TARA CHAND, BHAI, was a masand or a batch leader of the Sikhs in Kabul. He once led a sarigat of those parts to the presence of Guru Hargobind. Travelling through Lahore, Amritsar and Khadur, they reached Kangar, now in Bathinda district of the Punjab, where the Guru then happened to be. Tara Chand was asked by the Guru to relate his experiences of the long journey. While doing so, Bhai Tara Chand especially praised two horses he had seen at Lahore in a royal procession.
He had been so fascinated by them that he had even enquired their names and quoted these to the Guru as Dilbagh and Gulbagh. These beauties, he said, deserved to be in the Guru`s stables. The horses had, as the tradition goes, been in fact brought for presentation to Guru Hargobind by a Sikh horse dealer, Karori by name, but had been seized on the way by the governor of Lahore. Bhai Bidhi Chand, a daring Sikh, later recovered the animals.
References :
1. Santokh Singh, Bhai, Sri Gur Pratap Suraj Granth. Amritsar, 1927-35
2. Gian Singh, Giani, Twarikh Guru Khalsa [Reprint]. Patiala, 1970
3. Macauliffe, Max Arthur, The Sikh Religion `: Its Gurus, Sacred Writings and Authons. Oxford, 1909
Bhai Tara Chand is remembered as a dedicated Sikh masand who led a significant journey from the Kabul region to meet Guru Hargobind. His expedition took him and a large sangat through diverse regions—including Lahore, Amritsar, and Khadur—until they reached Kangar in what is now Bathinda district. Along this path, Bhai Tara Chand encountered events that would later be recounted as timeless symbols of devotion and the interplay between worldly beauty and spiritual ideals.
One episode that particularly stands out occurred in Lahore. While passing through the city, Bhai Tara Chand was captivated by two magnificent horses seen in a royal procession. Their grace and noble bearing struck him so deeply that he carefully ascertained their names—Dilbagh and Gulbagh—and proposed these beauties as a fit offering for the Guru’s stables. The names themselves evoke a sense of inner joy and blooming love, qualities that resonate with the spiritual teachings of the Sikh Gurus. In recounting his journey to Guru Hargobind, Bhai Tara Chand highlighted these horses as emblematic of the devotion and aesthetic excellence that every Sikh should aspire to honor.
However, the tale did not end with mere admiration. Tradition recounts that the horses were originally procured by a devoted Sikh horse dealer named Karori, who intended to present them to the Guru. Their journey, laden with promise, met a hurdle when the governor of Lahore seized the horses. This act of confiscation prompted a daring retrieval effort by another enterprising Sikh, Bhai Bidhi Chand Chhina, whose cunning and steadfastness eventually led to the recovery of the prized animals. This incident—from Tara Chand’s inspired observation to Bhai Bidhi Chand’s strategic recovery—not only underscores the resourcefulness of early Sikh devotees but also symbolizes how worldly challenges are met with unwavering dedication and faith in the divine.
Bhai Tara Chand’s narrative, interwoven with the tale of the horses, stands as a vivid reminder of the early Sikh commitment to blending practical journeying with profound spiritual insights. These stories have since contributed to the cultural ethos of Sikhism, where the beauty of the material world is celebrated as a reflection of inner truth, and every obstacle is an opportunity to manifest devotion.
