The Martial Heritage of Khalsa Women

Late one afternoon I dropped by the house of my old friend, Satwant Singh Khalsa, to return the handgun I had borrowed from him to teach a shooting course at a local martial-arts school. The shiny metal weapon had been cleaned and oiled, and was now carefully wrapped in a cloth and tucked under my arm as I knocked on his door, His smiling face appeared and he greeted me as I walked into his home. I handed him the gun with a profusion of thanks, and turned to leave when his young daughter of six, Amrit Kaur, came up and grabbed her father by the leg.

"Papa, can I see that?" she asked. "Of course", Satwant Singh replied, and he began to unwrap the gun with great reverence. Her eyes grew as big as blue moons reflecting the glint of the handgun as her father explained to her what it was. She looked at the gun then looked at me, a Khalsa woman in a turban, and her face clouded with confusion. Again she looked at the gun and then up at me and began to smile shyly.

"Papa", said little Amrit Kaur shyly, "Do girls shoot guns too?" Satwant Singh was surprised at his daughter's question and he looked to me for a reply.

"Of course", I said with a smile, "Girls shoot the best! When you get older I will teach you myself." On hearing this she put her hand to her mouth and giggled with great excitement and expectation.

Actually, Khalsa women have been shooting ever since guns were first introduced to India. Many of the old stories have been lost, and those that remain are scant in detail and description. But the fact is that the Tenth Master, Siri Guru Gobind singh Ji Maharaj, encouraged and promoted women in martial training in the army of the Khalsa. The Khalsa has no gender, neither male nor female, so those women who were inclined to study the martial tradition found their places in the ranks of the Khalsa Fauj (Army). Mai Bhago (Mata Bhaag Kaur) is an outstanding example of a woman warrior in the Sikh tradition.

In 1705 the Mughal forces under the direction of the emperor Aurangzeb laid a deadly siege on the fort of Anandpur Sahib in a desperate effort to destroy Guru Gobind Singh Ji and the Khalsa. As food and water were exhausted, the conditions became unbearable and many Sikhs deserted the Guru. The Sikhs from the Majha area of Punjab, belonged to a tradition of gallant warriors, but they also chose to abandon the Guru and return to their villages. Before he left the fort, Guru Gobind Singh Ji asked them to put their denouncement on paper: they wrote that they were no longer Sikhs of the Guru. When the women of the village heard that their men were returning home, traitors to the Guru's cause, they were incensed. Bhago, a lady from Jhabal, spoke to the women and together they resolved to reverse the situation. As the men returned, hungry, tired and depressed from their experience at AnandPur Sahib, the women would not let them enter their homes. They said to their husbands and sons, "Either go back and make amends for your cowardly behaviour, or exchange your dress with ours, stay at home act as housewives in our place.

Dressed in your clothes we will go and fight for the Guru, lay down our lives for him, and wash away with our blood the shame which you have brought on us all, nay the whole of Majha itself." Shamed by the courageous response of their womenfolk, a band of forty Sikhs started back towards the Guru under the leadership of Bhai Mahan Singh and Mai Bhago. Dressed in soldier's battle-gear, Mai Bhago struck a fearsome pose and was respected by the Sikh soldiers for her spiritual clarity and her courageous nature. As they made their way toward the Guru, groups of Sikhs from various villages along the way joined them in support of the great Guru Gobind Singh Ji.

By that time, Guru Gobind Singh Ji and the Khalsa army had left the fort of Anandpur Sahib with the promise of safe passage from Emperor Aurangzeb. But his promise proved to be a cruel deception and the Khalsa suffered devastating battles in which the two elder sons of the Guru were killed. Now they were being pursued by Wazir Khan, the Nawab of Sirhind with over 5000 Mughal soldiers. Having already captured and bricked alive the two young sons of the Guru, Wazir Khan was eager to kill the Guru himself and gain favour with the Emperor in Delhi.

