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-The Project Gutenberg EBook of Sketch of the Sikhs, by John Malcolm
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
-other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
-whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of
-the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
-www.gutenberg.org.  If you are not located in the United States, you'll have
-to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook.
-
-
-
-Title: Sketch of the Sikhs
-       A Singular Nation Who Inhabit the Provinces of Pehjab,
-       Situated Between the Rivers Iumna and Indus
-
-Author: John Malcolm
-
-Release Date: November 12, 2016 [EBook #53510]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SKETCH OF THE SIKHS ***
-
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-
-
-Produced by Brian Coe, Moti Ben-Ari and the Online
-Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
-file was produced from images generously made available
-by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
-
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-
-
-
-
-
-
-  SKETCH
-  OF
-  THE SIKHS;
-  A Singular Nation,
-  WHO INHABIT THE
-  PROVINCES OF THE PENJAB,
-  SITUATED BETWEEN
-  The Rivers Jumna and Indus.
-
-  BY
-  LIEUTENANT-COLONEL MALCOLM,
-  AUTHOR OF THE POLITICAL SKETCH OF INDIA.
-
-  LONDON:
-  PRINTED FOR JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET,
-  By James Moyes, Greville Street, Hatton Garden.
-
-  1812.
-
-
-
-
-ADVERTISEMENT.
-
-
-This Sketch has already appeared in the eleventh volume of the Asiatic
-Researches: but, as that valuable work is not in common circulation,
-it is now republished; and may prove acceptable, as a short and clear
-account of an oriental people, of singular religion and manners, with
-whose history the European reader can be but little acquainted.
-
-
-
-
-SKETCH OF THE SIKHS.
-
-
-
-
-INTRODUCTION.
-
-
-When with the British army in the Penjáb, in 1805, I endeavoured to
-collect materials that would throw light upon the history, manners, and
-religion of the Sikhs. Though this subject had been treated by several
-English writers, none of them had possessed opportunities of obtaining
-more than very general information regarding this extraordinary race;
-and their narratives therefore, though meriting regard, have served
-more to excite than to gratify curiosity.
-
-In addition to the information I collected while the army continued
-within the territories of the Sikhs, and the personal observations
-I was able to make, during that period, upon the customs and manners
-of that nation, I succeeded with difficulty in obtaining a copy of
-the Adí-Grant'h[1], and of some historical tracts, the most essential
-parts of which, when I returned to Calcutta, were explained to me by a
-Sikh priest of the Nirmala order, whom I found equally intelligent and
-communicative, and who spoke of the religion and ceremonies of his sect
-with less restraint than any of his brethren whom I had met with in the
-Penjáb. This slender stock of materials was subsequently much enriched
-by my friend Dr. Leyden, who has favoured me with a translation of
-several tracts written by Sikh authors in the Penjábí and Dúggar
-dialects, treating of their history and religion; which, though full
-of that warm imagery which marks all oriental works, and particularly
-those whose authors enter on the boundless field of Hindú mythology,
-contain the most valuable verifications of the different religious
-institutions of the Sikh nation.
-
-It was my first intention to have endeavoured to add to these
-materials, and to have written, when I had leisure, a history of the
-Sikhs; but the active nature of my public duties has made it impossible
-to carry this plan into early execution, and I have had the choice of
-deferring it to a distant and uncertain period; or of giving, from
-what I actually possessed, a short and hasty sketch of their history,
-customs, and religion. The latter alternative I have adopted: for,
-although the information I may convey in such a sketch may be very
-defective, it will be useful at a moment when every information
-regarding the Sikhs is of importance; and it may, perhaps, stimulate
-and aid some person, who has more leisure and better opportunities, to
-accomplish that task which I once contemplated.
-
-In composing this rapid sketch of the Sikhs, I have still had to
-encounter various difficulties. There is no part of oriental biography
-in which it is more difficult to separate truth from falsehood, than
-that which relates to the history of religious impostors. The account
-of their lives is generally recorded, either by devoted disciples
-and warm adherents, or by violent enemies and bigotted persecutors.
-The former, from enthusiastic admiration, decorate them with every
-quality and accomplishment that can adorn men: the latter misrepresent
-their characters, and detract from all their merits and pretensions.
-This general remark I have found to apply with peculiar force to the
-varying accounts given, by Sikh and Muhammedan authors, of Nánac and
-his successors. As it would have been an endless and unprofitable task
-to have entered into a disquisition concerning all the points in which
-these authors differ, many considerations have induced me to give a
-preference, on almost all occasions, to the original Sikh writers. In
-every research into the general history of mankind, it is of the most
-essential importance to hear what a nation has to say of itself; and
-the knowledge obtained from such sources has a value, independent of
-its historical utility. It aids the promotion of social intercourse,
-and leads to the establishment of friendship between nations. The
-most savage states are those who have most prejudices, and who are
-consequently most easily conciliated or offended: they are always
-pleased and flattered, when they find, that those whom they cannot
-but admit to possess superior intelligence, are acquainted with their
-history, and respect their belief and usages: and, on the contrary,
-they hardly ever pardon an outrage against their religion or customs,
-though committed by men who have every right to plead the most profound
-ignorance, as an excuse for the words or actions that have provoked
-resentment.
-
-
-
-
-SECTION I.
-
-  SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND PRESENT STATE OF THE SIKHS; WITH
-  OBSERVATIONS ON THEIR RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS, USAGES, MANNERS, AND
-  CHARACTER.
-
-
-Nánac Sháh, the founder of the sect, since distinguished by the name
-of Sikhs[2], was born in the year of Christ 1469, at a small village
-called Talwandi[3], in the district of Bhatti, in the province of
-Lahore. His father, whose name was Cálú[4], was of the Cshatríya
-cast, and Védí tribe of Hindús, and had no family except Nánac, and
-his sister Nánaci, who married a Hindú of the name of Jayarám, that
-was employed as a grain-factor by Daulet Khán Lódí, a relation of the
-reigning emperor of Delhi. Nánac was, agreeably to the usage of the
-tribe in which he was born, married to a woman of respectable family,
-at an early age[5], by whom he had two sons, named Sríchand and Lacshmí
-Dás. The former, who abandoned the vanities of the world, had a son
-called Dherm Chand, who founded the sect of Udásí; and his descendants
-are yet known by the name of Nánac Putráh, or the children of Nánac.
-Lacshmí Dás addicted himself to the pleasures of this world, and left
-neither heirs nor reputation.
-
-Nánac is stated, by all Sikh writers, to have been, from his
-childhood, inclined to devotion; and the indifference which this
-feeling created towards all worldly concerns, appears to have been
-a source of continual uneasiness to his father; who endeavoured, by
-every effort, to divert his mind from the religious turn which it
-had taken. With a view to effect this object, he one day gave Nánac
-a sum of money, to purchase salt at one village, in order to sell it
-at another; in the hope of enticing him to business, by allowing him
-to taste the sweets of commercial profit. Nánac was pleased with the
-scheme, took the money, and proceeded, accompanied by a servant of
-the name of Bála, of the tribe of Sand'hú, towards the village where
-he was to make his purchase. He happened, however, on the road, to
-fall in with some Fakírs, (holy mendicants,) with whom he wished to
-commence a conversation; but they were so weak, from want of victuals,
-which they had not tasted for three days, that they could only reply
-to the observations of Nánac by bending their heads, and other civil
-signs of acquiescence. Nánac, affected by their situation, said to his
-companion, with emotion: "My father has sent me to deal in salt, with a
-view to profit; but the gain of this world is unstable, and profitless;
-my wish is to relieve these poor men, and to obtain that gain which is
-permanent and eternal." His companion[6] replied: "Thy resolution is
-good: do not delay its execution." Nánac immediately distributed his
-money among the hungry Fakírs; who, after they had gained strength from
-the refreshment which it obtained them, entered into a long discourse
-with him on the unity of God, with which he was much delighted. He
-returned next day to his father, who demanded what profit he had made?
