LIFE OF GURU GOBIND SINGH 243
butes are permanence, consciousness, and happiness, shine th ever in you. Wherefore always abide in cheerfulness, and never give way to mourning. God is ever the same. He is neither young nor old. He is not born, neither doth he die. He feeleth not pain or poverty. Know that the true Guru abideth as He. Creatures who are steeped in bodily pride are very unhappy, and night and day subject to love and hate. Ever entangled and involved in the deadly sins, they perish by mutual enmity and at last find their abode in hell. Yet for the love of such creatures the Guru assumed birth to deliver them. He hath instructed them in the true Name, and very fortunate are they who have received and treasured his instruction. By it they are enabled to save themselves and others from the perils of the world's ocean. As when after drought rain falleth and there is abundance, so the Guru, seeing human beings suffering and yearning for happiness, came to bestow it on them and remove their sorrows by his teaching. And as the rain remaineth where it falleth, so the Guru's instruction ever abideth with his disciples. The Sikhs who love the true Guru are in turn beloved by him. O Khalsa, . remember the true Name. The Guru hath arrayed you in arms to procure you the sovereignty of the earth. Those who have died in battle have gone to an abode of bhss. I have attached you to the skirt of the immortal God and entrusted you to Him. Read the Granth Sahib or listen to it, so shall your minds receive consolation, and you shall undoubtedly obtain an abode in the Guru's heaven. They who remember the true Name render their lives profitable, and when they depart enter the mansions of eternal happiness.'
When the Sikhs came again to take their last fare- well of the Guru, they inquired who was to succeed him. He replied, ' I have entrusted you to the immortal God. Ever remain under His protection, and trust to none besides. Wherever there are five
R 2
Sikhs assembled who abide by the Guru^s teachings, know that I am in the midst of them. He who serveth them shall obtain the reward thereof — the fulfilment of all his heart's desires. Read the history of your Gurus from the time of Guru Nanak. Hence- forth the Guru shall be the Khalsa and the Khalsa the Guru. I have infused my mental and bodily spirit into the Granth Sahib and the Khalsa.'
After this the Guru bathed and changed his dress. He then read the Japji and repeated an Ardas or supplication. While doing so, he gave instruc- tions that no clothes should be bestowed as alms in his name. He then put on a muslin waist- band, slung his bow on his shoulder and took his musket in his hand. He opened the Granth Sahib and placing five paise and a coco-nut before it solemnly bowed to it as his successor. Then uttering ' Wahguru ji ka Khalsa ! Wahguru ji ki fatah I ' he circumambulated the sacred volume and said, ' O beloved Khalsa, let him who desireth to behold me, behold the Guru Granth. Obey the Granth Sahib. It is the visible body of the Guru. And let him who desireth to meet me diHgently search its hymns.'
The Guru went to an enclosure formed of tent walls where his bier had been erected. In the end of the night — a watch before day — he lay on his bier, and directed all his Sikhs except Bhai San- tokh Singh,^ who was specially attached to him, to go to their homes. He then gave his last orders to his last attendant. * Keep my kitchen ever open, and receive offerings for its maintenance. If any one erect a shrine in my honour, his offspring shall perish.' Bhai Santokh Singh represented that the Sikhs were few at Nander, and how were offerings to be obtained? The Guru replied, ' O Bhai Santokh Singh, have patience. Singhs of mine of very great eminence shall come here and make copious offerings. Every-
^ This is a different man from the author of the Suraj Parkdsh.
LIFE OF GURU GOBIND SINGH 245
thing shall be obtained by the favour of Guru Nanak/ He then, in grateful acknowledgement of the spiritual benefactions of the founder of his religion, uttered a Persian distich, the translation of which is: —
Gobind Singh obtained from Guru Nanak
Hospitality, the sword, victory, and prompt assistance.^
The Guru then breathed his last. The Sikhs made preparations for his obsequies as he had instructed them, the Sohila was solemnly chanted, and sacred food distributed.
While all were mourning the loss of the Guru a hermit arrived and said, * You suppose that the Guru is dead. I saw him this very morning riding his bay horse. When I bowed to him he said, *' Come, O hermit, let me behold thee. Very happy am I that I have met thee at the last moment/' I then asked him whither he was wending his way. He smiled and said he was going to the forest on a hunting excursion. He had his bow in his hand, and his arrows were fastened with a strap to his waist.'
