1. Sulakhni, known as Choni and often referred as Mata Sulakhni, was the wife of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism.
17 Facts About Mata Sulakhni
1. 2.
In certain Janamsakhi traditions, such as the Merharban Wali Janamsakhi, Mata Sulakhni is known as Ghummi.
3.
Mata Sulakhni further speculates that she was known as Ghummi in her birth house but went by the name Sulakhni at her in-laws house.
4.
The father of Mata Sulakhni was Mul Chand, a Chona Khatri, whilst her mother was Chando Rani.
5.
Mata Sulakhni's father held a minor revenue office in the village of Pakkhoke Randhave in what is today the Gurdaspur district of the Punjab.
6.
Mata Sulakhni was born into a Hindu family in the village of Pakkhoke.
7.
Mata Sulakhni was selected by Nanak's father partly due to her apparently "comely" appearance.
8.
Mata Sulakhni taunted Nanak to convince the Brahmins to agree to his proposals.
9.
Mata Sulakhni warned Nanak through a courier about this but Nanak retorted that the wall will never fall down for centuries.
10.
When Nanak left for Sultanpur Lodhi for employment, Mata Sulakhni remained at Talwandi until he earned enough and invited her to join him at Sultanpur in around the year 1488.
11.
Mata Sulakhni gave birth to two sons, Sri Chand, in 1494 and Lakhmi Das, in 1497.
12.
At some point, Nanak's father, Mehta Kalu, tried to tempt his son with the possibility of taking on a second wife but Nanak purportedly refused to entertain the idea as he thought Mata Sulakhni was the most suitable wife for him, having been chosen by God to be his partner, and wanted to stay with her until death.
13.
Mata Sulakhni lived an ordinary life of a trading-class housewife at Sultanpur until the year 1499 or 1502, when her husband's religious preaching began after the River Bein episode.
14.
Mata Sulakhni had expressed her desire to accompany Nanak but remained at home to tend to and raise their sons.
15.
Mata Sulakhni was reportedly a devouted wife and mother, who fully supported her husband's spiritual path and partook in it full-heatedly as a devotee herself.
16.
Mata Sulakhni survived her husband for a few years and died in 1545 at Kartarpur.
17.
Amrita Pritam, a Punjabi poet, wrote the following poem about Mata Sulakhni, specifically regarding her spiritual life as a wife of a religious man and raising of two sons alone when her husband was travelling:.