{{Short description|Sikh religious leader}}
'''Dhir Mal''' (10 January 1627 – 16 November 1677), also spelt as '''Dhirmal''', was a Sikh sectoral religious leader who was the son of Baba Gurditta and Mata Natti and grandson of Guru Hargobind, making him the nephew of Guru Tegh Bahadur and uncle of Guru Gobind Singh.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Singh |first=Surender Pal |date=19 July 2021 |title=Politics of the Sword Warrior Guru - Family (Dhir Mal) |url=https://sikhri.org/articles/politics-of-the-sword-warrior-guru |access-date=24 March 2026 |website=Sikh Research Institute}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Kaur |first=Madanjit |title=DHĪR MALL |url=https://eos.learnpunjabi.org/DHIR%20MALL%20(1627-1677).html |access-date=24 March 2026 |website=Encyclopedia of Sikhism (Online Edition) |publisher=Punjabi University, Patiala}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=Joginder |title=Religious Pluralism in Punjab: A Contemporary Account of Sikh Sants, Babas, Gurus and Satgurus |date=22 August 2017 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781351986342 |chapter=Emerging Religious Consciousness, Trends and Founding Establishments - Sikhs}}</ref> He attempted to assassinate Guru Tegh Bahadur in his bid for the Sikh guruship.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Gupta |first=Bhim Sen |title=Guru Tegh Bahadur: A Study |publisher=Publication Bureau, Panjab University |year=1978 |pages=29, 32, 63}}</ref> His Sodhi descendants remain in Kartatpur in Jalandhar district, where they claimed to possess the original codex/manuscript of the Ād Granth, known as the ''Kartarpuri Bir''.<ref name=":1" />
== Biography == Dhir Mal, a Sodhi Khatri,<ref name=":3" /> was born in Kartarpur (Jalandhar district) on 10 January 1627 and was said to have possessed a stubborn disposition as a child.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> Dhir Mal had accompanied his father and mother, who paid a visit to Budhan Shah, with a son named Har Rai being born to the couple after, who was the brother of Dhir Mal.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=Sri Guru HarGobind Sahib Ji - GURU AT KIRATPUR |url=https://www.searchgurbani.com/gurus/guruhargobindi4 |access-date=24 March 2026 |website=SearchGurbani}}</ref> When Guru Hargobind moved his family to Kiratpur, Dhir Mal remained behind in Kartarpur to take control of the estate, along with the original manuscript/codex of the Ād Granth.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> Dhir Mal had installed himself as a religious leader in Jalandhar, rivalling the mainstream lineage of the Sikh gurus, with Dhir Mal forming an alliance with the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=Sikhism - Guru Hargobind: A new direction for the Panth |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Sikhism/Guru-Angad#ref883961 |access-date=23 March 2026 |website=Britannica |quote=The older son of Gurditta, Dhir Mal, was rejected because, from his seat in Jalandhar district, he had formed an alliance with Emperor Shāh Jahān. This meant that the younger son of Gurditta, Har Rai, would become the seventh Guru. But Dhir Mal continued to make trouble for the orthodox Panth and attracted many Sikhs as his followers. He also claimed to possess the sacred scripture prepared by Guru Arjan and used it to buttress his claims to be the only legitimate Guru.}}</ref> Dhir Mal assisted the Pathan general Painde Khan against the Sikhs at the Battle of Kartarpur in 1634.<ref name=":10">{{Cite book |last=Dhillon |first=Harish |title=The Sikh Gurus. |date=2015 |publisher=Hay House Publishing |isbn=978-93-84544-45-4 |oclc=968092357 |quote=At this point, however, the Guru Hargobind fell out with his famous general, Painde Khan. The relationship deteriorated to such an extent that Painde Khan and his son-in-law, Asman Khan, were both dismissed from the Guru's service. Painde Khan went to the Mughal court and offered his services against the Guru. "I have been with the Guru for many years. I know all his strengths and all his weaknesses. If you send a strong army with me, I am sure I can defeat the Guru,' claimed Painde Khan. The Mughals decided to take advantage of this offer. So in 1634, a large force under Kale Khan (the brother of Mukhlis Khan) along with Painde Khan and Asman Khan was sent out against the Guru. It is said that on the eve of the battle, Dhirmal, Guru Hargobind's grandson, wrote