Guru Arjan, the Fifth Guru of Sikhism

Guru Arjan, the fifth Sikh Guru, was executed by orders of fourth Mughal Emperor Jahangir, who ruled from 1605 to 1627. He was charged with treason because he had given shelter to Prince Khusrau at Tarn Taran, who had rebelled against his father Jahangir for the Mughal throne. 

Khusrau was captured, confined and subsequently killed by Shah Jahan (fifth Mughal emperor) in 1622. 

Guru Arjan was at first fined by the Imperial Mughal power, but as he refused to pay the fine he was sentenced to death. However, famous Sufi saint of Chistiyya order, Shaikh Nizam Thaneswari, was banished by the emperor to Mecca for the same offence. This was an unwise political decision by Jahangir because this sowed the seeds of acrimonious relations between the Mughals and the Sikhs.

Ceremony for Guru Arjan Dev Ji’s death anniversary takes place in Lahore (Pakistan) at Gurdwara Dera Sahib which commemorates the spot where he died in 1606.  

Tarikh-i-Alfi‘ Or "Millennial History’

The Tarikh-i-Alfi (History of a Thousand Years) is a historical work chronicling the first thousand years of Islamic world history. Commissioned by Mughal emperor Akbar, the chronicle was written by a board of compilers headed by a Shia theologian Mulla Ahmad of Thatta. Mulla Ahmad had written a large part of the text. 

Due to the animosity between Shias and Sunnis, Mulla Ahmad was murdered in 1588 in the street of Lahore by a Sunni nobleman, Mirza Fawlad, who lured him out of his house on the pretext that the emperor had asked for his presence in the court. 

Mirza Fawlad was condemned to death causing resentment among the Sunnis who exhumed Mulla Ahmad's body and burnt it. After the death of Mulla Ahmad, Asaf Khan Jafar Beg completed the rest of the work around 1592.  

Mughal Court historian Badauni was selected by Akbar to revise the manuscript and compare it with other histories.

Tarikh-i-Alfi was written in the Persian language. 

Meer Taqi Meer

Known as Khuda-e-Sukhan' (God of poetry), Mir Taqi Mir, also spelled Meer Taqi Meer, was born in Agra in 1723 and died in 1810 in Lucknow. He moved to Delhi at the age of 11 after his father's death. Known by his mononym ‘Mir’, Mir Taqi Mir was one of the greatest Urdu poets.

When the prestige of the Mughal Empire began to wane and chaos began to reign supreme due to the constant invasions from the foreign powers including Nadir Shah and Ahmad Shah Abdali, Mir moved to the court of Asaf-ud-Daula Nawab of Oudh in Lucknow in 1782, where he breathed his last on September 21, 1810 at the age of 87.

His autobiography is Zikr-i-Mir, originally penned in Persian.

Saptaparni Cave: Venue of the First Buddhist Council

Saptaparni Cave, Rajgir, Bihar

Located near Rajgir (Rajagriha) in Bihar, Sattapanni or Saptaparni Cave is said to be the venue for the First Buddhist Council (sangiti). The first Buddhist council  was held to compile the dhamma (religious doctrines) and the vinaya (monastic code). 

Rajagriha, which once served the capital of 6th century BC Magadhan ruler Bimbisara, is sixty miles to the south-east of the modern Patna, the capital of Bihar. 

The first council was participated in by five hundred monks. At the council, Upali, one of the Buddha’s chief disciples, recited the vinaya pitaka, or Rules of the Order, while another important disciple Ananada recited the sutta pitaka, the collection of the Buddha’s sermons on matters of doctrine and ethics.

Bodhgaya, the most important site of Buddhist pilgrimage in the world

Mahabodhi Temple, Bodhgaya, Bihar

Situated in the eastern state of Bihar in India, Bodhgaya is a sacred site of the first order for the Buddhists. the UNESCO World Heritage listed Mahabodhi Temple is the central temple  of Bodhgaya which is an obligatory stop on the Buddhist pilgrimage circuit. 

Adjacent to the Mahabodhi Temple is the Bodhi tree itself under which Prince Siddhartha Gautama is said to have attained Enlightenment 2,500 years ago. As a result he became the Buddha, meaning the Enlightened One. Bodh Gaya was known as Uruvela during Buddha’s times.  

On the Buddha Purnima day Bodh Gaya teems with devotees who come from almost all parts of the world and participate in the religious activities at the Mahabodhi Temple which begin at dawn and continue till late in the evening.

2024 Amarnath Yatra in Pictures: Surreal Photos from Holy Shrine

Located in one of the world’s most incredible landscapes of Lidder Valley in Kashmir, the cave shrine of Shri Amarnath is situated at an altitude of 3680 mts.

At Amarnath, the Lingam, a symbol of Lord Shiva, waxes and wanes with the moon. The waxing and waning of the Lingam with the moon  has remained a world marvel

To reach the holy shrine of Amarnath devotees have to trek a height of about 14,500 feet.

A visit to Amarnath provides a wonderful opportunity to soak in the sacred energies of the Himalayas.

The Amarnath Yatra involves trekking at high altitudes upto 14000 ft., under difficult conditions and uncertain weather.

Vaishno Devi

One of the most revered pilgrim places for the Hindus, the Vaishno Devi shrine on the Trikuta hills is a steep ascent of 5200 feet from Katra, which is 45km from Jammu. 

The journey to the holy cave shrine of Vaishno Devi in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is full of intense religious activity, thrill and joy.