Kot Kapura / Kapura Singh

[Premi]

Was listening to Katha recently and Kapura was mentioned

 

Got this from SS

https://www.sikhsangat.com/index.php?/topic/15675-how-kapura-suffered-for-not-obeying-guru-ji/&tab=comments#comment-138658

WAHEGURU JI KA KHALSA WAHEGURU JI KI FATEH

Kapura of Kot Kapura

Siri Guru Gobind Singh jee Maharaaj arrived at the small town of Kot Kapura while traveling in Malwa region. Siri Guru jee had already fought the greatest battles of his life. Sahibzaday had been martyred. The battle of Chamkaur had been fought. Guru Sahib with bleeding Charan Kamal had already been in Machhiwara.

Now Siri Guru jee arrived at Kot Kapura. Singhs found an appropriate place to park their horses and collected dry wood for langar. As usual Siri Guru jee did Sat Sangat twice a day. Upon Siri Guru jee’s arrival sangat from villages around Kot Kapura came for darshan of Siri Guru jee. Kapura the chieftain of Kot Kapura too heard of Siri Guru jee’s arrival. He resolved to get darshan of Siri Guru jee and for this purpose adorned his horse and with his servants and bodyguards arrived at the diwan of Siri Guru jee.

Kapura was carrying weapons and so were his bodyguards. He did Matha Tek to Guru Sahib and seeing his weapons, Siri Guru jee asked him,

Kaho Kapura, Aayudh dharae ||

Dhir Beerta Ketak karae ||

Ran ke Chaump Bisaal ke naahi?

Jis tey Bir Parampad paahee||

(Say O Kapura, you who are adorned with beautiful weapons, How much Yudh (battle) do you do? Is your yearning for Yudh a lot or not? Warriors reach their highest destination through Dharam Yudh).

Kapura was taken aback by Siri Guru jee’s straight talk. He replied:

Kahio Kapura Siri Guru Naath ||

Ih Jag Naath, Aap ke haath ||

Dhir Bir ko Bhir Banavo ||

Bhirun tey bahu Yudh Machavo ||

(Said Kapura, O Siri Guru Naath jee, all the Masters / rulers of this world are in your control. You, at your will, can make courageous warriors mere cowards and you can turn cowards into warriors and enable them to do frightening battles).

Siri Guru jee was pleased at Kapura’s humility and said, “Bhalo Kapuray, Bhalo Kapuray”. Further Siri Guru jee asked him what else was he indulging himself in. Kapura truthfully answered that he enjoys holding fights of cocks and he also kept falcons and other fighters birds as pets.

Kapura was a small chieftain of Kot Kapura town but his palace was very strategic for battles. Guru Sahib was interested in fortifying his fort and battling the forces of Vazir Khan of Sirhind and defeating the imperial army there. There is no doubt that Guru Sahib would have done this if Kapura had agreed to give his fort to Guru Sahib.

Next day again, diwan of Siri Guru jee was on. Sangat came as usual. Kapura came along with his bodyguards. He had a very heavy and expensive dress on him. He was walking very proudly and while he was walking with his arms slightly opened outwards, and heavily thumping his foot on the ground, Malagar Singh (a Chardi Kala Singh) took notice of him. Malagar Singh reproved his haughty gait and told him to walking humbly in Sangat and not to blow dust in air with his thumping walk. Kapura was not used to such chiding and was very upset at getting reproached by Malagar Singh but kept his composure.

Kapura prostrated before Satguru jee and sat in the sangat trying to focus on Shabad. It is written in Sooraj Parkash Granth that Kapura noticed that not only Guru Sahib was being done chaur on but also Shasters were being done chaur on. He was surprised to see that and asked Guru Sahib the reason for the chaur on Shasters (weapons). Guru Sahib told him about the importance of shasters. Satguru jee said that Shasters were the greatest Pirs of all Pirs and greatest Devtay of all Devtay. Chaur is done in order to keep the dirty flies away from shasters and out of respect.