a secret letter to Painde Khan promising to help the invading forces with information about the Guru's army. The Guru had taken up position in Kartarpur and the Mughal forces surrounded him from all sides. The defence of the town was divided among his generals Bidhi Chand, Jati Mai, Lakhi, and Rai Jodh. The Mughal army attacked the town and a fierce and bloody battle followed. The Guru's sons, Tegh Bahadur and Gurditta, fought with great skill and courage. In fact Tegh Bahadur wielded his sword so well that he caused great harm to the Mughal army and it seemed that the battle would go in favour of the Guru's forces. Some of the remaining Mughal generals now called upon Painde Khan. 'Where is your knowledge of the Guru's forces? If you really have such knowledge you must use it'}}</ref> Dhir Mal stole the original codex of the Ād Granth that had been compiled by Guru Arjan and Bhai Gurdas from the house of Guru Hargobind.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Brar |first=Sandeep Singh |date=2013 |title=Kartarpur Bir |url=https://www.sikhmuseum.com/words/granth/granth4.html |access-date=24 March 2026 |website=Sikh Museum}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite news |date=29 August 2004 |title=Orginal copy of holy Guru Granth Sahib at Kartarpur villages |url=https://www.outlookindia.com/newswire/story/orginal-copy-of-holy-guru-granth-sahib-at-kartarpur-villages/245915 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211026061445/https://www.outlookindia.com/newswire/story/orginal-copy-of-holy-guru-granth-sahib-at-kartarpur-villages/245915 |archive-date=26 October 2021 |access-date=24 March 2026 |work=Outlook India}}</ref> After the death of his father, Gurditta, the Sikh guru requested that Dhir Mal, residing at Kartarpur, to come to Kiratpur and bring the codex so a prayer could be conducted for his late father using it and for Dhir Mal to be physically present so he could receive his father's turban, which was a mark of succession to his father's property and position. However, Dhir Mal refused the invitation and did not come.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":1" /> In 1643, Dhir Mal received a revenue-free grant from the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, who was aiming to create fractures in the Sikh community.<ref name=":8">{{Cite book |last=McLeod |first=William Hewat |title=The A to Z of Sikhism |date=Jul 24, 2009 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=9798216290001 |pages=57–58 |chapter=DHIR MAL (b. 1627).}}</ref>
Guru Hargobind lost his eldest son Baba Gurditta in 1638. Shah Jahan attempted political means to undermine the Sikh tradition by dividing and influencing the succession.<ref name="mandair49">{{cite book |author=Arvind-Pal Singh Mandair |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BEP0Ty-GuVEC&pg=PA49 |title=Sikhism: A Guide for the Perplexed |publisher=A & C Black |year=2013 |isbn=9781441117083 |pages=48–49}}</ref> The Mughal ruler gave land grants to Gurditta's eldest son Dhir Mal, living in Kartarpur, and attempted to encourage Sikhs to recognise Dhir Mal as the rightful successor to Hargobind. Dhir Mal issued statements in favour of the Mughal state and critical of his grandfather. Hargobind died at Kiratpur, Rupnagar, Punjab, on 28 February 1644. Before his death, he rejected his eldest grandson Dhir Mal's politics and nominated Guru Har Rai (Dhir Mal's younger brother) instead to succeed him as the Guru.<ref name="mandair49" /> In-response to the elevation of Har Rai to the guruship, Dhir Mal established a rival guruship at Kartarpur and established his own masands to collect ''dasvandh'' donations.<ref name=":1" /> Dhir Mal taunted the mainstream Sikh lineage by claiming to have the original Ād Granth, the ''Kartarpuri Bir.''<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":0" /> Many of the Sikhs who became aligned with Dhir Mal, leaving the orthodox lineage, were from the Kartarpur region.<ref name=":8" /> He used the fact that he possessed the original codex to prop-up his sect.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":8" /> Dhir Mal befriended Ram Rai, the ex-communicated son of Har Rai. Dhir Mal and Ram Rai launched a joint complaint at the court of Aurangzeb over the choosing of Har Krishan, younger brother of Ram Rai, as the next guru to succeed Har Rai.<ref name=":1" />
