1 They form the main
2 strength of their
3 leader.
4 The injunctions of
5 the Guru.
6 The mode of saluta~
7 tion.
8 The object of un-
9 shorn lochs and other
10 institutions.
11 The exclamation,
12 Wah Guruz
13 The Guru becomes
14 an object of adoration.
15 His plans of military
16 aggrandizement.
17 He quarrels with the
18 hill rdjas,
19 And defies the im-
20 perial authorities at
21 Kangr4,.
22 264 HISTORY OF THE PANJAB,
23 . a af
24 puts, the first military class of the Hindds. Thus, the Sikhs felt themselves
25 at once elevated to rank with the highest, and their leader opened to them
26 the dazzling prospect of earthly glory, rousing their military valour and
27 inciting them to deeds of courage. The equality thus given to all Sikhs
28 dissatisfied some of the Brahmans and Chhatris, who deserted the Guru;
29 but his chief strength consistéd in the lower orders of the Hindus’ who
30 flocked to his banner and received the Péhal initiation. All Were allowed
31 to bathe in the sacred pool, and to assemble in the holy temple of Amritsar
32 to offer prayers and hear the Granth of the great Nanak, 2
33 The disciples of Govind, to whom he gave the name of the “ Khdilsd,”
34 were required to dedicate themselves from birth, or initiation, to. arms,
35 always to keep steel with them in some shape, to allow their hair * to grow,
36 to wear a blue dress,{ to refrain from wearing red clothes or eating or
37 smoking tobacco. All prohibitions relating to food and liquors were
38 abolished. They were enjoined to salute each other with the phrase “ Wah
39 Gurw ji kd Khdlsé ; sri Woh Guru ji ki Fateh ;” which means “The Khalsa
40 is of the Lord! Victory attend the Lord!” Some of these rules, such
41 as the propriety of wearing a blue dress, seem to have originated in a
42 desire to give the Sikhs a distiuct national character, and, a spirit of opposi-
43 tion to Hinduism; as the Hindus generally have an aversion to blue. A
44 Brahmanical devotee keeps his head carefully shaved, and this may account
45 for the Sikh prohibition of clipping or removing the hair from any part of the
46 body. The object of the other institutions, such as the principle of devo-
47 tion to steel, and the exclamation of “ Wéh Guru,” is obvious, for the steel
48 made them vowed soldiers, while the repetition. of the phrase, “ Wah
49 Guru,” revived every moment religious fervour in their mind, and constantly
50 awaked them to a sense of.their duty and obligations to the community
51 of which they had become members.
52 Guru Govind had by this time become an object of ‘adoration. His
53 followers worshipped him like a deity; but his plans of military aggrandize-
54 ment had yet to be matured. He organized his followers into troops and
55 bands, and established forts along the skirts of the hills between the Sutle)
56 and the Jamna, besides military posts and strongholds on the plains lower
57 down the Sutlej, to protect himself against the attacks of his hill neighbours.
58 He got into difficulties with the hill rajas of Néhan, Indore and Naldgarh ;
59 but his vast military resources enabled him to rout them all. The Guru
60 himself describes the several actions in which he was engaged, and the
61 personal bravery and military skill displayed by him show that he combined
62 the qualities of a religious teacher and military commander. In the
63 action with the raja of Ndldgarh he routed the Pathan auxiliaries and
64 killed Hari Chand, the rdja, with his own hand, Govind now strengthened
65 his position at Anandapur and allied himself with Bhim Chand, the raja
66 of Kahlur who had refused to pay the usual tribute to the imperial autho-
67 rities at: Kangré, and successfully resisted them by arms. The example set
68 by the Kahlir Raja was followed by other hill chiefs, who, countenanced
69 by the Guru, also refused to pay tribute to the imperial treasury. An
70 attack was made on the position of the Guru by the Mahomedan forces, but
71 was completely repulsed. Govind now subdued the country around him, and
72 extended his conquests as far as Rupar, on the left bank of the Sutlej.
73 * The Guru venerated Durga Bhawani, the goddess of courage, by whom he was directed
74 ie unloose his hair and_draw his sword. The Guru, in consequence, vowed he would preserve
75 is hair, as consecrated to that divinity, and directed his followers to do the same.
76 atilt The Akdlis, or never dying (a most remarkable class of the devotees of the Sikh sect),
77 l we ne cheque ress, ay .
78 Sri Satguru Jagit Singh {1 elibraty NamdhariElibrary@ gmail.com