Chapter III: Section I (2)

Gúrú Góvind was the last acknowledged religious ruler of the Sikhs. A prophecy had limited their spiritual guides to the number of ten; and their superstition, aided, no doubt, by the action of that spirit of independence which his institutions had introduced, caused its fulfilment. The success, however, of Banda, a Bairági, who was the devoted follower and friend of Gúrú Góvind, established their union under his banners. A short period after Góvind's death, the grief of Banda at the misfortune of his priest, is said, by Sikh authors, to have settled into a gloomy and desperate desire to revenge his wrongs. The confusion which took place on the death of Aurungzéb, which happened in the year 1707, was favourable to his wishes. After plundering the country, and defeating most of the petty Muhammedan chiefs that were opposed to him, he thought himself sufficiently strong to venture on an action with Foujdar Khán, the governor of the province of Sarhind, and the man of all others most abhorred by the Sikhs, as the murderer of the infant children of Gúrú Góvind. This action was fought with valour by the Muhammedans; and with all that desperation on the part of the Sikhs, which the most savage spirit of revenge could inspire: and this, aided by the courage and conduct of their leader, gave them the victory, after a severe contest. Foujdar Khán fell, with most of his army, to whom the enraged Sikhs gave no quarter. Nor was their savage revenge satiated by the destruction of the Muhammedan army: they put to death the wife and children of Vizír Khán, and almost all the inhabitants of Sarhind. They destroyed or polluted the mosques of that city; and, in a spirit of wild and brutal rage, dug up the carcasses of the dead, and exposed them to be devoured by beasts of prey. Encouraged by this success, and hardened by the lessons of Banda to deeds of the most horrid atrocity, the Sikhs rushed forward, and subdued all the country between the Satléj and the Jumna; and, crossing that river, made inroads into the province of Sáháranpúr[53]. It is unnecessary to state the particulars of this memorable incursion, which, from all accounts, appears to have been one of the severest scourges with which a country was ever afflicted. Every excess that the most wanton barbarity could commit, every cruelty that an unappeased appetite of revenge could suggest, was inflicted upon the miserable inhabitants of the provinces through which they passed. Life was only granted to those who conformed to the religion, and adopted the habits and dress of the Sikhs; and if Behádur Sháh had not quitted the Dek'hin, which he did in A. D. 1710, there is reason to think the whole of Hindústan would have been subdued by these merciless invaders.

The first check the Sikhs received was from an army under Sultán Kúli Khán. That chief defeated one of their advanced corps at Pánipat'h, which, after being dispersed, fled to join their leader Banda, at Sarhind. The death of Behádur Sháh prevented this success from being pursued; and the confusion which followed that event, was favourable to the Sikhs. Banda defeated Islám Khán, the viceroy of Lahore, and one of his fanatic followers stabbed Báyezíd Khán, the governor of Sarhind, who had marched out of that town to encounter this army. This, however, was the last of Banda's successful atrocities. Abdal Sámad Khán, a general of great reputation, was detached, with a large army, by the emperor Farakhseir, against the Sikhs, whom he defeated in a very desperate action; in which, agreeable to Muhammedan authors, Banda performed prodigies of valour, and was only obliged to give way to the superior numbers and discipline of the imperialists. The Sikhs were never able to make a stand after this defeat, and were hunted, like wild beasts, from one strong hold to another, by the army of the emperor; by whom their leader, and his most devoted followers, were at last taken, after having suffered every extreme of hunger and fatigue[54].

Abdal Sámad Khán put to death great numbers of the Sikhs after the surrender of Lóhgad, the fortress in which they took refuge; but sent Banda, and the principal chiefs of the tribe, to Dehli, where they were first treated with every kind of obloquy and insult, and then executed. A Muhammedan writer[55] relates the intrepidity with which these Sikh prisoners, but particularly their leader, Banda, met death. "It is singular," he writes, "that these people not only behaved firmly during the execution, but they would dispute and wrangle with each other who should suffer first; and they made interest with the executioner to obtain the preference. Banda," he continues, "was at last produced, his son being seated in his lap. His father was ordered to cut his throat, which he did, without uttering one word. Being then brought nearer the magistrate's tribunal, the latter ordered his flesh to be torn off with red hot pincers; and it was in those moments he expired: his black soul taking its flight, by one of those wounds, towards the regions for which it was so well fitted."

Thus perished Banda; who, though a brave and able leader, was one of the most cruel and ferocious of men, and endeavoured to impart to his followers that feeling of merciless resentment which he cherished against the whole Muhammedan race, whom he appears to have thought accountable for the cruelty and oppression of a few individuals of the persuasion[56].

