Although, the tradition of martyrdom in Sikh religion starts with Guru Arjan Dev Ji, there were Sikhs right from the time of Guru Nanak Dev Ji who stood for truth and against injustice and in that process some of them had to sacrifice even their lives. When Guru Hargobind Sahib started training the Sikhs in the use of weapons many brave Sikhs figured on the forefront to show their acts of valour. Some of the names of such Sikhs who fought against the Mughals from the side of the Guru included Bhai Kalyana, Bhai Piraga, Bhai Mathura, Bhai Jagna, Bhai Parasram, Bhai Maluka, Bhai Kishna and Bhai Jattu. In addition to a number of such soldiers, there were certain Sikhs who also performed various acts of valour. The name of Bidhi Chand may be mentioned in this regard. When a devotee from Kabul was bringing two horses for the Guru, Mughal soldiers of Suba Lahore captured these horses and kept them in a royal stable. It was Bhai Bidhi Chand who had brought these horses back. When Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji went to Delhi the three Sikhs who went along with him and became martyrs figure prominently in the history of Sikh religion. They were Bhai Mati Das Ji, Bhai Sati Das and Bhai Dayala Ji. Bhai Mati Das was sawn into two pieces Bhai Sati Das, brother of Bhai Mati Das was wrapped up in cotton wool and was set on fire, Bhai Dayala, elder brother of Bhai Mani Singh, was boiled to death in a heated cauldron of water.
During the period of Guru Gobind singh also,the mughal empire continued to be hostile towards Guru ji.Hindu rulers of hill states also got jealous of the increasing popularity and status of Guru ji.As a result of such hostilities, Guru ji was forced to fight battles against them In the course of these battles also,many devoted sikhs displayed their valour and became martyrs.: They included Bhai Bachitar singh, (who injured the intoxicated elephant ) his brother Bhai Udai singh, forty sikhs led by Mahan singh, who had earlier left the Guru at Anandpur Sahib, but , when rebuked by their wives ( especially Mai Bhago) came back and fought at: Khidrane di dhab till they became martyrs Guru ji pardoned them and after tearing their letter of abandonment liberated them.Since then that place came to be known as Mukatsar. There were a number of muslim devotees like Peer Bhikhan shah(first person too recognise the Divine in the Guru), Rai kala of Raikot (donee of ganga sagar ) Ghani Khan, Nabhi Khan (who carried the Guru in a palanquin disguised as a Muslim divine ) and peer Budhu shah. of Guruj. Ji. Two sons of peer ji were among those who fought for Guru ji and became martyrs. Three pyaras and two sahibzadas of Guru ji were also among the martyrs
