| Mai Bhago | |
|---|---|
 Equestrian painting of Mai Bhago | |
| Born | 1670 Chabhal Kalan,Punjab |
| Died | 1720 Nanded,Maharastra |
| Spouse | Bhai Nidhan Singh of Patti |
| Father | Bhai Malo Shah |
| Religion | Sikhism |
Mai Bhago also known asMata Bhag Kaur, was aSikh woman who led Sikh soldiers against theMughals in 1705. She was an exceptionally skilled warrior on the battlefield and is revered as a warrior saint in Sikhism. She was known for rallying the 40 Sikhs (Chali Mukte) who abandonedGuru Gobind Singh at the siege ofAnandpur Sahib and bringing them back to fight.
Mai Bhago was born into Jat Family,[1][2] her family's ancestral village ofChabhal Kalan, in a sikh family at Jhabal Kalan, in the present-dayTarn Taran district of thePunjab .[3] Mai Bhago was a staunch Sikh by birth and had her upbringing in a devout Sikh family. Mai Bhago's father, Malo Shah, was enrolled inGuru Hargobind's army[4] and like her father Mai Bhago learnedShaster vidya (training in arms). Mai Bhago was the granddaughter of Bhai Pero Shah who was younger brother of the famousBhai Langah the chief of 84 villages who had converted toSikhism during the time ofGuru Arjan Dev (1563–1606), the fifthSikh Guru.[5][6] She had two brothers Dilbagh Singh and Bhag Singh.[7] When she was young her parents took her to Anandpur Sahib to dodarshan (glimpse) ofGuru Gobind Singh. She married Bhai Nidhan Singh ofPatti.[8]
In attempt to capture the Guru the large Mughal army led byWazir Khan (of Sirhind) under the orders ofEmperor Aurangzeb proceeded toAnandpur Sahib alongside the Mughal Armies of Lahore and Kashmir.[9]
On around 1704[10] the Mughal hill chiefs had surrounded Anandpur Sahib and were demanding it be evacuated stopping provisions for food and the siege lasting a few months.[11] They announced that any Sikh who would say that "he/she is not anymore a Sikh of Guru Gobind" would be left untouched while others would be "done to death". A group of 40 Sikhs (Chali Mukte),[12] led by Mahan Singh Rataul, told Guru Gobind Singh that they were not his Sikhs anymore. The Guru told them that they would have to write a document that said "We are not your Sikhs anymore" and sign it. All forty Sikhs (except one: 'Bedava') wrote their names on this document, and left Guru Gobind Singh.
Mai Bhago was distressed to hear that some of the Sikhs of her neighbourhood, who had gone to Anandpur to fight for Guru Gobind Singh, had deserted him under adverse conditions. She criticised them openly; hearing her taunts, these Sikhs were ashamed of their betrayal.[13] Mai Bhago rallied the deserters, and persuaded them to meet with the Guru and apologize to him. She set off with them (and some other Sikhs) to seek out the Guru, who were traveling across theMalwa.
A messenger arrived with an oath signed by Aurangzeb on a copy of the Quran, assuring the Guru that if he came out of the fort, permanent peace would be negotiated on honourable terms. The oath of the Emperor was further supported by an oath signed by all the Generals of the Mughal army and the Hill Chiefs.[14] Guru Gobind Singh did not trust these assurances,[15] but to show the real face of the Mughals, the Guru nevertheless decided to leave the fort.
Meanwhile, Guru Gobind Singh evacuated the fort of Anandpur. His children had already been separated in the retreat by the betraying Mughal army and the Hill Chiefs. The two youngest ones,Sahibzada Zorawar Singh andSahibzada Fateh Singh, had gone along with their grandmotherMata Gujari Kaur (mother of Guru Gobind Singh Ji) while the elder two, SahibzadaAjit Singh andSahibzada Jhujhar Singh, had gone with their father. At thebattle of Chamkaur, the Guru's elder sons were killed and attained martyrdom. The Guru left Chamkaur on the order of thePanj Pyare.[16] Guru Gobind Singh's forces travelled day and night through the jungles of theMalva region with the imperial Mughal forces of Aurangzeb in constant pursuit.[17]
The Guru had reached the village ofKhidrana, when Mai Bhago and the men reached khidrana. She led stopped near thedhab, or pool, of Khidrana, the only source of water in the area[18] which was overtaken by the Mughal imperial army pursuing the Guru.
Mai Bhago and her men attacked the pursuing Mughals' army of 10,000 soldiers. Mai Bhago & the 40 liberated ones eventually forced the imperial Mughal army to retreat. while the Guru's forces showered arrows onto the Mughals from nearby high ground. When Guru Gobind Singh visited the battlefield, he found all dead except Mai Bhago and the previous leader of the deserters, Mahan Singh. Mahan Singh, who had been seriously wounded, died as the Guru took him into his lap.[19] All forty of the Sikhs who came to redeem themselves died as well as Mai Bhago's brothers and husband[20] and attained martyrdom in this pitched battle. Some sources say Mai Bhago's children were martyred there too.[21]
Guru Gobind Singh blessed those forty dead as theChali Mukte, Forty Liberated Ones. He took into his care Mai Bhago, who had suffered serious injury[22] in the battle.
Mai Bhago stayed with Guru Gobind Singh atTalwandi Sabo.[23] She may have adopted the garb of aNihang.[24] When the Guru went toHazur Sahib she became one of ten other bodyguards of the Guru arming herself with a large lance (weighing about 102 pounds)[25] and musket[26] and did so in male attire.[27]
After the death of Guru Gobind Singh Ji at Nanded in 1708, Mai Bhag Kaur retired further south. She settled down at Janwada, 11 km from Bidar in Karnataka, setting up herdera where she immersed in meditation and taughtGurmat (The Guru's way) living a long life.[28] Her hut in Janwada has now been converted into a place of worship and learning,Gurdwara Tap Asthan Mai Bhago. At Nanded, too, a hall within the compound of Takht Sachkhand Sri Hazur Sahib marking the site of her former residence is known as Bunga Mai Bhago.
Mohan Singh,Jathedar of Hazur Sahib, in 1788 built aBunga (fortified tower) in the memory of Mai Bhag Kaur.[29] The weapons of Mai Bhago are kept in the Hazur Sahib Gurudwara complex at Abchalnagar Nanded, India.
BHAGO, MAI (fl. 1699–1708), ... Hers was a family of the Dhillon clan of thejat ...
BHAGO, MAI (1699-1708), Sikh soldier and bodyguard for Guru Gobind Singh. Mai Bhago was bom the daughter of Malo Shah in Jhabal village in what is now the Amritsar district of Punjab. Hers was a family of the Dhillon clan of the Jats
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