Gwalior Prison        Chandu and other ministers complained to King Jahangir. They said, “Guru Hargobind Saheb is trying to make a huge army and someday he will attack you. You should have him arrested.”         Jahangir was convinced, he ordered that Guru Hargobind Saheb be arrested and sent to prison in Gwalior for twelve years.         When the Guru was taken to the prison, he was surprised to see 52 kings who were also prisoners. Jahangir had defeated all of them and arrested them. The kings were in bad shape, they had dirty clothes and were malnourished.         While in the prison, Guru Hargobind Saheb Ji started to preach the message of Guru Nanak to the kings. He showed them the path to God. Many Sikhs wished to see their Guru, so they would walk to the Gwalior fort where the Guru was. However the guards would not allow them in, so they would just bow to the walls of the fort where the Guru was. This became a fairly regular event as many Sikhs started to come.          Mian Mir, a Muslim saint, came and told Jahangir that he was wrong for arresting a holy man like the Guru. He convinced Jahangir to release the Guru.         The Guru refused to leave the prison. I will only leave if you also free all of these kings. Jahangir said that he will allow as many kings that can hold onto your robe to be freed. So the Guru had a special robe with 52 strips made. This way all 52 kings could hold onto the Guru’s robe and be freed.         This is the reason Guru Hargobind Saheb was called the Bandi Showr – the deliverer of prisoners.       Back to Main Page   | Gurmat Studies Foundation | Guru Nanak Academy | Shaheed Baba Deep Singh Gatka Akhara | Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh!