Guru Arjan

Guru Arjan (1563–1606), the fifth Sikh Guru, succeeded his father Guru Ram Das in 1581. He completed the Harmandir Sahib at Amritsar, where his father had founded the town and built a sacred pool.

He compiled the Adi Granth, collecting the hymns of earlier Gurus and other saints into one scripture installed in the temple, and reorganized the Masand system, urging Sikhs to give one-tenth of their income to fund gurdwaras and communal kitchens.

Arrested on the orders of the Mughal emperor Jahangir for backing the rebel prince Khusrau Mirza, he refused to convert and was put to death in 1606, becoming the first Sikh martyr.