Bhai Jaita Ji (Bhai Jivan Singh): Rangrete Guru ke bete

This day remembers Bhai Jaita Ji, later Bhai Jivan Singh Ji, whose courage in 1675 gave the Sikhs one of the most moving moments in their history, and who gave his own life in the battles of December 1704.

The head of the Guru

Bhai Jaita Ji belonged to a family of sweepers, the community the caste order held lowest, who had long served the Gurus. He was in Delhi when Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib Ji was beheaded at Chandni Chowk in November 1675. No one dared claim the body. In the confusion of a sudden storm, Bhai Jaita Ji took up the Guru's head, wrapped it, and carried it in secret, travelling by night, all the way to Kiratpur and Anandpur Sahib. The young Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji received it, embraced him, and blessed him with the words Rangrete Guru ke bete, the Rangretas are the Guru's own sons. The head was cremated where Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib, Anandpur Sahib, now stands.

Bhai Jivan Singh

Bhai Jaita Ji took Amrit at the creation of the Khalsa in 1699 and became Bhai Jivan Singh Ji. He was a skilled warrior and a poet, and served close to the Guru at Anandpur Sahib, where he is remembered as commanding Sikhs in its defence. When the Guru left Anandpur Sahib in December 1704, Bhai Jivan Singh Ji rode with him, and he fell fighting at Chamkaur Sahib, among the Singhs who held back the Mughal army.

How he is remembered

Sikhs remember him with kirtan and Ardas, especially at Anandpur Sahib and Chamkaur Sahib, and as a reminder that the Guru's house knows no caste.