The Martyrdom of Guru Arjan commemorates the death in 1606 of Guru Arjan (1563-1606), the fifth Sikh Guru and the first of the tradition's martyrs. Arjan's achievements were foundational: he compiled the Adi Granth, the first authoritative collection of Sikh scripture, in 1604, gathering the hymns of his predecessors and other saints; he completed the building of the Harmandir Sahib, the Golden Temple, at Amritsar; and he gave the growing community an institutional strength that drew the suspicion of the Mughal state. He was arrested under the emperor Jahangir, tortured and died in custody, an event Sikhs understand as a witness (shahidi) given rather than a defeat.
His martyrdom is regarded as a turning point in Sikh history, marking the community's move toward the readiness to defend itself that his son and successor, Guru Hargobind, embodied in taking up the "two swords" of spiritual and temporal authority. The day is kept, in the height of the North Indian summer (Jyeshtha, May-June), with gatherings in the gurdwaras and a custom especially associated with it: the setting up of stalls offering chilled sweetened water and milk (chhabeel) to passers-by, a gesture of service recalling the suffering of the Guru in the heat. It is an observance of a more solemn cast than the birthday gurpurabs, honouring sacrifice for faith and principle.