-"I have fed the poor," said Nánac, "and have obtained that gain for
-you which will endure for ever." As the father happened to have little
-value for the species of wealth which the son had acquired, he was
-enraged at having his money so fruitlessly wasted, abused poor Nánac,
-and even struck him; nor could the mild representations of Nánací save
-her brother from the violence of parental resentment. Fortune, however,
-according to the Sikh narrators of this anecdote of their teacher's
-early life, had raised him a powerful protector, who not only rescued
-him from punishment, but established his fame and respectability upon
-grounds that at once put him above all fear of future bad usage from
-his low-minded and sordid father. When Nánac was quite a youth, and
-employed to tend cattle in the fields, he happened to repose himself
-one day under the shade of a tree; and, as the sun declined towards
-the west, its rays fell on his face, when a large black snake[7],
-advancing to the spot where he lay, raised itself from the ground,
-and interposed its spread hood between Nánac and the sun's rays. Ráy
-Bolar[8], the ruler of the district, was passing the road, near the
-place where Nánac slept, and marked, in silence, though not without
-reflection, this unequivocal sign of his future greatness. This chief
-overheard Cálú punishing his son for his kindness to the Fakírs. He
-immediately entered, and demanded the cause of the uproar; and, when
-informed of the circumstances, he severely chid Cálú for his conduct,
-and interdicted him from ever again lifting his hand to Nánac, before
-whom, to the astonishment of all present, he humbled himself with every
-mark of the most profound veneration. Though Cálú, from this event, was
-obliged to treat his son with more respect than formerly, he remained
-as solicitous as ever to detach him from his religious habits, and
-to fix him in some worldly occupation; and he prevailed upon Jayrám,
-his son-in-law, to admit him into partnership in his business. Nánac,
-obliged to acquiesce in these schemes, attended at the granary of
-Daulet Khán Lódí, which was in charge of Jayrám; but though his hands
-were employed in this work, and his kindness of manner made all the
-inhabitants of Sultánpúr, where the granary was established, his
-friends, yet his heart never strayed for one moment from its object.
-It was incessantly fixed on the Divinity; and one morning, as he sat
-in a contemplative posture, a holy Muhammedan Fakír approached, and
-exclaimed: "Oh Nánac! upon what are thy thoughts now employed? Quit
-such occupations, that thou mayest obtain the inheritance of eternal
-wealth." Nánac is said to have started up at this exclamation, and
-after looking for a moment in the face of the Fakír, he fell into a
-trance; from which he had no sooner recovered, than he immediately
-distributed every thing in the granary among the poor[9]: and, after
-this act, proceeded with loud shouts out of the gates of the city, and
-running into a pool of water, remained there three days; during which
-some writers assert he had an interview with the prophet Elias, termed
-by the Muhammedans, Khizzer, from whom he learnt all earthly sciences.
-
-While Nánac remained in the pool, abstracted from all worldly
-considerations, holding converse with a prophet, poor Jayrám was put
-in prison by Daulet Khán Lódí, on the charge of having dissipated his
-property. Nánac, however, returned, and told Daulet Khán that Jayrám
-was faultless; that he was the object of punishment; and that, as such,
-he held himself ready to render the strictest account of all he had
-lost. The Khán accepted his proposal: Jayrám's accounts were settled;
-and, to the surprise of all, a balance was found in his favour; on
-which he was not only released, but reinstated in the employment and
-favour of his master. We are told, by the Sikh authors, that these
-wonderful actions increased the fame of Nánac in a very great degree;
-and that he began, from this period, to practise all the austerities
-of a holy man; and, by his frequent abstraction in the contemplation
-of the divine Being, and his abstinence and virtue, he soon acquired
-great celebrity through all the countries into which he travelled.
-
-There are many extravagant accounts regarding the travels of Nánac. One
-author[10], who treats of the great reform which he made in the worship
-of the true God, which he found degraded by the idolatry of the Hindús,
-and the ignorance of the Muhammedans, relates his journey to all the
-different Hindú places of pilgrimage, and to Mecca, the holy temple of
-the Muhammedans.
-
-It would be tedious, and foreign to the purpose of this sketch, to
-accompany Nánac in his travels, of which the above-mentioned author,
-as well as others, has given the most circumstantial accounts. He was
-accompanied (agreeable to them) by a celebrated musician, of the name
-of Merdaná, and a person named Bála Sand'hú; and it is on the tradition
-of the latter of these disciples, that most of the miracles[11] and
-wonders of his journies are related. In Bengal, the travellers had to
-encounter all kinds of sorcerers and magicians. Poor Merdaná, who had
-some of the propensities of Sancho, and preferred warm houses and good
-meals to deserts and starvation, was constantly in trouble, and more
-than once had his form changed into that of a sheep, and of several
-other animals. Nánac, however, always restored his humble friend to the
-human shape, and as constantly read him lectures on his imprudence.
-It is stated, in one of those accounts, that a Rájá of Sivanáb'hu
-endeavoured to tempt Nánac, by offering him all the luxuries of the
-world, to depart from his austere habits, but in vain. His presents
-of rich meats, splendid clothes, and fair ladies, only afforded the
-Sikh teacher so many opportunities of decrying the vanities of this
-world, and preaching to the Rájá the blessings of eternal life; and he
-at last succeeded in making him a convert, and resided at Sivanáb'hu
-two years and five months; during which period he composed the Prán
-Sancali[12], for the instruction of his followers. After Nánac had
-visited all the cities of India, and explained to all ranks the great
-doctrines of the unity and omnipresence of God, he went to Mecca and
-Medina, where his actions, his miracles, and his long disputations
-with the most celebrated Muhammedan saints and doctors, are most
-circumstantially recorded by his biographers. He is stated, on this
-occasion, to have maintained his own principles, without offending
-those of others; always professing himself the enemy of discord, and
-as having no object but to reconcile the two faiths of the Muhammedans
-and Hindús in one religion; which he endeavoured to do by recalling
-them to that great and original tenet, in which they both believed,
-the unity of God, and by reclaiming them from the numerous errors
-into which they had fallen. During his travels, Nánac was introduced
-to the emperor Báber[13], before whom he is said to have defended
-his doctrine with great firmness and eloquence. Báber was pleased
-with him, and ordered an ample maintenance to be bestowed upon him;
-which the Sikh priest refused; observing, that he trusted in him who
-provided for all men, and from whom alone a man of virtue and religion
-would consent to receive favour or reward. When Nánac returned from
-his travels, he cast off the garments of a Fakír, and wore plain
-clothes, but continued to give instructions to his numerous disciples;
-and he appears, at this period, to have experienced the most violent
-opposition from the Hindú zealots, who reproached him with having laid
-aside the habits of a Fakír, and with the impiety of the doctrines
-which he taught. These accusations he treated with great contempt;
-and an author, before cited, Bhai Gúrú Dás Vali, states, that when
-he visited Vatála, he enraged the Yógíswaras[14] so much, that they
-tried all their powers of enchantment to terrify him. "Some," says
-this writer, "assumed the shape of lions and tigers, others hissed
-like snakes, one fell in a shower of fire, and another tore the stars
-from the firmament;" but Nánac remained tranquil: and when required to
-exhibit some proof of his powers that would astonish them, he replied:
-"I have nothing to exhibit worthy of you to behold. A holy teacher has
-no defence but the purity of his doctrine: the world may change, but
-the Creator is unchangeable." These words, adds the author, caused the
-miracles and enchantments of the Yógíswaras to cease, and they all fell
-at the feet of the humble Nánac, who was protected by the all perfect
-God.
-
-Nánac, according to the same authority, went from Vatála to Multán,
-where he communed with the Pírs, or holy fathers of the Muhammedan
-religion of that country. "I am come," said he, when he entered that
-province, "into a country full of Pírs, like the sacred Gangá, visiting
-the ocean." From Multán he went to Kírtipúr[15], where he threw off his
-earthly shape, and was buried near the bank of the river Rávi, which
-has since overflowed his tomb. Kírtipúr continues a place of religious
-resort and worship; and a small piece of Nánac's garment is exhibited
-to pilgrims, as a sacred relic, at his Dharmasálá, or temple.
-
-It would be difficult to give the character of Nánac[16] on the
-authority of any account we yet possess. His writings, especially
-the first chapters of the Adí-Grant'h, will, if ever translated, be
-perhaps a criterion by which he may be fairly judged; but the great
-eminence which he obtained, and the success with which he combated the
-opposition which he met, afford ample reason to conclude that he was
-a man of more than common genius: and this favourable impression of
-his character will be confirmed by a consideration of the object of
-his life, and the means he took to accomplish it. Born in a province
-on the extreme verge of India, at the very point where the religion of
-Muhammed and the idolatrous worship of the Hindús appeared to touch,
-and at a moment when both these tribes cherished the most violent
-rancour and animosity towards each other, his great aim was to blend
-those jarring elements in peaceful union, and he only endeavoured to
-effect this purpose through the means of mild persuasion. His wish was
-to recall both Muhammedans and Hindús to an exclusive attention to that
-sublimest of all principles, which inculcates devotion to God, and
-peace towards man. He had to combat the furious bigotry of the one, and
-the deep-rooted superstition of the other; but he attempted to overcome
-all obstacles by the force of reason and humanity. And we cannot have a
-more convincing proof of the general character of that doctrine which
-he taught, and the inoffensive light in which it was viewed, than the
-knowledge that its success did not rouse the bigotry of the intolerant
-and tyrannical Muhammedan government under which he lived.
