1 An army sent against
2 him from Lthore.
3 The royal troops
4 defeated.
5 The Guru retires to
6 the wastes of Bhatinda.
7 Another cause of
8 quarrel between the
9 king and the Guru,
10 The royal troops
11 again defeated,
12 The Guru establishes
13 himself at Kartarptr.
14 Qnarrels with his
15 foster brother Paindé
16 Khan,
17 A third battle with
18 the royal troops,
19 Sri Satguru J agjit Sing
20 256 HISTORY OF THE PANJAB,
21 seized at Léhore by the officers of the king and presented before his’ majesty,
22 who, being struck with its beauty, ordered it to be sent to the royal stable,
23 and the price to be paid to the owner. The Guru, hearing this, was much
24 annoyed, but was powerless. The horse became lame and was given over by
25 the king to the chief kazi, or judge of Lahore, who had it properly treated
26 and cured. The Guru pretended to purchase the horse, and, having fixed the
27 price at Rs. 10,000, received it from the kazi, but left Ldéhore for Amritsar the
28 next day, without paying the money or ever intending to do so. In the mean-
29 while, a hawk belonging to the emperor was seized by one of the Guru’s
30 followers, and a concubine of the kazi’s harem, named Kauldn, who, it is said,
31 had become enamoured of the Guru, was abducted. These provocations induced
32 the Mahomedan government to send an armed force against the Guru, with
33 orders to seize him and disperse his followers. Mukhlis Khan marched from
34 Lahore at the head of 7,000 troops, who were, however, signally defeated near
35 Amritsar, their leader being killed in the engagement. ‘The defeated army
36 returned to Lahore after losing many in killed and wounded. This was the
37 first combat in the annals of the Panj&b which was fought between the
38 Mahomedans and the Sikhs.
39 The success, however, did not elate Har Govind with pride. Conscious of
40 the strength and resources of the ruling power and his own comparative
41 weakness, he retired to the jungles of Bhatinda, fifteen miles from Khadir,
42 south of the Sutlej, to avoid a further encounter with the imperial army. In
43 the meantime, Prince Dara Shekoh, the friend of Har Govind, exercised
44 his influence with his royal father much to the benefit of the Guru, and
45 matters went on smoothly until fresh troubles arose under the following
46 circumstances.
47 While in the jungles of Bhatinda, Har Govind converted great crowds to
48 the faith of Nanak, among them being one Buddha, a notorious free-booter,
49 known afterwards as Babdé Buddha, a complimentary title given him by the
50 Sikhs. This man stole two of the emperor's best horses from the imperial
51 stable at Lahore and brought them to the Guru. This behaviour inflamed
52 the king with violent anger, exasperated as he already was by the Guru’s
53 previous conduct. Kamar Beg and Lal Beg were sent out from Lahore at
54 the head of an army which crossed the Sutlej ; but want of provisions and the
55 difficulties of the march had a disastrous effect on the imperial troops. The
56 army was reduced to great straits, and, being defeated by the Sikhs, fled to
57 Léhore, leaving its commanders slain on the battle field. Har Govind, having
58 twice beaten the Moghal army in the open field, now began to entertain
59 some degree of confidence in his own power, and in the prowess of his followers,
60 He therefore crossed the Sutlej and established himself at Kartérpar, where
61 he collected a large army, and patiently awaited a favourable opportunity for
62 renewing hostilities.
63 Painda Khan, a Pathan, was the foster brother of Guru Har Govind and
64 his bosom friend. The Guru consequently treated him most liberally. A
65 serious quarrel, however, occurred between the Guru and the Khan over a
66 valuable hawk belonging to the Guru’s eldest son, which the Khan had’
67 appropriated to himself, the bird having by chance flown to his house. Painda
68 Khan was beaten in the Guru’s tent and turned out of it with disgrace. He
69 went to the emperor at Delhi and complained of the treatment to which he
70 had been subjected. The emperor furnished him with a powerful army, with
71 which he marched to the Panjab and encountered the Sikhs under their Guru.
72 There was desperate fighting on both sides, and for a long time victory was
73 equally balanced between them. Har Govind exhibited great bravery,
74 despatching with his, own hand } de : ; i
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