Banda Singh Bahadur

Banda Singh Jathedar
Depiction of Banda Singh Bahadur, during the Battle of Sirhind (1710), from an illustrated folio of ‘Tawarikh-i Jahandar Shah’, Awadh or Lucknow, ca.1770
Jathedar of the First Sikh State
Reign	26 November 1709 – 7 December 1715
Predecessor	Position established
Successor	Position disestablished
Born	Lachman Dev 27 October 1670 (1670-10-27) Rajauri, Poonch, Mughal Empire[1] (present-day Jammu and Kashmir, India)
Died	9 June 1716 (1716-06-10) (aged 45) Delhi, Mughal Empire (present-day India)
Spouse(s)	Susheel Kaur Sahib Kaur[2]
Issue	Ajay Singh Ranjit Singh[2]
Signature
‹ The template Infobox religious biography is being considered for merging. ›
Religious life
Religion	Sikhism
Religious career
Teacher	Guru Gobind Singh
Military career
Other name(s)	Madho Das Bairagi Banda Bairagi
Allegiance	Khalsa Khalsa Fauj First Sikh State
Years of service	1708–1716
Rank	Jathedar
Battles / wars	Battle of Sonipat Battle of Samana Battle of Kapuri Battle of Sadhaura Battle of Ropar (1710) Battle of Chappar Chiri Siege of Sirhind Battle of Saharanpur Battle of Jalalabad (1710) Battle of Thanesar (1710) Siege of Kotla Begum (1710) Battle of Bhilowal Battle of Rahon Siege of Lohgarh Battle of Bilaspur (1711) Battle of Jammu (1712) Second Battle of Lohgarh Battle of Kiri Pathan (1714) Siege of Gurdaspur Battle of Gurdas Nangal

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Banda Singh Bahadur; born Lachman Dev;^[3][1][4] (27 October 1670 – 9 June 1716), was a Sikh warrior and a general of the Khalsa Army. At age 15, he left home to become an ascetic, and was given the name Madho Das Bairagi. He established a monastery at Nānded, on the bank of the river Godāvarī. In 1707, Guru Gobind Singh accepted an invitation to meet Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah I in southern India, he visited Banda Singh Bahadur in 1708. Banda became disciple of Guru Gobind Singh and was given a new name, Gurbaksh Singh (as written in Mahan Kosh^[5]), after the baptism ceremony. He is popularly known as Banda Singh Bahadur. He was given five arrows by the Guru as a blessing for the battles ahead. He came to Khanda, Sonipat and assembled a fighting force and led the struggle against the Mughal Empire.

His first major action was the sacking of the Mughal provincial capital, Samana, in November 1709.^[1] After establishing his authority and the Sikh Republic in Punjab,^{[6][page needed]} Banda Singh Bahadur abolished the zamindari (feudal) system, and granted property rights to the tillers of the land. Banda Singh was captured by the Mughals and tortured to death in 1715–1716.