[2] He lived in the ancient village of Karyala, about ten kilometres from Chakwal on the road to the Katas Raj Temples in the Jhelum District in the Punjab region of Pakistan.

Bhai Mati Das was the son of Hira Nand, a disciple of Guru Har Gobind, under whom he had fought in many battles and was a great warrior.

Hira Nand was the grandson of Lakhi Das, the son of the Bhai Praga,[3] who was also a martyr and had been a Jathedar (leader) in Guru Hargobind's first battle.

[16] Aurangzeb was very happy that all he had to do was convert one man and the rest of the Hindus from Kashmir, Kurukshetra, Hardwar, and Beneras would follow suit.

The Guru was asked numerous questions on religion, Hinduism, Sikhism and Islam, such as why he was sacrificing his life for people who wear the Janeu and the Tilak when he himself was a Sikh.

[19] On the Guru's emphatic refusal to abjure his faith, he was asked why he was called Teg Bahadur (gladiator or Knight of the Sword; before this, his name had been Tyag Mal).

Bhai Mati Das immediately replied that the Guru had won the title by inflicting a heavy blow on the imperial forces at the young age of fourteen.

[22] On November 11, 1675,[23] large crowds gathered to see the Guru[24] and the executioners were called to the kotwali (police-station) near the Sunehri Masjid in the Chandni Chowk.

Mughal Empire records from the 17th century explain Bhai Mati Das' death as punishment for challenging the authorities.

Early the next morning Guru Tegh Bahadur was beheaded by an executioner named Jalal-ud-din Jallad,[36] who resided in the town of Samana in present-day Punjab.

The body, before it could be quartered, was stolen under the cover of darkness by Lakhi Shah Vanjara, another disciple, who carried it in a cart of hay and cremated it by burning his hut.