JETHA BHAI

JETHA BHAI (d. 1634), a devoted Sikh who successively attended upon Guru Arjan and Guru Hargobind. He took part in sevd for the excavation of the sacred pool at Amritsar and the construction of the Harimandar. He was one of the five Sikhs who accompanied Guru Arjan on his last journey to Lahore where he met a martyr`s death in 1606. His other four companions were Bhai Bidhi Chand, Bhai Langah, Bhai Paira and Bhai Pirana. These Sikhs were witness to the events leading to the Guru`s martyrdom.

They cremated his body and returned to Amritsar to relate to Guru Hargobind and the Sikhs what had happened. Bhai Jetha and the other four received training in the fighting skills and were appointed by Guru Hargobind to lead a troop of one hundred horsemen each. Heaccompanied the Guru to Delhi and was in attendance upon him during his detention in the Fort of Gwalior. He took part in battles against the imperial troops, and fell fighting at Mehraj on 16 December 1634. In Bhai Santokh Singh, Sri Gur Pratdp Suraj Granth, Bhai Jetha is described fighting his last battle as an old man with a grey beard.

References :

1. Mani Singh, Bhai, Sikhan di Bhagai Mdld. Amritsar, 1955
2. Santokh Singh, Bhai, Sri Gur Pratdp Suraj Granth. Amritsar, 1927-33
3. Macaulific, Max Arthur, The Sikh Religion. Oxford, 1909