JEṬHĀ BHĀĪ (d. 1634), a devoted Sikh who successively attended upon Gurū Arjan and Gurū Hargobind. He took part in sevā for the excavation of the sacred pool at Amritsar and the construction of the Harimandar. He was one of the five Sikhs who accompanied Gurū Arjan on his last journey to Lahore where he met a martyr's death in 1606. His other four companions were Bhāī Bidhī Chand, Bhāī Laṅgāh, Bhāī Paiṛā and Bhāī Pīrāṇā. These Sikhs were witness to the events leading to the Gurū's martyrdom. They cremated his body and returned to Amritsar to relate to Gurū Hargobind and the Sikhs what had happened. Bhāī Jeṭhā and the other four received training in the fighting skills and were appointed by Gurū Hargobind to lead a troop of one hundred horsemen each. He accompanied the Gurū to Delhi and was in attendance upon him during his detention in the Fort of Gwālīor. He took part in battles against the imperial troops, and fell fighting at Mehrāj on 16 December 1634. In Bhāī Santokh Siṅgh, Srī Gur Pratāp Sūraj Granth, Bhāī Jeṭhā is described fighting his last battle as an old man with a grey beard.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

  1. Manī Siṅgh, Bhāī, Sikhāṅ dī Bhagat Mālā. Amritsar, 1955
  2. Santokh Siṅgh, Bhāī, Srī Gur Pratāp Sūraj Granth. Amritsar, 1927-33
  3. Macauliffe, Max Arthur, The Sikh Religion. Oxford, 1909

Major Gurmukh Siṅgh (Retd.)