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| Battle of Chamkaur | |||||||
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| Part ofMughal-Sikh Wars andHill States-Sikh Wars | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Mughal Empire Alliance ofHill States andJammu State (c. 850–1812) |  Khalsa (Sikhs) | ||||||
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| Strength | |||||||
| Unknown, but much larger[7](Gobind Singh'sZafarnama metaphorically states that the Mughal soldiers numbered 1 million)[8][9][10][11][12] | 40[9][8] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
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TheBattle of Chamkaur, also known asBattle of Chamkaur Sahib or theSecond battle of Chamkaur, was fought between the Khalsa, led byGuru Gobind Singh, and the coalition forces of the Mughals led byWazir Khan and Hindu hill chiefs. Guru Gobind Singh makes a reference to this battle in his letterZafarnama.
After Guru Gobind Singh leftAnandpur Sahib on the night of 5 and 6 December 1704,[1] or 1705[14] he crossed theSarsa River with his disciples. While they were crossing, the Mughals and hill kings attacked. Guru Gobind Singh and his followers asked permission of the city chief for shelter to rest for the night in theirgarhi orhaveli. He refused, but his younger brother allowed the Sikhs to stay in the haveli.[3] According to contemporary Mughal sources, namely a letter sent toWazir Khan of theSirhind Sarkar, the Mughals dispatched a force consisting of 700 cavalry and a park of artillery to Chamkaur, where Guru Gobind Singh was taking refuge at the dwelling of a localzamindar of Chamkaur.[15]
Despite giving assurance of safe conduct, the Mughal soldiers were looking for Guru Gobind Singh, to take his head as a trophy. After learning that the party of Sikhs had taken shelter in the haveli, they laid siege upon it. The actual battle is said to have taken place outside the haveli where Guru Gobind Singh was resting.[3] A council ofPanj Piare was convened during the battle, whom ordered Guru Gobind Singh to leave the battlefield to preserve his life and continue leading the Sikhs, a request which the Guru obeyed.[16] Negotiations broke down and the Sikh soldiers chose to engage the overwhelming Mughal forces, thus allowing their Guru to escape. Another Sikh who resembled the Guru,Sangat Singh, donned the Guru's clothes and remained with the soldiers. The next morning the remaining Sikhs were killed by Mughal forces.[17]
The Guru emphasised how he was proud that his sons had died fighting in battle, and that he had 'thousands of sons – theSinghs'. He also said that he would never trust Aurangzeb again due to the broken vow he took on theQuran.[18]
Zafarnama or "Epistle of Victory" is a letter that was written by Guru Gobind Singh to the then Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. Zafarnama vividly describes what happened at Chamkaur, and also holds Aurangzeb responsible for what occurred and promises he broke.
After his escape from Chamkaur, the exhausted Guru is said to have been carried by two Pathans (Ghani Khan and Nabi Khan) to Jatpur where he was received by the local Muslim chieftain. He later went to Dina, and stayed at Mai Desanji's house, where he wrote "Zafarnama" in Persian, in 111 verses.[18]
According toHari Ram Gupta, the battle of Chamkaur was fought on theBikrami date of Magh Shudi 7 Samvat 1761, which corresponds to 22 December 1704 in the Gregorian calendar. However, according to Pal Singh Purewal, this date conversion by Hari Ram Gupta was an error and the true date of Poh 8 corresponds to 7 December. According to Purewal, Gupta likely converted the date using a modernpanchangs rather than a historical one corresponding to that era, historical shifts in calendar dates were not accounted for.[19][20]
"गुरसनह चि कारे कुनद चिहल नर gursaneh ch kaare kunadh chihal nar कि दह लख बरआयद बरो बेख़बर stanza १९ k dheh lakh baraayadh baro bekhhabar stanza 19"
gursaneh ch kaare kunadh chihal nar k dheh lakh baraayadh baro bekhhabar what can forty hungry men do when ten lac strong army pounces upon them ?
Gursanah chi kare kunad chihal nar. Ki dab lak bar dyad baro bekhabar.19.What can at all do, the forty famished men, When attacked suddenly by a million foemen.19
Translation written on the ANGS of Sree Dasam Granth – By Mashaqat Singh
At crucial moments of Sikh history, the panj pyare have collectively acted as supreme authority for the Sikhs. For example, during the battle of Chamkaur, the last five surviving Sikhs constituted themselves into the Council of Five, and they commanded Guru Gobind to leave the fortress and save himself to reassemble the Sikhs. Before Guru Gobind Singh passed away, he ended the line of living gurus. Through the institution of the panj pyare, the Guru envisioned a continuing society that would conduct itself democratically and choose its leaders based on merit.
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