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Sri Chand
Sri Chand (8 September 1494 – 13 January 1629, Gurmukhi: ਸ੍ਰੀ
Baba
ਚੰਦ), also referred to as Baba Sri Chandra or Bhagwan Sri
Chandra, was the founder of the Udasi sect of ascetic Sadhus.[8]
Sri Chand
Ji

Early life ਸ੍ਰੀ ਚੰਦ

He was the eldest son of Guru Nanak, the first Guru and founder
of Sikhism. He was born to Mata Sulakhani on Bhadra sudi 9,
1551 Bikrami (i.e. 8 September 1494). Sikh sources give his life
the impressive dates of 8 September 1494 – 13 January 1629,
which would have made him 134 years old upon his death.[9]

Candidacy for Sikh guruship

According to Bhai Gurdas' Varan, Sri Chand was egotistic, which
is why his father passed over him as a suitable successor:[10]

Sri Chand, a celibate since childhood, made a centre

[attributed to] Baba Nanak.

Dharam Chand, son of Lakhmi Das, made a show of Sri Chand, son of Guru Nanak,
himself. seated reading scriptures to
Dasu installed [himself] on the seat of authority and devotees in a forest hermitage.
Datu learned to sit in the siddh posture. Pahari School, ca.1850-70.

Head of Udasi sect

Mohan went mad, and Mohari was celebrated.
Preceded by Position
Prithi Chand, the rascal, with his hidden agenda, established
spread madness. (founder)

Mahadev was egotistical and was led astray. Succeeded by Baba Gurditta
Personal
Living amid the sandalwood, yet without its fragrance.
Born Sri Chand Bedi
— Bhai Gurdas, Varan, Pannaa 26, section 33 8 September
1494[1][2][3][4]
Sultanpur Lodhi
Relationship with Sikh gurus
Died 13 January 1629
(134 years
It is believed that Sri Chand rejected Angad as the successor to his
old)[5][6][7]
father.[11] When the Sikh guruship passed from Nanak to Angad,
the sons of Nanak, Sri Chand and Lakhmi Das, made a legal claim Religion Sikhism

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to their father's properties in Kartarpur, forcing Guru Angad to Parents Guru Nanak
reestablish the early Sikh community's centre at his native village (father)
of Khadur instead.[12]
Mata Sulakhni
Guru Amardas declared active and domestic Sikhs to be separate (mother)
from passive and recluse Udasins. Sect Udasi

However the Sikh Gurus, Guru Amardas, Guru Ramdas, Guru Relatives Lakhmi Das
Arjan and Guru Hargobind who were contemporaries of Sri (brother)
Chand held him in high esteem due to his descent, old age and
piety.[13]

Guru Hargobind's eldest son, Baba Gurditta, was given to the Udasins at the behest of Baba Sri Chand
and Baba Gurditta eventually replaced Baba Sri Chand as head of the Udasins after his death. Baba
Gurditta was the father of Guru Hari Rai, the grandfather of Guru Har Krishan, and the elder half-
brother of Guru Tegh Bahadur.[14]

Ram Rai, son of Guru Har Rai joined the Udasin sect after a failed attempt of being an official eighth
Guru of the Sikhs.[15]

Influence
Sri Chand promoted the worship of five Indic deities, them namely being Surya, Vishnu, Shiva,
Ganesha, and Shakti (divine feminine cosmic energy and dynamic force of the Universe).[16]

Composing Aarta

Sri Chand wrote a ten verse work titled Arta Sri Guru Nanak Dev, popularly known simply as Aarta,
his most important writing, in praise of his father, Guru Nanak, and presented it to him after one of
the Udasis (travels).[16][17] This writing had a major influence on people of that time who did not
know about Guru Nanak yet.

He proclaims Guru Nanak as the Supreme Lord of the Universe. He envisions the Sun and
the Moon, all elements of Nature, Crores [tens of millions] of gods and the whole creation
engaged in singing the Glory of their Lord. Guru Nanak.

— translation of Sri Chand's Aarta by Partap Singh Jaspal, Eternal Glory of Guru
Nanak (2019), pages 32–33[18][note 1]

Akharas

Sri Chand established many akharas, some of them being Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad and Shree
Panchayati Akhada Bada Udasin.[20]

Possible contribution to the Adi Granth

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According to a sakhi, when Guru Arjan had finished composing sixteen astpadis (cantos) of the Gauri
Sukhmani composition, popularly known as Sukhmani Sahib, Sri Chand visited him. During this visit,
it is said that Guru Arjan requested him to continue the composition he was compiling and complete
the seventeenth canto of the Sukhmani Sahib. Sri Chand humbly recited the verse of his father
following the Mul Mantar in the Japji Sahib. Thus, it became the seventeenth canto of the Sukhmani
Sahib.[21][22]

