The Guru marched by Kiratpur and thence to Nirmoh. While at Nirmoh he gave Gulab Rai and Sham Singh a letter to the Raja of Sirmaur, which contained a request that he would give them a village to abide in. From Nirmoh the Guru and his party proceeded to Ropar. When the allied troops attacked the rear guard under Ajit Singh, Ude Singh asked and obtained permission to relieve him. The enemy surrounded and killed the dauntless Ude Singh, the hero of many a desperate battle, the bravest of the Guru’s brave warriors, believing that he was the Guru himself.
The Guru sat down on the margin of a stream [ p. 186 ] called Sarsa to await the issue of the conflict. When Ajit Singh delayed coming, the Guru sent Jiwan Singh to fetch him. Jiwan Singh was killed in the endeavour. Before arriving at Ropar, the Guru met * his mother and two youngest children, and exhorted them to proceed quickly on their journey. A Sikh who resided in Dihli also met the Guru on the way, and asked if he could perform any service for him. The Guru said that he might take his family to Dihli. The Sikh said he had a relation in Ropar who would keep the Guru’s family there for the present. The Guru’s mother met a Brahman, a native of Kheri near Sarhind, and discharged cook of the Guru, who offered to entertain her party, and she decided to take her grandsons with her and accept his shelter and protection. Her daughtersin-law remained at Ropar for the night, and next day set out for Dihli under the trusty Sikh’s protection.
The allied forces continued to harass the Guru’s retreat. He left some of his men at Ropar to arrest their progress, and went himself with thirty-five chosen Sikhs towards Chamkaur. On the way at a place called Baru Majara he received information that a fresh contingent of the imperial army was close at hand to capture him. In no wise dismayed he continued his journey towards Chamkaur. On arriving near that town he took refuge in a garden, and was joined by five of the Sikhs he had left at Ropar. All the others had been slain.
The Guru sent to a Jat agriculturist to ask him for a place of rest. The Jat tried to put him off with excuses, but the Guru placed him under arrest for the moment. He then took the Jat’s house, and turned it into a miniature fort where he took shelter with his men. The allied forces could find no trace of him, and were much distressed at his disappearance. But the troops marching from Dihli discovered the Guru’s residence and [ p. 187 ] proceeded thither. The united. forces now concentrated their attack on the Guru and were joined by his ancient enemies the Ranghars and Gujars.
The Guru then addressed his men, ‘ You would not listen to my advice to remain in Anandpur. When you took your departure, you did not calculate that this time of peril would ever arrive. You trusted to the oaths of Muhammadans on the Ouran and of the hillmen on their gods and cows, and this is the result. There is no opportunity now of employing the traditional means of dealing with enemies. We can only defend ourselves. There are hundreds of thousands against us. Die not the death of jackals, but fight bravely as you have hitherto done, and avenge the deceit practised by those great sinners. The more you strive, the greater shall be your reward. If you fall fighting you shall meet me as martyrs in heaven. If you conquer you shall obtain sovereignty, and in either case your lot shall be envied by mortals.’
Having thus addressed his Sikhs, the Guru appointed eight men to guard each of the four walls of his extemporized fort. Kotha Singh and Madan Singh held the door, he himself, his two sons, Daya Singh and Sant Singh the top story. Alim Singh and Man Singh were appointed sentinels. Thus was made up the number of forty who accompanied the Guru. Five Sikhs went forth to contend with the enemy. After fighting with great bravery they were killed. Then Khazan Singh, Dan Singh, and Dhyan Singh went forth, and after killing several of the enemy, were killed themselves. The brave Muhakam Singh, following the example of his fellows, went forth and fell pierced by scores of bullets.
While the Guru was lauding Muhakam Singh’s valour, and saying that he should be emancipated, Himmat Singh, who was one of the first Sikhs baptized, asked permission to go forth to repel the [ p. 188 ] enemy. When he was slain the second batch of five Sikhs baptized by the Guru went forth, and sold their lives dearly. Ishar Singh and Deva Singh were the next to contend with the Muhammadans. While these were alive and fought, the enemy thought they were endowed with supernatural power.
