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{{Infobox noble
| birth_date =
| birth_place = [[Karyala]], in the [[Jhelum District]] (present day Pakistan)
| death_date = 1675
| death_place = [[Chandni Chowk]], [[Old Delhi|Delhi]], [[India]]
| father = Bhai Hira Nand
| mother =
| name = Bhai Mati Das
| image = Bhai Mati Das.jpg
| caption = Artsistic rendering of the execution of Bhai Mati Das by the Mughals. This image is from a [[Sikh Ajaibghar]] near the towns of Mohali and Sirhind in Punjab, India
}}

'''Bhai Mati Das''' ([[Punjabi language|Punjabi]]: ਭਾਈ ਮਤੀ ਦਾਸ; died 1675), along with his younger brother [[Bhai Sati Das]] were [[martyr]] of [[Sikh]] history. Bhai Mati Das, [[Bhai Dayala]], and Bhai Sati Das were executed at a ''kotwali'' (police-station) in the [[Chandni Chowk]] area of [[Old Delhi|Delhi]], under the express orders of Emperor [[Aurangzeb]] just before the martyrdom of [[Guru Tegh Bahadur]]. Bhai Mati Das was executed by being bound between two pillars and cut in two.{{sfn|Singh, H.|2011|p=15}}

==Biography==
===Birth===
Bhai Mati Das belonged to a [[Mohyal]] [[Brahmin]] Chibber family.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Bakhshish |title=Proceedings: Ed. Parm Bakhshish Singh, Volume 1 Punjab History Conference |date=1998 |publisher=Punjabi University |location=Patiala |isbn=9788173804625 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fQpDAAAAYAAJ |page=113 |quote=He was connected with Mati Das and Sati Das , the Mohyal brahmins who according to him had acted as the diwans of Guru Tegh Bahadur and suffered martyrdom.}}</ref> He lived in the ancient village of [[Karyala]], about ten kilometres from [[Chakwal]] on the road to the [[Katas Raj Temples]] in the [[Jhelum District]] in [[Punjab (Pakistan)]]. [[Bhai Sati Das]] was his younger brother. Bhai Mati Das was the son of Hira Nand, a disciple of [[Guru Har Gobind]], under whom he had fought in many battles and was a great warrior. Hira Nand was the grandson of Lakhi Das, the son of the Bhai Praga,{{sfn|Gandhi|2007|page=593}} who was also a martyr and had been a ''[[Jathedar]]'' (leader) in Guru Hargobind's first battle.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.sikh-history.com/sikhhist/martyrs/satidass.html |title=Bhai Sati Dass and Bhai Mati Dass |website=sikh-history.com |access-date=14 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190113030450/http://www.sikh-history.com/sikhhist/martyrs/satidass.html |archive-date=13 January 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Service of Guru Tegh Bahadur===

During the time after [[Guru Har Krishan]]'s death at Delhi, and the uncertainty over who would be the next Guru, Bhai Mati Das, and Bhai Sati Das are sometimes mentioned as being present looking for the Guru<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kohli |first1=Mohindar |title=Guru Tegh Bahadur: Testimony of Conscience |date=1992 |publisher=Sahitya Akademi |isbn=9788172012342 |page=14}}</ref> or directly after<ref>{{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Prithi Pal |title=The History of Sikh Gurus |date=2006 |publisher=Lotus Press |location=New Delhi |isbn=9788183820752 |page=116}}</ref> when [[Baba Makhan Shah Labana]] found Guru Tegh Bahadur in the village of Bakala where the new Guru was then residing.

The new Guru entrusted all his financial activities to Bhai Mati Das, and thus he is sometimes given the name Diwan Mati Das,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Stracey |first1=Rusell |title=The History of the Muhiyals: The Militant Brahman Race of India |date=1911 |page=24}}</ref> whereas Bhai Sati Das served Guru Tegh Bahadur as a cook.{{sfn|Singh, H.S.|1998|page=76}} The two brothers accompanied Guru Teg Bahadur during his two-year stay at [[Assam]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gupta |first1=Hari |title=History of the Sikhs: The Sikh Gurus, 1469-1708 |date=1984 |publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal |isbn=9788121502764 |page=375}}</ref> Guru Tegh Bahadur then bought a hillock near the village of Makhowal five miles north of Kiratpur and established a new town, Chakk Nanaki<ref>{{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Harbans |title=Guru Tegh Bahadur |publisher=Sterling Publishers |page=98}}</ref> now named [[Anandpur Sahib]] (the abode of bliss) where Bhai Mati Das and Bhai Sati Das also resided.

