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SAHIB DEVAN is by tradition
mother of the Khalsa, was the daughter
of Bhai Har Bhagvan alias Ramu, from
clan of a Bassi , and his wife,Jas Devi,
a devout Sikh couple of Rohtas, in Jehlum
district (now in Pakistan). Her parents
had from the beginning dedicated her
to the service of Guru Gobind Singh.
They took her along as they came to
Anandpur on the occasion of the Baisakhi
festival of 1700, and disclosed to the
Guru their heart's wish to give away
their daughter in marriage to him. The
Guru, who already had married and was
the father of four sons, refused the
offer. But when Bhai Har Bhagvan insisted
that their daughter had been brought
up as a prospective spouse of the Guru
and would not countenance marriage with
anyone else, he agreed, but made it
explicit that she would remain virgin
all her life. The nuptials took place
at Anandpur on 15 April 1700. Guru Gobind
Singh proclaimed Mata Sahib Devan to
be the mother of the Khalsa. Ever since
the custom has been that, at the time
of initiation, the novitiates declare
themselves to be the sons and daughters
of Guru Gobind Singh and Mata Sahib
Devan.
During the fateful night of 5-6 December
1705, after Anandpur had been evacuated,
the Guru's withdrawing column was attacked
on the bank of the rlvulet Sarsa. In
the confusion that followed, the Guru's
family and disciples got scattered,
and Mata Sahib Devan and Mata Sundari
were escorted by Bhai Mani Singh to
Delhi. They rejoined the Guru at Talvandi
Sabo for some time during 1706 and were
sent back to Delhi before Guru Gobind
Singh set out on his journey through
the desert of Rajasthan on his way to
meet Emperor Aurangzib in the South.
But on learning of the emperor's death,
he changed his course and went to Agra
via Delhi to meet the new emperor, Bahadur
Shah, whom he accompanied to Rajasthan
and onward to the Deccan in 1708. Bahadur
Shah, along with the Nawab of Sarhind
conspired by hiring two Afghani mercenaries
who later in disguise attacked Guru
Gobind Singh. This time Mata Sahib Devan
accompanied Guru Gobind Singh to Nanded,
but again, shortly before his assassination
in early October 1708, she was persuaded
to return to Delhi and stay with Mata
Sundari. She brought with her from Nanded
five weapons said to have originally
belonged to Guru Hargobied. From Delhi
she, jointly with Mata Sundari, supervised
the affairs of the community as is evident
from some of the hukamnamas issued to
sangats in her name.The exact date of
Mata Sahib Devan's death is not known,
but it is believed that she passed away
some time before Mata Sundari who died
in 1747. The available hukamnamas issued
by Mata Sahib Devan bear dates between
1726 and 1734 indicating that she must
have expired some time between 1734
and 1747. The memorial in her honour
stands close to the one commemorating
Mata Sundari in the premises of Gurdwara
Bala Sahib, New Delhi. The weapons said
to have been brought by her from Nanded
are preserved as sacred relics in Gurdwara
Rikabganj in Parliament Street, New
Delhi.
Copyright © Harbans Singh "The
encyclopedia of Sikhism. "
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