The Sikhs who heard this statement arrived at the conclusion that it was all the Guru's play, that he dwelt in uninterrupted bUss, and that he showed himself wherever he was remembered. He had merely come into the world, they said, to make trial of their faith, and remove the ills of existence. Wherefore for such a Guru who had departed bodily to heaven, there ought to be no mourning. The ashes of his bier were collected and a platform built over them. The Khalsa, to whom the Guruship had been entrusted, declared that all those who visited the spot should receive due spiritual reward.
The Guru departed from the scene of his earthly
^ These lines were impressed on a seal made by the Sikhs after the Guru's demise, and were adopted by Ranjit Singh for his coinage after he had assumed the title of Maharaja.
triumphs and reverses on Thursday, the fifth day of the bright half of Kartik, Sambat 1765 (a.d. 1708), having exercised spiritual and temporal sovereignty over the Sikhs for three and thirty years, and resided in Nander for fourteen months and ten days.
The Sikh temple at Nander, called Abchalnagar, is an imposing structure with a cupola and two minarets. The interior is surrounded by a wall of martial implements emblematic of the militant side of the Guru's character. It was built by Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1832 in defiance of the Guru's interdiction. Additions are being continually made to the edifice by the contributions of devout Sikhs.^
Chapter XXXII
We now proceed to continue the history of Banda. Having set out for the Pan jab in accordance with the Guru's instructions, and in due time taken up his post on an eminence near Buria, he found there the rein- forcements promised by the Guru. They came in numbers and clamoured for food. To supply them- selves they were obliged to resort to forcible measures. Upon this there arose a violent altercation between the Sikhs and the villagers, in which the latter were
It may here be mentioned that all places of worship in the Haidar- abad territory receive state assistance. A Hindu temple at the capital receives an annual subsidy of seventy thousand rupees. In every village Hindu as well as Muhammadan temples are treated as objects of the Nizam's munificence. Even Christian and Parsi churches have to acknowledge his bounty.
There are twelve hundred Sikhs, including cavalry and infantry, commanded by twelve Risaldars, in the Nizam's army. The Risaldars reside at Nander each in turn for a whole year to protect the shrine and the Sikhs who have gathered round it from different countries. There are also three or four hundred Sikhs in the State Constabulary.
THE SIKH TEMPLE (HAZUR SAHIB) AT NANDER
t
LIFE OF GURU GOBIND SINGH 247
put to the sword. The inhabitants of two or three other villages were similarly treated.
On seeing the licence granted to Banda's troops all the robbers of the country flocked to his standard. An outcry everywhere arose, and the people went in large numbers to complain to the governor of Mustafabad — a city five or six miles to the west of Biiria — where were two thousand imperial troops under arms and ready for any emergency. These were dispatched with two large guns against Banda, whereupon many of his mercenary recruits deserted him. He encouraged all who remained, and promised them protection and pecuniary assistance. He then pulled forth one of the Guru's arrows, drew a Hne on the ground with it, and said that no bullet or arrow should cross the demarcation thus made. Upon this his troops ralUed and made such a success- ful defence that the Muhammadans all fled, leaving their cannon behind them. After this victory several of the deserters returned, and rejoined Banda's army. His forces then proceeded to Mustafabad and laid it waste.
Banda's next expedition was against Sadhaura. The imperial troops stationed there came forth to oppose him, but were easily defeated. They fled and took shelter behind their city walls. Banda's forces with great bravery captured the fort, and levelled it with the ground. Then ensued a general massacre of the inhabitants. Banda next marched and laid siege to Samana, a considerable town in the state of Patiala. Here there was a sanguinary battle. The city was sacked, and the male inhabi- tants put to the sword.
He then proceeded to Sarhind. On the march his troops took suppHes forcibly from villagers. Wazir Khan on hearing that Banda was marching against him sent to the viceroy of Lahore for assist- ance. Banda plundered Ambala on the way. He then marched to Banur where he was encountered
by Wazir Khan's army, which had marched from Sarhind to oppose him. The battle began on the following day. When several of the Muhammadans were slain, Wazir Khan and Banda engaged in single combat. Banda thus addressed him, ' O sinner, thou art the enemy of Guru Gobind Singh. Thou hast shown him no respect, but on the contrary hast put to death his innocent children, and thereby committed a grievous and unpardonable crime, the punishment for which I am now going to deal thee. Thine army and thy country shall be destroyed at my hands.' Upon this Banda struck off his head with one blow of his sword. Then the whole of the Muhammadan army fled followed by the Sikhs, who possessed themselves of their horses, arms, tents, cannon, and other munitions of war, and then advanced in triumph to Sarhind. There they effected a general massacre. The Sikhs captured Suchanand who had instigated the murder of Guru Gobind Singh's children. They put an iron ring in his nose, and passing a rope through it, led him round the streets to beg. At every shop he was shoe-beaten until he died. Such of the inhabitants as were not killed prostrated themselves before the conqueror. He was not disposed to mercy, but gave an order, to raze the city to the ground and plough up its site. In the process large treasure was found which materially assisted him in his further career of rapine, bloodshed, and devastation.
