Sikh gurus Facts for Kids

An old painting from 1890 showing the ten gurus and others.

Gurus of the Sikhs. A painting from Dera Nirmala.

The Sikh gurus are the main spiritual teachers of Sikhism. They started and developed the religion over about 250 years, beginning in 1469. This year marks the birth of Guru Nanak, who founded Sikhism. After him, nine other human gurus led the faith. In 1708, the tenth guru passed on his role to the holy Sikh book, Guru Granth Sahib. Today, followers of Sikhism consider this book their living Guru.

What Does 'Guru' Mean?
Meet the Sikh Gurus
- Timeline of the Gurus
- Family Trees of the Gurus
See Also

What Does 'Guru' Mean?

The word Guru comes from Sanskrit, an ancient Indian language. It means a "teacher, guide, expert, or master" in a certain area of knowledge. Bhai Vir Singh, a famous Sikh scholar, explained that "Guru" is made of two parts: "Gu" (meaning darkness) and "Rū" (meaning light). So, a Guru is someone who brings light into darkness or helps people understand things.

This idea helps us understand why the Guru Granth Sahib is seen as a living Guru. It guides Sikhs by sharing the teachings of the Gurus. The word Sikh comes from the Sanskrit word shishya, which means a student or disciple. This shows that Sikhs have a special student-teacher relationship with their Gurus. Their teachings, found in the Guru Granth Sahib, act as a guide for all Sikhs.

Sikhs believe that all the Gurus shared the same spiritual light or soul. Their bodies were just different ways for this same spirit to appear. When one Guru passed away, the next Guru inherited this spiritual light. This is why the Gurus are also called mahalla, meaning "house" or "dwelling" for the same spirit.

Meet the Sikh Gurus

No.	Name	Birth Date	Became Guru	Birthplace	Family Name	Father	Mother	Date of Death	How They Died	Place of Death
1	Guru Nanak	14 April 1469	Since birth	Nankana Sahib, Punjab, Delhi Sultanate	Bedi Khatri	Kalyan Das Bedi	Mata Tripta	22 September 1539	Natural causes	Kartarpur, Punjab, Mughal Empire
2	Guru Angad	31 March 1504	7 September 1539	Muktsar, Punjab, Mughal Empire	Trehan Khatri	Baba Pheru Mal	Mata Ramo	29 March 1552	Natural causes	Khadur Sahib, Punjab, Mughal Empire
3	Guru Amar Das	5 May 1479	26 April 1552	Amritsar, Punjab, Mughal Empire	Bhalla Khatri	Tej Bhan Bhalla	Mata Lachmi	1 September 1574	Natural causes	Goindval, Lahore Subah, Mughal Empire
4	Guru Ram Das	24 September 1534	1 September 1574	Lahore, Punjab, Mughal Empire	Sodhi Khatri	Baba Har Das	Mata Daya	1 September 1581	Natural causes	Goindval, Lahore Subah, Mughal Empire
5	Guru Arjan	15 April 1563	1 September 1581	Goindval, Punjab, Mughal Empire	Sodhi Khatri	Guru Ram Das	Mata Bhani	30 May 1606	Killed by order of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir	Lahore, Lahore Subah, Mughal Empire
6	Guru Hargobind	19 June 1595	25 May 1606	Amritsar, Lahore Subah, Mughal Empire	Sodhi Khatri	Guru Arjan	Mata Ganga	28 February 1644	Natural causes	Kiratpur Sahib, Lahore Subah, Mughal Empire
7	Guru Har Rai	16 January 1630	3 March 1644	Kiratpur Sahib, Lahore Subah, Mughal Empire	Sodhi Khatri	Baba Gurditta	Mata Nihal Kaur	6 October 1661	Natural causes	Delhi, Delhi Subah, Mughal Empire
8	Guru Har Krishan	7 July 1656	7 October 1661	Kiratpur Sahib, Lahore Subah, Mughal Empire	Sodhi Khatri	Guru Har Rai	Mata Krishan Kaur	30 March 1664	Died from Smallpox	Delhi, Delhi Subah, Mughal Empire
9	Guru Tegh Bahadur	1 April 1621	20 March 1664	Amritsar, Lahore Subah, Mughal Empire	Sodhi Khatri	Guru Hargobind	Mata Nanaki	11 November 1675	Killed by order of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb	Delhi, Delhi Subah, Mughal Empire
10	Guru Gobind Singh	14 February 1666	11 November 1675	Patna Sahib, Bihar Subah, Mughal Empire	Sodhi Khatri	Guru Tegh Bahadur	Mata Gujri	7 October 1708	Killed by enemies	Hazur Sahib, Bidar Subah, Mughal Empire
11	Guru Granth Sahib	29 August 1604 (when the first version was finished)	20 October 1708	Amritsar, Lahore Subah, Mughal Empire (where it was put together)	This is the main holy book of Sikhism. It is seen as the final, most important, and everlasting Guru.