Page 55 - Lohgarh

Founding of Lohgarh Fort w 55

Battle of Ruhila:

Guru Arjan had founded Gobindpur (now Sri Hargobindpur) at the site
of the ruins of the erstwhile Ruhila village on the right bank of river
Beas. After the arrest of Guru Hargobind, this village had been occupied
by Chandu and Bhagwan Das Gherar (father of his daughter-in-law).
When Guru Sahib chose to stay at Guru-Da-Chakk, he decided to take
possession of Gobindpur. Although Chandu had been killed in the
summer of 1620, his son Karam Chand had still not learnt a lesson.
When he came to know that the Guru had taken possession of
Gobindpur, he collected a large number of men and attacked the Sikhs.
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A battle was fought on the 27 of September 1621 . The Sikhs battled
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the invaders and gave them a crushing defeat. After their defeat, they
approached the police chief of the Jalandhar - Doab and offered him
money and requested him to help them. He agreed and sent several
Mughal soldiers to help them.
This army reached Ruhila on the morning of the 3 of October 1621;
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that day, another battle was fought; this was a decisive battle in which
Chandu’s son Karam Chand, his father-in-law Bhagwan Das Gherar and
(Bhagwan Das’s son) Ratan Chand were killed. After their deaths, their
mercenaries fled the field. After this, none dared to attack the Sikhs.
When the news of Guru’s victory at Ruhila reached Kalyan Chand (ruler
of Bilaspur), he contacted other hill chiefs and decided to visit the Guru
to congratulate him. In fact, they wanted to seek the favour of the
Guru in case they had to face an enemy attack or clashes with the Mughal
Emperor.
On the 28 of March 1624, a big gathering of the Sikhs was held at
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Guru-Da-Chakk; those who attended included the rulers of Bilaspur and
Handur etc. (whom Guru Sahib had got released from Gwalior Fort prison
in 1619). The ruler of Nahan (Sirmaur state) too joined Kalyan Chand.
Kalyan Chand, the ruler of Bilaspur, requested the Guru to establish his
headquarters in his country; he made an offer of land too. The Guru
was already interested in a strategic defense bastion so he agreed to
establish a new village, but refused to accept the gift of the land. The