Battle of Bhangani

Battle of Bhangani
	Part of Hill States-Sikh Wars
Date	18 September 1686 or 1688
Location	Bhangani, near Paonta, Punjab region (now Himachal Pradesh)
Result	Sikh Victory
Belligerents
Akal Sena (Sikhs) Pir Budhu Shah's disciples; Udasis;	Alliance of 16 Hill States, including:; Kahlur; Garhwal; Kangra; Guler; Hindur; Siba; Jaswan
Commanders and leaders
Guru Gobind Rai; Bhai Daya Ram Sobhi; Sangtia Rai; Bhai Jit Mal †; Shah Sangram (Sango Shah) †; Mehri Chand; Ganga Ram; Lal Chand; Daya Ram; Mahant Kripal Das; Nand Chand; 'Uncle' Kirpal Chand; Sahib Chand; Pir Buddhu Shah;	Bhim Chand (Kahlur); Fateh Shah; Hari Chand †; Hayat Khan †; Najabat Khan †; Bhikhan Khan; Raja Gopal (Raj Singh) of Guler; Hari Chand (of Hindur); Madhukar Shah Dadwal (of Siba); Raja of Jaswan
Strength
1,000 with 507 reinforcements arriving later	10,000

The Battle of Bhangani was fought between Guru Gobind Singh's army and Bhim Chand (Kahlur) of Bilaspur on 18 September 1686 or 1688,^[6]^[7] at Bhangani near Paonta Sahib. An alliance of Rajput Rajas of the Shivalik Hills participated in the engagement on behalf of Bhim Chand of Bilaspur State's side, including the states of Garhwal and Kangra.^[8]^[9] It was the first battle Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru, fought at the age of 19.^[10]

Bichitra Natak, an autobiography generally attributed to Guru Gobind Singh, contains a detailed description of the battle.^[11]

^ Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh (February 2012). Birth of the Khalsa, The: A Feminist Re-Memory of Sikh Identity. SUNY Press. p. 27. ISBN 978-0-7914-8266-7.
^ Raj Pal Singh (2004). The Sikhs : Their Journey Of Five Hundred Years. Pentagon Press. p. 35. ISBN 9788186505465.
^ Phyllis G. Jestice (2004). Holy People of the World: A Cross-cultural Encyclopedia, Volume 1. ABC-CLIO. pp. 345, 346. ISBN 9781576073551.
^ Gandhi, Surjit (2007). The History of The Sikh Gurus Retold 1606 - 1708. Atlantic. pp. 774, 775. ISBN 978-8126908592.
^ Gandhi, Surjit (2007). The History of The Sikh Gurus Retold 1606 - 1708. Atlantic. p. 774. ISBN 978-8126908592.
^ Singha, H. S. (2000). The encyclopedia of Sikhism (over 1000 entries). New Delhi: Hemkunt Publishers. pp. 18–19. ISBN 81-7010-301-0. OCLC 243621542.
^ The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies. Oxford Handbooks. Oxford University Press. 2014. ISBN 9780191004124. A final context relevant to the Khalsa Heritage Complex is the town of Anandpur Sahib itself. Renowned as a site where the Sikh Khalsa was inaugurated by the tenth and final living Guru, Gobind Singh, Anandpur is already filled with important commemorative sites and structures. At the centre of the town lies Guru de Mahal, where the Guru and his family lived and where his followers built a dharmsal and langar. This is the reputed place where several Kashmiri pandits came seeking protection from Aurangzeb's army, in response to which Guru Tegh Bahadur made his fateful voyage to Delhi where he was martyred by the Mughal emperor. Gobind Rai, Tegh Bahadur's son, had been installed as Guru Gobind by his father prior to setting off for Delhi, and the spot where this took place, too, is commemorated at Anandpur. Guru Gobind returned to Chak Nanaki from Paonta in 1688 following his victory over an alliance of hill Rajas at the battle of Bhangani (Mann 2009). At the time of his return, the Guru founded a new centre which he called Anandpur, as an annex to Chak Nanaki.
^ Dahiya, Amardeep S. (2014). "Chapter 3 - Battles of Bhangani and Nadaun". Founder of the Khalsa : the Life and Times of Guru Gobind Singh. Carlsbad: Hay House. ISBN 978-93-81398-61-6. OCLC 881415374.
^ "Garhwal (Princely State)". Archived from the original on 27 October 2007. Retrieved 1 December 2007.
^ Singh, Bhagat Lakshman (1995). A Short Sketch of the Life and Works of Guru Gobind Singh. Asian Educational Services. p. 78. ISBN 978-81-206-0576-3. OCLC 55854929.
^ Fenech, Louis E. (2013). The Sikh Ẓafar-nāmah of Guru Gobind Singh : a discursive blade in the heart of the Mughal Empire. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-998060-4. OCLC 826068533. 49. Bachitar Natak 8:1-3, Dasam Granth, p. 60. Chapter 8 deals almost exclusively with the Battle of Bhangani after which the Guru went back to his patrimony and strengthened it. Bachitar Natak 8:36, Dasam Granth, p. 62. An intriguing understanding of this section of the Bachitar Natak (8:1-3) which sets it within the context of the love/violence reading of bhakti is Balbinder Singh Bhogal, "Text as Sword: Sikh Religious Violence Taken as Wonder," in John R. Hinnells and Richard King (eds.), Religion and Violence in South Asia: Theory and Practice (London: Routledge, 2007), pp. 121-22.