Singhs organized amrit sinchaar in this area and Kapura was fortunate to get amrit at this occasion. He was named Kapura Singh after amrit chhak. Kapura took amrit but soon he came back to his worldly ways. He did not bring full faith and trust in the Bachans of Guru Sahib. One day Guru Sahib said to Kapura:

Antarjami Jaan Bakhaana ||

Suno Kapur Singh Dhar Kaana ||

Nai lagg kar hain Raaj tuhaara ||

Gaj Baazi Dal Vadhai Udaara ||

Turkan Sang Jang ke Kaaran ||

Deho Durg dekho dal Daarun ||

Lashkar Naurang ko LaR Maarae(n) ||

Kaqur Turk Palavat Haarae(n) ||

(All knowing Satguru jee knowing the inner spiritual and mental condition of Kapura said to him, “Listen carefully in your ears, O Kapura, we will establish your kingdom up to Satluj river. The enemy – the turks are approaching us, and in order to fight them back, give us your fort and then watch for yourself how we destroy the army of Turks. We will destroy the armies of Aurangzeb by battling them in the battlefield).

Hearing this Kapura chickened out and lamented this way:

Sunn Kar Deen hoye Kar kahai ||

Hum mein kahaan shakat imm kahai(n) ||

Ripp Sam jaan turk gahe mohe ||

Mareh phaansi de kar krohe ||

(Hearing Satguru jee’s furmaan Kapura started wailing, “Where I have the power to do as you are asking me to do? The Turks will consider me their enemy and will hang me to death after severe tortures).

He did not stop at this but he reminded Guru Sahib of his losses as follows:

Siri Gur, Tum tau ho Beparvaah ||

Bigray Larae, Turkeshwar Shah ||

Lakho)n) Nar maaray marvaaye ||

Anandpur Ujaar kar aaye ||

Bhali seekh abb devan laagay ||

Jis tey bachay na, kitt ko bhaagae ||

(O Siri Guru jee, you yourself are oblivious ( carefree ) of your losses. You developed bad relations with the Turk king (Aurangzeb) and resolved to fight him. You killed many and got many others killed and also destroyed Anandpur Sahib. Now after doing all this, you are giving me quite a good advice (sarcastically) and your advice is such that if I follow it, I will not be able to avoid trouble nor run away from it).

Tin Turkan tey, mohe bigaaro ||

Jim Ujray, tim mohe ujaaro ||

Hum tau banday Nitt paatshahee ||

Bigray maareh mujh de phaahee ||

(You are spoiling my relation with the Turks, just as you yourself destroyed yourself, you are now bent on destroying me at the hands of the Turks. I am the faithful of whoever is the ruler because I know that if I am not faithful, they will kill me by hanging me to death).

Hearing this Siri Guru jee said as follows:

Sunn Satgur Riss Urr-dhar Bhakha ||

Je ka rim teri Abhilaakha ||

Tau dey phaas turk hee marae ||

Gunn Avgun tav kuchh na bichaarae ||

(Hearing this Satguru jee said in Bir Rass, “if this is your wish then so be it. Turks will hang you by putting thobra (bag used to feed horses) on your mouth; and they will not consider your good or bad qualities while they do so)

Guru Sahib further said that he would always reside in Siri Anandpur Sahib and Khalsa will forever stay in Chardi Kala.

Guru Sahib fought the battle of Mukatsar at Khidranay dee dhaab and defeated the Mughal army there. Mughals never pursued Guru Sahib after that apparently because of the futility of this task and partially because after reading Siri Guru jee’s Zafarnama, Aurangzeb had ordered that the imperial armies should stop pursuing Guru Sahib. Furthermore, he requested Guru Sahib to meet him. Guru Sahib had asked him to come see him but the emperor expressed his incapability in doing so because of his old-age.

Kapura ostensibly helped the imperial army against Guru Sahib but from inside he was on Guru Sahib’s side. He got very depressed that he was not able to fulfill the order of Guru Sahib and had not helped Guru Sahib by giving his fort. From inside he stayed loyal to Guru Sahib but could not muster courage to stand by Guru Sahib openly. This weakness of his, cost him his life and Guru Sahib’s bachan indeed came true.

After some time Issa Khan Manjh came with his army from the Doaba and attacked the fort of Kapura Singh. Kapura Singh fought the Turk army but could not withstand the attack since he was a coward. He was caught alive and after looting his possessions, they decided to hang him. Just as they were about to hang him, he made two requests to Turks: Firstly he wanted to do ishnaan before getting hanged and secondly he requested that he be given a thobra before death. The Muslims were greatly surprised at his last request and asked the reason why he wanted a thobra. Kapura said that the reason why he is getting hanged is because he had not obeyed the bachan of his Saturu – Siri Guru Gobind Singh jee Maharaaj. He said that Siri Guru jee had done bachan that he (Kapura) would get hanged in the hands of Turks and they would put thobra on his face to hang him. He said that he wanted the bachan of Guru Sahib to be fulfilled to the fullest and as such wanted the Thobra to be put around his neck. The Turks agreed to this and put Thobra around his face and hanged him.

