Guru Teg Bahadur Shaheedi Diwas: All you need to know about ninth Sikh guru and his teachings

Guru Tegh Bahadur is the 9th Guru of the Sikh community. He gave his life to protect human rights, and his death anniversary is celebrated on November 24 as Shaheedi Diwas.

Guru Tegh Bahadur was born on April 21, 1621, in Amritsar. Tyaga Mal was his original name. He lived a strict self-disciplined lifestyle. In his previous days, Tegh Bahadur learned about Gurmukhi, the Indian religion and various languages from his Guru Bhai Gurdas. Afterwards, he also learned horse riding, archery and swordsmanship from his Guru, Baba Budha. Soon after, Tegh Bahadur got married to Mata Gujri in 1632.

When he was 13 years old, he displayed incredible valour in a battle against a Mughal Chief. He portrayed tremendous sword skills, due to which he was named Tegh Bahadur. He was also a spiritual practitioner and gave his people various courage lessons.


Why do Sikhs regard November 24 as Shaheedi Diwas?
Guru Tegh Bahadur is a Sikh legend who fought till his death while protecting his community from the Mughals. Aurangzeb's army forced him and his followers to convert their religion to Islam. However, the warrior refused, due to which he was beheaded on November 24, in the year 1675, at Delhi’s Chandni Chowk. Due to this, November 24 is celebrated as Guru TeghBahadur Shadeedi Diwas as a public holiday celebrating his martyrdom.

Who were the parents of Guru Tegh Bahadur?
TeghBahadur was the son of Mata Nanki and Guru Hargobind. Hargobind Ji was also the sixth guru of the Sikh community who laid out the concept of Sikh saint warriors and fought against the Mughals.

What was Guru TeghBahadur’s original name?
His original name was Tyaga Mal. However, he later earned the name of Tegh Bahadur, which meant “mighty of the sword.”