The Ādi Granth, or the Holy Scriptures of the Sikhs (1877) · 26

Some time after he left this place and went, as the story goes, on a pilgi-iraage to Patna with his wife and kindred, where he stayed for about five or six years, and where Govind Singh was born and also received his first education from the Pandits of that place, which deeply tinged his mind with the Hindu superstitions. Yery likely Teg-bahadur no longer felt safe in the Panjab, -where the spies of Aurang-zeb kept a watchful eye on the proceedings of the Sikhs, smd he resolved therefore to leave the Panjab altogether, and to settle under the garb of a Hindu pilgrim in some populous place, where he could remain concealed or unnoticed. On the following events of the life of Guru Teg-bahadur the accounts difier very widely, as the Sikh tradition is endeavouring to conceal or do away with everything that could throw an unfavourable light on him. According to the Sikh tradition. Gum Teg-bahadur was a saint, who, even after his accession to the Guruship, remained an TJdasT {i.e. indifferent to the world) and was totally taken up with meditation and devotion.

He removed from Patna again to Anandpur on account of some enmity with the people, the reasons of -which are not stated.

He is said to have been very fond of wandering about in the jungles with some disciples.' On one of these wanderings he is said to have come to Hindustan. When he arrived at Agra he stopped in a garden, and sent his signet-ring and a shawl to the bazar to dispose of them and to buy some provisions. The confectioner, to whom these things were oflfered for sale, took fright, lest they should be stolen goods, and brought them to the Kutval. The Kutval, having taken the signet-ring, went to Teg-bahadur into the garden and began to interrogate him, who he was and whence he had come? When he had ascertained that it was Teg-bahadur, he sent a message to Aurang-zeb at Dilll, that Guru Teg-bahadur had by chance fallen into his hands, and asked for orders regarding him. The Emperor Aurang-zeb was making all eftbrts to bring the whole world to the Musalman faith, and he had in those days imprisoned many Brahmans, as he hoped, that if these first became ilusalmans, the other people would readily follow their example. "When the Emperor heard that Guru Teg-bahadur had been seized, he was very glad, because he had heard much of the IS'anak-panthTs and wished to meet with them. He sent therefore orders to Agra, that he should be quickly sent to Dilli.

AYhen the Guru had come to Dilli, the Emperor had many disputations with him, and tried all means to bring him over to the Musalman faith. Teg-bahadur, who was not a learned man nor conversant with disputations, gave no answer, and when the Emperor desired to see ra'u-acles from him, he remained silent. At last he was thrown into prison with three disciples, and told that he would not be set at liberty till he would embrace the iTusalman religion. TVTien the Guru remained firm, they began to torture him. He managed to send a letter to his son Govind at Anandpur, informing him of his hopeless state. Govind answered him with a consolatory Dohra, but could do nothing for him.^ When no more any hope was left for the Guru, two Sikhs fled and only one remained with him. Despairing of life, and being weary of the cruel treatment he had to suffer, he ordered the Sikh to cut off his head. He refused at first to

' ^^'hat is concealed under these harmless words we shall see hereafter. ^ See Translation of the Granth, p. 708.

Ixxxviii SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF THE OTHER SIEH GURUS. TEG-BAHADUR.

commit such a crime, but when the Guru pressed him hard, ho at last struck off his head with a sword. Teg-bahadur died a.d. 1675.

When Grovind heard of the death of his father, he sent his sweepers (■vJOpJl cuhra) ' to Dilll to bring the corpse of the deceased to Anandpur. They entered the jail under the pretext of sweeping there, and brought away the corpse on a cart laden with grass. The body was burnt at Anandpur and a great shrine erected there; the head, which had remained at Dilli, some Sikhs burnt there, and erected a tomb which was called Sis-ganj (?ftj?3nT. head-stack).

According to this tradition' of the Sikhs, as it is essentially contained in the Sikha de raj di vithia, p. 47, sqq., Guru Teg-bahadur appears quite as an innocent man, who suffered severely at the hands of the bigoted Aurang-zeb, and who, in order to avoid a contumelious death, with which he had been threatened, got his head cut off by one of his disciples. To this view his compositions, which are contained in the Granth and which bear the stamp of a rather melancholy and world-renouncing character, seem to have contributed greatly, and it is not to be overlooked, that as to his sanctity and renunciation of worldly desires, those very verses are appealed to in the foregoing tradition. "We need therefore not wonder if Teg-bahadur, after the troubles and turmoils of the times were somewhat forgotten, appeared to the later Sikhs in this light.

But we must not rashly conclude from the words of Teg-bahadur, as far as they have been handed down to posterity, that he was altogether a quiet, world-renouncing Faqir, who did not meddle in worldly affairs or the politics of those days; for the moral views of the Sikhs of those times were already so thoroughly confused and their hatred against the Muhammadans so great, that they considered rebellion against the established government and plundering the property of the Muhammadans quite as lawful acts.

The reasons alleged in the Sikh tradition for the persecution and death of their ninth Guru appear very defective and improbable, though the bigotry of the Emperor Aurang-zeb is conceded on all hands and may not have been altogether strange to it. Some hint as to the real cause of the destruction of Teg-bahadur is given by the Sairu-lrauta'axxirin (Briggs's translation, vol. i. pp. 112, 113), where it is stated, that he was taken prisoner on account of his predatory proceed- ings and executed as a rebel against the Government.