What a waste of life. Reading this saakhi in Gurpartaaap Sooraj Parkash Granth had a profound affect on me and I was shocked at realizing that how many of Guru Sahib’s hukams we don’t fulfill. What will become of us? Guru Sahib bhali karan.

I have to mention that the language used in Gurpartap Sooraj Parkash Granth is matchless. Bhai Sahib Santokh Singh jeo ChooRamanee was a linguistic genius and a master story teller. He writes such beautiful words that one gets dazzled reading his poetry. He has used words that I knew meanings of but had never imagined being used in writings. One gets amazed at the Oceanic vocabulary of Bhai Sahib jee. The character of Siri Guru jee is built in such a beautiful way that reading it increases one’s shardha and pyaar for Guru Sahib.

By: Bhai Kulbir Singh, Tapoban.org

WAHEGURU JI KA KHALSA WAHEGURU JI KI FATEH

 

https://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Kotkapura

Kotkapura

 

Kotkapura is a historic city some 50 km from Bathinda, in the state of Punjab, India. It is the largest city in the Faridkot District and has a large cotton market, considered one of the best in Asia.Kotkapura is popular due to world renowened astrologer sardar ujjal singh .Many tourists know about kotkapura due to his fame. He is honoured by the guild of international astrologeres .It takes around 5 hours by bus from Chandigarh and 2.5 hours from Ludhiana to reach the city. Kotkapura takes its name from its founder, Nawab Kapura Singh, and the word "kot", meaning a small fort – literally the "fort of Kapura".

History

Bhallan, founder of the Faridkot principality, was an ardent follower Guru Har Gobind, the 6th Sikh guru. He helped Guru Har Gobind-ji in the Battle of Mehraj, but died issueless in 1643. He was succeeded by his nephew, Kapura, who founded the town of Kotkapura in 1661. Nawab Kapura was the chaudhry of eighty-four villages. Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th guru of the Sikhs, en route from Machhiwara, after staying at Dina and after short stopovers at various other places, reached Kotkapura and asked Nawab Kapura Brar for his fort to fight the pursuing Mughal army. Kapura was a Sikh, but did not want to earn the ire of the Mughals by helping Guru Gobind Singh openly in his war with them; otherwise, the famous last battle of Muktsar (Khidrane Di Dhaab; now a historic town) between Guru Gobind Singh and the Mughal army would have been fought at Kotkapura. However, Nawab refused the fort to the guru.

After refusal from Kapura Brar, Guru Gobind Singh-ji reached the village of Dhilwan Kalan (at that time called Dhilwan Sodhian), where his relatives received him with great cordiality. At Dhilwan Kalan, one of the Prithi Chand's descendants, Kaul Sodhi, presented Guru Gobind Singh with new clothes. The guru took off his blue robe which he had been wearing since he left Machiwara, and tearing it piece by piece burned it in fire. The historic words that Guru Gobind Singh-ji are said to have uttered on this occasion are memorable: "I have torn the blue clothes which I wore, and with that the rule of the Turks and Pathans is at an end". Some historians think that the guru said "Turks, Pathans and Kapuras". It is believed that Guru Gobind Singh-ji stayed a couple of days at Dhilwan Kalan in the house of Sodhi Kaul on his request. On Kaul's request, Guruji also discarded his blue dress and changed to white dress. Descendants of Kaul Sodhi’s family claim that the guru gave a "topi" believed to be of the first guru, Nanak Dev-ji, and a "chola" (cloak), socks and turban, two daggers believed to belonging to Guru Gobind Singh-ji, which is still in their custody.

Guru Gobind Singh's clothes can still be seen at Dhilwan Kalan. Nowadays, the village is approximately 2566 hectares in area, with a population of around 7000. In memory of Guru Gobind Singh-ji's visit to Dhilwan Kalan, "Gurdwara Godavari Sahib" is situated about 200 m east of the village. Guru Gobind Singh-ji bathed in the sarover the and changed cloths provided by the residents of the village. He named the village sarover "Godavari Sar". Guru Gobind Singh-ji announced that dipping in this sarover, now the "Holy Sarover of Gurdwara", will bear the same pilgrimage as taking a holy dip in the Godavari River, a sacred river in central India near Nanded. The Godavari River has been held as a special place of pilgrimage for many thousands of years in central India. A dip in the holy Godavari River is considered sacred in central India, similar to taking a holy dip in the Ganga River in northern India by Hindus.

