Sahibzada Baba Jujhar Singh Ji: the boy who followed his brother at Chamkaur

This day celebrates the birth of Sahibzada Baba Jujhar Singh Ji, the second son of Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji, born at Anandpur Sahib in 1691 to Mata Jito Ji. He is remembered as one of the Vadde Sahibzade, the two elder sons of the Guru, who gave their lives at Chamkaur.

Growing up at Anandpur Sahib

Jujhar Singh Ji grew up at Anandpur Sahib with his elder brother, Ajit Singh Ji, and his younger brothers, Zorawar Singh Ji and Fateh Singh Ji. Like them, he learned to ride and fight as well as to read the bani, and he took Amrit as a child. His name means one who fights to the last, and tradition remembers that he lived up to it.

Chamkaur

When the Guru's family left Anandpur Sahib in December 1704, Jujhar Singh Ji rode with his father and elder brother to Chamkaur. There, in a mud fortress besieged by a far larger army, he watched his brother go out to fight and fall. He then asked his father for permission to follow. Tradition remembers that the Guru embraced him, armed him and sent him out with a small group of Singhs, and that the boy, about fourteen years old, fought his way into the enemy ranks before he fell. The Guru is remembered as watching from the garhi and giving thanks that his sons had been accepted in the Divine court. Read the story of the Saka of Chamkaur Sahib.

How the day is observed

Sangats mark the day with kirtan and Ardas, especially at Chamkaur Sahib and Anandpur Sahib. For children in Sikh families, the Sahibzade are among the first heroes they hear about, and the day is often marked with children's kirtan and stories.