Which Sikh Guru died of smallpox at age eight?

Which Sikh Guru died of smallpox at age eight? Guru Har Krishan died of smallpox before reaching his eighth birthday.

Guru Har Krishan was the eighth Sikh Guru and became Guru in 1661 at only five years old, succeeding his father, Guru Har Rai. Because of his youth, he is remembered in Sikh tradition as the Bal Guru, or Child Guru. His short leadership lasted roughly two years and five months.

While in Delhi in 1664, Guru Har Krishan contracted smallpox during an outbreak. Sikh tradition remembers him for helping people suffering from illness, though historical accounts differ in how they describe the circumstances of his infection. He died on 30 March 1664, at about seven and a half years old—technically before turning eight.

That detail explains why “age eight” is a common shorthand, while “seven and a half” is more precise. Before his death, he reportedly said “Baba Bakale,” a statement understood by Sikhs as identifying his grand-uncle, Guru Tegh Bahadur, as the next Guru. He was therefore not succeeded by Guru Gobind Singh or Guru Har Rai.