-
-Nánac did not deem either of his sons, before mentioned, worthy of
-the succession to his spiritual functions, which he bequeathed to
-a Cshatríya of the Tréhún tribe, called Lehana, who had long been
-attached to him, and whom he had initiated in the sacred mysteries of
-his sect, clothed in the holy mantle of a Fakír, and honoured with the
-name of Angad[17], which, according to some commentators, means _own
-body_.
-
-Gúrú Angad, for that is the name by which he is known by all Sikhs, was
-born at the village of Khandúr, on the bank of the Béyah, or Hyphasis,
-in the province of Lahore. His life does not appear to have been
-distinguished by any remarkable actions. He taught the same doctrine as
-Nánac, and wrote some chapters that now form part of the Grant'h. He
-left two sons, Vásu and Dátu, but neither of them was initiated; and
-he was succeeded, at his death[18], which happened in the year A. D.
-1552, and of the Samvat 1609, by Amera Dás, a Cshatríya of the tribe of
-B'halé, who performed the duties of a menial towards him for upwards
-of twelve years. It is stated, that the daily occupation of Amera Dás
-was to bring water from the Béyah river, a distance of six miles, to
-wash the feet of his master; and that one night, during a severe storm,
-as he was returning from his journey, his foot slipped, and he fell
-and broke the vessel that contained the river water, opposite the
-door of a weaver, who lived next house to Angad. The weaver, startled
-at the noise, demanded, in a loud voice, of his wife, from whence it
-proceeded. The woman, who was well acquainted with the daily toils and
-the devotion of Angad's servant, replied, "It was poor Amera Dás, who
-knows neither the sweets of sleep by night, nor of rest by day." This
-conversation was overheard by Angad; and when Amera Dás came, next
-morning, to perform his usual duties, he treated him with extraordinary
-kindness, and said: "You have endured great labour; but, henceforward,
-enjoy rest." Amera Dás was distinguished for his activity in preaching
-the tenets of Nánac, and was very successful in obtaining converts
-and followers; by the aid of whom he established some temporal power,
-built Kujaráwál, and separated from the regular Sikhs the Udásí sect,
-which was founded by Dherm-Chand, the son of Nánac, and was probably
-considered, at that period, as heretical.
-
-Amera Dás had two children, a son named Móhan, and a daughter named
-Móhani, known by the name of B'háini; regarding whose marriage he
-is stated to have been very anxious: and as this event gave rise to
-a dynasty of leaders, who are almost adored among the Sikhs, it is
-recorded with much minuteness by the writers of that nation.
-
-Amera Dás had communicated his wishes, regarding the marriage of
-B'háini, to a Bráhmen, who was his head servant, and directed him to
-make some inquiries. The Bráhmen did so, and reported to his master
-that he had been successful, and had found a youth every way suited
-to be the husband of his daughter. As they were speaking upon this
-subject in the street, Amera Dás asked what was the boy's stature?
-"About the same height as that lad," said the Bráhmen, pointing to a
-youth standing near them. The attention of Amera Dás was instantly
-withdrawn from the Bráhmen, and intently fixed upon the youth to whom
-he had pointed. He asked him regarding his tribe, his name, and his
-family. The lad said his name was Rám Dás, and that he was a Cshatríya,
-of a respectable family, of the Sóndi tribe, and an inhabitant of
-the village of Góndawál. Amera Dás, pleased with the information he
-had received, took no more notice of the Bráhmen and his choice of a
-son-in-law, but gave his daughter to the youth whom fortune had so
-casually introduced to his acquaintance[19]. Amera Dás died in the
-year A. D. 1574, and of the Samvat 1631, at the village of Góndawál,
-in the province of Lahore, and was succeeded by his son-in-law, Rám
-Dás[20], whom he had initiated in the sacred mysteries of his holy
-profession, and who became famous for his piety, and still more from
-the improvements he made at Amritsar, which was for some time called
-Rámpúr, or Rámdáspúr, after him. Some Sikh authorities ascribe the
-foundation of this city to him, which is not correct, as it was a very
-ancient town, known formerly under the name of Chak. He, however, added
-much to its population, and built a famous tank, or reservoir of water,
-which he called Amritsar, a name signifying the water of immortality,
-and which has become so sacred, that it has given its name, and
-imparted its sanctity, to the town of Rámdáspúr, which has become the
-sacred city of the Sikh nation, and is now only known by the name of
-Amritsar.
-
-After a life passed in the undisturbed propagation of his tenets, in
-explanation of which he wrote several works, he died, in the year A. D.
-1581, and of the Samvat 1638, at Amritsar, leaving two sons, Arjunmal
-and Bharatmal. He was succeeded by the former[21], who has rendered
-himself famous by compiling the Adí-Grant'h[22]. The Adí-Grant'h, or
-first sacred volume of the Sikhs, contains ninety-two sections: it was
-partly composed by Nánac and his immediate successors, but received its
-present form and arrangement from Arjunmal[23], who has blended his
-own additions with what he deemed most valuable in the compositions of
-his predecessors. It is Arjun, then, who ought, from this act, to be
-deemed the first who gave consistent form and order to the religion of
-the Sikhs: an act which, though it has produced the effect he wished,
-of uniting that nation more closely, and of increasing their numbers,
-proved fatal to himself. The jealousy of the Muhammedan government was
-excited, and he was made its sacrifice. The mode of his death, which
-happened in the year of Christ 1606, and of the Samvat 1663, is related
-very differently by different authorities: but several of the most
-respectable agree in stating, that his martyrdom, for such they term
-it, was caused by the active hatred of a rival Hindú zealot, Daníchand
-Cshatríya, whose writings he refused to admit into the Adí-Grant'h, on
-the ground that the tenets inculcated in them were irreconcileable to
-the pure doctrine of the unity and omnipotence of God, taught in that
-sacred volume. This rival had sufficient influence with the Muhammedan
-governor of the province to procure the imprisonment of Arjun; who
-is affirmed, by some writers, to have died from the severity of his
-confinement; and, by others, to have been put to death in the most
-cruel manner. In whatever way his life was terminated, there can be no
-doubt, from its consequences, that it was considered, by his followers,
-as an atrocious murder, committed by the Muhammedan government; and the
-Sikhs, who had been, till then, an inoffensive, peaceable sect, took
-arms under Har Góvind, the son of Arjunmal, and wreaked their vengeance
-upon all whom they thought concerned in the death of their revered
-priest.
-
-The contest carried on by Har Góvind against the Muhammedan chiefs in
-the Penjáb, though no doubt marked by that animosity which springs from
-a deep and implacable sense of injury on one part, and the insolence
-and violence of insulted power on the other, could not have been of
-great magnitude or importance, else it would have been more noticed by
-contemporary Muhammedan writers; but it was the first fruits of that
-desperate spirit of hostility, which was soon after to distinguish the
-wars between the followers of Nánac and those of Muhammed: and, from
-every account of Har Góvind's life, it appears to have been his anxious
-wish to inspire his followers with the most irreconcileable hatred of
-their oppressors.
-
-It is stated, that this warlike[24] Gúrú, or priest militant, wore
-two swords in his girdle. Being asked why he did so: "The one," said
-he, "is to revenge the death of my father; the other, to destroy the
-miracles of Muhammed."
-
-Har Góvind is reputed, by some authors, to have been the first who
-allowed his followers to eat[25] the flesh of all animals, with the
-exception of the cow: and it appears not improbable that he made
-this great change in their diet at the time when he effected a still
-more remarkable revolution in their habits, by converting a race of
-peaceable enthusiasts into an intrepid band of soldiers[26]. He had
-five sons, Bábú Gúrúdaitya, Saurat Singh, Tégh Bahádur, Anna Ráy, and
-Atal Ráy. The two last died without descendants. Saurat Singh and
-Tégh Singh, or Tégh Bahádur, were, by the cruel persecution of the
-Muhammedans, forced to fly into the mountains to the northward of the
-Penjáb. His eldest son, Gurudaítya, died early, but left two sons,
-Dáharmal and Har Ráy; the latter of whom succeeded his grandfather,
-who died in the year A. D. 1644, and of the Samvat 1701. It does not
-appear that Har Ráy enjoyed much temporal power, or that he entered
-into any hostilities with the Muhammedans: his rule was tranquil, and
-passed without any remarkable event; owing, probably, to the vigor
-which the Muhammedan power had attained in the early part of the reign
-of Aurungzéb. At his death, which happened in the year A. D. 1661, and
-of the Samvat 1718, a violent contest arose among the Sikhs, regarding
-the succession to the office of spiritual leader; for the temporal
-power of their ruler was, at this period, little more than nominal.
