Maghi at Sri Muktsar Sahib: Mai Bhago Ji and the Chali Mukte

Sri Muktsar Sahib remembers the battle of Khidrana in 1705, where forty Singhs who had once deserted Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji came back and gave their lives for him, and were blessed as the Chali Mukte, the Forty Liberated Ones. The SGPC's calendar keeps two days: a Shaheedi Divas in spring, and the great Jorh Mela on Maghi, the first day of Magh.

The disclaimer

During the long siege of Anandpur Sahib, a group of Sikhs from the Majha, worn down by hunger, told the Guru they wished to leave. He asked them to write that they were no longer his Sikhs, and forty signed the disclaimer, the bedava, and went home. There they were met with scorn. Mai Bhago Ji, a woman of Jhabal, shamed them for leaving the Guru in his hour of need and led them back to find him, riding at their head.

Khidrana

They caught up with the Guru in the dry Malwa near the pool of Khidrana, with a Mughal army in pursuit. Taking position at the water, the forty and Mai Bhago Ji fought off the attack while the Guru shot arrows from a nearby mound. The army withdrew, but all forty fell, and Mai Bhago Ji was wounded.

The torn page

Walking among the fallen, the Guru found one Singh, Bhai Mahan Singh, still alive, and took his head in his lap. Bhai Mahan Singh asked him to tear up the disclaimer. The Guru took it out and tore it, and Bhai Mahan Singh died in peace. The Guru blessed the forty as the Chali Mukte, and Khidrana became Muktsar, the pool of liberation.

The Jorh Mela

Every Maghi, vast sangats gather at Sri Muktsar Sahib to bathe in the sarovar and for kirtan, Ardas and a great Nagar Kirtan. Every Ardas remembers the forty.