Life Span of Guruship
Lifespan of the Gurus
| # | Name | Date of birth | Guruship on | Date of death | Age at death | Major Life highlights | Father | Mother |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guru Nanak | 15 April 1469 | — | 22 September 1539 | 69 | * Founded Sikhism * Spiritual revelations registered as 974 hymns in Guru Granth Sahib * Rejected the authority of the Vedas * Preached the new idea of God as (Supreme, Universal, All-powerful and truthful, Formless, Fearless, Without Hate, Self-existent, Ever-lasting creator of all things, The eternal and absolute truth) * Attacked the citadel of the Hindu caste system, promoting equality of all * Emphasized the equality of women *Rejected the path of renunciation; emphasized leading a householder’s life * Condemned the theocracy of Mughal emperor Babar * Started the institution of Guru ka Langar * Undertook 4 major journeys, travelling far and wide (including visits to Haridwar, Varanasi, Tibet, Srinagar, Lahore, Mecca, Medina, Baghdad, Syria, Turkey, Kabul, Kandhar, etc.) * Died of natural causes | Mehta Kalu | Mata Tripta |
| 2 | Guru Angad | 31 March 1504 | 7 September 1539 | 29 March 1552 | 48 | * Spiritual revelations registered as 63 Saloks (stanzas) in Guru Granth Sahib * Established new religious institutions to strengthen the base of Sikhism * Standardized and popularized the Gurumukhi Script* Opened many new schools * Started the tradition of Mall Akhara for physical as well as spiritual development * Popularized and expanded the institution of Guru ka Langar * Died of natural causes | Baba Pheru | Mata Ramo |
| 3 | Guru Amar Das | 5 May 1479 | 26 March 1552 | 1 September 1574 | 95 | * 869 verses including Anand Sahib in the Guru Granth Sahib * Established Manji & Piri system of religious missions for men and women respectively * Strengthened the Langar community kitchen system * Preached against the Hindu society’s Sati system (burning alive of a wife at the pyre of her deceased husband), advocated widow-remarriage; Asked the women to discard “Purdah” (veil worn by Muslim women). * Asked Akbar to remove the toll-tax (pilgrim’s tax) for non-Muslims while crossing Yamuna and Ganges Rivers * Died of natural causes | Tej Bhan Bhalla | Bakht Kaur |
| 4 | Guru Ram Das | 24 September 1534 | 1 September 1574 | 1 September 1581 | 46 | * 638 hymns in 30 ragas in the Guru Granth Sahib, which include 246 Padei, 138 Saloks, 31 Ashtpadis and 8 Vars * Composed the four Lawans (stanzas) of the Anand Karaj, a distinct marriage code for Sikhs separate from the orthodox and traditional Hindu Vedi system* Laid the foundation stone of Chak Ramdas or Ramdas Pur, now called Amritsar * Strongly decried superstitions, caste system and pilgrimages *Died of natural causes | Baba Hari Das | Mata Daya Vati |
| 5 | Guru Arjan | 15 April 1563 | 1 September 1581 | 30 May 1606 | 43 | * Compiled the Guru Granth Sahib, and installed it at Sri Harmandir Sahib on Bhadon Sudi 1st Samvat 1661 (August/September 1604), A landmark event in Sikh history* Contributed about 2000 verses to the Guru Granth Sahib * Founded the town of Tarn Taran Sahib near Goindwal Sahib * Built a house for Lepers. * Was tortured and executed on the orders of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir * Hailed as the first martyr of Sikh religion, and as Shaheedan-de-Sartaj (The crown of martyrs) | Rām Dās | Mata Bhani |
| 6 | Guru Har Gobind | 19 June 1595 | 25 May 1606 | 28 February 1644 | 48 | * Instituted the practice of maintaining armed legion of Sikh warrior-saints * Waged wars against rulers Jahangir and Shah Jahan * Died of natural causes | Arjun Dēv | Mata Ganga |
| 7 | Guru Har Rai | 16 January 1630 | 3 March 1644 | 6 October 1661 | 31 | * Sheltered Dara Shikoh; persecuted by Aurangzeb who framed charges of anti-Islamic blasphemy against Guru Ji and Sikh verses of Guru Granth Sahib * Died of natural causes | Baba Gurditta | Mata Nihal Kaur |
| 8 | Guru Har Krishan | 7 July 1656 | 6 October 1661 | 30 March 1664 | 7 | * Forcibly summoned to Delhi (the imperial capital of Aurangzeb) under framed charges * Died of the age of 8 due to smallpox, which he contracted while healing the sick people during an epidemic. | Hari Rā’i | Mata Krishan Kaur |
| 9 | Guru Tegh Bahadur | 1 April 1621 | 20 March 1665 | 11 November 1675 | 54 | * Opposed the forced conversions of the Hindu Kashmiri Pandits by Muslims * Was consequently persecuted, imprisoned, tortured and executed under the orders of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. Contributed many hymns (Shlokas) to Guru Granth Sahib * Spread Sikhism far and wide to Bihar and Assam * | Hari Gōbind | Mata Nanki |
| 10 | Guru Gobind Singh | 22 December 1666 | 11 November 1675 | 7 October 1708 | 41 | * Founded Khalsa in 1699 * Last Sikh Guru in human form * Passed the Guruship of the Sikhs to the Guru Granth Sahib * Died of complications from stab wounds inflicted by Pashtun assassins sent by Mughal governor Wazir Khan | Tēġ Bahādur | Mata Gujri |
| 11 | Guru Granth Sahib | n/a | 7 October 1708 | n/a | n/a | Final and last, eternal living guru | – | – |