-The dispute between his sons, or, as some Sikh authors state, his son
-and grandson, Har Crishn and Rám Ráy, was referred to Dehli, whither
-both parties went; and, by an imperial decree of Aurungzéb, the Sikhs
-were allowed to elect their own priest. They chose Har Crishn, who
-died at Dehli in the year A. D. 1664, and of the Samvat 1721; and was
-succeeded by his uncle, Tégh Behádur. He, however, had to encounter the
-most violent opposition from his nephew, Rám Ráy[27], who remained at
-Dehli, and endeavoured, by every art and intrigue, to effect his ruin:
-he was seized, and brought to Dehli, in consequence of his nephew's
-misrepresentations; and, after being in prison for two years, was
-released at the intercession of Jayasingh, Rájá of Jayapúr, whom he
-accompanied to Bengal. Tégh Behádur afterwards took up his abode at
-the city of Patna[28]; but was pursued, agreeable to Sikh authors, to
-his retreat, with implacable rancour, by the jealousy and ambition of
-Rám Ráy; who at last accomplished the destruction of his rival. He was
-brought from Patna, and, by the accounts of the same authors, publicly
-put to death, without even the allegation of a crime, beyond a firm
-and undaunted assertion of the truth of that faith of which he was
-the high priest. This event is said to have taken place in the year
-A. D. 1675, and of the Samvat 1732: but the Sikh records of their own
-history, from the death of Har Góvind to that of Tégh Behádur, are
-contradictory and unsatisfactory, and appear to merit little attention.
-The fact is, that the sect was almost crushed, in consequence of their
-first effort to attain power, under Har Góvind; and, from the period
-of his death to that of Tégh Behádur, the Mogul empire was, as has
-been before stated, in the zenith of its power, under Aurungzéb: and
-the Sikhs, who had never attained any real strength, were rendered
-still weaker by their own internal dissensions. Their writers have
-endeavoured to supply this chasm in their history by a fabulous account
-of the numerous miracles which were wrought by their priests, Rám Ráy,
-Har Crishn, and even the unfortunate Tégh Behádur, at Delhi, all of
-whom are said to have astonished the emperor and his nobles, by a
-display of their supernatural powers: but their wide difference from
-each other, in these relations, would prove, if any proof was wanting,
-that all the annals of that period are fabricated.
-
-The history of the Sikhs, after the death of Tégh Behádur, assumes
-a new aspect. It is no longer the record of a sect, who, revering
-the conciliatory and mild tenets of their founder, desired more to
-protect themselves than to injure others; but that of a nation, who,
-adding to a deep sense of the injuries they had sustained from a
-bigotted and overbearing government, all the ardour of men commencing
-a military career of glory, listened, with rapture, to a son glowing
-with vengeance against the murderers of his father, who taught a
-doctrine suited to the troubled state of his mind, and called upon
-his followers, by every feeling of manhood, to lay aside their
-peaceable habits, to graft the resolute courage of the soldier on the
-enthusiastic faith of the devotee, to swear eternal war with the cruel
-and haughty Muhammedans, and to devote themselves to _steel_, as the
-only means of obtaining every blessing that this world, or that to
-come, could afford to mortals.
-
-This was the doctrine of Gúrú Góvind, the son of Tégh Behádur; who,
-though very young at his father's death, had his mind imbued with the
-deepest horror at that event, and cherished a spirit of implacable
-resentment against those whom he considered as his murderers. Devoting
-his life to this object, we find him, when quite a youth, at the head
-of a large party of his followers, amid the hills of Srínagar, where
-he gave proofs of that ardent and daring mind, which afterwards raised
-him to such eminence. He was not, however, able to maintain himself
-against the prince of that country, with whom he had entered into
-hostilities; and, being obliged to leave it, he went to the Penjáb,
-where he was warmly welcomed by a Hindú chief in rebellion against the
-government. This chief gave Góvind possession of Mák'havál[29], and
-several other villages, where he settled with his followers, and repaid
-his benefactor by aiding him in his depredations. Góvind appears, at
-this moment, to have been universally acknowledged by the Sikhs, as
-their Sat-gúrú, or chief spiritual leader; and he used the influence
-which that station, his sufferings, and the popularity of his cause,
-gave him, to effect a complete change in the habits and religion of
-his countrymen[30]. It would be tedious and useless to follow the Sikh
-writers through those volumes of fables in which they have narrated
-the wonders that prognosticated the rise of this, the most revered of
-all their priests, to power; or to enter, at any length, into those
-accounts which they, and Góvind himself, for he is equally celebrated
-as an author and as a warrior, have given of his exploits. It will be
-sufficient, for the purpose of this sketch, to state the essential
-changes which he effected in his tribe, and the consequences of his
-innovations.
-
-Though the Sikhs had already, under Har Góvind, been initiated in
-arms, yet they appear to have used these only in self-defence: and
-as every tribe of Hindús, from the Bráhmen to the lowest of the
-Súdra, may, in cases of necessity, use them without any infringement
-of the original institutions of their tribe, no violation of these
-institutions was caused by the rules of Nánac; which, framed with a
-view to conciliation, carefully abstained from all interference with
-the civil institutes of the Hindús. But his more daring successor, Gúrú
-Góvind, saw that such observances were at variance with the plans of
-his lofty ambition; and he wisely judged, that the only means by which
-he could ever hope to oppose the Muhammedan government with success,
-were not only to admit converts from all tribes, but to break, at once,
-those rules by which the Hindús had been so long chained; to arm, in
-short, the whole population of the country, and to make worldly wealth
-and rank an object to which Hindús, of every class, might aspire.
-
-The extent to which Góvind succeeded in this design will be more fully
-noticed in another place. It is here only necessary to state the
-leading features of those changes by which he subverted, in so short
-a time, the hoary institutions of Brahmá[31], and excited terror and
-astonishment in the minds of the Muhammedan conquerors of India, who
-saw the religious prejudices of the Hindús, which they had calculated
-upon as one of the pillars of their safety, because they limited the
-great majority of the population to peaceable occupations, fall before
-the touch of a bold and enthusiastic innovator, who opened at once, to
-men of the lowest tribe[32], the dazzling prospect of earthly glory.
-All who subscribed to his tenets were upon a level, and the Bráhmen
-who entered his sect had no higher claims to eminence than the lowest
-Súdra who swept his house. It was the object of Góvind to make all
-Sikhs equal[33], and that their advancement should solely depend upon
-their exertions: and well aware how necessary it was to inspire men
-of a low race, and of groveling minds, with pride in themselves, he
-changed the name of his followers from Sikh to Singh, or lion; thus
-giving to all his followers that honourable title which had been before
-exclusively assumed by the Rajapúts, the first military class of
-Hindús: and every Sikh felt himself at once elevated to rank with the
-highest, by this proud appellation.
-
-The disciples of Góvind were required to devote themselves to arms,
-always to have _steel_ about them in some shape or other; to wear a
-blue dress; to allow their hair to grow; to exclaim, when they met each
-other, _Wá! Gúrújí ká khálsah! Wá! Gúrújí kí futteh!_ which means,
-"Success to the state of the Gúrú! Victory attend the Gúrú[34]!" The
-intention of some of these institutions is obvious; such as that
-principle of devotion to _steel_, by which all were made soldiers; and
-that exclamation, which made the success of their priest, and that of
-the commonwealth, the object of their hourly prayer. It became, in
-fact, the watchword which was continually to revive, in the minds of
-the Sikh disciple, the obligations he owed to that community of which
-he had become a member, and to that faith which he had adopted.