Chaudhry Kapura, being repentant of his disgraceful act of not helping Guru Gobind Singh, later came to see the guru and asked for his forgiveness. The guru moved from Kotkapura to Dhilwan Kalan, and then to Talwandi Sabo via Guru ki Dhab. Later, in the battle of Muktsar in 1705, Nawab Kapura helped Guru Gobind Singh-ji in an underhand manner. In 1708, Kapura was slain by Isa Khan Manj. Kapura had three sons: Sukhia, Sema and Mukhia. Mukhia killed Isa Khan and took control of the entire area. Sema was also killed in this battle in 1710. Kapura’s eldest son, Sukhia, again came into power in 1720.

A dispute between the sons of Sukhia, grandsons of Kapura, led to the division of the state in 1763. The older brother, Sardar Jodh Singh Brar, retained control of Kotkapura, while his younger brother, Sardar Hamir Singh Brar, was given Faridkot, which later became known as Faridkot Ryast during the British Raj. Nawab Kapura’s state was captured in 1803 by Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

In 1808, Ranjit Singh captured the principality of Faridkot up to Muktsar. But Ranjit Singh vacated this area on the behest of the British. During the Anglo-Sikh Wars in 1845, Pahara Singh Brar, from Kapura’s ancestral background, aided the British by providing secret intelligence to the British army. Pahar Singh Brar was rewarded with more territory of Faridkot Ryast being placed under his control after the British capture of the Sikh kingdom of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Raja Harinder Singh Brar was the last king of Faridkot Ryast before the independence of India in 1947.

Raja Harinder Singh Brar had four issues, a son and three daughters; his son died issueless as did his youngest daughter years later. His eldest daughter Rajkumari Bibiji Amrit Kaur Sahiba and second eldest Rajkumari Bibiji Deepinder Kaur Sahiba live with issues. There is currently a legal dispute over the Raja's assets.

Kotkapura today

Despite its natural beauty, Kotkapura, like many other small towns in India, is going through "modernization" as never before. Kotkapura is renowned as the home of world-famous astrologer Sardar Ujjal Singh, who has been honoured by the Guild of International Astrologers. Many tourists visit Kotkapura because of him. Kotkapura is also famous for the Ram Bag Garden ("Garden of Lord Ram") and the Shastri Market, one of the most populous and largest markets in the Punjab. Kotkapura is also renowned for a famous sweet, "Dhodha".

Faridkot is a little smaller than Kotkapura but due to existing infrastructure of erstwhile Fardikot Riyasat, it got to be the district headquarters under the rule of Giani Zail Singh as the Chief Minister of Punjab. The minister hailed from Sidhwan village, which is located in between Faridkot and Kotkapura. Kotkapura is famous for its ever-closed railway crossing gate on the Kotkapura–Muktsar road. However, a much-delayed flyover has saved the town from this notorious landmark.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhilwan_Kalan

Dhilwan Kalan is a village situated on Bathinda-Baja Khana-Faridkot main road approximately 5 km from Kotkapura in Faridkot district, India. The area of the village is approximately 2566 hectare and the population 7000. Some of the residents of this village, due to ancestral land inheritance, moved to village called Dhilwan Khurd near Sadik. Residents of this village are well-educated and settled in foreign countries. The region also facing serious agricultural and socio economic hardships after 1991.

 

History[edit]

Dhilwan Kalan has historical importance in the Sikh Religion and Sikh History for standing with the 10th Sikh Guru's side during very difficult and testing times, while the Nawab of nearby town Kotkapura did not openly support Guru Gobind Singh Ji. Kalan is Persian language word which means Big.

[dalsingh101]

@Premi

I think my mom once told me that Guru Hargobind ji passed through her pind (Rampur) have you heard anything about this? 

[Premi]

1 hour ago, dalsingh101 said:

@Premi

I think my mom once told me that Guru Hargobind ji passed through her pind (Rampur) have you heard anything about this? 

https://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Gurdwara_Reru_Sahib,_Rampur

 

Think it was Dasam Patshahi. 

 

 

[dalsingh101]

31 minutes ago, Premi said:

https://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Gurdwara_Reru_Sahib,_Rampur

 

Think it was Dasam Patshahi. 

 

 

Thanks. There is another pind called Rampur in Lahore, where 6th padshah passed through. I think I got it mixed up with that.