Gallery

Memorials to Udasin Sri Chand (right) Fresco of Guru Fresco of Sri Chand
mahants of Sadh seated with his Nanak, Sri Chand, seated to the left of
Belo with an brother Lakhmi Das Bhai Mardana, Bhai Guru Nanak, from
invocation to Sri (left). Fresco from Bala, and possibly Pothimala, Guru
Chand, the founder Gurdwara Baba Atal Lakhmi Das from a Harsahai, circa 18th
of Udasins. in Amritsar Punjabi haveli, circa century
1850's

Notes
1. The original wording is as follows:[19] Aarta Kijey Nanak Shah Patshah Ka Har Har Deen Dunia
Ke Shehan Shah Ka Char Kunt Jaki Dharamshala Sangat Gawey Shabad Rasala Aarta Kijey ...
Kot Devi Jaki Jot Jagaway Kot Tetees Jaki Ustat Gawey Aarta Kijey ... Chhinwey Kror Jakey
Charan Pakhaley Chand Surai Jaki Jot Ujaley Aarta Kijey ... Bhaar Athharah Jaki Pohap Ki Mala
Param Jot Satgur Deen Dyala Aarta Kijey ... Pawan Rai Jako Chawar Jhulawey Rikhi Muni Jako
Dhian Legawey Aarta Kijey ... Panj Parwan Hai Satgur pura Bajey Shabad Anahad Toora Aarta
Kijey ... Ghanta Bajey Dhun Onkara Adhar Akhand Jako Jhilmil Tara Aarta Kijey ... Srichand
Bakhaney Satgur Nanak Poota Agam, Agad, Adol, Awdhuta Aarta Kijey ... Jo Jan Nanak Shah Ka
Aarta Gawey Basey Baikunth Param Gat Pawey Aarta Kijey ... Saran Parey Ki Rakh Dyala Nanak
Tumrey Bal Gopala Aarta Kijey ...

References
1. The encyclopaedia of Sikhism (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/29703420). Harbans Singh. Patiala:
Punjabi University. 1992–1998. p. 234. ISBN 0-8364-2883-8. OCLC 29703420 (https://www.world
cat.org/oclc/29703420).
2. Gandhi, Surjit Singh (2007). History of Sikh gurus retold (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/19087307
0). New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers & Distributors. p. 980. ISBN 978-81-269-0859-2.
OCLC 190873070 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/190873070).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Chand 3/5
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3. Siṅgha, Kirapāla (2004). Janamsakhi tradition : an analytical study (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/

58631716). Prithīpāla Siṅgha Kapūra (1st ed.). Amritsar: Singh Brothers. p. 53. ISBN 81-7205-
311-8. OCLC 58631716 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/58631716).
4. Singh Madra, Amandeep (2016). Sicques, Tigers or Thieves : Eyewitness Accounts of the Sikhs
(1606-1810) (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1083462581). P. Singh. New York: Palgrave
Macmillan. p. 333. ISBN 978-1-137-11998-8. OCLC 1083462581 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1
083462581).
5. Gandhi, Surjit Singh (2007). History of Sikh gurus retold (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/19087307
0). New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers & Distributors. p. 980. ISBN 978-81-269-0859-2.
OCLC 190873070 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/190873070).
6. Singh Madra, Amandeep (2016). Sicques, Tigers or Thieves : Eyewitness Accounts of the Sikhs
(1606-1810) (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1083462581). P. Singh. New York: Palgrave
Macmillan. p. 333. ISBN 978-1-137-11998-8. OCLC 1083462581 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1
083462581).
7. The encyclopaedia of Sikhism (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/29703420). Harbans Singh. Patiala:
Punjabi University. 1992–1998. p. 234. ISBN 0-8364-2883-8. OCLC 29703420 (https://www.world
cat.org/oclc/29703420).
8. The encyclopaedia of Sikhism (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/29703420). Vol. 4. Harbans Singh.
Patiala: Punjabi University. 1992–1998. pp. 377–379. ISBN 0-8364-2883-8. OCLC 29703420 (http
s://www.worldcat.org/oclc/29703420). "UDASI, an ascetical sect of the Sikhs founded by Sri
Chand (1494-1629), the elder son of Guru Nanak."
9. "Baba Sri Chand - Gateway To Sikhism" (https://www.allaboutsikhs.com/biographies/gurus-family-
members/baba-sri-chand/). 2 September 2007. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
10. Nayar, Kamala Elizabeth; Sandhu, Jaswinder Singh (2020). The Sikh View on Happiness: Guru
Arjan’s Sukhmani. London: Bloomsbury Academic. pp. 34–36. ISBN 978-1-350-13988-6.
11. Khalid, Haroon. "Intrigue, manipulation, deception: How Guru Arjan's brother put up a serious
challenge against him" (https://scroll.in/article/840061/intrigue-manipulation-deception-how-guru-a
rjans-brother-put-up-a-serious-challenge-against-him). Scroll.in. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
"Whereas contesting claims to Guruhood remained a feature of all successions to the title, starting
from Guru Nanak's successor – his son refused to acknowledge the appointment of Guru Angad
Dev, Nanak's devotee, as the next Sikh Guru – the challenge given by Prithi Chand's movement
was among the most formidable."
12. Singh, Pashaura (3 April 2021). "Ideological basis in the formation of the Shiromani Gurdwara
Prabandhak Committee and the Shiromani Akali Dal: exploring the concept of Guru-Panth" (http
s://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17448727.2021.1873656). Sikh Formations. 17 (1–2):
16–33. doi:10.1080/17448727.2021.1873656 (https://doi.org/10.1080%2F17448727.2021.187365
6). ISSN 1744-8727 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1744-8727). S2CID 234146387 (https://api.se
manticscholar.org/CorpusID:234146387). "The second Guru, Angad (1504–1552), established a
new Sikh center at his native village Khadur because Guru Nanak's sons made the legal claim as
rightful heirs of their father's properties at Kartarpur."
13. Singh, Harbans. The Encyclopedia Of Sikhism - Volume IV S-Z (http://archive.org/details/TheEncy
clopediaOfSikhism-VolumeIvS-z). p. 234.
14. "Baba Gurditta - Gateway To Sikhism" (https://www.allaboutsikhs.com/biographies/gurus-family-m
embers/baba-gurditta/). 2 September 2007. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
15. Singh, Bhupinder (October 2019). "Genealogy of Guru Nanak". Abstracts of Sikh Studies. Institute
of Sikh Studies. XXI (4).