Banda then went on an expedition to the east and plundered most of the hill rajas' states. After this he made a pilgrimage to Anandpur, and per- formed reverent worship at the shrine of Guru Teg Bahadur. He then made pilgrimages to the places hallowed by the visits of Guru Gobind Singh. The Raja of Chamba, in order to conciliate him, sent him a supremely beautiful girl. She had large eyes, her limbs were graceful and delicate, and she is described by the enthusiastic chronicler as the very image of
LIFE OF GURU GOBIND SINGH 249
the goddess of love. Banda on seeing her, parted with his caution, and completely forgot the Guru's injunctions. He dived into the ocean of sensuality, and thought not of the fate that awaited him on the forfeiture of his continence.
Having subjected all the hill chiefs, Banda planned a tour in the Bist Doab, and proceeded to Jalandhar where he killed the Muhammadan male inhabitants. The Muhammadan women were converted to Sikhism, and became wives of the Sikh soldiers by the cere- mony of Anand.^ He thence went into the Manjha and plundered Batala. Thence he marched to Lahore and put its viceroy Aslam Khan and all his principal officers to the sword. He there heard that troops sent by the Emperor Bahadur Shah were marching against him. He proceeded to meet them as far as Ludhiana and defeated them. He thence went on a pilgrimage to the shrine of Guru Nanak in the Gurdaspur district, where he met Bhai Ram Kaur, sixth in descent from Bhai Budha. Banda induced him to remain with him, probably with the object of persuading him, in imitation of his pious ancestor, to invest him with the dignity of Guru.
Banda had by this time obtained supreme power from the neighbourhood of Dihli on the south to Lahore on the north. He appointed his own police, levied revenue, and ruled the country. Baba Binod Singh, whom the Guru had sent with him, gave him great assistance in administration. He endeavoured to dissuade him from the Chamba liaison and another of a disreputable character which Banda had also contracted. On one occasion when Baba Binod Singh remonstrated in open darbar with him for his departure from ascetic principles and the injunctions of the Guru, an altercation arose of such a violent character that Binod Singh drew his sword and would have cut off his head had not Kahn Singh interposed. Kahn Singh then foretold the
departure of Banda's glory and his ignominious death.
Banda next paid a visit to the great temple at Amritsar. He gave out that he had been empowered by the Guru to claim succession to the Guruship. The Sikhs then reflected that he did not live ac- cording to the rules prescribed for the Khalsa. In order to make trial of him, they put meat before__l him, at which he, as the result of early prejudice, ^ became horrified. He fell into a passion with the Sikhs who had thus made trial of him, and they in turn grew enraged with him for refusing meat allowed by their religion and for his manifold irregu- larities. The result was that the Sikhs divided into two factions. Those who rejected Banda were called the Tat Khalsa, or real Sikhs, and those who accepted him, the Bandai Khalsa or followers of Banda. For the Sikh salutation, Wahguru ji ka Khalsa I Wahguru ji ki fatah I he substituted Fatah Darshan 'Victory to the sect', an alteration which was deemed apostasy from the orthodox faith.
Another cause of the dissatisfaction of the Sikhs with Banda was that he disregarded a letter of Mata Sundari to the effect that he had now accom- plished the mission imposed on him by the Guru, namely, to bring the Governor of Sarhind to justice, and it was time for him to arrest his career of carnage and spoliation. Banda said that as Mata Sundari was only a woman she was not competent to give him advice or orders. Many Sikhs thinking that this was a slight to the Guru's wife, deserted Banda, and from that time his power began rapidly to decline.
When the defeat of the army sent by the Emperor against Banda was heard of in Nander it was attri- buted to the Emperor's failure to keep his promise to the Guru.
