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