Page 56 - Lohgarh

56 w Lohgarh : The World’s Largest Fort

Guru toured the area around river Satluj and selected some territory of
the villages of Kalyanpur, Bhatoli and Jiowal and paid the price of the
land. At first Raja Kalyan Chand refused to accept money, but when the
Guru refused to accept donations of land, he (the king) had to accept
the money.

Purchase of Land For Establishment of Keeratpur
Though the Guru had purchased the land but he could not move to
the new place; finally, he asked his eldest son Gurditta to take charge
of the land. Gurditta founded the city of Keeratpur on the 1 of May
st
1624 and began living there.
From 1624 to 1634, Guru Hargobind stayed at Guru-Da-Chakk (now
Amritsar). During this period, Jahangir, the Mughal Emperor had died

on 28October 1627; he was succeeded by Shah Jahan. With the passage
of time, Shah Jahan too came under the influence of fanatic Muslim
clergy. During this the Guru had to face attacks by some minor Muslim
generals and chieftains. The Guru had to face three attacks: on 13 April
1634 at Guru-Da-Chakk, on 16-17 December 1634 Mehraj and on 26-
28 April 1635 Kartarpur.
Though the Guru had won all the three battles, he realized that this
won’t end anywhere, and there would be further attacks and clashes;
so, he decided to leave the plains and move to Keeratpur, a city founded
by him in Bilaspur state. Having discussed it with his courtiers, on the
th
29 of April 1635, he left Kartarpur for Keeratpur.
rd
Guru Hargobind reached Keeratpur on the 3 of May 1635. Now
Keeratpur became the major centre of the Sikhs. Besides the Sikhs,
most of the rulers of the hill states too began visiting the Guru. They
were pleased to see the Guru near them because they knew that the
Guru had defeated the invading armies several times; and they expected
the Guru to defend them in case of a Mughal attack.
During the Guru’s stay at Keeratpur, the rulers of Kehlur (Bilaspur),
Handur (Nalagarh), Sirmaur (Nahan) and other states used to send
regular messages and even paid visits to the Gurus. During this time,
several Rajput rulers and princes as well as other political refugees had