====The Guru's eastern tours====
Bhai Mati Das and Bhai Sati Das were present on the Guru's eastern tours beginning in August 1665 including the tours of [[Saifabad]]{{sfn|Gandhi|2007|page=629}}</ref> and Dhamtan (Bangar){{sfn|Gandhi|2007|p=630}} where they were arrested perhaps because of the influence of Dhir Mal, or the [[Ulemas]] and orthodox [[Brahmins]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Fauja |last2=Talib |first2=Gurbachan |title=Guru Tegh Bahadur: Martyr and Teacher |date=1975 |publisher=Punjabi University |location=Patiala |page=44}}</ref> The Guru was sent to Delhi and detained for one month.{{sfn|Gandhi|2007|p=631}} After being freed in December 1665, he continued his tour and Bhai Mati Das and Bhai Sati Das were again in his company particularly at [[Dacca]], and [[Malda district|Malda]].{{sfn|Gandhi|2007|p=632}}

===Guru's Arrest===
[[File:Inside view of red fort.jpg|thumb|Inside view of [[Red Fort]] at [[Chandni Chowk]], Delhi]]
In 1675 the Guru was summoned by Emperor [[Aurangzeb]] to Delhi to convert to Islam.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Hari |title=Sikh Heritage, Gurdwaras & Memorials in Pakistan |date=1994 |publisher=Asian Publication Services |page=80}}</ref> Aurangzeb was very happy that all he had to do was covert one man and the rest of the Hindus from [[Kashmir]], [[Kurukshetra]], [[Haridwar|Hardwar]], and [[Varanasi|Beneras]] would follow suit.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Trilochan |title=Guru Tegh Bahadur Prophet and Martyr (A Biography) |date=1967 |publisher=Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Parbhandak Committee |location=Sis Ganj, Chandni Chowk, Delhi |page=376}}</ref> The Guru left for Delhi on his own accord but was arrested at Malikpur Rangharan near [[Ropar]].{{sfn|Singh, P.|2007}} While the Guru was traveling towards Delhi his company at this time consisted of his most devoted Sikhs including [[Bhai Dayala]], Bhai Udai, and Bhai Jaita (Rangretta) as well as Bhai Mati Das and Bhai Sati Das.{{sfn|Singh, I.|2014|p=384}} After visiting a few places where large crowds of devotees had gathered the Guru sent Bhai Jaita and Bhai Udai to Delhi to scout ahead and report back to him and to Anandpur as well.{{sfn|Singh, I.|2014|p=384}}

After being arrested Guru Tegh Bahadur was taken to [[Sirhind]] and from there he was sent to Delhi in an iron cage.{{sfn|Singh, P.|2007|p=}}
At Delhi, the Guru and his five companions were taken into the council chamber of the [[Red Fort]]. The Guru was asked numerous questions on religion, [[Hinduism]], [[Sikhism]] and [[Islam]], such as why he was sacrificing his life for people who wear the [[Janeu]] and the [[Tilak]] when he himself was a Sikh. The Guru answered that the Hindus were powerless and weak against tyranny. They had come to the abode of Guru Nanak as refuge, and with the same logic he would have sacrificed his life for Muslims as well.{{sfn|Singh, I.|2014|p=384}} On the Guru's emphatic refusal to abjure his faith, he was asked why he was called ''Teg Bahadur'' (gladiator or Knight of the Sword; before this, his name had been ''Tyag Mal''). Bhai Mati Das immediately replied that the Guru had won the title by inflicting a heavy blow on the imperial forces at the young age of fourteen. Guru Tegh Bahadur was reprimanded for his breach of etiquette and outspokenness, and the Guru and his companions were ordered to be imprisoned and tortured until they agreed to embrace Islam.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Venkatesvararavu |first1=Adiraju |title=Sikhs and India: Identity crisis |date=1991 |publisher=Sri Satya Publications |page=36}}</ref>

===Guru's Martyrdom===
{{main|Martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadar}}
After a few days, Guru Tegh Bahadur and three of his companions were again brought before the [[Qazi]] of the city and again the Sikhs repeated their sentiments.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Gurpreet |title=Ten Masters |date=2017 |publisher=Diamond Pocket Books Pvt Ltd}}</ref> Bhai Mati Das was offered marriage of the Nawab's daughter as well as governorship of the province if he converted to Islam.{{sfn|Singh, G.|2005|page=100}}

