeakable horrots. Finally, on 11.11.1675 his head was chopped off and thrown on the street of Chandni Chowk in Delhi.

The inspiring message in the Gurudwara at Chandni Chowk

In memory of this sacrifice of Guru Tegbahadur, ‘Gurudwara Sheeshganj’ at Chandni Chowk in Delhi has an inspiring message saying, ‘The one who values his Dharma more than his own body is the one who surely becomes successful and immortal.’ This sacrifice of Guru Tegbahadur has been inspiring people for centuries.

Reference : Geeta Swadhyay, April 2012