Though the Sikhs, from being animated by a similar feeling, and encouraged by his first successes, followed Banda to the field, they do not revere his memory; and he is termed, by some of their authors, a heretic; who, intoxicated with victory, endeavoured to change the religious institutions and laws of Gúrú Góvind, many of whose most devoted followers this fierce chief put to death, because they refused to depart from those usages which that revered spiritual leader had taught them to consider sacred. Among other changes, Banda wished to make the Sikhs abandon their blue dress, to refrain from drinking and eating flesh; and, instead of exclaiming _Wá! Gúrúji ki Futteh! Wá! Khálsaji ki Futteh!_ the salutations directed by Góvind, he directed them to exclaim, _Futteh D'herm! Futteh dersan!_ which means, "Success to piety! Success to the sect!" These innovations were very generally resisted; but the dreaded severity of Banda made many conform to his orders. The class of Acálís[57], or immortals, who had been established by Gúrú Góvind, continued to oppose the innovations with great obstinacy; and many of them suffered martyrdom, rather than change either their mode of salutation, diet, or dress; and, at the death of Banda, their cause triumphed. All the institutions of Gúrú Góvind were restored: but the blue dress, instead of being, as at first, worn by all, appears, from that date, to have become the particular right of the Acálís, whose valour, in its defence, well merited the exclusive privilege of wearing this original uniform of a true Sikh.

After the defeat and death of Banda, every measure was taken, that an active resentment could suggest, not only to destroy the power, but to extirpate the race, of the Sikhs. An astonishing number of that sect must have fallen, in the last two or three years of the contest with the imperial armies, as the irritated Muhammedans gave them no quarter. After the execution of their chief, a royal edict was issued, ordering all who professed the religion of Nánac to be taken and put to death, wherever found. To give effect to this mandate, a reward was offered for the head of every Sikh; and all Hindús were ordered to shave their hair off, under pain of death. The few Sikhs, that escaped this general execution, fled into the mountains to the N. E. of the Penjáb, where they found a refuge from the rigorous persecution by which their tribe was pursued; while numbers bent before the tempest which they could not resist, and abandoning the outward usages of their religion, satisfied their consciences with the secret practice of its rites.

From the defeat and death of Banda till the invasion of India by Nádir Sháh, a period of nearly thirty years, we hear nothing of the Sikhs; but, on the occurrence of that event, they are stated to have fallen upon the peaceable inhabitants of the Penjáb, who sought shelter in the hills, and to have plundered them of that property which they were endeavouring to secure from the rapacity of the Persian invader.

Enriched with these spoils, the Sikhs left the hills, and built the fort of Dalewál, on the Rávi, from whence they made predatory incursions, and are stated to have added both to their wealth and reputation, by harassing and plundering the rear of Nádir Sháh's army, which, when it returned to Persia, was encumbered with spoil, and marched, from a contempt of its enemies, with a disregard to all order.

The weak state to which the empire of Hindústan was reduced; and the confusion into which the provinces of Lahore and Cábul were thrown, by the death of Nádir; were events of too favourable a nature to the Sikhs to be neglected by that race, who became daily more bold, from their numbers being greatly increased by the union of all those who had taken shelter in the mountains; the readmission into the sect of those who, to save their lives, had abjured, for a period, their usages; and the conversion of a number of proselytes, who hastened to join a standard, under which robbery was made sacred; and to plunder, was to be pious.

Aided with these recruits, the Sikhs now extended their irruptions over most of the provinces of the Penjáb: and though it was some time before they repossessed themselves of Amritsar, they began, immediately after they quitted their fastnesses, to flock to that holy city at the periods of their feasts. Some performed this pilgrimage in secret, and in disguise: but in general, according to a contemporary Muhammedan author, the Sikh horsemen were seen riding, at full gallop, towards "their favourite shrine of devotion. They were often slain in making this attempt, and sometimes taken prisoners; but they used, on such occasions, to seek, instead of avoiding, the crown of martyrdom: and the same authority states, that an instance was never known of a Sikh, taken in his way to Amritsar, consenting to abjure his faith."

It is foreign to the object of this sketch to enter into a detail of those efforts by which the Sikhs rose into that power which they now possess. It will be sufficient to glance at the principal events which have marked their progress, from the period of their emerging from the mountains, to which they had been driven after the death of Banda, to that of the conquest and subjection of those fine provinces over which their rule is now established. This sect, as has been before stated, have never admitted a spiritual leader since the death of Gúrú Góvind. It was success, and the force of a savage but strong genius, which united them, for a period, under Banda; and they have, since his death, had no acknowledged general, leader, or prince. Each individual followed to the field the Sirdar or chief, who, from birth, the possession of property, or from valour and experience, had become his superior. These chiefs again were of different rank and pretensions: a greater number of followers, higher reputation, the possession of wealth, or lands, constituted that difference; and, from one or other of these causes, one chief generally enjoyed a decided pre-eminence, and, consequently, had a lead in their military councils. But, nevertheless, they always went through the form of selecting a military leader at their Gúrú-matá, or national council; where, however, influence prevailed, and the most powerful was certain of being elected.

Such a mode of government was in itself little calculated to give that strength and union which the cause of the Sikhs required: but the peculiarities of their usages, the ardent character of their faith, the power of their enemies, and the oppression they endured, amply supplied the place of all other ordinances. To unite and to act in one body, and on one principle, was, with the first Sikhs, a law of necessity: it was, amid the dangers with which they were surrounded, their only hope of success, and their sole means of preservation: and it was to these causes, combined with the weakness and internal contests of their enemies, to which this sect owes its extraordinary rise,--not to their boasted constitution; which, whether we call it an oligarchy, which it really is; or a theocracy, which the Sikhs consider it; has not a principle in its composition that would preserve it one day from ruin, if vigorously assailed. But of this their history will furnish the best example.