After the death of Guru Har Krishan at Delhi in March 1664, Dhir Mal attempted to sway the Sikhs into joining his sect with him as the new guru by establishing a court for himself at Baba Bakala, one of twenty-two major claimants to the Sikh guruship.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> After Guru Tegh Bahadur had been identified as the new guru by Lakhi Shah and Diwan Dargah Mal at Bakala, most claimants gave-up but Dhir Mal remained firm in his conviction to establish himself as the Sikh guru.<ref name=":0" /> Dhir Mal had one of his masands named Shihan to hire mercenaries to assassinate Guru Tegh Bahadur.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> During the ensuing attack, Dhir Mal himself (other sources state Shihan fired the bullet<ref name=":1" />) shot at Guru Tegh Bahadur with a gun, who was injured but survived.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> In-response to the attack, the mainstream Sikhs, led by Makhan Shah,<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> launched a revenge raid on Dhir Mal and his followers at their base, with them capturing the Kartarpuri Bir, Dhir Mal's personal possessions, and the offerings. When the Sikhs brought the loot back to Guru Tegh Bahadur, he commanded them to forgive Dhir Mal and return the looted property, including the Kartarpuri Bir, back to the Dhirmalias, with this being recorded in ''Gurbilas Patshahi'' ''Dasvin'' by Sukha Singh and in the works of Kavi Santokh Singh.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":6" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> The guru believed that he had no need to keep the original codex of the Ād Granth as per Sikh beliefs, the true ''Shabad'' resides in the current guru.<ref name=":0" /> Guru Tegh Bahadur may have been motivated to retreat to the Shivalik Hills due to the opposition he faced from Dhir Mal and his followers.<ref name=":8" />
Several months after the execution of Guru Tegh Bahadur by the Mughal administration, Dhir Mal was called to Delhi and imprisoned at Ranthambore Fort, where he died on 16 November 1677.<ref name=":1" /> A shrine at Kartarpur dedicated to him is known as ''Dera Dhir Mal''.<ref name=":1" /> ''Dera Guru Bhadbhag Singh Sodhi Ji'' claims that Dhir Mal had two sons, named Bahar Singh Sodhi (b. 1692) and Ram Singh Sodhi.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pedigree Table of Sodhi Family of Kartarpur, Distt. Jalandhar, (Pb.) India. |url=http://www.deragurubhadbhagsinghji.com/english/pedigree.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090322181904fw_/http://www.deragurubhadbhagsinghji.com/english/pedigree.asp |archive-date=March 22, 2009 |access-date=24 March 2026 |website=Dera Guru Bhadbhag Singh Sodhi Ji}}</ref>
The Damdami Taksal claims that Guru Gobind Singh instructed Deep Singh and other Sikhs to visit Dhir Mal to request the original codex, the Kartarpuri Bir, however Dhir Mal is said to have responded by taunting Guru Gobind Singh to prepare a copy of the scripture by memory if he is really the true guru. In-response, the Sikh guru is said to have prepared the Damdami recension of the scripture.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About Damdami Taksaal |url=https://www.damdamitaksal.com/about |access-date=24 March 2026 |website=Damdami Taksal}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=About Damdami Taksal |url=https://www.gursevak.com/about-damdami-taksal |access-date=24 March 2026 |website=Gursevak}}</ref> After the founding of the Khalsa, Guru Gobind Singh classified the Dhirmalias as one of the ''Panj Mel'', groups which Sikhs are to avoid and shun completely.<ref name=":8" />
== Dhirmalias == thumb|Genealogical pedigree (family-tree) of the Sodhi family of Kartarpur, Punjab, revised pedigree-table (1940) The Dhirmalias were a heretical sect founded by Dhir Mal, the eldest son of Gurditta and grandson of Guru Hargobind.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dhir Mal {{!}} Sikh rebel leader {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Dhir-Mal |access-date=2023-03-30 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en |quote=The older son of Gurditta, Dhir Mal, was rejected because, from his seat in Jalandhar district, he had allied with Emperor Shāh Jahān. This meant that the younger son of Gurditta, Har Rai, would become the seventh Guru. But Dhir Mal continued to make trouble for the orthodox…}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=Khushwant |title=The Sikhs Today: Their Religion, History, Culture, Customs, and Way of Life |publisher=Orient Longmans |year=1959 |pages=14}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Suda |first=Jyoti Prasad |title=Religions in India: A Study of Their Essential Unity |publisher=Sterling |year=1978 |pages=265}}</ref> Dhir Mal is considered a traitor by mainstream Sikhs due to his greed for the guruship, wealth, and power.