Page 57 - Lohgarh

Founding of Lohgarh Fort w 57

taken refuge with the Guru and had been living at Keeratpur. Bhai Lakhi
Rai Vanjara and other major traders like Bhai Mai Das Parmar (father of
Bhai Mani Singh) and Bhai Dasa (father of Makhan Shah Lubana) too
used to make frequent visits to the Guru. It seems that during this time
the Guru planned the construction of a Fort. Lakhi Rai Vanjara was the
owner of a great track of land in the Shivalik foothills (between Kala
Amb and Yamna river), he might have offered to build a Fort. The
construction of the Lohgarh Fort seems to have been begun by Lakhi
Rai Vanjara under the instructions of the Guru.
rd
Guru Hargobind breathed his last on the 3 of March 1644. When
his body was cremated, a former Rajput ruler jumped into the pyre and
immolated himself (it was a Rajput way of expression of love and
devotion); this Rajput ruler had sought asylum at Keeratpur after having
killed several Mughals to save the honour of his daughter. At the time
of the Guru’s funeral, he became so emotional that he could not bear
separation from the Guru; when another Rajput tried to jump into the
pyre, Guru Har Rai stopped him; he, however, killed himself with his
own dagger; he too was cremated along with the Guru.
Guru Har Rai spent early days of Guruship at Keeratpur. In 1645,
Tara Chand, the ruler of Kehlur (Bilaspur) State, stopped paying tribute
to the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, and the latter ordered his arrest.
The Guru advised him to either declare sovereignty or get ready to fight
against the Mughal Emperor or pay him the amount of tribute. But he
did not bother for the Guru’s advice (eventually he was arrested and
imprisoned). When Tara Chand did not bother for the Guru, the latter
left Keeratpur and moved to Thapal (in the old state of Nahan/Sirmaur,
in Lohgarh zone). It seems that major work of construction of Lohgarh
Fort was done during stay of Guru at Thapal. On the other hand, when
Tara Chand was released, he visited Guru Har Rai at Thapal and requested
him to return to Keeratpur.

Endnotes
1. Bhai Nanhu Shah Vanjara was martyred in the battle of Ruhila and he
became the first sikh martydom. Bhai Nanhu Shah is the ancestor of Bhai
Mani Singh and Bhai Bhagwant Singh Bangeshwari.