Encouraged by the confusion which took place on the first Afghán[58] invasion, the Sikhs made themselves masters of a considerable part of the Duáb of Rávi and Jaléndra[59], and extended their incursions to the neighbouring countries. They, however, at this period received several severe checks from Mír Manu, the governor of Lahore, who is said, by Muhammedan authors, to have been only withheld from destroying them by the counsel of his minister, Kodá Mal, who was himself a Sikh of the Khalása[60] tribe. Mír Manu appointed Adína Bég Khán to the charge of the countries in which the Sikhs maintained themselves; and, as that able but artful chief considered this turbulent tribe in no other light than as the means of his personal advancement, he was careful not to reduce them altogether; but, after defeating them in an action, which was fought near Mak'havál, he entered into a secret understanding with them, by which, though their excursions were limited, they enjoyed a security to which they had been unaccustomed, and from which they gathered strength and resources for future efforts.

At the death of Mír Manu[61], the Sikhs took all those advantages, which the local distractions of a falling empire offered them, of extending and establishing their power. Their bands, under their most active leaders, plundered in every direction, and were successful in obtaining possession of several countries, from which they have never since been expelled: and their success, at this period, was promoted, instead of being checked, by the appointment of their old friend, Adína Bég Khán, to Lahore; as that brave chief, anxious to defend his own government against the Afgháns, immediately entered into a confederacy with the Sikhs, whom he encouraged to plunder the territories of Ahmed Sháh Abdáli.

The Afghán monarch, resenting this predatory warfare, in which the governor of Lahore was supported by the court of Dehli, determined upon invading India. Adína Bég, unable to oppose him, fled; and the Sikhs could only venture to plunder the baggage, and cut off the stragglers of the Afghán army; by which they so irritated Ahmed Sháh, that he threatened them with punishment on his return; and, when he marched to Cábul, he left his son, Taimúr Khán, and his vizír, Jehán Khán, at Lahore, with orders to take vengeance on the Sikhs for all the excesses which they had committed. The first expedition of Taimúr Khán was against their capital, Amritsar, which he destroyed, filling up their sacred tank, and polluting all their places of worship: by which action he provoked the whole race to such a degree, that they all assembled at Lahore, and not only attempted to cut off the communication between the fort and country, but collected and divided the revenues of the towns and villages around it. Taimúr Khán, enraged at this presumption, made several attacks upon them, but was constantly defeated; and being at last reduced to the necessity of evacuating Lahore, and retreating to Cábul, the Sikhs, under one of their celebrated leaders, called Jasa Singh Calál, immediately took possession of the vacant Subah of Lahore, and ordered rupees to be coined, with an inscription to the following import: "Coined by the grace of Khálsah jí, in the country of Ahmed, conquered by Jasa Singh Calál."

The Sikhs, who were so deeply indebted to the forbearance of Adína Bég Khán, now considered themselves above the power of that chief; who, in order to regain his government from them and the Afgháns, was obliged to invite the Mahráta leaders, Raghunát'h Ráo, Sáheb Pateil, and Malhár Ráo, to enter the Penjáb. Aided by these chiefs, he first advanced to Sarhind, where he was joined by some Sikhs that remained attached to him. Sámad Khán, the officer who had been left in charge of Sarhind by Ahmed Khán, found himself obliged to evacuate that place; which he had no sooner done, than the Sikhs began to plunder. The Mahrátas, always jealous of their booty, determined to attack and punish them for this violation of what they deemed their exclusive privilege: but Adína Bég receiving intelligence of their intentions, communicated it to the Sikhs; who, taking advantage of the darkness of the night, saved themselves by flight.

After the fall of Sarhind, the Mahrátas, accompanied by Adína Bég Khán, advanced to Lahore, and soon expelled both the Sikhs and the Afgháns from the principal towns of the provinces of Sarhind and Lahore; of which they not only took possession, but sent a governor to the province of Multán; and Sáheb Pateil advanced to the Attock[62], where he remained for a few months. But the commotions of Hindústan and the Dek'hin soon obliged these foreigners to abandon the Penjáb; which they did the same year they had reduced it. They appointed Adína Bég Khán governor of Lahore. He died in the ensuing year; and, by his death, afforded an opportunity to the Sikhs, which they eagerly seized, to make themselves again masters of the province of Lahore. Their success was, however, soon checked by Ahmed Sháh Abdáli; who, irritated by their unsubdued turbulence, and obstinate intrepidity, made every effort (after he had gained the victory of Pánipat'h, which established his supremacy at Dehli) to destroy their power; and, with this view, he entered the Penjáb early in 1762, and overran the whole of that country with a numerous army, defeating and dispersing the Sikhs in every direction. That sect, unable to make any stand against the army of the Abdáli, pursued their old plan of retreating near the mountains; and collected a large force in the northern districts of Sarhind, a distance of above one hundred miles from Lahore, where the army of Ahmed Sháh was encamped. Here they conceived themselves to be in perfect safety: but that prince made one of those rapid movements for which he was so celebrated, and reaching the Sikh army on the second day, completely surprised, and defeated it with great slaughter. In this action, which was fought in February, 1762, the Sikhs are said to have lost upwards of twenty thousand men, and the remainder fled into the hills, abandoning all the lower countries to the Afgháns, who committed every ravage that a barbarous and savage enemy could devise. Amritsar was razed to the ground, and the sacred reservoir again choaked with its ruins. Pyramids[63] were erected, and covered with the heads of slaughtered Sikhs: and it is mentioned, that Ahmed Sháh caused the walls of those mosques, which the Sikhs had polluted, to be washed with their blood, that the contamination might be removed, and the insult offered to the religion of Muhammed expiated[64].