The Sakhls,' which Sirdar Attar Singh, chief of Bhadour, — who with an enlightened mind follows up the history and religion of his nation, — has lately published, throw a very significant light on the wanderings of Teg-bahadur and their real character, and tend to confirm the charges brought against him by Muhammadan writers. As these Sakhls reproduce the Sikh tradition, we have the less reason to question their trustworthiness. According to them the Guru appears by no means as a harmless, spiritual instructor, but riding at the front of well-armed disciples, who,

' Tlieir descendants are said to be the l^iT^fT fTTtf (Majbi Sikh), as those sweepers were received into the Kbalsa by Guru Govind Singh for their daring' courage. ^TpfSIT 's a corruption from the Arabic,. ^ ^v ^ (regalar, due Sil<hs).

' The traditions about the imprisonment and death of Teg-bahadur difler very much and are fiequeiitly contradictory. Some ascribe his persecutions and consequent death to the inveterate hatred of Rani-rai (see M'Gregor, History of the Siklis, vol. i. p. 06; Malcohn, Sketcli of the Siklis, p. 39), some solely to the bigotry of Aurang-zeb. Cunningliam (History of the Sikhs, pp. 61, 02) comes nearer the truth, as he consulted also a Muhammadan authority. The Sikh reports must be taken with great precaution and critical discernment.

' Their title is: The Travels of Guru Tegli Bahadur and Guru Gobind Singh. Translated from the Original Gurmukhi by Sirdar Attar Singh, Chief of Bhadour. January, 1876. Lahore, Indian Public Opinion Press. It would have been very useful if the translator had also added some critical apparatus about the probable time of the coni])osition of these Sakhls. They cannot be very old, as the British territory thereabout is already mentioned (p. ii).

SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF THE OTHER SIKH GUEFS. GOYIXD SIXGH. Ixxsis

if not •^Uingly provided, levied contributions on the Zamindars and the inhabitants of the villages through which they passed, and made predatory incursions on the Muhammadan population. The Guru had not only a strong band of Sikhs with him, but he engaged also some rural clans to enter his service, promising them, that he would pay them handsomely and put thepi in the way of obtaining booty (Sakhi 44). It is also stated, that the Muhammadan soldiers were at the heels of the Guru, trying to capture him (Sakhl 50). That it was dangerous to receive the Guru, we see from the same SakhT, where one Eupa Khatrl, in whose house the Guru wanted to put up, says: " Sir, I cannot entertain you at my house, for the Emperor will destroy me and my family." From this it may be safely concluded, that the Guru was outlawed at that time.' "We can therefore easily understand, why the Kutval of Agra seized Teg-bahadur, when he fell into his hands. The Muhammadan reports, which ascribe his capture and execution to political reasons, deserve therefore full credit, the Sikh tradition itself confirming by these Sakhls the charges brought against him.

Teg-bahadur was succeeded by his son Govind Singh, who was only fifteen years old when his father died. As he was surrounded on all sides by dangers, he retreated to the mountains, where he kept himself concealed, being occupied with hunting and archery, in which latter ai't he became a great adept. He studied also Persian and read a good deal of Hindi, but never attempted the study of Sanskrit, though he occasionally tried to imitate it in his compositions, which on the whole are very difficult and intricate.^

' We must remark here, that in these Sakhis no distinct line is drawn between the wanderings of Guru Teg-babadur and those of Guru Govind Singh, so that it remains uncertain, where the first end and where the second commence. As I have not the original text at my disposal, I cannot say, if this is owing to some fault of tlie text or to some oversight of the translator. This great defect seems at any rate not to have struck him, as he makes no remark about it. It is certain that the Sakhis from 51 refer to Guru Govind Singli, the fight at Mukt-sar having taken place under him. In Sakhi 56 it is also stated that the Guru was ouly thirty- five years old, which could only be said of Govind Singh.

^ Govind Singh describes his youth Ijriefly in the following verses of the Vicitr natak:

H3 fU3 \r3^ sfVcrfj? •MTrrTTr ll " My fatlier had travelled to the east, 3tfe Stfe 7 3\^1^ J^TJTT II To different kinds of Tirthas.

Travft TllfS f^ycVt 3^ II When going along he was at Tribeni,

V^ -ilA f<A aid:} fyjy II \'- 280. The days passed in bestowing alms.

^rft ■^pTT niTTTT 3^ II " There I was manifested.

■UZTvT Mk}6 f^^ 3^ WT3T II I took birtli in the city of Patna.

^{^ $?T Tm? ^ nfW II He took me (then) to Madra-des,

3Tf3 difS ^H^*HA -iiSidiy II V. 2S1. (AVbere) I was fondled by various nurses.

^\7?\ WJW aifi "57^ "3^ II " My body was preserved in various ways. ^V^ Sif5 ^ifS TI' f+l^l II I received instruction of various kinds.

W^ Xm TT?*I o7^*T M '>rr2 ll when I had come to years of discretion,

^^?5? 3^ fM3T fiimy II V. 282. My father went to heaven."