[1] Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh (February 2012). Birth of the Khalsa, The: A Feminist Re-Memory of Sikh Identity. SUNY Press. p. 27. ISBN 978-0-7914-8266-7.

[2] Raj Pal Singh (2004). The Sikhs : Their Journey Of Five Hundred Years. Pentagon Press. p. 35. ISBN 9788186505465.

[Phyllis2004-3] Phyllis G. Jestice (2004). Holy People of the World: A Cross-cultural Encyclopedia, Volume 1. ABC-CLIO. pp. 345, 346. ISBN 9781576073551.

[4] Gandhi, Surjit (2007). The History of The Sikh Gurus Retold 1606 - 1708. Atlantic. pp. 774, 775. ISBN 978-8126908592.

[5] Gandhi, Surjit (2007). The History of The Sikh Gurus Retold 1606 - 1708. Atlantic. p. 774. ISBN 978-8126908592.

[:0-6] Singha, H. S. (2000). The encyclopedia of Sikhism (over 1000 entries). New Delhi: Hemkunt Publishers. pp. 18–19. ISBN 81-7010-301-0. OCLC 243621542.

[:1-7] The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies. Oxford Handbooks. Oxford University Press. 2014. ISBN 9780191004124. A final context relevant to the Khalsa Heritage Complex is the town of Anandpur Sahib itself. Renowned as a site where the Sikh Khalsa was inaugurated by the tenth and final living Guru, Gobind Singh, Anandpur is already filled with important commemorative sites and structures. At the centre of the town lies Guru de Mahal, where the Guru and his family lived and where his followers built a dharmsal and langar. This is the reputed place where several Kashmiri pandits came seeking protection from Aurangzeb's army, in response to which Guru Tegh Bahadur made his fateful voyage to Delhi where he was martyred by the Mughal emperor. Gobind Rai, Tegh Bahadur's son, had been installed as Guru Gobind by his father prior to setting off for Delhi, and the spot where this took place, too, is commemorated at Anandpur. Guru Gobind returned to Chak Nanaki from Paonta in 1688 following his victory over an alliance of hill Rajas at the battle of Bhangani (Mann 2009). At the time of his return, the Guru founded a new centre which he called Anandpur, as an annex to Chak Nanaki.

[:2-8] Dahiya, Amardeep S. (2014). "Chapter 3 - Battles of Bhangani and Nadaun". Founder of the Khalsa : the Life and Times of Guru Gobind Singh. Carlsbad: Hay House. ISBN 978-93-81398-61-6. OCLC 881415374.

[9] "Garhwal (Princely State)". Archived from the original on 27 October 2007. Retrieved 1 December 2007.

[10] Singh, Bhagat Lakshman (1995). A Short Sketch of the Life and Works of Guru Gobind Singh. Asian Educational Services. p. 78. ISBN 978-81-206-0576-3. OCLC 55854929.

[11] Fenech, Louis E. (2013). The Sikh Ẓafar-nāmah of Guru Gobind Singh : a discursive blade in the heart of the Mughal Empire. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-998060-4. OCLC 826068533. 49. Bachitar Natak 8:1-3, Dasam Granth, p. 60. Chapter 8 deals almost exclusively with the Battle of Bhangani after which the Guru went back to his patrimony and strengthened it. Bachitar Natak 8:36, Dasam Granth, p. 62. An intriguing understanding of this section of the Bachitar Natak (8:1-3) which sets it within the context of the love/violence reading of bhakti is Balbinder Singh Bhogal, "Text as Sword: Sikh Religious Violence Taken as Wonder," in John R. Hinnells and Richard King (eds.), Religion and Violence in South Asia: Theory and Practice (London: Routledge, 2007), pp. 121-22.

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