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Macauliffe |first=Max Arthur |title=The Sikh Religion: Its Gurus, Sacred Writings and Authors, Volumes 3-4 |publisher=Clarendon Press |year=1909 |volume=3-4 |pages=213 |quote=Dhir Mal and his mother Natti were the only members of the Guru's family who did not accompany him on his journey to Kiratpur. In the first place, Dhir Mal had turned traitor, and was ashamed to show his face to the Guru and his Sikhs. In the second place, he thought that, if he remained behind, he could take possession of all the Guru's-property, including the Granth Sahib. It will be remembered that Bidhi Chand had begun to make a copy of the sacred book. He told Dhir Mal that he had copied it as far as the Bilawal Rag, or more than one half of the whole, and, if he might take the Granth Sahib with him, he would soon finish copying the remainder. Dhir Mal replied, 'Go to Kiratpur; I will search the Guru's house for the Granth Sahib, and if I find it, I will send it to thee.' When Bidi Chand overtook the Guru, he told him of Dhir Mal's continued contumacy. The Guru laughingly said, 'Kartarpur was founded by his ancestors. That is why he will not leave it. He desires to improve it, and hence his remaining there. It was improper for him to break with his father and grandfather and to ally himself with the Muhammadans, but he is an incarnation of Prithia and means to establish a sect of his own. Let the Granth Sahib remain with him. When the Sikhs feel devotion, they will deprive him of it.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Greenlees |first=Duncan |title=The Gospel of the Guru-Granth Sahib |publisher=Theosophical Publishing House |year=1960 |series=World gospel series |volume=8 |pages=lxxxvi (86) |quote=Dhirmal, the Guru's grandson, son of Gurditta, had turned traitor before the last battle and now refused to go humbly to receive the Guruship from Har Gobind's hand ...}}</ref> Guru Gobind Singh forbade his Sikhs from having any relation with Dhirmalias.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Geaves |first=Ron |title=Saivism in the diaspora : contemporary forms of Skanda worship |date=2007 |publisher=Equinox Pub |isbn=978-1-84553-234-5 |location=London |pages=158 |oclc=67840214}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Nayar |first=Kamala Elizabeth |title=The Sikh View on Happiness: Guru Arjan's Sukhmani |date=2020 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing Plc |others=Jaswinder Singh Sandhu |isbn=978-1-350-13988-6 |location=London |pages=213 |chapter=Notes |oclc=1140790571 |quote=93 - According to tradition, when Guru Gobind Singh initiated the Khalsa, he forbade members of the Sikh Panth to interact with the Minas, as also with the followers of the Dhirmalia sect founded by Dhir Mal (grandson of Guru Hargobind) and the ...}}</ref><ref name=":2" /> A shrine dedicated to Dhir Mal is located in Kartarpur.<ref name=":152">{{Cite web |title=Minas, Masands, Dhir Malias, Ram Raiyas. |url=http://philtar.ac.uk/encyclopedia/sikhism/minas.html |access-date=2023-03-30 |website=Division of Religion and Philosophy - University of Cumbria (www.philtar.ac.uk) |quote=Adherents: Minas and Masands are now largely extinct. Dhir Malias have descendants to this day (the Sodhis of Kartarpur), and there are Ram Raiyas in Dehra Dun. In the 1891 census 52,317 Hindus and 30,396 Sikhs returned themselves as 'Ram Raia'. (Census of India, 1891, Vol.XX and Vol.XXI, The Punjab and its Feudatories, by E.D. Maclagan, Part II and III, Calcutta, 1892, pp.826-9 and pp.572-3.) However there are no contemporary official numbers, (see also the note at the end of the Explanatory Introduction).<br><br>Headquarters/ Main Centre: The descendants of Dhir Mal claim to have a copy of the original Adi Granth held in Kartarpur, and there is a shrine there called Baba Dhir Mal. Ram Raiyas have their centre in Dehra Dun.}}</ref> Dhir Mal's great-grandson, Bikram Singh, would later give up connections to the sect and be baptised into the Khalsa order and become a mainstream Sikh.