The Qazi, on seeing that the horse which was worth a lakh of rupees had recovered, and that the Guru daily rode him, felt that he had got the worst of the bargain, and began to clamour for his money without waiting for the Diwali fair. The Guru then reminded him of what had occurred: ‘ A Sikh paid a lakh of rupees for the horse, the Emperor seized and appropriated him. The animal was dying when you sold him to me. I will, however, pay you the ten thousand rupees at the appointed time.’
On another occasion, as the Guru was taking his siesta, the Oazi came to dun him. Bhai Budha, who was sitting at the Guru’s door, said that that was not the time to approach the Guru, and suggested that the Qazi might return another day at an hour when it would be convenient for the Guru to receive him. The Qazi pressed Bhai Budha to awaken the Guru. He was not, he said, a courtier or royal favourite who might not be disturbed. Bhai Budha replied, ‘ What are wretched courtiers in comparison with our Guru? He is king of kings. Depart, come again. What time is this to come begging for money. The Qazi replied, ‘If I tell the Emperor, he will punish the Guru, and I shall then obtain the price of the horse.’ This threat Bhai Budha promptly [ p. 43 ] resented : ‘Fool, put a guard on thy tongue. Thou knowest not God’s will.’
The Guru, hearing an uproar, awoke and came forward, when the Qazi thus angrily addressed him : “Thou pretendest ignorance. Thou neither payest me the promised money nor returnest me my horse, and yet thou sleepest without anxiety. Thou shalt see into what a pleasant sleep I will put thee. If thou study thine own interests, pay me for the horse, otherwise I will complain to the Emperor.’ The Guru replied, ‘Thou mayest tell the Emperor and act as it pleaseth thee.’ After this the Qazi departed.
One morning the Guru called Bhai Budha, told him his business in Lahore was accomplished, and they must return home. Bhai Budha, having made all preparations, set out in advance. The Guru, with his army, then marched and overtook him. .
There was in the house of the Qazi a daughter, named by the Sikhs Kaulan,[1] who was a disciple of Mian Mir. She, in addition to being very beautiful, was both amiable and virtuous. From her earliest years she had occupied her mind with praising God’s name and remembering Him in the company of saints. Even when she attained puberty she declined her parents’ suggestions to marry. When at home, she used to dwell in a lonely chamber. Whenever she went abroad, it was to behold her spiritual guide Mian Mir; otherwise she never even put her foot outside her house. In Mian Mir’s congregation, as she frequently heard, not only from Mian Mir himself but from other very holy men, various praises of Guru Har Gobind, so she also praised him in the midst of her own family. The Qazi, her father, was in the highest degree incensed with her; in the first place, for refusing marriage, and secondly, for ‘frequenting the society of faqirs. When, moreover, he [ p. 44 ] heard from her lips praises of Guru Har Gobind, he became exceedingly wroth, and thus addressed her : ‘O infidel, thou praisest an infidel and obeyest not the law of Muhammad, according to which it is forbidden under penalty of death to praise an unbelieving person. Kaulan replied, ‘Father dear, the law of Muhammad doth not apply to holy men or to me. It applies rather to those fools who neither know nor obey anything besides. Saints are God’s servants. At the same time, He obeyeth them, and they may do what they please. They have no concern with the law of Muhammad.’ On hearing this and similar replies from his daughter, the Qazi’s heart burned with bigotry and indignation. On that very day he, in consultation with his brother Qazis, issued an order for the execution of his daughter for her sin of transgressing the Muhammadan law. Kaulan’s mother, on hearing this decision, informed not only her ‘daughter of it, but also Mian Mir. On this Mian Mir said to Kaulan: ‘There appeareth no means of saving thee here. Thou shalt be innocently put to death, as Mansur was by these tyrants.[2] It is better, therefore, that thou at once go to Amritsar and seek there the protection of Guru Har Gobind. In this age there is none but him to save thy life.’ Kaulan deemed her Pir’s advice the best. She at once packed up her effects, and taking with her a fellow disciple, set out for Amritsar.[3]
Meantime the Qazi was not idle. He complained to the Emperor that the Guru had promised to pay him the price of the horse, but now put him off with excuses. ‘ He procrastinateth, and will not fulfil his promise. If thy Majesty send an officer to remonstrate [ p. 45 ] with him, I shall consider I have the money in my pocket. Otherwise, he will always put me off as he doeth now.’ The Emperor replied, ‘ When day breaketh, take one of my men to the Guru. I will send him word to pay thee all thy money, and I think he will not fail to do so.’