This species of savage retaliation appears to have animated, instead of depressing, the courage of the Sikhs; who, though they could not venture to meet Ahmed Sháh's army in action, harassed it with an incessant predatory warfare; and, when that sovereign was obliged, by the commotions of Afghánistan, to return to Cábul, they attacked and defeated the general he had left in Lahore, and made themselves masters of that city, in which they levelled with the ground those mosques which the Afgháns had, a few months before, purified with the blood of their brethren.

Ahmed Sháh, in 1763, retook Lahore, and plundered the provinces around it; but, being obliged to return to his own country in the ensuing year, the Sikhs again expelled his garrison, and made themselves masters of the Penjáb; and, from that period until his death, a constant war was maintained, in which the enterprise and courage of the Afgháns gradually gave way before the astonishing activity and invincible perseverance of their enemies; who, if unable to stand a general action, retreated to impenetrable mountains, and the moment they saw an advantage, rushed again into the plains with renewed vigour, and recruited numbers. Several Sikh authors, treating of the events of this period, mention a great action having been fought, by their countrymen, near Amritsar, against the whole Afghán army, commanded by Ahmed Sháh in person; but they differ with regard to the date of this battle, some fixing it in 1762, and others later. They pretend that the Sikhs, inspired by the sacredness of the ground on which this action was fought, contended for victory against superior numbers with the most desperate fury, and that the battle terminated in both parties quitting the field, without either being able to claim the least advantage. The historians of Ahmed Sháh are, however, silent regarding this action; which, indeed, from all the events of his long contests with the Sikhs, appears unlikely to have occurred. It is possible the Sikhs fought, at Amritsar, with a division of the Afghán army, and that might have been commanded by the prince; but it is very improbable they had ever force to encounter the concentrated army of the Abdális; before which, while it remained in a body, they appear, from the first to the last of their contests with that prince, to have always retreated, or rather fled.

The internal state of Afghánistan, since the death of Ahmed Sháh, has prevented the progress of the Sikh nation receiving any serious check from that quarter; and the distracted and powerless condition of the empire of India has offered province after province to their usurpation. Their history, during this latter period, affords little but a relation of village warfare, and predatory incursions. Their hostilities were first directed against the numerous Muhammedan chiefs who were settled in the Penjáb, and who defended, as long as they could, their jágírs, or estates, against them: but these have either been conquered, or reduced to such narrow limits, as to owe their security to their insignificance, or the precarious friendship of some powerful Sikh chief, whose support they have gained; and who, by protecting them against the other leaders of his tribe, obtains a slight accession of strength and influence.

The Sikh nation, who have, throughout their early history, always appeared, like a suppressed flame, to rise into higher splendour from every attempt to crush them, had become, while they were oppressed, as formidable for their union, as for their determined courage and unconquerable spirit of resistance: but a state of persecution and distress was the one most favourable for the action of a constitution like theirs; which, formed upon general and abstract principles, required constant and great sacrifices of personal advantage to the public good; and such can alone be expected from men, acting under the influence of that enthusiasm, which the fervor of a new religion, or a struggle for independence, can alone impart, and which are ever most readily made, when it becomes obvious to all, that a complete union in the general cause is the only hope of individual safety.