-
-Of the causes which led Góvind to enjoin his followers to regard it as
-impious to cut the hair of their heads, or shave their beards, very
-different accounts are given. Several Muhammedan authors state, that
-both this ordination, and the one which directed his followers to
-wear blue clothes, was given in consequence of his gratitude to some
-Afghán mountaineers, who aided his escape from a fort, in which he was
-besieged, by clothing him in a chequered blue dress, and causing him to
-allow his hair to grow, in order to pass him for one of their own Pírs,
-or holy fathers; in which they succeeded. This account, however, is
-not supported by any Sikh writer; and one of the most respectable and
-best informed authors of that sect states, that when Gúrú Góvind first
-went to Anandpúr Mák'haval, which was also called Césgher, or the house
-of hair, he spent much of his time in devotion, at a temple of Dúrga
-Bhavaní, the goddess of courage, by whom he was directed to unloose
-his hair and draw his sword. Góvind, in consequence of this pretended
-divine order, vowed he would preserve his hair, as consecrated to that
-divinity, and directed his followers to do the same[35]. The origin
-of that blue chequered[36] dress, which was at one time worn by all
-Góvind's followers, and is still worn by the Acálís, or _never-dying_,
-(the most remarkable class of devotees of that sect,) is differently
-stated by different authors: but it appears probable, that both
-these institutions proceeded from the policy of Góvind, who sought
-to separate his followers from all other classes of India, as much
-by their appearance as by their religion: and he judged with wisdom
-when he gave consequence to such distinctions; which, though first
-established as mere forms, soon supersede the substance of belief;
-and, when strengthened by usage, become the points to which ignorant
-and unenlightened minds have, in all ages of the world, shown the most
-resolute and unconquerable adherence.
-
-Gúrú Góvind inculcated his tenets upon his followers by his preaching,
-his actions, and his works; among which is the Dasama Pádsháh ká
-Grant'h, or the book of the tenth king or ruler; Gúrú Góvind being the
-tenth leader of the sect from Nánac. This volume, which is not limited
-to religious subjects, but filled with accounts of his own battles, and
-written with the view of stirring up a spirit of valour and emulation
-among his followers, is at least as much revered, among the Sikhs, as
-the Adí-Grant'h of Arjunmal. Góvind is said to have first instituted
-the Gúrú Mata, or state council, among the Sikhs; which meets at
-Amritsar. The constitution and usages of this national assembly will
-be described hereafter: it is here only necessary to observe, that
-its institution adds one more proof to those already stated, of the
-comprehensive and able mind of this bold reformer, who gave, by its
-foundation, that form of a federative republic, to the commonwealth
-of the Sikhs, which was most calculated to rouse his followers from
-their indolent habits, and deep-rooted prejudices, by giving them a
-personal share in the government, and placing within the reach of every
-individual the attainment of rank and influence in the state.
-
-It could not be expected that Gúrú Góvind could accomplish all those
-great schemes he had planned. He planted the tree; but it was not
-permitted, according to Sikh writers, that he should see it in that
-maturity which it was destined to reach: and this, these authors state,
-was foretold to him by some Bráhmens, skilled in necromancy. It would
-be tedious to dwell on such fables[37]; and it is time to return to
-the political life of Góvind, which is marked by but few events of
-importance. These are either related by Muhammedan authors, who detract
-from all the pretensions of this enemy of their faith and name; by his
-disciples, who exalt the slightest of his actions into the achievements
-of a divinity; or by himself, for he wrote an account of his own wars.
-This last work, however, is more calculated to inflame the courage of
-his followers, than to convey correct information of actual events.
-
-Gúrú Góvind Singh, in the Vichitra Nátac, a work written by himself,
-and inserted in the Dasama Pádsháh ká Grant'h, traces the descent of
-the Cshatríya tribe of Sóndí, to which he belongs, from a race of
-Hindú Rájás[38], who founded the cities of Casúr and Lahore. He was
-born, he states, at Patán, or Patna, and brought up at Madra Dés, in
-the Penjáb. He went, after his father's death, to the banks of the
-Cálíndí, or Yamuná, and addicted himself to hunting the wild beasts of
-the forest, and other manly diversions: but this occupation, he adds,
-offended the emperor of Dehli, who ordered chiefs, of the Muhammedan
-race, to attack him. Gúrú Góvind describes, in this work, with great
-animation, his own feats, and those of his friends[39], in the first
-of his actions; in which, by his account, the arrows of the Sikhs were
-victorious over the sabres of the Muhammedans[40].
-
-This first success appears to have greatly increased the number of
-Gúrú Góvind's followers, whom he established at Anandpúr, Khílór, and
-the towns in their vicinity; where they remained, till called to aid
-the Rájá of Nadón[41], Bhíma Chand, who was threatened with an invasion
-by the Rájá of Jammu; who had been excited to hostilities by Mía Khán,
-a Mogul chief, then at war with Bhíma Chand.
-
-Gúrú Góvind gives an account of this war, which consisted of attacking
-and defending the narrow passes of the mountains. He describes Bhíma
-Chand and himself as leading on their warriors, who advanced, he says,
-to battle, "like a stream of flame consuming the forest." They were
-completely successful in this expedition; the Rájá of Jammu, and his
-Muhammedan allies, having been defeated, and chased with disgrace
-across the Satléj.
-
-Gúrú Góvind next relates the advance of the son of Diláwer Khán against
-him. The object of the Muhammedan chief appears to have been, to
-surprise Góvind and his followers at night: but, when that project was
-defeated, his troops were seized with a panic, and fled from the Sikhs
-without a contest. The father, enraged at the disgraceful retreat of
-his son, collected all his followers, and sent Husain Khán, who made
-successful inroads upon the Sikhs, taking several of their principal
-forts[42]. A general action at last took place, in which the Khán,
-after performing prodigies of valour, was defeated, and lost his life.
-Gúrú Góvind was not present at this battle. "The lord of the earth," he
-says, "detained me from this conflict, and caused the rain of steel to
-descend in another quarter."
-
-Diláwer Khán and Rustam Khán next marched against the Sikhs, who appear
-to have been disheartened at the loss of some of their principal
-chiefs, and more at the accounts they received of Aurungzéb's rage at
-their progress, and of his having detached his son to the district of
-Madra[43], in order to take measures to quell them. At the prince's
-approach, "every body," says Gúrú Góvind, "was struck with terror.
-Unable to comprehend the ways of the Eternal, several deserted me,
-and fled, and took refuge in the lofty mountains. These vile cowards
-were," he adds, "too greatly alarmed in mind to understand their own
-advantage; for the emperor sent troops, who burnt the habitations of
-those that had fled." He takes this occasion of denouncing every misery
-that this world can bring, and all the pains and horrors of the next,
-on those who desert their Gúrú, or priest. "The man who does this,"
-he writes, "shall neither have child nor offspring. His aged parents
-shall die in grief and sorrow, and he shall perish like a dog, and be
-thrown into hell to lament." After many more curses on apostates, he
-concludes this anathema by stating, that the good genius of prosperity
-in this world, and eternal blessings in the next, shall be the certain
-reward of all who remain attached to their Gúrú: and, as an instance,
-he affirms, that not one of those faithful followers, who had adhered
-to him at this trying crisis, had received the least injury[44].
-
-Gúrú Góvind closes his first work, the Vichitra Nátac, with a further
-representation on the shame that attends apostasy, and the rewards that
-await those that prove true to their religion; and he concludes by a
-prayer to the Deity, and a declaration of his intention to compose,
-for the use of his disciples, a still larger work; by which the Sikhs
-conceive that he meant the rest of the Dasama Pádsháh ká Grant'h, of
-which the Vichitra Nátac forms the first section.
-
-An account of Góvind's war with the Rájá of Kahilúr[45], is found in a
-work written in the Dúgar, or mountain dialect of the Penjábi tongue,
-which gives an account of some other actions of this chief. Though
-this account is greatly exaggerated, it no doubt states some facts
-correctly, and therefore merits a brief notice. According to this
-authority, the Rájás of Kahilúr, Jiswál, and others, being defeated and
-disgraced in several actions, applied to the court of Aurungzéb for aid
-against Gúrú Góvind, from whom they stated that they had received great
-injuries. When the emperor asked who made the complaint, the answer
-was: "It is the chief of Kahilúr, thy servant, who has been despoiled
-of his country by violence, though a faithful Zemindar (landholder),
-and one who has always been punctual in paying his contributions." Such
-were the representations, this author states, by which they obtained
-the aid of an army from the emperor.
