Sri Chand

Baba Sri Chand Ji
ਸ੍ਰੀ ਚੰਦ
Painting of Sri Chand, elder son of Guru Nanak and founder of the Udasi sect, with a visitor and fly-whisk attendants, circa early-19th century.
Head of Udasi sect
Preceded by	Position established (founder)
Succeeded by	Baba Gurditta
Personal life
Born	Sri Chand Bedi 8 September 1494[1][2][3][4] Sultanpur Lodhi, Delhi Sultanate
Died	13 January 1629 (134 years old)[2][5][1] Kiratpur, Lahore Subah, Mughal Empire
Parents	Guru Nanak (father) Mata Sulakhni (mother)
Relatives	Lakhmi Das (brother)
Religious life
Religion	Sikhism
Sect	Udasi

Sri Chand (8 September 1494 – 13 January 1629; Gurmukhi: ਸ੍ਰੀ ਚੰਦ), also referred to as Baba Sri Chandra or Bhagwan Sri Chandra, was the founder of the Udasi sect of ascetic Sadhus.^[6] Sikh sources give his life the impressive dates of 8 September 1494 – 13 January 1629, which would have made him 134 years old upon his death.^[7]

Early life

He was the eldest son of Guru Nanak, the first Guru and founder of Sikhism. He was born to Mata Sulakhani on Bhadra sudi 9, 1551 Bikrami (i.e. 8 September 1494) in Sultanpur Lodhi.^[8] Whilst Guru Nanak was out on his long travels, Sri Chand's mother took him and his younger brother to her parental house located in the village of Pakkhoke Randhawa (located in present-day Dera Baba Nanak).^[8] As Sri Chand matured, he became a spiritually-inclined individual who grew to be indifferent to worldly affairs.^[8] When he was eleven years old, he left for Kashmir to study Sanskrit literature under the wing of Pandit Purushottam Kaul.^[8] He also studied and partook in yoga under the mentorship of Avinasha Muni.^[8] After he reached adulthood, Sri Chand had become an ascetic and followed a life calling of celibate reclusivity.^[8] Guru Nanak finally returned home for good in 1522 after his last travel tour and thus Sri Chand returned to living with his family.^[8]

Sri Chand had a high-regard for his father despite any incompatibilities of their spiritual views and teachings.^[8] It is said that after his father's death on 7 September 1539, Muslim followers of Nanak constructed a shrine at the spot his ashes had been buried.^[8] During a flooding event of the Ravi River, this shrine was apparently washed away by the flood water.^[8] Sri Chand managed to rediscover the urn containing his father's ashes that had been upheaved by the flood and he therefore shifted the urn to Pakkhoke Randhawa for it to be reburied near the well of Ajita Randhawa, an early follower of Nanak.^[8] The present-day shrine of Dera Baba Nanak evolved ultimately as a dera out of the samadh (mausoleum) constructed at that location by Sri Chand.^[8]

Candidacy for Sikh guruship

According to Bhai Gurdas' Varan, Sri Chand was egotistic, which is why his father passed over him as a suitable successor:^[9]

Sri Chand, a celibate since childhood, made a centre [attributed to] Baba Nanak.

Dharam Chand, son of Lakhmi Das, made a show of himself.

Dasu installed [himself] on the seat of authority and Datu learned to sit in the siddh posture.

Mohan went mad, and Mohari was celebrated.

Prithi Chand, the rascal, with his hidden agenda, spread madness.

Mahadev was egotistical and was led astray.

Living amid the sandalwood, yet without its fragrance.

— Bhai Gurdas, Varan, Pannaa 26, section 33

Sri Chand had promoted renunciation and celibacy, which were against the teachings of Sikhism.^[8]

Spiritual career

Sri Chand, son of Guru Nanak, seated reading scriptures to devotees in a forest hermitage. Pahari School, ca.1850-70.