The Qazi, on visiting the site of the Guru’s camp at Lahore, found that he had departed, so he prepared to follow him. He knew that the Guru must have gone to Amritsar, but he was not certain 1f he would remain there or seek concealment in the neighbouring wilderness, where he would have no fear of the Emperor, as no army could enter it to capture him. The Qazi decided that his case would be hopeless if he did not set out at once. He would return to Lahore and seek the Emperor’s assistance, if the Guru failed to keep his promise or used violence towards him.
On his way the Qazi met the Guru hunting to the west of Amritsar. The Qazi respectfully saluted him. The Guru complimented him on the celerity with which he had pursued him. The Qazi replied civilly, but at the same time made it very clear that he desired to obtain his money without further delay. The Guru invited him to remain for the night, and in the morning he would give him a cheque on a Lahore banker.
Not long after the Qazi’s arrival in Amritsar he heard that his daughter was there. He besought her to return to her religion and her home, but she, exceedingly afraid of being put to death, did not at all desire to accompany him. He then went to where his pony was tethered, mounted him, and made the best of his way to Lahore. The Guru did his utmost to detain him for another day, until it was convenient for him to pay the price of the horse.
The Qazi, on reaching home, found his wife in tears, and began in earnest to think of his own errors. [ p. 46 ] He said to himself, ‘My daughter would have remained at home had I treated her less cruelly.’ His wife levelled at him her bitterest taunts, and increased his repentance and mortification. He decided to go next day to the Emperor, and make his complaint. When he arrived in court he took off his turban, dashed it on the ground, and made other signs of distress, but as he spoke in tears the Emperor could not quite follow his story. Moreover, the Emperor was in a bad humour at the time, having been irritated by some petitioner immediately before. He angrily replied to the Qazi’s complaint : ‘What disturbance is this that thou art causing ? I understand thee not. Thou speakest like a lunatic. Appear not bare-headed in my presence. Thou wast a sensible man once, but now thou seemest to have lost thy reason.’
Wazir Khan then interposed and made an ingenious defence of the Guru. ‘Sire, what shall I say about anybody? It is a bad world, and the Qazi now appeareth to be as bad as the rest. He made his daughter miserable and used to beat her daily. Being thus helpless, she left her home and went to Amritsar. Through fear of her father, she has remained there and desireth not to return. The Guru, who is ever merciful, receiveth all visitors and provideth for them, the Qazi’s daughter among others. Mian Mir and other saints go to meet him, and treat him with respect. It is against such a man this fool maketh complaint. His case, moreover, is a very paltry one. Thou hast heard too much already. It is not proper to quarrel with the Guru. Some calamity may happen by interference.’
The Emperor then, addressing the Qazi, passed his final order: ‘ Art thou not ashamed of thyself ? It became thee not to have acted as thou hast done. It is not proper for thee to quarrel with priests. Thou oughtest rather to do them reverence. In open court thou hast rent the veil of thy modesty, [ p. 47 ] and rendered thyself despised of all men. Thy daughter was obliged to leave her home Be silent ; say no more ; thou hast received only thy deserts.’
The Qazi, complaining that the Emperor would not allow him to fully state his case, took up his turban and left the court. He then reflected: ‘On every side I am in trouble. The very haughty Guru will keep this ten thousand rupees. He thinketh I am utterly resourceless; How shall I teach him a lesson? He will not pay me my money, and he hath all but killed me. Moreover, my daughter hath forsaken me and embraced another faith; I cannot remedy what is done, so I must either take revenge or kill myself. I trusted to the Emperor Jahangir, but far from assisting me, he hath brought counter charges against me. What hath God done with me? I am in a dire dilemma, and sped by troubles on every side. The whole family is mourning for my daughter, and yet she is so estranged from us, that we can never on any account see her more.’
Kaulan began her altered life under the protection of the Guru, the friend of her spiritual adviser Mian Mir. She found consolation in repeating the following hymn of the Guru’s father, which she had learned by hearing it often recited by the Sikhs :—
O mother, I awake by association with the saints ;
On seeing the love of the Beloved, I repeat His name which is a treasure.
Thirsting for a sight of Him, I long and look for Him ;
I have forgotten my desire for other things.
I have found the Guru, the giver of composure and peace ;
On beholding him, my mind is wrapped up in God.
On seeing God pleasure hath arisen in my heart ; Nanak, dear ¢o me is His ambrosial word.[4]
The Sikh chronicler states that Kaulan in a [ p. 48 ] previous birth desired to obtain the true Guru’s instruction and be happy.