-
-Their combined forces proceeded against Gúrú Góvind and his followers,
-who were obliged to shut themselves up in their fortresses, where they
-endured every misery that sickness and famine can bring upon a besieged
-place. Góvind, after suffering the greatest hardships, determined to
-attempt his escape. He ordered his followers to leave the fort, one
-by one, at midnight, and to separate the moment they went out. The
-misery of this separation, which divided the father from the child,
-the husband from the wife, and brothers from sisters, was horrible;
-but it was the only chance which they had of safety, and his orders
-were obeyed. He himself went, among the rest; and, after undergoing
-great fatigue, and escaping many dangers, he arrived at Chamkóur, by
-the Rájá of which place he was received in a kind and friendly manner.
-His enemies had entered the fortress which Góvind left, the moment
-he fled, and made many prisoners; among which were his mother and
-his two children, who were carried to Foujdar Khán, the governor of
-Sirhind, by whose orders they were inhumanly massacred[46]. The army
-of the emperor, aided by the Rájás hostile to Góvind, next marched to
-Chamkóur, and encompassed it on all sides. Góvind, in despair, clasping
-his hands, called upon the goddess of the sword[47]. "The world sees,"
-he exclaimed, "that we have no help but thee!" saying which, he
-prepared, with his few followers, to make the most desperate resistance.
-
-The emperor's army, employed at this period against Góvind, was
-commanded by Khwájeh Muhammed and Nahar Khán, who deputed, at the
-commencement of the siege, an envoy to the Sikh leader, with the
-following message: "This army is not one belonging to Rájás and Ránás:
-it is that of the great Aurungzéb: show, therefore, thy respect, and
-embrace the true faith." The envoy proceeded, in the execution of his
-mission, with all the pride of those he represented. "Listen," said
-he, from himself to Gúrú Góvind, "to the words of the Nawáb: leave off
-contending with us, and playing the infidel; for it is evident you
-never can reap advantage from such an unequal war." He was stopped by
-Ajit Singh, the son of Góvind, from saying more. That youth, seizing
-his scimetar, exclaimed: "If you utter another word, I will humble
-your pride: I will smite your head from your body, and cut you to
-pieces, for daring to speak such language before our chiefs." The blood
-of the envoy boiled with rage, and he returned with this answer to his
-master.
-
-This effort to subdue the fortitude and faith of Góvind having failed,
-the siege commenced with great vigour. A long description is given by
-B'hai Gúrú Dás B'halé and other Sikh authors, of the actions that were
-performed. Amongst the most distinguished, were those of the brave, but
-unfortunate, Ajit Singh[48], the son of Gúrú Góvind, whose death is
-thus recorded: "A second time the Khán advanced, and the battle raged.
-Some fought, some fled. Ajit Singh, covered with glory, departed to
-Swarga (heaven). Indra[49], first of the gods (Dévatás), advanced with
-the celestial host to meet him; he conducted him to Dévapúr, the city
-of the gods, and seated him on a celestial throne: having remained
-there a short time, he proceeded to the region of the sun. Thus," he
-concludes, "Ajit Singh departed in glory; and his fame extends over
-three worlds, for the fame of the warrior lives for ever."
-
-Though Góvind showed an invincible spirit, and performed prodigies
-of valour, having killed, with his own hand, Nahar Khán, and wounded
-Khwájeh Muhammed, the other leader of the emperor's troops, it was
-impossible to contend longer against such superior numbers; and he at
-last, taking advantage of a dark night, fled from Chamkóur, covering
-his face, according to the Sikh author, from shame at his own disgrace.
-
-This sketch of the life of Góvind is compiled from his own works, and
-those of other Sikh writers, such as Nand and B'hai Gúrú Dás; and the
-events recorded, allowing for the colouring with which such narratives
-are written in the East, appear to be correct: the leading facts are
-almost all established by the evidence of contemporary Muhammedan
-writers, to whom we must trust for the remainder of his history; as
-the authorities we have followed end at the period of his flight from
-Chamkóur.
-
-Most accounts agree that Gúrú Góvind, after his flight, was, from a
-sense of his misfortunes, and the loss of his children, bereft of
-his reason, and wandered about for a considerable time in the most
-deplorable condition. One account states, that he died in the Penjáb;
-another, that he went to Patna, where he ended his days; a third, taken
-from a Sikh authority[50], asserts that Gúrú Góvind, after remaining
-some time in the Lak'hi-Jungle, to which he had fled, returned without
-molestation to his former residence in the Penjáb; and that, so far
-from meeting with any persecution from the Muhammedan government, he
-received favours from the emperor, Baháder Sháh; who, aware of his
-military talents, gave him a small military command in the Dek'hin,
-where he was stabbed by a Patán soldier's son, and expired of his
-wounds, in the year 1708, at Nadér, a town situated on the Godaveri
-river, about one hundred miles from Haiderabad.
-
-It is sufficiently established, from these contradictory and imperfect
-accounts of the latter years of Gúrú Góvind, that he performed no
-actions worthy of record after his flight from Chamkóur: and when we
-consider the enthusiastic ardour of his mind, his active habits, his
-valour, and the insatiable thirst of revenge, which he had cherished
-through life, against the murderers of his father, and the oppressors
-of his sect, we cannot think, when that leading passion of his mind
-must have been increased by the massacre of his children, and the
-death or mutilation[51] of his most attached followers, that he would
-have remained inactive; much less that he would have sunk into a
-servant of that government, against which he had been in constant
-rebellion: nor is it likely that such a leader as Gúrú Góvind could
-ever have been trusted by a Muhammedan prince: and there appears,
-therefore, every reason to give credit to those accounts which
-state, that mental distraction, in consequence of deep distress and
-disappointment, was the cause of the inactivity of Gúrú Góvind's
-declining years. Nor is such a conclusion at all at variance with the
-fact of his being killed at Nadér, as it is probable, even if he was
-reduced to the state described, that he continued, till the close of
-his existence, that wandering and adventurous life to which he had been
-so early accustomed.
-
-In the character of this reformer of the Sikhs, it is impossible not
-to recognise many of those features which have distinguished the most
-celebrated founders of political communities. The object he attempted
-was great and laudable. It was the emancipation of his tribe from
-oppression and persecution; and the means which he adopted, were such
-as a comprehensive mind could alone have suggested. The Muhammedan
-conquerors of India, as they added to their territories, added to their
-strength, by making proselytes through the double means of persuasion
-and force; and these, the moment they had adopted their faith, became
-the supporters of their power against the efforts of the Hindús; who,
-bound in the chains of their civil and religious institutions, could
-neither add to their number by admitting converts, nor allow more than
-a small proportion of the population of the country to arm against
-the enemy. Góvind saw that he could only hope for success by a bold
-departure from usages which were calculated to keep those, by whom they
-were observed, in a degraded subjection to an insulting and intolerant
-race. "You make Hindús Muhammedans, and are justified by your laws,"
-he is said to have written to Aurungzéb: "now I, on a principle of
-self-preservation, which is superior to all laws, will make Muhammedans
-Hindús[52]. You may rest," he added, "in fancied security: but beware!
-for I will teach the sparrow to strike the eagle to the ground." A fine
-allusion to his design of inspiring the lowest races among the Hindús
-with that valour and ambition which would lead them to perform the
-greatest actions.
-
-The manner in which Góvind endeavoured to accomplish the great plan
-he had formed, has been exhibited in the imperfect sketch given of
-his life. His efforts to establish that temporal power in his own
-person, of which he laid the foundation for his tribe, were daring and
-successful in as great a degree as circumstances would admit: but it
-was not possible he could create means, in a few years, to oppose, with
-success, the force of one of the greatest empires in the universe. The
-spirit, however, which he infused into his followers, was handed down
-as a rich inheritance to their children; who, though they consider Bábá
-Nánác as the author of their religion, revere, with a just gratitude,
-Gúrú Góvind, as the founder of their worldly greatness and political
-independence. They are conscious, indeed, that they have become,
-from the adoption of his laws and institutions, the scourge of their
-enemies; and have conquered and held, for more than half a century, the
-finest portion of the once great empire of the house of Taimúr.
-
-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.
-
-
-
-
-SECTION II.
-
-
-Neither the limits of this sketch, nor the materials from which it is
-drawn, will admit of my giving a particular or correct account of the
-countries possessed by the Sikhs, or of their forms of government,
-manners, and habits: but a cursory view of these subjects may be
-useful, and may excite and direct that curiosity which it cannot expect
-to gratify.
-
-The country now possessed by the Sikhs, which reaches from latitude
-28° 40' to beyond latitude 32° N., and includes all the Penjáb[67], a
-small part of Multán, and most of that tract of country which lies
-between the Jumna and the Satléj, is bounded, to the northward and
-westward, by the territories of the king of Cábul; to the eastward, by
-the possessions of the mountaineer Rájás of Jammu, Nadón, and Srínagar;
-and to the southward, by the territories of the English government, and
-the sandy deserts of Jasalmér and Hánsyá Hisár.