Sri Chand promoted the worship of five Indic deities, them namely being Surya, Vishnu, Shiva, Ganesha, and Shakti (divine feminine cosmic energy and dynamic force of the Universe).^[10]

As the founder and leader of the Udasi sect, he established their main base of operations at Barath (located eight kilometres southwest of Pathankot).^[8] Sri Chand embarked on many travels throughout the Indian subcontinent with his entourage of followers, much like his own father did before him.^[8]

Composing Aarta

Sri Chand wrote a ten verse work titled Arta Sri Guru Nanak Dev, popularly known simply as Aarta, his most important writing,^{[citation needed]} in praise of his father, Guru Nanak, and presented it to him after one of the Udasis (travels).^[10][11] This writing had a major influence on people of that time who did not know about Guru Nanak yet.^{[citation needed]}

He proclaims Guru Nanak as the Supreme Lord of the Universe. He envisions the Sun and the Moon, all elements of Nature, Crores [tens of millions] of gods and the whole creation engaged in singing the Glory of their Lord. Guru Nanak.

— translation of Sri Chand's Aarta by Partap Singh Jaspal, Eternal Glory of Guru Nanak (2019), pages 32–33^{[12][note 1]}

Akharas

Prominent Udasi akharas were established in the 1800s, including the Shree Panchayati Akhada Bada Udasin (est. 1825) by Yogiraj Shri Nirvandev in Haridwar, and Shree Panchayati Akhada Naya Udasin (est. 1846) by Mahant Sudhir Das after a dispute with the Bada Udasin.^[13]

Possible contribution to the Adi Granth

See also: Writers of the Guru Granth Sahib

According to a sakhi, when Guru Arjan had finished composing sixteen astpadis (cantos) of the Gauri Sukhmani composition, popularly known as Sukhmani Sahib, Sri Chand visited him. During this visit, it is said that Guru Arjan requested him to continue the composition he was compiling and complete the seventeenth canto of the Sukhmani Sahib. Sri Chand humbly recited the verse of his father following the Mul Mantar in the Japji Sahib. Thus, it became the seventeenth canto of the Sukhmani Sahib.^[14][15]

Relationship with Nanak's successors and Sikhs

Painting of Guru Arjan, Lahore Museum, ca.1800. A figure, possibly Sri Chand, can be seen sitting beside him.

It is believed that Sri Chand rejected Angad as the successor to his father.^[16] When the Sikh guruship passed from Nanak to Angad, the sons of Nanak, Sri Chand and Lakhmi Das, made a legal claim to their father's properties in Kartarpur, forcing Guru Angad to reestablish the early Sikh community's centre at his native village of Khadur instead.^[17]

Guru Amardas declared active and domestic Sikhs to be separate from passive and recluse Udasins.^{[citation needed]} Baba Mohan, son of Amar Das, would mimic the life path of Sri Chand by becoming a lifelong celibate himself.^[8]

However the Sikh Gurus, Guru Amardas, Guru Ramdas, Guru Arjan and Guru Hargobind who were contemporaries of Sri Chand held him in high esteem due to his descent, old age and piety.^[18][8]

When Sri Chand paid a visit to the fourth Sikh guru, Ram Das, it is said the Sikh guru got-up to wipe Sri Chand's feet with his own beard as a show of deep respect for Sri Chand after Nanak's son made a remark about the Guru's long beard.^[8]

Guru Arjan met with Sri Chand at Barath to request for compositions of Nanak in the possession of Sri Chand to assist with his project of compiling a Sikh scripture.^[8]

In 1619, Sri Chand used his spiritual sway and authority to help convince Jahangir to release Guru Hargobind from his incarceration at Gwalior Fort.^[8]

Painting of Baba Gurditta receiving the Udasi gaddi (seat of authority) from Baba Sri Chand, with Guru Hargobind and his other sons (Ani Rai, Suraj Mal, Atal Rai, and Tyag Mal) observing

Guru Hargobind's eldest son, Baba Gurditta, was given to the Udasins at the behest of Baba Sri Chand and Baba Gurditta eventually replaced Baba Sri Chand as head of the Udasins after his death.^[8] Baba Gurditta was the father of Guru Hari Rai, the grandfather of Guru Har Krishan, and the elder half-brother of Guru Tegh Bahadur.^[19][8]

Sri Chand was there for the groundbreaking ceremony for the establishment of Kiratpur at the foothills of the Shivalik Range by Baba Gurditta on the orders of Guru Hargobind.^[8] Sri Chand broke the ground for the project himself.^[8] Sri Chand also participated in the cremation ceremony of Baba Buddha.^[8]