Daya Singh and others prayed the Guru to escape by some means, and leave them to contend with the enemy. If the Guru were saved, the seed of religion would remain. Six more of the Guru’s warriors, Muhar Singh, Kirat Singh, Anand Singh, Lal Singh, Kesar Singh, and Amolak Singh asked permission to go forth and try their strength with the Turks. The six brave warriors were all killed. Nahar Khan, one of the recently arrived imperial officers, attempted to scale the little fort, but was shot down by the Guru. Ghairat Khan, another officer of the new army, then advanced, and was also slain by the Guru. After this none of the Muhammadan officers had the courage to attempt the fatal ascent. They formed a plan, however. to rush and seize the Guru. In this they utterly failed, for the Guru shot them down in numbers and held at bay the multitudinous Muhammadan host.
The Guru’s son Ajit Singh now asked permission to go forth and fight single-handed with the enemy. He said he was the Guru’s Sikh and son, and it was incumbent on him to fight even under desperate circumstances. The Guru approved of this proposal. Ajit Singh took with him five heroes, namely, Alim Singh, Jawahir Singh, Dhyan Singh, Sukha Singh, and Bir Singh. Ajit Singh performed prodigies of valour, and Muhammadans fell before him as shrubs before the wind. His companions all fought bravely and desperately. Zabardast Khan, the Lahore viceroy, was greatly distressed on seeing so many of his men slain, and called on his army to at once destroy the handful of Sikhs who were causing such havoc in the imperial ranks. When the [ p. 189 ] swords of the Sikhs were broken and their arrows spent, they spitted the enemy with their spears. Ajit Singh broke his spear ona Muhammadan. The enemy then made a fresh attack and fatally wounded him,*defenceless as he was. He realized, however, that he had acted as befitted his race. He fell and slept the sleep of peace on his gory bed. The Guru on his death said, ‘O God, it is Thou who sentest him, and he hath died fighting for his faith. The trust Thou gavest hath been restored to Thee.’ The five Sikhs who accompanied him were also slain.
Zorawar Singh, the Guru’s second son, on seeing his brother’s fate could not restrain himself, and asked his father’s permission to go forth and fight as Ajit Singh had done and avenge his death. The youth took five more Sikhs with him and proceeded to commit havoc among the enemy. The chronicler states that Zorawar Singh made his way through the Muhammadan army as a crocodile through a stream. The enemy dropped like rain in the month of Sawan and Bhadon, until Zorawar Singh and his five companions fell overpowered by numbers.
His remaining Sikhs, seeing that all hope was at an end, again advised the Guru to effect his escape. He agreed, seated near him Daya Singh, Dharm singh, Man Singh, Sangat Singh, and Sant Singh, who alone remained of the army, and proceeded to entrust the Guruship to them. He said, ‘I shall ever be among five Sikhs. Wherever there are five Sikhs of mine assembled they shall be priests of ali priests. Wherever there is a sinner, five Sikhs can give him baptism and absolution. Great is the glory of five Sikhs, and whatever they do shall not be in vain. They who give food and clothing to five Sikhs, shall obtain from them the fulfilment of their desires.’ Saying this the Guru circumambulated them three times, laid his plume and crest in front of them, offered them his arms, and cried out, ‘Sri Wahguru ji ka Khalsa! Sri Waghuru ji [ p. 190 ] ki fatah!’ Sant Singh and Sangat Singh offered to remain in the fort while Daya Singh, Dharm Singh, and Man Singh determined to accompany the Guru. The Guru gave his plume to Sant Singh, clothed him in his armour, and seated him in the upper room which he was about to vacate. The Guru and his three companions escaped during the night. He told them, if perchance they separated from him, they were to go in the direction of a certain star which he indicated.
When the Guru was escaping he bade his men stand firm. He said he was going to awaken the enemy, so that they might not say he had absconded. The Turkish sentries were immediately on the alert. He discharged two arrows at them. The arrows at first struck torches which they held in their hands and then passed through their bodies. In the darkness, which followed the extinction of the lamps, the Guru and his companions escaped, but did not travel together. He proceeded barefooted on his journey, and on becoming tired sat down to rest, on the margin of a lake in the Machhiwara forest between Ropar and Ludhiana.