The Guru had a separate building prepared for her residence, and bade her occupy her time as she pleased. On beholding her continual dependence on God, he was specially pleased with her, and took care of her in every way. Some time passed in this manner, until one day Kaulan, putting together all her jewels, placed them before the Guru. With clasped hands she thus addressed him, ‘ Friend of the poor, be good enough to apply the price of these jewels to some religious object, by which my name may be remembered for some time in the world.’ The Guru accordingly, on the fifth day of the light half of the month of Magh, Sambat 1678 (A.D. 1621), caused a tank to be excavated in her name with the money. The tank is still famous as Kaulsar[5] (Kaulan’s tank) in the city of Amritsar. The Guru also constructed another tank called Bibeksar, which was meant to commemorate his spiritual instruction delivered on the spot to his followers. There are now altogether five sacred tanks in the vicinity of the Sikh temple in Amritsar: Santokhsar, Amritsar, Ramsar, Kaulsar, and Bibeksar.
The Sikhs in Amritsar were all the time apprehensive that the Emperor would send an army to arrest the Guru on the Qazi’s complaint. They were prepared, if necessary, for defence. The Emperor, however, thought no more of the Qazi or his grievances, and refused to embroil himself with the Guru. The masands formed the next party of whom the Guru had to take account. They went and complained to his mother against him: ‘ The Guru’s proceedings please no one. The Qazi hath gone to complain to the Emperor. When the Emperor sendeth an army and maketh war on us, what shall we do? We have no kingdom and no large force to defend our [ p. 49 ] selves. How can we cope with the Emperor? The Guru must abscond and leave his city. This place belonged to his father and grandfather. When it passeth out of his possession, where shall we abide ? ’
Mother Ganga replied, ‘I cannot help it. The first five Gurus preached doctrines of peace; my son the sixth Guru weareth arms. It must sooner or later come to war with the Emperor. I have continued to admonish him, and tell him that such conduct becometh him not. He is, however, very resourceful, and, if it come toa conflict, he will know how to defend himself. You and I can do nothing. If you think the Guru will listen to you, then advise him. Go and do everything to avert war, and convey to the Guru my feelings on the subject.’ As the masands were on the point of personally remonstrating with the Guru, a messenger arrived from Lahore with a letter from Wazir Khan informing him of the Emperor’s decision on the Qazi’s complaints. The Sikhs were delighted at the result. The difficulty with the Emperor Jahangir, they hoped, was at an end. The vaticinations of the masands were falsified, and the Guru and his party made up their minds to dwell for ever in Amritsar.[6]
Not long afterwards the Guru and his mother went to the shrine of Guru Nanak to see Sri Chand, Guru Nanak’s son, who lived there. The Guru made an offering of a horse and one thousand rupees. The Guru’s mother said to Sri Chand, ‘ Thou art now old, thou hast supernatural power, bless my son that he may have offspring.’ Sri Chand replied, with a line of Guru Arjan :—
The vine of the race hath grown and shall last for many generations.[7]
[ p. 50 ]
It will be remembered that after Guru Arjan had refused to marry Har Gobind to Chandu’s daughter, the young Guru was offered two wives. One of them, Damodari, he had already married. When it was known that she had become pregnant, there were great rejoicings in both families. To the second lady, Nanaki, the daughter of Hari Chand, the Guru was not yet married, partly on account of her youth and partly on account of his absence in Dihli, Agra, Lahore, and other places. Hari Chand now wrote that the approaching Baisakhi would be a suitable time for the marriage. It was accordingly then celebrated with all due formalities and rejoicings.
There was a Sikh called or styled Almast, which means the enthusiast. In his wanderings he arrived at that part of the district of Pilibhit where there had been built a temple to commemorate Guru Nanak’s visit. Guru Nanak, it is said, had left the mark of his five fingers on every leaf of a pipal tree there, and made sweet the bitter fruit of a soap-nut tree some forty miles to the east of it. Some Jogis, who had now taken possession, wanted to root up the Guru’s pipal, name the temple after Gorakhnath, and abolish the name of Guru Nanak. Almast could not endure this. Considering the temple his own, he resided in it, and performed all the menial and religious duties connected with it. The Jogis sought to expel him, and thus stated their case, “Gorakhnath performed penance here, hence the name Gorakh-mata. Thy Guru only stayed here as a traveller for four days. How can the temple be his ?’ Almast pointed to the marks of Guru Nanak’s hand on every leaf of the pipal tree, and instanced the sweetness of the soap-nut. It would therefore not be proper for him to resign the place to the Jogis. He bluntly told them that Guru Har Gobind, who was now on Guru Nanak’s throne, would soon come and humble their pride. The Jogis were so angry at this, that they set fire to the pipal and left [ p. 51 ] not a trace of it. Almast told them that when the Guru came, he would restore the tree, and whoever committed a sin against Guru Nanak should perish root and branch.
Night and day Almast read the compositions of the Gurus. He used to pray, ‘O searcher of hearts, true Guru, render us assistance.’ Enduring hunger and thirst and the inclemency of all seasons, Almast waited until Guru Har Gobind should come to repair and take possession of Guru Nanak’s temple.