The Sikhs would appear, from their own historians, to have attributed the conquests they made entirely to their valour, and to have altogether forgot that they owed them chiefly to the decline of the house of Taimúr, and the dissensions of the government of Cábul. Intoxicated with their success, they have given way to all those passions which assail the minds of men in the possession of power. The desire, which every petty chief entertained, of increasing his territories, of building strong forts, and adding to the numbers of his troops, involved them in internal wars; and these, however commenced, soon communicated to numbers, who engaged in the dispute as passion or interest dictated. Though such feuds have, no doubt, helped to maintain their military spirit, yet their extent and virulence have completely broken down that union, which their great legislator, Góvind, laboured to establish. Quarrels have been transmitted from father to son; and, in a country where the infant is devoted to _steel_, and taught to consider war as his only occupation, these could not but multiply in an extraordinary degree; and, independent of the comparative large conquests in which the greater chiefs occasionally engaged, every village[65] has become an object of dispute; and there are few, if any, in the Penjáb, the rule of which is not contested between brothers or near relations[66]. In such a state, it is obvious, the Sikhs could alone be formidable to the most weak and distracted governments. Such, indeed, was the character, till within a very late period, of all their neighbours; and they continued to plunder, with impunity, the upper provinces of Hindústan, until the establishment of the power of Daulet Ráo Sindíá, when the regular brigades, commanded by French officers in the service of that prince, not only checked their inroads, but made all the Sikh chiefs, to the southward of the Satléj, acknowledge obedience and pay tribute to Sindíá: and it was in the contemplation of General Perron, had the war with the English government not occurred, to have subdued the Penjáb, and made the Indus the limit of his possession: and every person acquainted with his means, and with the condition and resources of the Sikhs, must be satisfied he would have accomplished this project with great ease, and at a very early period.

When Holkár fled into the Penjáb, in 1805, and was pursued by that illustrious British commander, Lord Lake, a complete opportunity was given of observing the actual state of this nation, which was found weak and distracted, in a degree that could hardly have been imagined. It was altogether destitute of union. And though a Gúrú-matá, or national council, was called, with a view to decide on those means by which they could best avert the danger by which their country was threatened, from the presence of the English and Mahráta armies, it was attended by few chiefs: and most of the absentees, who had any power, were bold and forward in their offers to resist any resolution to which this council might come. The intrigues and negotiations of all appeared, indeed, at this moment, to be entirely directed to objects of personal resentment, or personal aggrandizement; and every shadow of that concord, which once formed the strength of the Sikh nation, seemed to be extinguished.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] The sacred volume of the Sikhs. The chief, who gave me this copy, sent it at night, and with either a real or affected reluctance, after having obtained a promise that I would treat it with great respect. I understand, however, that the indefatigable research of Mr. Colebrooke has procured not only the Adí-Grant'h, but also the Dasima Pádsháh ká Grant'h; and that, consequently, he is in possession of the two most sacred books of the Sikhs.

[2] Sikh or Sicsha, is a Sanscrit word, which means a disciple, or devoted follower. In the Penjábí it is corrupted into Sikh: it is a general term, and applicable to any person that follows a particular teacher.

[3] This village, or rather town, for such it has become, is now called Ráyapúr. It is situated on the banks of the Béyah, or Hyphasis.

[4] He is called, by some authors, Kálú Védí; but Védí is a name derived from his tribe or family.

[5] Several Sikh authors have been very precise in establishing the date of the consummation of this marriage, which they fix in the month of Asárh, of the Hindú æra of Vicramáditya, 1545.

[6] Bála Sand'hú, who gave this advice, continued, through Nánac's life, to be his favourite attendant and disciple.

[7] The veneration which the Hindús have for the snake is well known; and this tradition, like many others, proves the attachment of the Sikh writers to that mythology, the errors of which they pretend to have wholly abandoned.

[8] Ráy, a title inferior to that of a Rájah, generally applied to the Hindú chief of a village, or small district.

[9] This remarkable anecdote in Nánac's life is told very differently by different Sikh authors. I have followed the narrative of Bhacta Mallí. They all agree in Nánac's having, at this period, quitted the occupations of the world, and become Fakír.

[10] Bhai Gúrú Vali, author of the Gnyána Ratnávali, a work written in the Sikh dialect of the Penjábí.

[11] Though his biographers have ascribed miracles to Nánac, we never find that he pretended to work any: on the contrary, he derided those who did, as deriving power from evil spirits.

[12] It is believed that this work of Nánac has been incorporated in the first part of the Adí-Grant'h.

[13] This interview must have taken place in 1526 or 1527; as it is stated to have been immediately after Daulet Khán Lódí had visited Paniput, in 1526; where that prince had fought, and subdued Ibrahim, emperor of Hindústan.

[14] Recluse penitents, who, by means of mental and corporeal mortifications, have acquired a command over the powers of nature.

[15] Kírtipúr Dehra, on the banks of the Rávi, or Hydraotes.

[16] He is, throughout this sketch, called Nánac. Muhammedan historians generally term him Nánac Sháh, to denote his being a Fakír, the name of Sháh being frequently given to men of celebrity in that sect. The Sikhs, in speaking of him, call him Bábá Nánac, or Gúrú Nánac, father Nánac, or Nánac the teacher; and their writers term him Nánac Nirinkar, which means Nánac the omnipresent.

[17] This fanciful etymology represents the word Angad as a compound of the Sanscrit _Ang_, which signifies _body_, and the Persian _Khúd_, which signifies _own_. This mixture of language is quite common in the jargon of the Penjáb.

[18] Angad died at Khandúr, a village about forty miles east of Lahore.

[19] Though a contrary belief is inculcated by Nánac, the Sikhs, like the Hindús, are inclined to be predestinarians, and this gives their minds a great tendency to view accidents as decrees of Providence; and it is probable that this instance of early good fortune in Rám Dás, by impressing his countrymen with an idea of his being particularly favoured of Heaven, gave rise to an impression that promoted, in no slight degree, that success which it anticipated.