Sant Singh and Sangat Singh, who were left behind in the little fort, inflicted great loss on the enemy. The Muhammadans, however, succeeded in scaling the building and believed they were going at last to capture the Guru whose plume and arrow Sant Singh wore. Khwaja Mardud gave orders that Sant Singh and Sangat Singh should be beheaded and their heads sent to regale the Emperor’s eyes. The Muhammadans were much disappointed to subsequently learn that Sant Singh was not the Guru, and that the Guru had escaped. They sent men to the known abodes of all faqirs in the country to search for him, but in vain.
After this the armies dispersed. Zabardast Khan who was wounded in the recent battle retired to his viceroyalty of Lahore, Wazir Khan departed [ p. 191 ] for Sarhind, and Khwaja Mardud went with the remnant of his army to reinforce the Emperor who was still campaigning in the south of India.
The Guru’s three Sikhs followed the star he had pointed out to them, and they all four met at the place now called Bir Guru in the Machhiwara forest. His Sikhs found him sleeping with a waterpot for his pillow. They awakened him and told him that the Muhammadan army would probably be on them by daybreak. The Guru said he could not save himself, as his feet were blistered. He told the Sikhs that they might seek shelter in a neighbouring garden. Man Singh took the Guru on his back and proceeded thither. The Guru found there a Sikh called Gulaba, who treated him and his faithful attendants with kindness and hospitality.
Gulaba gave the Guru shelter in a top story which he had recently built to his house. The Guru wanted meat the next day, and a he-goat was provided for him which he killed by shooting. Gulaba was alarmed lest some of the neighbouring Brahmans and Saiyids might have heard the report of the gun. As a matter of fact one Brahman did hear it, and suspected the presence of the Guru in the village. He looked and saw the Guru on the top story of Gulaba’s house. It turned out, however, that the Brahman was friendly. He had previously visited the Guru in Anandpur and enjoyed his hospitality. He now in return put some sweets and a sacrificial thread of the Hindus on a plate, and sent them as an offering to the Guru. The offering of the sacrificial thread was a delicate hint to the Guru that the Brahman would like to lead him back to the ancient religion of India. The Guru returned the sweets and the thread with a present of five gold muhars from himself. Gulaba consulted with his brother as to the disposal of the Guru. They feared for their own safety should it be further known that he was among them.
[ p. 192 ]
To Gulaba’s house now came two Muhammadans, Ghani Khan and Nabi Khan, who had previously known and visited the Guru. On hearing that the imperial troops were scouring the country in quest of him, they determined to go and offer him their humble services. The Guru requested them to remain with him, and they readily consented.
Gulaba and his family spent an anxious night. In the early morning he waited on the Guru with a present of five gold muhars, which he meant as a parting offering. He represented the danger he had incurred in entertaining his guest, and begged him to take compassion on him and arrange for his departure.
It happened that while the Guru was in Gulaba’s house a Sikh woman also came to visit him. She had previously seen him and vowed that she would spin and weave cloth for him, which she would keep until his arrival in her village. The Guru had the cloth dyed blue, and a robe and sheet made from it in imitation of the dress of a Muhammadan pilgrim. He then departed from Gulaba’s village. He was borne on a litter which Ghani Khan and Nabi Khan lifted in front, and Man Singh and Dharm Singh in rear, while Daya Singh waved a chauri over him, They informed all inquirers that they were escorting Uch ka Pir. The expression Uch ka Pir meant either high priest as a general religious title, or priest of Uch, a well-known Muhammadan city in the southern part of the Panjab. The Guru and his carriers on arriving at Lal in the Patiala State accidentally came on a detachment of the imperial army which had been searching for him. The general suspected that the pilgrim was no other than the Guru, and determined to make trial of him by what he ate. A sumptuous dinner was prepared for the party. The Guru told his Sikhs that they might eat what the Musalman cooks had prepared, and they did so after touching the food [ p. 193 ] with their swords. A friendly Saiyid from Nurpur near Machhiwara who was at the time an officer in the detachment, stated that the Guru was really Uch ka Pir. Upon this the general gave an order for the Guru’s immediate release.