Guru Arjanਗੁਰੂ ਅਰਜਨ

Early life

Guru Arjan was born in 1563 at Goindval, the youngest son of Guru Ram Das and Mata Bhani. As a child he was known for his gentle nature and his devotion. When his father tested his three sons for the succession, it was Arjan - the youngest - who proved the worthiest, and in 1581 he became the fifth Sikh Guru at the age of eighteen. His elder brother Prithi Chand never accepted the decision and remained a source of intrigue against him for years.

Arjan inherited a growing community centred on the new town of Ramdaspur. He threw himself into completing his father's work: the great tank, the Amrit Sarovar, was excavated and lined, and in its centre he began building the shrine that would become the Harmandir Sahib - the Temple of God, known today as the Golden Temple. Sikh tradition holds that its foundation stone was laid by the Muslim Sufi saint Mian Mir, a gesture of the Guru's universal spirit.

The Harmandir Sahib

The Harmandir Sahib was revolutionary in its design. Unlike Hindu temples built on raised platforms, it was constructed on a level with the ground - and lower than the surrounding land - so that every visitor must step down to enter, a physical expression of humility. It was given four doors, facing all four directions, symbolising that the house of God was open to all people regardless of caste, creed or gender. Completed in the early 1600s, it became the spiritual heart of Sikhism.

Guru Arjan also systematised the community's finances. He formalised the practice of Dasvandh - the contribution of one-tenth of one's income to the community - and expanded the Masand system, a network of representatives who collected offerings and spread the Guru's teaching. Under his administration the Sikh community became wealthy, organised and increasingly visible - which drew the attention of the Mughal state.

Compiling the Adi Granth

Guru Arjan's greatest scholarly achievement was the compilation of the Adi Granth, the first version of the Sikh scripture, completed in 1604. Working with Bhai Gurdas as scribe, he gathered the hymns of the first four Gurus along with the compositions of Hindu and Muslim saints - including Kabir, Farid, Namdev and Ravidas - whose teachings aligned with the Sikh message. The inclusion of these Bhagats remains one of the most remarkable acts of religious inclusiveness in history.

The completed volume was installed in the Harmandir Sahib with great ceremony, and Baba Buddha was appointed as its first Granthi (reader). Guru Arjan himself contributed more hymns than any other author: 2,218 of his compositions are in the scripture, including the Sukhmani Sahib, the Psalm of Peace, recited daily by devout Sikhs to this day.

Martyrdom

The Guru's growing influence alarmed the Mughal emperor Jahangir, who was also pressed by hostile courtiers and by Prithi Chand's faction. In 1606, Guru Arjan was arrested in Lahore on charges of treason - accused of blessing the emperor's rebellious son Khusrau. He was subjected to brutal torture and died in captivity in the summer of 1606. He is remembered as Shaheedan de Sartaj, the crown of martyrs, and the first Sikh martyr.

His martyrdom was a turning point. The peaceful community of Nanak's followers now understood that faith might demand the ultimate sacrifice. Before his death, Guru Arjan is said to have instructed his son Hargobind to take up arms in defence of righteousness - a directive that led to the Sikh doctrine of Miri-Piri, the union of spiritual and temporal authority.

Legacy

Guru Arjan gave Sikhism its scripture, its central shrine, and its first martyr. The Adi Granth he compiled became the Guru Granth Sahib, the living Guru of the Sikhs. The Harmandir Sahib he built is the most recognisable symbol of the faith. And his martyrdom set the community on the path from a devotional movement to a people prepared to defend their beliefs - a transformation completed by his successors.