[20] No dates of the events which occurred during the rule of Rám Dás are given in any of the authorities from which this sketch is drawn. One author, however, states, that he lived in the time of Akber, and was honoured with the favour of that truly tolerant and great emperor.

[21] Arjunmal, or Arjun, as he is more commonly called, according to B'hai Gúrú Dás B'halé, the author of the Gnyán Ratnávalí, was not initiated in the sacred mysteries of his father. This author says, that Arjun, though a secular man, did not suffer the office of Gúrú, or priest, to leave the Sóndi tribe. "Like a substance," he adds, "which none else could digest, the property of the family remained in the family."

[22] Grant'h means book; but, as a mark of its superiority to all others, is given to this work, as "The Book." Adí-Grant'h means, the first Grant'h, or book, and is generally given to this work to distinguish it from the Dasama Pádsháh ká Grant'h, or the book of the tenth king, composed by Gúrú Góvind.

[23] Though the original Adí-Grant'h was compiled by Arjunmal, from the writings of Nánac, Angad, Amera Dás, and Rám Dás, and enlarged and improved by his own additions and commentaries, some small portions have been subsequently added by thirteen different persons, whose numbers, however, are reduced, by the Sikh authors, to twelve and a half: the last contributor to this sacred volume being a woman, is only admitted to rank in the list as a fraction, by these ungallant writers.

[24] Several historical accounts of the Sikhs, particularly that published by Major Browne, which is, in general, drawn from authentic sources, appear to be in error with regard to the period at which this race first took arms, which the last author states to have occurred under Gúrú Góvind; but several Sikh authors, of great respectability and information, agree in ascribing to the efforts of Har Góvind, the son of Arjun, this great change in the Sikh commonwealth; and their correctness, in this point, appears to be placed beyond all question, by a passage in the Ratnávalí of B'hai Gúrú Dás B'halé; who observes, "That five phials (of divine grace) were distributed to five Pírs (holy men), but the sixth Pír was a mighty Gúrú (priest). Arjun threw off his earthly frame, and the form of Har Góvind mounted the seat of authority. The Sóndi race continued exhibiting their different forms in their turns. Har Góvind was the destroyer of armies, a martial Gúrú (priest), a great warrior, and performed great actions." The mistake of some European writers on this subject probably originated in a confusion of verbal accounts; and the similarity of the name of Har Góvind, the son of Arjunmal, and Góvínd, the last and greatest of the Sikh Gúrús, the son of Tégh Bahádur. In the Persian sketch, which Major Browne translates, the name of Har Góvind is not mentioned. The son of Arjunmal is called Gúrú Rám Ráy, which is obviously a mistake of the author of that manuscript.

[25] Nánac had forbidden hog's flesh, though a common species of food among the lower tribe of Hindús, in compliance with the prejudices of the Muhammedans, whom it was his great wish to reconcile to his faith by every concession and persuasion.

[26] It is stated, by a Sikh author named Nand, that Har Góvind, during his ministry, established the practice of invoking the three great Hindú deities, Brahmá, Vishnu, and Síva: but this is not confirmed by any other authority which I have seen.

[27] The violent contests of the Sikhs are mentioned by most of their writers; and, though they disagree in their accounts, they all represent Tégh Behádur as falling the innocent sacrifice of Muhammedan despotism and intolerance; which, from the evidence of all respectable contemporary Muhammedan authors, would appear not to be the fact. Tégh Behádur, agreeable to them, provoked his execution by a series of crimes. He joined, they state, with a Moslem Fakír, of the name of Hafiz ed Dín; and, supported by a body of armed mendicants, committed the most violent depredations on the peaceable inhabitants of the Penjáb. The author of the Seir Mutákhherin says he was, in consequence of these excesses, put to death at Gwalior, and his body cut into four quarters, one of which was hung up at each gate of the fortress.

[28] A Sikh college was founded in that city.

[29] A town on the Satléj.

[30] Gúrú Góvind is stated, by a Sikh author of respectability, B'hai Gúrú Dás B'halé, to have been fourteen years of age when his father was put to death.

[31] The object of Nánac was to abolish the distinctions of cast amongst the Hindús, and to bring them to the adoration of that Supreme Being, before whom all men, he contended, were equal. Gúrú Góvind, who adopted all the principles of his celebrated predecessor, as far as religious usages were concerned, is reported to have said, on this subject, that the four tribes of Hindús, the Bráhmen, Cshatríya, Vaisya, and Súdra, would, like _pán_ (betle-leaf), _chunám_ (lime), _supári_ (betle-nut), and _khat_ (_terra japonica_, or _catechu_), become all of one colour, when well chewed.

[32] Some men of the lowest Hindú tribe, of the occupation of sweepers, were employed to bring away the corpse of Tégh Béhadur from Dehli. Their success was rewarded by high rank and employment. Several of the same tribe, who have become Sikhs, have been remarkable for their valour, and have attained great reputation. They are distinguished, among the Sikhs, by the name of Ran-Rata Singh.