The Sikhs from Majha met with the Guru-Master between Ramiana and Khidrana. With Bhai Mahan Singh as their spokesman, the forty Sikhs begged the Guru to forgive their desertion and to bless them with his grace. Together they rode with the Guru to Khidrana where there was a large water tank to slake the thirst of the guru's army. But at this time of May, the plains of Punjab were already scorched by the summer heat, and when they arrived they found the tank nearly dry. Guru Gobind Singh Ji signalled for his army to continue on in search of water. Bhai Mahan Singh proposed that his group stay behind and engage the enemy there, allowing the Guru time to reach a place of safety. Guru Gobind Singh Ji agreed to the strategy, and rode about two miles forward with the bulk of the Khalsa army. Big white sheets of Khaddar, the course woven cloth, were spread out on the shrubs so that the Mughal army would think that the full army of Sikhs were camped there in great numbers. Fearlessly, the small band of Sikhs waited in ambush for the huge army of Wazir Khan to approach the tank in search of water. The battle of Mukhtsar began on the 8th of May, 1705. Under the leadership of Mai Bhago and Bhai Mahan Singh, the Sikhs from Majha fell upon the advancing Mughal forces with a fury free of petty revenge. Mai bhago was seen fighting in the first rank, firing her long-barrel musket with the skill and precision of a true soldier. The Mughal army rushed forward several times in an attempt to dislodge the Sikhs and capture the tank, but had withdraw each time under the fierce volley of bullets and arrows. When at last the Khalsa's ammunition was all used up, they advanced forward in small groups to engage the enemy in hand-to-hand combat. When her time came, Mai Bhago charged into the enemy ranks with a long spear, creating havoc and killing many Mughal soldiers. They were not fighting for victory that day, as the Mughal army out-numbered the Khalsa by about 500 to one. They had no thought of saving their lives. They only wished to win time, to stall the Mughal forces long enough so that Guru gobind Singh Ji and the rest of the Khalsa might advance to a better field of battle. By day's end, all the Khalsa lay dead in the battlefield.

Nearly 300 of the Turks lay with them in the same bloody bed. The battle had taken its toll and now the Mughal Army cried desperately for water. When Wazir Khan advanced forward to take possession of the water tank, he was shocked to find that it was bone dry. Morale had shrivelled in the blistering heat of the Punjabi heat and discipline in the ranks was quickly dissolving. Abandoning the dead and wounded where they lay, Wazir Khan and his army beat a hasty retreat in search of water for his despairing men.

As evening fell, Guru Gobind Singh Ji rode back to the battlefield of Khidrana. He got down from his horse and surveyed the bloody carnage that stretched before him. With a deep affection that he felt for his Khalsa, he knelt by each fallen soldier and blessed him. Coming to Bhai Mahan Singh, the Guru saw that he was not yet dead. He lifted his head gently and wiped the blood from his face. Mahan Singh opened his eyes and saw the beautiful face of Guru Gobind Singh Ji. The Guru asked him if he had any last wishes, and Mahan Sinigh begged him to tear up the document that he had signed renouncing the Guru. The Guru said, "You have done a great deed. You have saved the root of Sikhism in Majha. You are the Muktas, the liberated ones, delivered from the round of birth and death forever." Saying this, he reached in his belt and pulled out the paper they had signed in Anandpur and tore it up into little pieces that floated away on the wind. Continuing on, the Guru came to where Mai Bhago lay in the blood soaked grass. Dozens of Mughals lay dead around her where they had fallen in mortal combat. He was surprised to find a woman here on the battlefield. When he knelt to lift her head he saw that she too was barely alive, and he washed her face with cool water. She opened her eyes and saw the Guru's face in all his radiance. Such a beautiful sight, after such a brutal day, lifted her soul into spiritual ecstasy. Guru Gobind Singh Ji had her removed from the battlefield and her wounds were tended to by his physicians. When Mai Bhago recovered from her injuries, the Guru gave her amrit from his own hands and she became Mai Bhag Kaur. Having dedicated her life to the Khalsa, she stayed with Guru Gobind Singh Ji and served him as one of his personal guards. Dressed in male attire, she was one of only 10 Sikhs who were permitted to guard the Guru when he slept. She lived to be an old woman and died in Hazoor Sahib (Nanded, India) where she remained after the Guru's death.

The legacy of Mai Bhago Kaur lives in all of us. She showed the way for feminine strength to be courageous, powerful and dynamic. Her actions turned the course of history, and her courage under fire won her the love and respect of Siri Guru Gobind Singh Ji Mahahraj.

The wives and daughters of today's Khalsa should be given encouragement and support to pursue martial arts training. It is not always easy for women, as it goes against the social programming and expectations of our culture. It requires building physical strength that women often lack in childhood, and which is often difficult to acquire later on. Yet it is not only possible for women to become proficient in the martial arts, when given the chance we often excel. More importantly, it builds discipline, confidence and a strength of character that serves a women her entire life.