family was in great distress on account of a vision which his wife had had. She thought that she saw the Guru place five paise and a coco-nut before his son Gobind and bow to him in token of his appoint ment, and then she beheld the Guru's head separated from his body. She requested her son to send a Sikh at once to ascertain if the vision had any reality. If the messenger met on the road the Sikh who was expected from Dihli, he was to let him come on, and himself proceed to Dihli to obtain the latest informa tion regarding the Guru.
Meanwhile the Emperor kept his thoughts on the Guru's conversion. He sent for a Muhammadan priest and told him to take one of the nobles with him to the prisoner with this message, ' Thou art to accept the Muhammadan religion or work a miracle. If thou work a miracle, thou mayest remain a Guru as thou art. If thou accept Islam, then shalt thou be advanced to an exalted position, and be happy. If thou fail to accept these offers, thou shalt be put to death. This is my final decision.'
The Guru replied in the same purport as before, and added—-' I will never abandon my faith. I want no honour in this life ; I want honour hereafter. The threat of death possesseth no terrors for me, since I must one day assuredly leave this perishable body. For death I am prepared and I cheerfully accept it.'
The Emperor on hearing this reply was greatly incensed, and ordered that the Guru should be executed.
Meantime the messenger from the Guru's son and wife arrived from Anandpur. The Guru said to him : ' My last hour hath come. Stand thou near me. My head shall fall into thy lap. Fear nobody, but take it to Anandpur, and cremate it there.' On hearing this not only the Sikh, but the Muhammadan governor of the jail began to weep. The Guru gave them religious instruction, and con soled them. Then turning to his faithful companion,
LIFE OF GURU TEG BAHADUR 387
Gurditta, he said : ' Thou shall be released after my death.' Gurditta replied, 'O great king, it is at thy feet I wish to leave my body.' The Guru rejoined : — ' O my brother, thy cremation-ground shall be where Bhai Budha used to graze the horses of Guru Har Gobind when he was in the fortress of Gualiar. The place is only about six miles distant. Thou shalt leave thy body there, and come to me in heaven.'
Then came Saiyid Adam Shah with a warrant for the Guru's execution, accompanied by all the Emperor's courtiers and Muhammadan priests of Dihli. Adam Shah, who revolted from the office of executioner of the Guru, asked him why he was bent on losing his life in vain, and begged him to embrace Islam. The Guru replied : — ' The Sikh religion is dearer to me than life, and I cannot renounce it even under the pressure of immediate and certain death. The Guru was then taken out of his cage, and allowed to perform his ablutions at a neighbouring well. There appeared a great crowd to witness the execution. The Guru, leaving the well, went and sat under a banyan-tree, still extant, where he recited the Japji. He then told Adam Shah to take his sword and strike his neck when he bowed to God at the conclusion of his devotions. Adam Shah did so. It is said that the Guru's head flew off into the faithful Sikh's lap.
It is recorded that immediately afterwards a great storm arose which filled every one's eyes with dust. The Sikh unobserved by anyone took away the Guru's head to Anandpur, hasting with it as fast as his feet could carry him. The execution of Guru Teg Bahadur occurred on the afternoon of Thursday the fifth day of the light half of the month of Maghar in the Sambat year 1732 (A.D. 1675).
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