Guru Har Krishan - Death

Death

When they reached Delhi, Guru Har Krishan and his party were the guests of Raja Jai Singh. Every day, large numbers of Sikh devotees flocked to see the Guru. A smallpox epidemic was then raging in Delhi. Guru Har Krishan helped to heal many sick people. Coming in contact with so many people every day, he too was infected and taken seriously ill. On March 30, 1664, Guru Har Krishan decided to name his successor. He called for five coins and a coconut. He took them, and being too weak to move, waved his hand three times in the air, and said "Baba Bakala"(Punjabi: ਬਾਬਾ ਬਕਾਲੇ), meaning his successor was to be found in Bakala. Guru Har Krishan then died of smallpox at the age of seven.

One of the historic gurdwaras in India, the Bangla Sahib in Delhi was built on the site where Guru Har Krishan helped the sick, and he also died himself of smallpox at Gurudwara Bala Sahib.

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