Guru Har Gobind was born to Guru Arjan Dev on June 19, 1595 at Wadali, a village near Amritsar. The period of Guru’s early life is alluded to in the previous chapter. After the Martyrdom of his father (Guru Arjan), the Guru caused the Adi Granth to be read by Bhai Buddha and the musicians of the temple sang the Guru’s hymns. This lasted for ten days.
When the final rites were over, Bhai Buddha started the ceremony of Guruship. It should be remembered here that when Guru Arjan’s wife went to Bhai Buddha for boon of a son, she had prepared the meals with her own hands, and she took bread with onions. Bhai Buddha while eating had said,” The Guru is the owner of the storehouse, but I have received an order to open it. As you have given me food to my heart’s content, so shall you have a son to your heart’s content.
He shall be very handsome and brave, possess spiritual and temporal power, become a mighty hunter, ride on royal steeds, wear two swords, be puissant in battle, and trample on the Mughals. As I crush these onions you have brought to me, so shall your son crush the heads of his enemies,
and be at once a great warrior and exalted Guru. His shall not be the humble seat of a village Guru, but a gorgeous imperial throne.” As usual Bhai Buddha placed before the Guru a seli (a woolen cord worn as a necklace or twisted round the head by the former Gurus) and a turban, as appurtenances of his calling. The Guru ordered the seli to be placed in the treasury and reminding him about his prophecy said to Bhai Buddha,”My endeavors shall be to fulfil thy prophecy.
My seli shall be a swordbelt, and I shall wear my turban with a royal aigrette. Give me a sword to wear instead of seli.” The sword was brought but Bhai Buddha placed it on the wrong side of Guru Har Gobind. The Guru said,”Bring another one, I shall wear two swords.” He wore two swords which were emblems of Spiritual and Temporal authority- Piri and Miri- the combination of ‘Bhakti and Shakti’.