[33] That is, equal in civil rights. He wished to remove the disqualifications of birth, and do away cast. That he did not completely effect this object, and that some distinctions of their former tribes, particularly those relating to intermarriage, should still be kept up by the Sikhs, cannot be a matter of astonishment to those acquainted with the deep-rooted prejudices of the Hindús upon this point; which is as much a feeling of family pride as of religious usage.

[34] Spiritual leader.

[35] The goddess Durgá Bhavání is said, by a Sikh author, to be represented, in some images, with her hair long and dishevelled.

[36] This institution is also said to be borrowed from the Hindú mythology. Bála Rám, the elder brother of Crishna, wore blue clothes; from which he is called Nilámbar, or _the clothed in dark blue_; and Shitivas, or _the blue clothed_.

[37] One of the most popular of these fables states, that in the year of the Híjerah 1118, Gúrú Góvind, agreeably to the directions he had received from two Bráhmen necromancers, threw a number of magical compounds, given him by these Bráhmens, into a fire, near which he continued in prayers for several days. A sword of lightning at last burst from the flame of fire; but Góvind, instead of seizing this sword in an undaunted manner, as he was instructed, was dazzled by its splendour, and shrunk from it in alarm. The sword instantly flew to heaven; from whence a loud voice was heard to say, "Gúrú Góvind! thy wishes shall be fulfilled by thy posterity, and thy followers shall daily increase." The Bráhmens were in despair at this failure; but, after deep reflection, they told Góvind, there was still one mode of acquiring that honour for himself, which appeared, by the decree that had been pronounced, doomed for his posterity. If he would only allow them to take off his head, and throw it into the fire, he would be resuscitated to the enjoyment of the greatest glory. The Gúrú excused himself from trying this experiment, declaring that he was content that his descendants should enjoy the fruits of that tree which he had planted.

[38] These Rájás appear, from the same authority, to be descended in a direct line from Hindú gods.

[39] The following short extract from the translation of the Vichitra Nátac, will show that Góvind gave his friends their full meed of praise, and will also exhibit the character of his style: "Cripál rages, wielding his mace: he crushed the skull of the fierce Hyát Khán. He made the blood spurt aloft, and scattered the brains of the chief, as Crishna crushed the earthen vessel of butter. Then Nand Chand raged in dreadful ire, launching the spear, and wielding the sword. He broke his keen scimitar, and drew his dagger, to support the honour of the Sóndi race. Then my maternal uncle, Cripál, advanced in his rage, and exhibited the skilful war-feats of a true Cshatríya. The mighty warrior, though struck by an arrow, with another made a valiant Khán fall from his saddle, and Sáheb Chand, of the Cshatríya race, strove in the battle's fury, and slew a blood-thirsty Khán, a warrior of Khorásan." After recording the actions of many others, Góvind thus describes his own deeds: "The blood-drinking spectres and ghosts yelled for carnage; the fierce Vetála, the chief of the spectres, laughed for joy, and sternly prepared for his repast. The vultures hovered around, screaming for their prey. Hari Chand, (a Hindú chief in the emperor's army,) in his wrath, drawing his bow, first struck my steed with an arrow: aiming a second time, he discharged his arrow; but the Deity preserved me, and it passed me, and only grazed my ear. His third arrow struck my breast: it tore open the mail, and pierced the skin, leaving a slight scar; but the God whom I adore saved me. When I felt this hurt, my anger was kindled; I drew my bow and discharged an arrow: all my champions did the same, rushing onwards to the battle. Then I aimed at the young hero, and struck him. Hari Chand perished, and many of his host; death devoured him, who was called a Rájá among a hundred thousand Rájás. Then all the host, struck with consternation, fled, deserting the field of combat. I obtained the victory through the favour of the Most High; and, victorious in the field, we raised aloud the song of triumph. Riches fell on us like rain, and all our warriors were glad."

[40] Hyát Khán and Nejábet Khán are mentioned as two of the principal chiefs of the emperor's army that fell in this first action. Góvind, speaking of the fall of the latter, says: "When Nejábet Khán fell, the world exclaimed, Alas! but the region of Swarga (the heavens) shouted victory."

[41] A mountainous tract of country, that borders on the Penjáb. It lies to the N. W. of Srínagar, and the S. E. of Jammu. The present Rájá, Sansár Chand, is a chief of great respectability. His country has lately been overrun by the Rájá of Nepál and Gore'ha. I derived considerable information regarding this family, and their territories, from the envoy of Sansár Chand, who attended Lord Lake, in 1805, when the British army was in the Penjáb.

[42] Though the account of this war is given in a style sufficiently inflated for the wars of the demons and angels; yet, as Góvind relates, that Husain Khán returned a messenger, which one of the principal Rájás had sent him, with this message to his master; "Pay down ten thousand rupees, or destruction descends on thy head;" we may judge, both from the demand, and the amount of the contribution, of the nature of this contest, as well as its scale. It was evidently one of those petty provincial wars, which took place in every remote part of the Indian empire, when it was distracted: and, at this period, Aurungzéb was wholly engaged in the Dek'hin, and the northern provinces were consequently neglected, and their governments in a weak and unsettled state.