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=Trilochan |title=The Turban and the Sword of the Sikhs: Essence of Sikhism: History and Exposition of Sikh Baptism, Sikh Symbols, and Moral Code of the Sikhs, Rehitnāmās |date=2001 |publisher=B. Chattar Singh Jiwan Singh |isbn=81-7601-491-5 |edition=2nd rev. and enl. |location=Amritsar |pages=193, 426 |oclc=51086435}}</ref> Vadhbag Singh Sodhi, an 18th-century descendant of the Sikh Gurus, was a prominent figure of the Dhirmalia sect.<ref name=":022">{{Cite book |author=Fabrizio M. Ferrari |title=Health and religious rituals in South Asia: disease, possession, and healing |date=2011 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781136846298 |pages=56–57 |oclc=739388185}}</ref> Vadbhag Singh became worshipped as a banisher of evil spirits, with a cult forming around him.<ref name=":8" /> Vadbhag Singh approached Jassa Singh Ahluwalia to re-consider the injunction that had been put in-place against the Dhirmalias by Guru Gobind Singh, with the Dhirmalias being allowed to re-join the Khalsa after some debate.<ref name=":2" /> Thus, in the second half of the 18th century, the Dhirmalias re-joined the Khalsa and the schism came to an end.<ref name=":8" />
The sect was awarded the original manuscript of the ''Adi Granth'', which was prepared by Guru Arjan and his scribe Bhai Gurdas, in 1643.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=Pashaura |title=Life and Work of Guru Arjan: History, Memory, and Biography in the Sikh Tradition |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2006 |isbn=9780199087808 |quote=This granth was given to Dhir Mal to create a parallel seat of authority at Kartarpur against Guru Hargobind in 1643.}}</ref> This manuscript is known as the ''Kartarpur Bir.''<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bakhshi |first=Surinder |title=Sikhs in the Diaspora: A Modern Guide to Practice of the Sikh Faith: A Knowledge Compendium for the Global Age |date=2008 |publisher=Sikh Publishing House in association with Ramgarhia Sikh Temple |isbn=9780956072801 |edition=Special Gurtagaddi |location=Birmingham, UK |pages=85–86 |oclc=1311132507 |quote=The original Granth, still extant today, had a chequered history. Dhir Mal, the eldest grandson of the sixth Guru, Hargobind Sahib, angered at not being offered Gurtagaddi, Guruship, of which he thought he was the rightful heir as the first-born son, took possession of it in 1634. It remained with his family for about a hundred years when Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the Sikh ruler of Punjab, forcibly acquired it and installed it in Lahore, his capital. On the collapse of the Sikh empire, the British rulers returned the Bir to the 'owners' who lived in Kartarpur, a town founded by the sixth Guru in Punjab. The Granth is known as the Kartarpur Bir. The Sodhi clan, descendants of Guru Hargobind, have preserved the Kartarpur Bir with its original gold stand and display it once a month for worship.}}</ref> The Sodhis of Kartarpur claim to be their descendants and have in their possession the manuscript.<ref name=":152" /> Maharaja Ranjit Singh took possession of the original codex and had it installed at his personal gurdwara in Lahore Fort. However, after British annexation of the Punjab in 1849, the codex was returned to the Sodhis of Kartarpur led by Sodhi Sadhu Singh in 1850 upon their request for it. It remains with them today and is installed at Gurdwara Thum Sahib.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":7" /> Sadhu Sing had an estate in the Jalandhar Doab worth 63,000 rupees and was restored to his jagir by the British for his support during the 1857 mutiny.<ref name=":2" /> In 1877, Sadhu Singh was succeeded by his son Jawahar Singh, who was not regarded well, thus his estate came under the control of the Deputy Commissioner Jalandhar. Jawahar Singh was succeeded in 1882 by Nau Nihal Singh. The current head of the Dhirmalias of Kartarpur is Karamjit Singh, who manages Gurdwara Tham Sahib in Kartarpur and other locations in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.<ref name=":2" />
== See also ==
* Descendants of the Sikh gurus * Prithi Chand * Mina (Sikhism)
== References == <references />
Category:1627 births Category:1677 deaths Category:People from Jalandhar district Category:Sikh religious leaders Category:Indian Sikhs Category:17th-century Indian people Category:People from Punjab, India Category:Sikh culture