On November 11, 1676,{{sfn|Gandhi|2007|p=664}} large crowds gathered to see the Guru<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gill |first1=Pritam |title=Guru Tegh Bahadur, The Unique Martyr |date=1975 |publisher=New Academic Pub. Co. |page=69}}</ref> and the executioners were called to the ''kotwali'' (police-station) near the Sunehri Masjid in the [[Chandni Chowk]]. The Guru, who was kept in an iron cage,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Surinder |first1=Johar |title=Guru Tegh Bahadur: A Bibliography |date=1975 |publisher=Abhinav Publications |location=New Delhi |isbn=9788170170303 |page=206}}</ref> and his three companions were moved to the place of execution. Mughal Empire records from the 17th century explain Bhai Mati Das' death as punishment for challenging the authorities.<ref name="martyrdom">{{Cite web|url=http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/2001/10/16/stories/05162524.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020228135707/http://thehindu.com/thehindu/2001/10/16/stories/05162524.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=28 February 2002|website=[[The Hindu]]|title=Guru Tegh Bahadur's martyrdom|date=2001-10-16|access-date=12 November 2016}}</ref> Bhai Mati Das, [[Bhai Dayala]] and Bhai Sati Das were then tortured and executed.

====Martyrdom of Bhai Mati Das====
Bhai Mati Das, the first to be martyred,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Arneja |first1=Simran |title=Ik Onkar One God |date=2009 |isbn=9788184650938 |pages=45}}</ref> was asked if he had any final wishes. He replied that he desired to be facing towards the guru on his execution.{{sfn|Singh, G.|2005|p=100}} Bhai Mati Das was made to stand erect between two posts and a double headed saw was placed on his head and he was sawed from his head to his loins.{{sfn|Gupta|1978|p=376}} While this was happening, Bhai Mati Das recited the ''[[Japji Sahib|Japuji Sahib]]''.{{sfn|Singh, G.|2005|p=100}} There is a mystical belief that the recitation of the [[Gurbani]] continued and was completed even though the body was in two distinct halves.{{sfn|Singh, H.|2011|p=15}} Seeing this, Dyal Das abused the Emperor and his courtiers for this infernal act.{{sfn|Singh, H.S.|2005|page=56}}

====Martyrdom of Bhai Dayala and Bhai Sati Das====
[[Bhai Dayala]] was tied up like a round bundle and put into a huge bronze{{sfn|Singh, G.|2005|p=100}} cauldron of boiling oil. He was roasted alive into a block of charcoal.{{sfn|Singh, H.S.|1998|p=56}} No sign of grief was shown by the disciples of the Guru{{sfn|Singh, H.|2011|p=15}} and the Guru also witnessed this savagery with divine calm.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gupta |first1=Hari |title=History of the Sikhs: The Sikh Gurus, 1469-1708 |date=1978 |publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal |page=376}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Duggal |first1=Kartar |title=The Sikh Gurus: Their Lives and Teachings |date=1980 |publisher=Vikas |isbn=9780706909951 |page=176}}</ref>

Bhai Sati Das was tied to a pole<ref>{{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Prithi Pal |title=The History of Sikh Gurus |date=2006 |publisher=Lotus Press |location=New Delhi |isbn=9788183820752 |page=124}}</ref> and wrapped in cotton fibre. He was then set on fire by the executioner.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Corduan |first1=Winfried |title=Neighboring Faiths: A Christian Introduction to World Religions |date=2013 |publisher=InterVarsity Press |isbn=9780830871971 |page=383}}</ref> He remained calm and peaceful and kept uttering ''[[Waheguru|Waheguru Gurmantar]]'', while fire consumed his body.

====Martyrdom of the Guru====
[[File:Sis Ganj Sahib Gurudwara, Chandni Chowk, Delhi.JPG|thumb|[[Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib]], [[Chandni Chowk]], Delhi]]
Early the next morning Guru Tegh Bahadur was beheaded by an executioner named Jalal-ud-din Jallad,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ralhan |first1=O. P. |title=The Great Gurus of the Sikhs: Banda Bahadur, Asht Ratnas etc |date=1997 |publisher=Anmol Publications Pvt Ltd. |isbn=9788174884794 |page=9}}</ref> who resided in the town of [[Samana, Punjab|Samana]] in present-day [[Punjab, India|Punjab]]. The spot of the execution was under a banyan tree (the trunk of the tree and well near-by where he took a bath are still preserved),<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sahi |first1=Joginder |title=Sikh Shrines in India & Abroad |date=1978 |publisher=Common World |page=60}}</ref> opposite the Sunheri Masjid near the Kotwali in Chandni Chowk, where he was lodged as a prisoner, on November 11, 1675.

