Tenth Sikh Guru
Guru Gobind Singh was only nine years old when his father was executed and he had to take on the role of Guru. He was the last human Guru, and probably the most famous. Gobind Rai, as he was originally called, was a clever linguist and a skilled horseman, archer and hunter. In the stylised paintings of him, he is often seen on horseback.
He was a great poet, and a book of his poems known as the Dasam Granth (the Tenth Collection) ranks second only to the Guru Granth Sahib itself. He made two highly important contributions to Sikhism - he formed the Khalsa, the community of the pure, and elected the Adi Granth (which became the Guru Granth Sahib) to be the final Guru.
When he was on his death bed, he took five coins and a coconut. He placed them before the Adi Granth. This was the act of installing a new Guru and, by doing this, he was naming the Adi Granth as his successor. The Adi Granth then became known as the Guru Granth Sahib.Guru Gobind Singh died of stab wounds in 1708. During his life, he and the Sikhs in Anandpur were besieged by Mogul armies, and he was forced to leave with his wife. Many battles were fought between the Khalsa and the Moguls. During these battles, Guru Gobind Singh lost his four sons and his mother. Countless numbers of Sikhs were killed, but this did not stop more and more joining the ranks of the Khalsa.