Banda continued to pursue his violent career until Bahadur Shah, himself at the head of a powerful
LIFE OF GURU CxOBIND SINGH 251
avenging army, proceeded against him. Banda not deeming his troops sufficient to cope with the im- perial host fled to the mountains and took refuge in a fort called Lohgarh. The imperial army be- sieged him but the wily chief escaped in a desperate sally. A Hindu who remained behind to personate him was sent by the Subadar's orders to be executed in DihH. Very soon after this the Emperor died in Lahore, and then ensued the usual Oriental scramble for the throne. His eldest son Jahandar Shah, who has been described as a drunken profligate, succeeded, but was murdered by his nephew Farrukh Siyar, son of Bahadur Shah's second son Azim-ul- Shan. While this struggle was in progress, Banda came forth from his hiding-place and again com- menced his depredations.
Bayazid Khan, the new viceroy of Sarhind, went forth with his troops to oppose Banda, but was killed while at his prayers by a follower of the outlaw. On this the Emperor Farrukh Siyar sent Abd-ul-Samad Khan, also known as Diler Jang, to arrest Banda' s progress. When Diler Jang thought his troops had surrounded Banda, there was no Banda to be seen. He and his followers had again fled and disappeared in the mountains. Diler Jang took up his quarters at Lahore to await the outlaw's reappearance. After a year Banda again emerged from his fastnesses and took possession of Kalanuar and Santokhgarh. He sent letters in all directions inviting the Sikhs to join his standard. In two months he received considerable reinforcements and defeated Sher Mu- hammad Daim, the general commanding at Ambala. The latter then went to Diler Jang at Lahore to com- plain of Banda's lawlessness and tyranny and concert more stringent measures for his repression . Diler J ang sent the Ambala general's complaint to the Emperor. Upon this the Emperor ordered Mir Ahmad Khan, the general commanding at Aurangabad, to join his forces with those of Diler Jang and the other
generals in the Panjab and all proceed against Banda. The latter took refuge in Gurdaspur, and strongly entrenched himself. The Muhammadan army besieged him. The Sikhs were reduced to such extremities that they killed for food all animals in their possession. Baba Binod Singh, who had hitherto accompanied Banda, now abandoned him. Banda, when rendered totally helpless, sent a letter under flag of truce to Diler Jang offering to sur- render if his life were spared, and his troops treated with consideration. Diler Jang promised to in- tercede with the Emperor for him, and held out hopes of his pardon. When Banda gave up his arms, he was not allowed an interview with Diler Jang, but placed at once with all his followers under restraint. They were all sent to Dihli with many circumstances of disgrace — Banda himself being put into an iron cage — to be disposed of by the Emperor.
Here English testimony is available. The members of an English mission who went from Calcutta to Dihli in 1715 to petition the Emperor for certain privileges, have left on record that they saw a procession of eight hundred Sikh prisoners marched through Dihli with two thousand bleeding heads borne aloft on poles. The Sikhs vied with one another for precedence in death.
While the executions were in progress, the mother of one of the prisoners, a young man just arrived at manhood, having obtained some influential sup- port, pleaded the cause of her son with great feeling and earnestness before the Emperor. She repre- sented that her son had suffered imprisonment and hardship at the hands of the sect. His property was plundered, and he was made prisoner. While in captivity, he was, without any fault of his own, introduced into the sect, and now stood innocent among those sentenced to death. Farrukh Siyar pitied the woman, and mercifully sent an officer with orders to release the youth. She arrived
LIFE OF GURU GOBIND SINGH 253
with the order of release just as the executioner was standing with his bloody sword upheld over the young man's head. When she showed the imperial order the youth broke out into complaints, saying, ' My mother speaketh falsely : I with heart and soul join my fellow-believers in devotion to the Guru : send me quickly after my companions/ Needless to say his request was cheerfully granted.
Here Baba Kahn Singh and Baba Baz Singh, whom the Guru had sent with Banda, succeeded in effecting their escape. Ghulam Husain Khan, author of the Siyar ul Mutaakharin, states that Banda's son was put on his lap, and Banda was obliged to cut his throat in the manner of Muham- madan sacrifice. He did so, not unwilHngly, lest the child should afterwards be circumcised and made a Muhammadan.
Muhammad Amin Khan, when he had an inter- view with Banda, said to him, ' The marks of sense and intelHgence are visible on thy countenance : how is it thou hast never thought about the recompense of thy deeds, and that in a short span of life with a dreadful futurity thou hast been guilty of such cruelty and of such detestable actions to Hindus and Musulmans ? ' He repHed, ' In all religions and sects, whenever disobedience and rebelHon among mortal men passeth all bounds, the Great Avenger raiseth up a severe man like me for the punishment of their sins and the due reward of their deeds.