SikhiWiki:Today's featured article/March 15, 2009

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Diwan Todar Mal lays out the gold coins

Diwan Todar Mall was a wealthy merchant of Sirhind, who on the 13 December 1705 performed the cremation of the three martyred bodies of the family members of the tenth Sikh Guru.

These included the two younger sons of Guru Gobind Singh, Zorawar Singh aged about 6, Fateh Singh aged about 9 and their grandmother, Mata Gujari - the mother of the tenth Guru.

This incident occurred after the Sahibzade had been executed by the Mughal authorities on the 12 December 1705 for not renouncing their faith.

Subsequently, their grandmother died from shock at the news of the sudden and despicable execution of the innocent youngsters. To get the release of the three bodies of the Guru's household, this wealthy merchant had to cover the required ground for cremation with gold coins.

The compassionate Sikh trader of Sirhind, according to tradition, performed the last rites for the two younger sons of Guru Gobind Singh martyred on the orders of Wazir Khan, faujdar of Sirhind, and of Mata Gujari, the Guru's mother. It is said that landowners around the Sirhind Fort would not permit him to hold the cremation in their fields, until one Chaudhari Atta agreed to sell him a plot. .....More