The parents of Damodari, the Guru’s wife, lived in the village of Dalla. Her eldest sister Ramo was married to Sain Das, who lived in Daroliin the present district of Firozpur. Sain Das had not been originally a Sikh, but, owing to the good example and advice of his father-in-law Narain Das, and the exhortations of his wife Ramo, who was a granddaughter of Bhai Paro, Guru Amar Das’s faithful attendant, he became a convert to the teachings of Guru Arjan. Sain Das was ever praying that Guru Har Gobind would visit his village. He built a mansion to receive him, and vowed that no one should live in it until the Guru had hallowed it by his presence. Sain Das laid a beautiful bed with soft bedding, and over the pillow he put a canopy. He used every morning to lay flowers in the room and perfume it, and pray that the Guru would soon come to bless the place. His wife used often to press him to send for the Guru. On such occasions he would say, ‘ The Guru is omniscient and will come of his own accord. There is something wanting in our devotion, or we have committed some sin that his visit hath been so long delayed. We dare not write him a letter or send for him.’ On account of the troubles in which Almast was involved, and the devotion of Sain Das, the Guru decided on visiting Daroli and Pilibhit, and taking with him a troop of his armed retainers. His mother and his wives were to accompany him as far as Daroli, and stay with Ramo until he [ p. 52 ] joined them after bringing the Jogis of Pilibhit to reason.
Bhai Budha, and indeed all the Sikhs, on hearing of the Guru’s resolve, were very much disheartened at the thought of being left in Amritsar without their leader. The Guru consoled them by saying that if they daily offered their adorations at the Har Mandar or Golden Temple, all their affairs should succeed. When the Guru found that his mother and his wives had arrived safely in Daroli, he completed his preparations for the journey to Pilibhit.
The Guru took his horses to Kartarpur, where he left them to be fed during his absence. There some Pathans of the village of Wadamir, ready equipped with swords and shields, offered themselves for service. With them was a tall and powerful youth of sixteen summers, who had large eyes, strong arms, thick neck, and sprouting beard. The Guru was impressed with his appearance, and inquired whose son he was. Ismail Khan, the head of the band of Pathans, replied, ‘ This youth was born in the village of Ghilzai Alim. His parents are dead. He is my nephew and liveth with me in Wadamir. I have brought him up. He is versed in both military and general knowledge, and his name is Painda Khan.’ The Guru inquired if he would accept service or not, to which Ismail Khan made reply, ‘ Sir, we keep not shops or till land; military service is what we aspire to. If thou desire to employ him in that capacity, thou mayest do so.’ The Guru gave him ten rupees as enlistment money, supplied him with dinner from his kitchen, and promised that on returning from his excursion he would retain him on his own personal staff. The Guru remained for some days in Kartarpur, and again had an interview with Painda Khan. He gave him a house and a female buffalo, and agreed to pay him five rupees a day as an officer of his army.
When the Guru arrived in Nanakmata, which is [ p. 53 ] several miles north of the city of Pilibhit, the Jogis, seeing his retinue, thought that some raja had arrived. On hearing who it was, they hid themselves in huts made of leaves. Almast came forth from his retirement on hearing the neighing of the Guru’s steed, uttered thanksgiving that his spiritual master had arrived, and seemed like a dead man restored te life.
Near the spot where the pipal had been, the Guru constructed a platform, and sitting on it repeated the Sodar. This being ended he sprinkled saffron on which he had breathed God’s name, when lo, it is said, the pipal emerged from the ground as a serpent from its lair! In proportion as the Guru sprinkled the saffron the pipal grew, and after one night appeared in full size in all its luxuriance.
This was the lady’s name after her conversion to the Sikh religion. Her original Muhammadan name is not known. ↩︎
Husain ibn Mansir Sifi was put to death at Baghdad, a.p. 923, after suffering grievous torture and mutilation. In a state of mystic ecstasy he had cried out, ‘I am the Truth (God).’ Being rebuked for this and told to say instead, ‘He is the Truth,’ he replied, ‘ Yes, He is all, but you say He is lost. Husain is lost; the drop hath disappeared, but the ocean remaineth as it was.’ ↩︎
Itihas Guru Khalsa. ↩︎
Kedara. ↩︎
Itihas Guru Khalsa. Some Sikhs suppose this name was given the tank because the lotus (kaul) flourishes in it. ↩︎
The Sikh chroniclers state that this occurred in the time of Shah Jahan, but this cannot be correct. Jahangir died in a.p. 1627, and Kaulan had taken up her residence in Amritsar at least seven years Brite that, for she was there when Baba Atal Rai was born. ↩︎
Asa. ↩︎