-
-The Sikhs, who inhabit the country between the Satléj and the Jumna,
-are called Málawá Singh, and were almost all converted from the Hindú
-tribes of Játs and Gujars. The title of Málawá Singh was conferred upon
-them for their extraordinary gallantry, under the Baírágí Banda, who is
-stated to have declared, that the countries granted to them should be
-fruitful as Málwá, one of the provinces[68] in India. The principal
-chiefs among the Málawá Singhs, are, Sáheb Singh, of Patiálá; B'hangá
-Singh, of T'hánésur; B'hág Singh, of Jhind; and B'hailal Singh, of
-Keintal. Besides these, there are several inferior chiefs, such as
-Gúrúdah Singh, Jud'h Singh, and Carm Singh; all of whom have a few
-villages, and some horse, and consider themselves independent; though
-they, in general, are content to secure their possessions by attaching
-themselves to one or other of the more powerful leaders.
-
-The country of the Málawá Singh is, in some parts, fruitful: but those
-districts of it, which border on Hánsyá and Carnál, are very barren;
-being covered with low wood, and, in many places, almost destitute of
-water. Sarhind was formerly the capital of this country; but it is now
-a complete ruin, and has probably never recovered the dreadful ravages
-of the Bairágí Banda, who is stated not only to have destroyed its
-mosques, but to have levelled all its palaces and public buildings
-with the ground. Patiálá is now the largest and most flourishing town
-of this province, and next to it T'hánésur, which is still held in
-high religious veneration by the Hindús; who have also a very high
-reverence for the river Seraswetí, which flows through this province.
-The territories of the chiefs of Málawá Singh are bounded to the N.
-W. by the Satléj; between which and the Béyah, is the country called
-the Jaléndra Beit, or Jaléndra Dúáb; the Sikhs inhabiting which are
-called the Dúábá Singh, or the Singhs who dwell between the rivers[69].
-The country of Jaléndra Dúáb, which reaches from the mountains to
-the junction of the Satléj and the Béyah, is the most fruitful of all
-the possessions of the Sikhs; and is, perhaps, excelled in climate
-and vegetation by no province of India. The soil is light, but very
-productive: the country, which is open and level, abounds with every
-kind of grain. That want of water, which is so much felt in other
-parts of India, must be here unknown; as it is found every where in
-abundance, within two, or at furthest three, feet from the surface of
-the soil. The towns of Jaléndra and Sultánpúr are the principal in the
-Dúáb.
-
-The country between the Béyah and Ráví rivers is called Bári Dúáb,
-or Mánj'há; and the Sikhs inhabiting it are called Mánj'há Singh.
-The cities of Lahore and Amritsar are both in this province; and it
-becomes, in consequence, the great centre of the power of this nation.
-Ranjít Singh, of Lahore; Fateh Singh[70], of Alluwál; and Jud'h Singh,
-of Rámgadiá[71]; are the principal chiefs of this country.
-
-The country of Bári is said to be less fertile, particularly towards
-the mountains, than Jaléndra; but, as it lies on the same level, it
-must possess nearly the same climate and soil.
-
-The inhabitants of the country between the Ráví and Chanháb, are called
-D'harpí Singh, from the country being called D'harpí. The D'haníghéb
-Singh are beyond the Chanháb[72], but within the Jéhalam river.
-
-The Sind Singh is the term by which the inhabitants of the districts
-under the Sikhs, bordering on the Sind, are known; and Nakái Singh is
-the name given to the Sikhs who reside in Multán. With the leaders of
-the Sikhs in these provinces, the extent of their possessions, or the
-climate and productions of the country under their rule, I am little
-acquainted. Those in Multán, as well as those settled on the river
-Jéhalam, are said to be constantly engaged in a predatory warfare,
-either with the officers of the Afghán government, or with Muhammedan
-chiefs who have jágírs in their vicinity.
-
-The government of the Sikhs, considered in its theory, may, as has been
-before stated, be termed a theocracy. They obey a temporal chief, it is
-true; but that chief preserves his power and authority by professing
-himself the servant of the Khálsá[73], or government, which can only
-be said to act, in times of great public emergency, through the means
-of a national council, of which every chief is a member, and which is
-supposed to deliberate and resolve under the immediate inspiration and
-impulse of an invisible being; who, they believe, always watches over
-the interests of the commonwealth.
-
-The nature of the power established by the temporal chiefs of the
-Sikhs, has been sufficiently explained in the narrative of their
-history. It will be necessary, before any account is given of the forms
-and actions of their Gúrú-matá, or great national council, which is
-intended to have a supreme authority over their federative republic, to
-take a view of that body of Acálís, or immortals, who, under the double
-character of fanatic priests and desperate soldiers, have usurped
-the sole direction of all religious affairs at Amritsar, and are,
-consequently, leading men in a council which is held at that sacred
-place, and which deliberates under all the influence of religious
-enthusiasm.
-
-The Acálís[74] are a class of Sikh devotees; who, agreeably to the
-historians of that nation, were first founded by Gúrú Góvind, whose
-institutes, as it has been before stated, they most zealously defended
-against the innovations of the Bairágí Banda. They wear blue chequered
-clothes, and bangles, or bracelets of steel[75], round their wrists,
-initiate converts, and have almost the sole direction of the religious
-ceremonies at Amritsar, where they reside, and of which they deem
-themselves the defenders; and, consequently, never desire to quit it
-unless in cases of great extremity.
-
-This order of Sikhs have a place, or Bungá[76], on the bank of the
-sacred reservoir of Amritsar, where they generally resort, but are
-individually possessed of property, though they affect poverty,
-and subsist upon charity; which, however, since their numbers have
-increased, they generally extort, by accusing the principal chiefs of
-crimes, imposing fines upon them; and, in the event of their refusing
-to pay, preventing them from performing their ablutions, or going
-through any of their religious ceremonies at Amritsar.
-
-It will not, when the above circumstances are considered, be thought
-surprising, that the most powerful of the Sikh chiefs should desire
-to conciliate this body of fanatics, no individual of which can be
-offended with impunity, as the cause of one is made the cause of the
-whole; and a chief, who is become unpopular with the Acálís, must not
-only avoid Amritsar, but is likely to have his dependants taught, when
-they pay their devotions at that place, that it is pious to resist his
-authority.
-
-The Acálís have a great interest in maintaining both the religion and
-government of the Sikhs, as established by Gúrú Góvind; as, on its
-continuance in that shape, their religious and political influence
-must depend. Should Amritsar cease to be a place of resort, or be no
-longer considered as the religious capital of the state, in which all
-questions that involve the general interests of the commonwealth are
-to be decided, this formidable order would at once fall from that
-power and consideration which they now possess, to a level with other
-mendicants.
-
-When a Gúrú-matá, or great national council, is called, (as it always
-is, or ought to be, when any imminent danger threatens the country, or
-any large expedition is to be undertaken,) all the Sikh chiefs assemble
-at Amritsar. The assembly, which is called the Gúrú-matá, is convened
-by the Acálís; and when the chiefs meet upon this solemn occasion, it
-is concluded that all private animosities cease, and that every man
-sacrifices his personal feelings at the shrine of the general good;
-and, actuated by principles of pure patriotism, thinks of nothing but
-the interests of the religion, and commonwealth, to which he belongs.
-
-When the chiefs and principal leaders are seated, the Adí-Grant'h and
-Dasama Pádsháh ká Grant'h are placed before them. They all bend their
-heads before these scriptures, and exclaim, _Wá! Gúrúji ká Khálsa! Wá!
-Gúrúji ki Fateh!_ A great quantity of cakes, made of wheat, butter,
-and sugar, are then placed before the volumes of their sacred writings,
-and covered with a cloth. These holy cakes, which are in commemoration
-of the injunction of Nánac, to eat and to give to others to eat, next
-receive the salutation of the assembly, who then rise, and the Acálís
-pray aloud, while the musicians play. The Acálís, when the prayers
-are finished, desire the council to be seated. They sit down, and the
-cakes being uncovered, are eaten of by all classes[77] of Sikhs: those
-distinctions of original tribes, which are, on other occasions, kept
-up, being on this occasion laid aside, in token of their general and
-complete union in one cause[78]. The Acálís then exclaim: "Sirdars!
-(chiefs) this is a Gúrú-matá!" on which prayers are again said aloud.