Ram Rai, son of Guru Har Rai joined the Udasin sect after a failed attempt of being an official eighth Guru of the Sikhs.^[20]

Death

Sri Chand died in Kiratpur on 13 January 1629.^[8] He had arranged Baba Gurditta to succeed him as the Udasi leader prior to his death.^[8]

Gallery

• 
  Memorials to Udasin mahants of Sadh Belo with an invocation to Sri Chand, the founder of Udasins.
• 
  Sri Chand (right) seated with his brother Lakhmi Das (left). Fresco from Gurdwara Baba Atal in Amritsar
• 
  Fresco of Guru Nanak, Sri Chand, Bhai Mardana, Bhai Bala, and possibly Lakhmi Das from a Punjabi haveli, circa 1850's
• 
  Fresco of Sri Chand seated to the left of Guru Nanak, from Pothimala, Guru Harsahai, circa 18th century

See also

• Sri Chand Darbar

Notes

1. The original wording is as follows:^[12] Aarta Kijey Nanak Shah Patshah Ka Har Har Deen Dunia Ke Shehan Shah Ka Char Kunt Jaki Dharamshala Sangat Gawey Shabad Rasala Aarta Kijey ... Kot Devi Jaki Jot Jagaway Kot Tetees Jaki Ustat Gawey Aarta Kijey ... Chhinwey Kror Jakey Charan Pakhaley Chand Surai Jaki Jot Ujaley Aarta Kijey ... Bhaar Athharah Jaki Pohap Ki Mala Param Jot Satgur Deen Dyala Aarta Kijey ... Pawan Rai Jako Chawar Jhulawey Rikhi Muni Jako Dhian Legawey Aarta Kijey ... Panj Parwan Hai Satgur pura Bajey Shabad Anahad Toora Aarta Kijey ... Ghanta Bajey Dhun Onkara Adhar Akhand Jako Jhilmil Tara Aarta Kijey ... Srichand Bakhaney Satgur Nanak Poota Agam, Agad, Adol, Awdhuta Aarta Kijey ... Jo Jan Nanak Shah Ka Aarta Gawey Basey Baikunth Param Gat Pawey Aarta Kijey ... Saran Parey Ki Rakh Dyala Nanak Tumrey Bal Gopala Aarta Kijey ...

References

1. The encyclopaedia of Sikhism. Harbans Singh. Patiala: Punjabi University. 1992–1998. p. 234. ISBN 0-8364-2883-8. OCLC 29703420.
2. Gandhi, Surjit Singh (2007). History of Sikh gurus retold. New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers & Distributors. p. 980. ISBN 978-81-269-0859-2. OCLC 190873070.
3. Siṅgha, Kirapāla (2004). Janamsakhi tradition : an analytical study. Prithīpāla Siṅgha Kapūra (1st ed.). Amritsar: Singh Brothers. p. 53. ISBN 81-7205-311-8. OCLC 58631716.
4. Singh Madra, Amandeep (2016). Sicques, Tigers or Thieves : Eyewitness Accounts of the Sikhs (1606-1810). P. Singh. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 333. ISBN 978-1-137-11998-8. OCLC 1083462581.
5. Singh Madra, Amandeep (2016). Sicques, Tigers or Thieves : Eyewitness Accounts of the Sikhs (1606-1810). P. Singh. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 333. ISBN 978-1-137-11998-8. OCLC 1083462581.
6. The encyclopaedia of Sikhism. Vol. 4. Harbans Singh. Patiala: Punjabi University. 1992–1998. pp. 377–379. ISBN 0-8364-2883-8. OCLC 29703420. UDASI, an ascetical sect of the Sikhs founded by Sri Chand (1494-1629), the elder son of Guru Nanak.
7. "Baba Sri Chand - Gateway To Sikhism". 2 September 2007. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
8. Singh, Bhupinder (October–December 2019). "Genealogy of Guru Nanak". Abstracts of Sikh Studies. 21 (4). Institute of Sikh Studies, Chandigarh.
9. Nayar, Kamala Elizabeth; Sandhu, Jaswinder Singh (2020). The Sikh View on Happiness: Guru Arjan's Sukhmani. London: Bloomsbury Academic. pp. 34–36. ISBN 978-1-350-13988-6.
10. Sibal, Rajni Sekhri (2022). The Guru - Guru Nanak's Saakhis. StoryMirror Infotech Pvt Ltd. p. 146. ISBN 9789392661099. Guru Nanak Dev was blessed with two sons. Srichand, the elder one was an ascetic and the founder of the 'Udasin' sect. Their central philosophy was a conjunction of the paths of devotion and knowledge. Srichand believed in the theory of karma and reincarnation and popularized the worship of five deities - Surya, the Sun god, who is the creator and the source of all life; Vishnu, the preserver and protector of the Universe and the god of compassion; Shiva, the destroyer of evil and the god of yoga, meditation and time; Ganesha, the god of new beginnings also brings wisdom and prosperity and Shakti, the primordial cosmic energy and the goddess of the dynamic forces that are present through the universe.
    
