Bibi Bhani (

Gurmukhi Gurmukhī ( pa, ਗੁਰਮੁਖੀ, , Shahmukhi: ) is an abugida developed from the Laṇḍā scripts, standardized and used by the second Sikh guru, Guru Angad (1504–1552). It is used by Punjabi Sikhs to write the language, commonly ...

: ਬੀਬੀ ਭਾਨੀ; January 19, 1535 – April 9, 1598), also known as Mata Bhani (Gurmukhi: ਮਾਤਾ ਭਾਨੀ), was the daughter of

Guru Amar Das Guru Amar Das (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਅਮਰ ਦਾਸ, pronunciation: ; 5 May 1479 – 1 September 1574), sometimes spelled as Guru Amardas, was the third of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism and became Sikh Guru on 26 March 1552 at age 73. Befo ...

, the third Sikh Guru. She played a central role in the history of

Sikhism Sikhism (), also known as Sikhi ( pa, ਸਿੱਖੀ ', , from pa, ਸਿੱਖ, lit=disciple', 'seeker', or 'learner, translit=Sikh, label=none),''Sikhism'' (commonly known as ''Sikhī'') originated from the word ''Sikh'', which comes fro ...

Early life

Bibi Bhani was born to Guru Amar Das and Mata Mansa Devi on 19 January 1535 in Basarke Gillan, a village near Amritsar. Her older sister was Bibi Dani and two brothers were Bhai Mohan and Bhai Mohri. On 18 February 1554 she married Bhai Jetha (whose name was later changed to Guru Ram Das), a Sodhi

Khatri Khatri is a caste of the Indian subcontinent that is predominantly found in India, but also in Pakistan and Afghanistan. In the subcontinent, they were mostly engaged in mercantilistic professions such as banking and trade, they were the d ...

from Lahore. Bhai Jetha later moved to

Goindval Goindwal ( pa, ਗੋਇੰਦਵਾਲ, meaning ‘City of Govind’, an epithet of God), also known as Goindwal Sahib and alternatively transliterated as Goindval, is located in Taran Taran district in the Majha region of the state of Punjab ...

, a Sikh town, and carried out voluntary service (''sewa'') in the construction of

Baoli Stepwells (also known as vavs or baori) are wells or ponds with a long corridor of steps that descend to the water level. Stepwells played a significant role in defining subterranean architecture in western India from 7th to 19th century. So ...

Sahib (sacred well). They had three sons: Prithi Chand, Maha Dev, and Arjan Dev. She kept serving her father after her marriage, as her in-laws were local. As the completion of the

Gurdwara A gurdwara (sometimes written as gurudwara) (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ''guradu'ārā'', meaning "Door to the Guru") is a place of assembly and worship for Sikhs. Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as ''Gurdwara Sahib''. People from all faiths ...

at Goindval neared, Guru Amar Das charged Bhai Jetha with the task of establishing a new Sikh center at a location that first was known as Ramdasar. Noticing that the waters of the pond were said to have "curative" powers, Bhai Jetha expanded the pond into a sarovar that he named Amritsar. It was in the center of this "Lake of

Amrit Amrit ( ar, عمريت), the classical Marathus ( grc-gre, Μάραθος, ''Marathos''), was a Phoenician port located near present-day Tartus in Syria. Founded in the third millenniumBC, Marat ( phn, 𐤌𐤓𐤕, ) was the northernmost imp ...

" that the construction of the Harmandar Sahib was begun. The modern city of Amritsar took its name from Bhai Jetha's sarovar. According to one version of accounts, the land that was used for the building of Ramdaspur was bestowed upon her as a donation by Mughal emperor Akbar during his visit to Guru Amar Das. She is said to have served her father devoutly. One story involves her seeing Guru Amar Das meditating on a wooden seat. She noticed one of the legs of the seat were about to break so she used her hands to keep the seat upright to prevent the Guru from falling. After the Guru finished meditating, he noticed her hand was bleeding from holding the seat upright. After witnessing this, the Guru told her that her offspring will inherit the guruship. Bibi Bhani died in Goindval on 9 April 1598.

References

Sources

* Copyright © Harbans Singh "The encyclopedia of Sikhism. Vol III." pages 1 – 4 * Bhalla, Sarup Das, Mahima Prakash. Patiala, 1971 * Chhibbar, Kesar Singh, Bansavalinama Dasan Patshahiali Ka. Chandigarh, 1972 * Gian Singh, Giani, Twarikh Curu Khalsa. Patiala, 1970 {{DEFAULTSORT:Bhani, Mata Family members of the Sikh gurus 1535 births 1598 deaths Punjabi people

Early life

See also

References

Sources