The battle of Bhangani was fought between Guru Gobind Singh Ji and the hill chiefs. The important Hill Chiefs who fought against Guru Sahib were Raja Bhim Chand of Bilaspur, Raja Kirpal Chand (Katoch) of Kangra, Fateh Shah, the ruler of Srinagar, Raja Gopal Chand of Guler and Raja Kesar Chand of Jasowal. Raja Bhim Chand was the leader of Hill Chiefs.

Causes: The main causes of the battle of Bhangani fought between Guru Sahib and the Hill Chief were, as follow.

1. Guru Sahib had started recruiting his followers in his army. They were being imparted training in horse riding, use of arms and hunting. In addition, Guru Sahib had collected a larger number of weapons. Guru Sahib advised his followers to donate horses and arms in place of cash and kind. The hill chiefs felt uncomfortable with the rising military activities of Guru Sahib.

2. The hill chiefs were ardent believers in Idol worship. But Guru Sahib strongly condemned this practice at Poanta Sahib.

3. The lifestyle of Guru Sahib was highly aristocratic and majestic. The hill chiefs were jealous of him because of his high standard of living. They feared that if Guru Sahib tried to acquire political power, they would stand in no comparison with Guru Sahib.

4. While Guru Sahib was making military preparations in the hill regions, the hill chiefs feared that it could push them into an undesirable conflict with Emperor Aurangzeb.

5. The Sikh followers used to give precious and costly gifts to Guru Sahib. It became a major cause of jealousy of the hill chiefs.

6. The immediate cause of battle of Bhangani was that Raja Bhim Chand of Bilaspur intentionally wanted to pass the marriage party of his son through Paonta Sahib. Guru Sahib knew about the wrong intentions of Raja Bhim Chand and denied him the passage. Raja Bhim Chand took it as his insult and became revengeful. Soon after, he raised a joint front with other hill chiefs and attacked Guru Sahib.

7. Events of the Battle: A huge army under” the leadership of Raja Bhim Chand marched towards Paonta Sahib. Guru Sahib also sent his forces to meet the enemy in a battle at Bhangani, a place near Paonta Sahib. Guru Sahib faced some problem in the beginning of the battle. However, Guru Sahib gave tough fight evtfn in such a situation. A hard contested battle continued and Guru Sahib suffered some initial reverses. On that every occasion, Buddhu Shah of Sadhora arrived and joined Guru Sahib. The situation completly turned in favour of Guru Sahib after that. The enemy lost confidence and the hill chiefs totally became frustrated. Soon after, a large number of enemy soldiers were chopped off by the swords of the Sikhs and the hill chiefs ran away for their safety.

8. Importance of the Battle:

1. The victory at Bhangani raised the prestige of the Sikh army of Guru Sahib.
2. Guru Sahib was fully convinced that he could successfully end the tyranny of the Mughals by organizing and training his followers.
3. The hill chiefs dropped the idea of fighting against Guru Sahib and decided to cultivate friendship with Guru Sahib.
4. After the victory of Bhangani, Guru Sahib decided to leave Paonta Sahib and returned to Anandpur Sahib.
5. Raja Bhim Chand of Bilaspur specifically adopted the policy of friendship towards Guru Sahib. The period of peace and friendship with the hill chiefs was used by Guru Ji to raise the four forts in Anandpur Sahib, which were Anandgarh, Keshgarh, Lohgarh, and Fatehgarh.