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16. Sibal, Rajni Sekhri (2022). The Guru - Guru Nanak's Saakhis. StoryMirror Infotech Pvt Ltd. p. 146.
ISBN 9789392661099. "Guru Nanak Dev was blessed with two sons. Srichand, the elder one was
an ascetic and the founder of the 'Udasin' sect. Their central philosophy was a conjunction of the
paths of devotion and knowledge. Srichand believed in the theory of karma and reincarnation and
popularized the worship of five deities - Surya, the Sun god, who is the creator and the source of
all life; Vishnu, the preserver and protector of the Universe and the god of compassion; Shiva, the
destroyer of evil and the god of yoga, meditation and time; Ganesha, the god of new beginnings
also brings wisdom and prosperity and Shakti, the primordial cosmic energy and the goddess of
the dynamic forces that are present through the universe.

Sri Chand also composed 'Arta Shri Guru Nanak Dev' made up of ten verses in honor of his
father."
17. Ralhan, O. P. (2004). Srichandraji Maharaj (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/227000827). Great
saints of India series. New Delhi: Anmol Publications Pvt. Ltd. p. 35. ISBN 81-261-1828-8.
OCLC 227000827 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/227000827).
18. Jaspal, Partap Singh (2019). Eternal Glory of Guru Nanak. Partridge Publishing. pp. 32–33.
ISBN 9781482836158.
19. Jaspal, Partap Singh (2019). Eternal Glory of Guru Nanak. Partridge Publishing. pp. 32–33.
ISBN 9781482836158.
20. "Shree Panchayati Akhada Bada Udasin" (https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/the-famou
s-akhadas-at-kumbh-mela/story-x5TCnQW9n51cwXkkR4lfJJ.html). Hindustan Times. 13 January
2019.
21. The encyclopaedia of Sikhism (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/29703420). Vol. 4. Harbans Singh.
Patiala: Punjabi University. 1992–1998. pp. 265–65. ISBN 0-8364-2883-8. OCLC 29703420 (http
s://www.worldcat.org/oclc/29703420). "It is said that Baba Sri Chand, elder son of Guru Nanak
and founder of the Udasi order, came to Amritsar to meet Guru Arjan, then engaged in composing
the poem. The Guru who had by that time completed sixteen astpadis, or cantos, requested him
to continue the composition. Baba Sri Chand, out of humility, only recited the Sloka of Guru Nanak
following the Mul Mantra in the Japu- "adi sachu jugadi sachu hai bhi sach Nanak hosi bhi sachu"-
In the beginning, in the primal time was He the Eternal Reality; in the present is He the Eternal
Reality. To eternity shall He the Reality abide (GG, 285). This sloka was thereupon repeated by
Guru Arjan at the head of the seventeenth astpadi."
22. Nayar, Kamala Elizabeth (2020). "Guru Arjan's Life, Work, and Martyrdom". The Sikh View on
Happiness : Guru Arjan's Sukhmani (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1140790571). Jaswinder Singh
Sandhu. London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. pp. 38–40. ISBN 978-1-350-13988-6.
OCLC 1140790571 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1140790571).

Bibliography
O. P. Ralhan (2004). Srichandraji Maharaj (https://books.google.com/books?id=8WQRAQAAIAA
J). Anmol Publications. ISBN 978-81-261-1828-1.

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