Battles Fought by Guru Gobind Singh Ji in Pre Khalsa Period

Guru Gobind Singh Ji was a saint and a great soldier.His spiritual and political activities were neither tolerated by the Rajas of hill states nor by the Government.The rulers committed atrocities on them and forced them to fight against them.Therefore, Guruji had to fight many battles with the opposition.Some battles were fought before the creation of the Khalsa which were called the Pre-Khalsa Battles and sone were fought after the creation of the Khalsa which were known as the Post-Khalsa Battles.

The Battles of Pre-Khalsa Period :

1.Conflict with Bhim Chand Raja of Bilaspur : There were many reasons of conflict between Bhim Chand Raja of Bilaspur and Guru Gobind Rai Ji.

• The first cause of conflict was that Guruji was against idol worship whereas Bhim Chand was in favour of idol worship.
• Secondly, Guruji started organising the army. Bhim Chand considered these activities as a threat to his state.
• Thirdly, Guruji adopted royal emblems. Bhim Chand feared that a new state was being established in his neighbourhood.
• Fourthly, Bhim Chand demanded annual tribute from Guruji, which he refused. Once Bhim Chand paid a visit to Guruji at Makhowal (Anandpur Sahib) where he was given a warm welcome by Guruji. But he became jealous on seeing Guruji's elephant (gifted by Ratan Chand King of Assam) and beautiful tent (gifted by Duni Chand of Kabul).
• Bhim Chand demanded ‘Prasadi’ elephant and the tent gifted by Duni Chand on the engagement ceremony of his son from Guruji which he refused sensing the bad intentions of Bhim Chand. As a result Bhim Chand launched an attack on Anandpur Sahib but he was defeated.

2.The Battle of Bhangani, 1688 A.D : Guru Gobind Singh Ji went to Paonta Sahib due to his disagreement with Bhim Chand Raia of Bilaspur. In fact, he did not want to fight with any one. While staying in Paonta Sahib, he encouraged his own literary activities and of his 52 poets. He fought the battle of Bhangani in 1688 A.D.

Causes : Guruji did not want to fight the battle of Bhangani but the Rajas of hill states forced him to do so.

The main causes of the battle were :

• The Rajas of hill states considered military preparations made by Guru Gobind Singh Ji as a potential danger to them.
• Guruji was against idol worship but the Rajas of hill states firmly believed in Idol worship.
• Guruji recruited 500 Pathanas in his army who were ousted from the Mughal army. The Rajas of hill states were sincere to the Mughal government. That is why they did not approve of this gesture of goodwill of Guruji.
• The Mughal fauzdars around instigated the Rajas of hill states against Guruji
• Guruji had an old enmity with Bhim Chand.
• The immediate cause of this battle was that the Sikhs did not allow the marriage party of son of Bhim Chand to pass through Paonta Sahib which was on its way to Garhwal. As a result all the
• Rajas of hill states present in the marriage party made up their mind to fight against Guruji.

Events : Guru Gobind Singh Ji chose the place of Bhangani to fight against the Rajas of the hill states. As the battle started, the army of 500 Pathans sent by Pir Budhu Shah of Sadhaura deserted the army of Guruji. But Guruji continued the battle with his few companions.At the same time, Pir Buddhu Shah of Sadhaura along with his four sons and seven hundred followers joined Guruji. The fight continued for nine hours on September, 1688 A.D. Guruji showed his acts of bravery by leading his army. It encouraged the Sikhs. As a result, the Rajas of hill states suffered a great loss. They fled after their defeat. At last, Guruji secured a grand victory.

The Significance of the Battle : The victory in the battle of Bhangani was Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s,first significant victory.

• With this victory, the power of Guruji Increased
• Guruji realised that if he organised his followers, then he would successfuly resist the Mughals.
• The Kings from the hill states particularly Raja Bhim Chand stopped opposing Guruji and developed friendly relations with him.
• Guruji left Paonta Sahib and again settled at Anandpur Sahib.
• Guru Sahib constructed four forts - Anandgarh, Kesgarh, Lohgarh and Fatehgarh at Anandpur Sahib.

3.The Battle of Nadaun, 1690 A.D. : The battle of Nadaun was fought between the union of the Kings of hill states and the Mughals. In this battle Guruji supported the kings of hill states. The only reason behind it was that after developing friendly relations with Guruji, Bhim Chand the King of Bilaspur and the kings of other hill states stopped paying annual tribute to the Mughals. Those kings constituted a union under the leadership of Bhim Chand. On not receiving annual tribute from them Bhim the Mughal subedar of Jammu, Mian Khan sent an army under the leadership of Alif Khan against the Kings of the hill states in 1690 A.D. In this battle, Kirpal Chand King of Kangra cooprated Alif Khan. Guru Sahib favoured Raja Ram Singh and the Kings of hill states. The battle of Nadaun took place thirty two kilometres away from Kangra on the banks of the river Beas. In this battle, Guru Sahib and his companions proved their bravery. Alif Khan was defeated and he fled from the battle field.

After the victory of Nadaun, Bhim Chand made an agreement with Alif Khan without the consent of Guru Sahib. Guru Ji was deeply hurt by Bhim Chand’s act of deceit.

Mughal Campaign against Guruji and the Kings of Hill States, 1694 A.D. :

1.Khanzada Rustam Khan’s Campaign of 1694 A.D. : The Mughal emperor Aurangzeb came to know about the increasing power of Guru Gobind Rai Ji. He ordered the Mughal fauzdar of Punjab to take action against Guru Sahib.To give practical shape to the order, Dilawar Khan the fauzdar of Kangra province sent his son Khanzada Rustam Khan, against Guru Sahib. He crossed the river Satluj on a cold winter night along with his army to suddenly attack Guruji In 1699 A.D. The Sikhs were already prepared for the war. The Sikhs had thrown only a few bomb at them which forced khanzada and his army to flee from the battlefield out of fear. In this way, Guru Sahib secured victory over the Mughals without fighting a battle.

2.Hussain Khan’s Campaign of 1696 A.D. : After the defeat of Khanzada, Dilawar Khan sent his bravest soldier Hussain Khan to attack Anandpur Sahib, in the beginning of 1696 A.D. On the way Hussain Khan demanded tax from the kings of Guleir and Jasvan. They made excuses for not paying the tax. They decided to fight against Hussain Khan. Bhim Chand (Bilaspur) and Kirpal Chand (Kangra) also joined Hussain Khan. Guruji sent his few Sikhs to fight against Hussain Khan. Though all the Sikhs were martyred, Hussain Khan suffered a defeat and was killed.

After the death of Hussain Khan, Dilawar Khan sent an army under the leadership of Jujhar Singh and Chandel Rai but before it could reach Anandpur Sahib the army was defeated by Raja Raj Singh (Jasvan) and it fled back.

3.Prince Muazzam’s campaign : The Mughal emperor Aurangzebe on getting news of the defeat of Mughals in Deccan. So he sent prince Muazzam to fight against Guru Sahib and the Kings of Hill states. On reaching Lahore he sent a huge army against the Kings of hill states under the leadership of Mirza Baig. He was successful in defeating the Kings of hill states .