| # |
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 |
- |
-
|