His head was carried by Bhai Jaita,{{sfn|Singh, H.S.|2005|p=187}} a disciple of the Guru, to Anandpur, where the nine-year-old [[Guru Gobind Singh]] cremated it (The [[gurdwara]] at this spot is also called ''Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib''). The body, before it could be quartered, was stolen under the cover of darkness by Lakhi Shah Vanjara, another disciple, who carried it in a cart of hay and cremated it by burning his hut. The [[Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib]] stands today at this location.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Das |first1=Madan |title=Story Of Harry Singh & Sophie Kaur |date=2014 |publisher=Partridge India |isbn=9781482821352 |page=168}}</ref> Later on, the [[Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib]], was built at Chandni Chowk at the site of Guru's martyrdom.

==Legacy==
Bhai Mati Das is regarded as a great martyr by the [[Sikh]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.searchsikhism.com/bhai-mati-das|title=Bhai Mati Das Ji profile|website=searchsikhism.com|access-date=12 November 2016}}</ref> The date of his martyrdom, is celebrated in certain parts of [[India]] as a public holiday.<sup>[[Guru Tegh Bahadur#cite note-37|[37]]][[Guru Tegh Bahadur#cite note-38|[38]]][[Guru Tegh Bahadur#cite note-39|[39]]]</sup> Bhai Mati Das' martydom finds explicit mention<ref>{{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Inder Pal |title=The Grandeur of Khalsa |date=1999 |publisher=Guru Nanak Dev University |location=Amritsar |page=77}}</ref> in the daily supplication prayers of [[Ardas]].

The Bhai Mati Das Sati Das Museum was built in honor of Bhai Mati Das and Bhai Sati Das in Delhi opposite [[Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib]], Chandni Chowk the spot where they were martyred.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kindersley |first1=Dorling |title=Top 10 Delhi |date=2010 |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |location=New York |isbn=9780756688493 |page=10|edition= First}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Fodor's Essential India: with Delhi, Rajasthan, Mumbai & Kerala |date=2015 |publisher=[[Fodor's]] Travel |isbn=9781101878682}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Guru Tegh Bahadur]]
*[[Bhai Dayala|Bhai Dyal Das]]
*[[Bhai Sati Das]]
*[[Guru Gobind Singh]]
*[[Chhibber]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{cite book |last1=Gandhi |first1=Surjit |title=History of Sikh Gurus Retold: 1606-1708 C.E |date=2007 |publisher=Atlantic Publishers |isbn=9788126908585}}
* {{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Gurpreet |title=Soul of Sikhism |date=2005 |publisher=Fusion Books |location=Delhi |isbn=9788128800856 |ref={{harvid|Singh, G.|2005}}}}
* {{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Harbans |title=The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism: S-Z |date=1998 |publisher=Publications Bureau |location=Patiala |isbn=9788173805301 |ref={{harvid|Singh, H.S.|1998}}}}
** {{cite book|last1=Singh|first1=H. S.|title=The Encyclopedia of Sikhism|date=2005|publisher=Hemkunt Press|location=New Delhi|isbn=8170103010|edition=Second |ref={{harvid|Singh, H.S.|2005}}}}
* {{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Harjinder |title=Game of Love |date=2011 |publisher=Akaal Publishers |location=Walsall |isbn=9780955458712 |edition= Second |ref={{harvid|Singh, H.|2011}}}}
* {{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Iqbal |title=Sikh Faith - An Epitome of Inter-Faith for Divine Realisation |date=2014 |publisher=Kalgidhar Trust |location=Sant Attar Singh Hari Sadhu Ashram |page=384 |edition=Second |ref={{harvid|Singh, I.|2014}}}}
* {{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Patwant |title=The Sikhs |date=2007 |publisher=Crown Publishing G. |isbn=9780307429339 |ref={{harvid|Singh, P.|2007}}}}
*[http://www.searchsikhism.com/mati.html Bhai Mati Das Ji] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204133702/http://www.searchsikhism.com/mati.html |date=2012-02-04 }}, searchsikhism.com; accessed 12 November 2016.
*Kartar Singh, ''Sikh History Book 5'', Hemkunt Press, New Delhi, India 

{{Sikhism}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Das, Bhai Mati}}
[[Category:Sikh martyrs]]
[[Category:Punjabi people]]
[[Category:History of Punjab]]
[[Category:People executed for refusing to convert to Islam]]
[[Category:Executed Indian people]]
[[Category:People executed by the Mughal Empire]]
[[Category:People from Jhelum District]]
[[Category:17th-century executions in India]]
[[Category:1621 births]]
[[Category:1675 deaths]]
[[Category:Victims of human rights abuses]]
[[Category:People executed by India by decapitation]]

Bhai Mati Das - Revision history

>InternetArchiveBot at 23:46, 28 May 2021