    Sri Chand also composed 'Arta Shri Guru Nanak Dev' made up of ten verses in honor of his father.
11. Ralhan, O. P. (2004). Srichandraji Maharaj. Great saints of India series. New Delhi: Anmol Publications Pvt. Ltd. p. 35. ISBN 81-261-1828-8. OCLC 227000827.
12. Jaspal, Partap Singh (2019). Eternal Glory of Guru Nanak. Partridge Publishing. pp. 32–33. ISBN 9781482836158.
13. Kumar, K Sandeep; Malaviya, Smriti (13 January 2019). "The Famous Akhadas at Kumbh Mela". Hindustan Times.
14. The encyclopaedia of Sikhism. Vol. 4. Harbans Singh. Patiala: Punjabi University. 1992–1998. pp. 265–65. ISBN 0-8364-2883-8. OCLC 29703420. It is said that Baba Sri Chand, elder son of Guru Nanak and founder of the Udasi order, came to Amritsar to meet Guru Arjan, then engaged in composing the poem. The Guru who had by that time completed sixteen astpadis, or cantos, requested him to continue the composition. Baba Sri Chand, out of humility, only recited the Sloka of Guru Nanak following the Mul Mantra in the Japu- "adi sachu jugadi sachu hai bhi sach Nanak hosi bhi sachu"- In the beginning, in the primal time was He the Eternal Reality; in the present is He the Eternal Reality. To eternity shall He the Reality abide (GG, 285). This sloka was thereupon repeated by Guru Arjan at the head of the seventeenth astpadi.
15. Nayar, Kamala Elizabeth (2020). "Guru Arjan's Life, Work, and Martyrdom". The Sikh View on Happiness : Guru Arjan's Sukhmani. Jaswinder Singh Sandhu. London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. pp. 38–40. ISBN 978-1-350-13988-6. OCLC 1140790571.
16. Khalid, Haroon. "Intrigue, manipulation, deception: How Guru Arjan's brother put up a serious challenge against him". Scroll.in. Retrieved 22 November 2022. Whereas contesting claims to Guruhood remained a feature of all successions to the title, starting from Guru Nanak's successor – his son refused to acknowledge the appointment of Guru Angad Dev, Nanak's devotee, as the next Sikh Guru – the challenge given by Prithi Chand's movement was among the most formidable.
17. Singh, Pashaura (3 April 2021). "Ideological basis in the formation of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee and the Shiromani Akali Dal: exploring the concept of Guru-Panth". Sikh Formations. 17 (1–2): 16–33. doi:10.1080/17448727.2021.1873656. ISSN 1744-8727. S2CID 234146387. The second Guru, Angad (1504–1552), established a new Sikh center at his native village Khadur because Guru Nanak's sons made the legal claim as rightful heirs of their father's properties at Kartarpur.
18. Singh, Harbans. The Encyclopedia Of Sikhism - Volume IV S-Z. p. 234.
19. "Baba Gurditta - Gateway To Sikhism". 2 September 2007. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
20. Singh, Bhupinder (October 2019). "Genealogy of Guru Nanak". Abstracts of Sikh Studies. XXI (4). Institute of Sikh Studies.

Bibliography

• O. P. Ralhan (2004). Srichandraji Maharaj. Anmol Publications. ISBN 978-81-261-1828-1.