[43] This must have been in the year 1701, when Baháder Sháh was detached from the Dek'hin to take charge of the government of Cábul, and was probably ordered, at the same time, to settle the disturbances in the Penjáb.

[44] There is a remarkable passage in this chapter, in which Gúrú Góvind appears to acknowledge the supremacy of the emperor. "God," he says, "formed both Bábá (Nánac) and Báber (the emperor of that name). Look upon Bábá as the Pádsháh (king) of religion, and Báber, the lord of the world. He who will not give Nánac a single damri, (a coin the sixteenth part of an ana,) will receive a severe punishment from Báber."

[45] Kahilúr, or Kahlóre, is situated on the Satléj, above Mák'havál. It is near the mountains through which that river flows into the Penjáb. Another place of the name of Kahilúr, or Kahlóre, is situated a short distance from Lahore, to the N. E. of that city.

[46] The Muhammedan authors blame Vízír Khán for this unnecessary and impolitic act of barbarity.

[47] Bhavání Durgá.

[48] In the Penjábi narrative of B'hai Gúrú Dás B'halé, the actions of Ajit Singh, and Ranjít Singh, sons of Góvind, are particularly described; and, from one part of the description, it would appear that the family of Góvind, proud of their descent, had not laid aside the _zunár_, or holy cord, to which they were, as belonging to the Cshatríya race, entitled. Speaking of these youths, the author says: "Slaughtering every Turk and Pahlan whom they saw, they adorned their sacred strings, by converting them into sword-belts. Returning from the field, they sought their father, who bestowed a hundred blessings on their scimetars."

[49] The Sikh author, though he may reject the superstitious idolatry of the Hindús, adorns his descriptions with every image its mythology can furnish; and claims for his hero the same high honours in Swarga, that a Bráhmen would expect for one of the Pándu race.

[50] Mr. Foster has followed this authority in his account of the Sikh nation: and I am inclined to believe that the part of it which relates to Gúrú Góvind's dying at Nadér, in the Dek'hin, of a wound received from a Patán, is correct; as it is written on the last page of a copy of the Adí-Grant'h, in my possession, with several other facts relative to the dates of the births and deaths of the principal high priests of the Sikhs.

[51] Both at Chamkóur, and other forts, from which the famished Sikhs attempted to escape, many of them were taken, and had their noses and ears cut off.

[52] Meaning Sikhs; whose faith, though it differs widely from the present worship of the Hindús, has been thought to have considerable analogy to the pure and simple religion originally followed by that nation.

[53] This province lies a few miles to the N. E. of Delhi, between the rivers Jumna and Ganges.

[54] They were taken in the fort of Lóhgad, which is one hundred miles to the north-east of Lahore. This fortress was completely surrounded, and the Sikhs were only starved into surrender, having been reduced to such extremes, that they were reported to have eaten, what to them must have been most horrible, the flesh of the cow.

[55] The author of the _Seir Mutákherin_.

[56] It is necessary, however, to state, that there is a schismatical sect of Sikhs, who are termed Bandái, or the followers of Banda, who totally deny this account of the death of Banda, and maintain that he escaped severely wounded from his last battle, and took refuge in B'habar, where he quietly ended his days, leaving two sons, Ajit Singh and Zoráwer Singh, who successfully propagated his doctrine. This sect chiefly resides in Multán, Tata, and the other cities on the banks of the Indus. They receive the Adí-Grant'h, but not the Dasama Pádsháh ká Grant'h.

[57] An account of this class of Sikhs will be hereafter given.

[58] A. D. 1746.

[59] The country between the rivers Raví and Béyah, and that river and the Satléj.

[60] A sect of non-conformist Sikhs, who believe in the Adí-Grant'h of Nánac, but do not conform to the institutions of Gúrú Góvind. They are called Khalása. This word is said, by some, to be from _khális_, _pure_ or _select_, and to mean the purest, or the select: by others, from _khalás_, _free_, and to mean the freed or exempt, alluding to the tribe being exempt from the usages imposed on the other Sikhs.

[61] A. D. 1752.

[62] The empire of the Mahrátas had, at this proud moment, reached its zenith. The battle of Pánipat'h took place soon afterwards; since which it has rapidly declined.

[63] This is a very common usage amongst eastern conquerors. The history of Jénghíz Khán, Taimúr and Nádir Sháh, afford many examples of this mode of treating their vanquished enemies.

[64] Foster's Travels, Vol. I. p. 279.

[65] All the villages in the Penjáb are walled round; as they are in almost all the countries of India that are exposed to sudden incursions of horse, which this defence can always repel.

[66] When the British and Máhráta armies entered the Penjáb, they were both daily joined by discontented petty chiefs of the Sikhs, who offered their aid to the power that would put them in the possession of a village or a fort, from which, agreeably to their statement, they had been unjustly excluded by a father or brother. Holkár encouraged these applications, and used them to his advantage. The British commander abstained from all interference in such disputes.