-The chiefs, after this, sit closer, and say to each other: "The sacred
-Grant'h is betwixt us, let us swear by our scripture to forget all
-internal disputes, and to be united." This moment of religious fervor
-and ardent patriotism, is taken to reconcile all animosities. They
-then proceed to consider the danger with which they are threatened,
-to settle the best plans for averting it, and to choose the generals
-who are to lead their armies[79] against the common enemy. The first
-Gúrú-matá was assembled by Gúrú Góvind; and the latest was called in
-1805, when the British army pursued Holkár into the Penjáb.
-
-The principal chiefs of the Sikhs are all descended from Hindú tribes.
-There is, indeed, no instance of a Singh of a Muhammedan family
-attaining high power[80]: a circumstance to be accounted for from
-the hatred still cherished, by the followers of Gúrú Góvind, against
-the descendants of his persecutors: and that this rancorous spirit
-is undiminished, may be seen from their treatment of the wretched
-Muhammedans who yet remain in their territories. These, though very
-numerous, appear to be all poor, and to be an oppressed, despised
-race. They till the ground, and are employed to carry burdens, and to
-do all kinds of hard labour: they are not allowed to eat beef, or to
-say their prayers aloud, and but seldom assemble in their mosques[81];
-of which few, indeed, have escaped destruction. The lower order of
-Sikhs are more happy: they are protected from the tyranny and violence
-of the chiefs, under whom they live, by the precepts of their common
-religion, and by the condition of their country, which enables them
-to abandon, whenever they choose, a leader whom they dislike; and the
-distance of a few miles generally places them under the protection
-of his rival and enemy. It is from this cause that the lowest Sikh
-horseman usually assumes a very independent style, and the highest
-chief treats his military followers with attention and conciliation.
-The civil officers,--to whom the chiefs intrust their accounts, and
-the management of their property and revenue concerns, as well as the
-conduct of their negotiations,--are, in general, Sikhs of the Khalása
-cast; who, being followers of Nánac, and not of Gúrú Góvind, are not
-devoted to arms, but educated for peaceful occupations, in which they
-often become very expert and intelligent.
-
-In the collection of the revenue in the Penjáb it is stated to be a
-general rule, that the chiefs, to whom the territories belong, should
-receive one half of the produce[82], and the farmer the other: but
-the chief never levies the whole of his share: and in no country,
-perhaps, is the Rayat, or cultivator, treated with more indulgence.
-Commerce is not so much encouraged; heavy duties are levied upon it by
-all petty rulers through whose districts it passes: and this, added to
-the distracted state in which the Penjáb has been, from the internal
-disputes of its possessors, caused the rich produce of Cásmír to be
-carried to India by the difficult and mountainous tract of Jammu,
-Nadón, and Srínagar. The Sikh chiefs have, however, discovered the
-injury which their interests have suffered from this cause, and have
-endeavoured, and not without success, to restore confidence to the
-merchant; and great part of the shawl trade now flows through the
-cities of Lahore, Amritsar, and Patiálá, to Hindústan.
-
-The administration of justice in the countries under the Sikhs, is
-in a very rude and imperfect state; for, though their scriptures
-inculcate general maxims of justice, they are not considered, as the
-Old Testament is by the Jews, or the Korán by the Muhammedans, as
-books of law: and, having no fixed code, they appear to have adopted
-that irregular practice, which is most congenial to the temper of the
-people, and best suited to the unsteady and changing character of their
-rule of government. The following appears to be the general outline of
-their practice in the administration of justice.
-
-Trifling disputes about property are settled by the heads of the
-village, by arbitration[83], or by the chiefs. Either of these modes,
-supposing the parties consent to refer to it, is final; and they must
-agree to one or other. If a theft occurs, the property is recovered,
-and the party punished by the person from whom it was stolen, who
-is aided on such occasions by the inhabitants of his village, or
-his chief. The punishment, however, is never capital[84]. Murder is
-generally revenged by the relations of the deceased, who, in such
-cases, rigorously retaliate on the murderer, and often on all who
-endeavour to protect him.
-
-The character of the Sikhs, or rather Singhs, which is the name by
-which the followers of Gúrú Góvind, who are all devoted to arms, are
-distinguished, is very marked. They have, in general, the Hindú cast
-of countenance, somewhat altered by their long beards, and are to
-the full as active as the Mahrátas; and much more robust, from their
-living fuller, and enjoying a better and colder climate. Their courage
-is equal, at all times, to that of any natives of India; and when
-wrought upon by prejudice or religion, is quite desperate. They are
-all horsemen, and have no infantry in their own country, except for
-the defence of their forts and villages, though they generally serve
-as infantry in foreign armies. They are bold, and rather rough, in
-their address; which appears more to a stranger from their invariably
-speaking in a loud tone[85] of voice: but this is quite a habit,
-and is alike used by them to express the sentiments of regard and
-hatred. The Sikhs have been reputed deceitful and cruel; but I know
-no grounds upon which they can be considered more so than the other
-tribes of India. They seemed to me, from all the intercourse I had
-with them, to be more open and sincere than the Mahrátas, and less
-rude and savage than the Afgháns. They have, indeed, become, from
-national success, too proud of their own strength, and too irritable
-in their tempers, to have patience for the wiles of the former; and
-they retain, in spite of their change of manners and religion, too much
-of the original character of their Hindú ancestors, (for the great
-majority are of the Hindú race,) to have the constitutional ferocity
-of the latter. The Sikh soldier is, generally speaking, brave, active,
-and cheerful, without polish, but neither destitute of sincerity nor
-attachment; and if he often appears wanting in humanity, it is not so
-much to be attributed to his national character, as to the habits of a
-life, which, from the condition of the society in which he is born, is
-generally passed in scenes of violence and rapine.
-
-The Sikh merchant, or cultivator of the soil, if he is a Singh, differs
-little in character from the soldier, except that his occupation
-renders him less presuming and boisterous. He also wears arms, and is,
-from education, prompt to use them whenever his individual interest,
-or that of the community in which he lives[86], requires him to do so.
-The general occupations of the Khalása Sikhs has been before mentioned.
-Their character differs widely from that of the Singhs. Full of
-intrigue, pliant, versatile, and insinuating, they have all the art of
-the lower classes of Hindús, who are usually employed in transacting
-business: from whom, indeed, as they have no distinction of dress, it
-is very difficult to distinguish them.
-
-The religious tribes of Acálís, Shahíd, and Nirmala, have been
-noticed. Their general character is formed from their habits of life.
-The Acálís are insolent, ignorant, and daring: presuming upon those
-rights which their numbers and fanatic courage have established, their
-deportment is hardly tolerant to the other Sikhs, and insufferable to
-strangers, for whom they entertain a contempt, which they take little
-pains to conceal. The Sháhíd and the Nirmala, particularly the latter,
-have more knowledge, and more urbanity. They are almost all men of
-quiet, peaceable habits; and many of them are said to possess learning.
-
-There is another tribe among the Sikhs, called the Nánac Pautra,
-or descendants of Nánac, who have the character of being a mild,
-inoffensive race; and, though they do not acknowledge the institutions
-of Gúrú Góvind, they are greatly revered by his followers, who hold it
-sacrilege to injure the race of their founder; and, under the advantage
-which this general veneration affords them, the Nánac Pautra pursue
-their occupations; which, if they are not mendicants, is generally
-that of travelling merchants. They do not carry arms; and profess,
-agreeably to the doctrine of Nánac, to be at peace[87] with all mankind.
-
-The Sikh converts, it has been before stated, continue, after they have
-quitted their original religion, all those civil usages and customs
-of the tribes to which they belonged, that they can practise, without
-infringing the tenets of Nánac, or the institutions of Gúrú Góvind.
-They are most particular with regard to their intermarriages; and, on
-this point, Sikhs descended from Hindús almost invariably conform to
-Hindú customs, every tribe intermarrying within itself. The Hindú
-usage, regarding diet, is also held equally sacred; no Sikh, descended
-from a Hindú family, ever violating it, except upon particular
-occasions, such as a Gúrú-matá, when they are obliged, by their tenets
-and institutions, to eat promiscuously. The strict observance of these
-usages has enabled many of the Sikhs, particularly of the Ját[88] and
-Gujar[89] tribes, which include almost all those settled to the south
-of the Satléj, to preserve an intimate intercourse with their original
-tribes; who, considering the Sikhs not as having lost cast, but as
-Hindús that have joined a political association, which obliges them
-to conform to general rules established for its preservation, neither
-refuse to intermarry[90] nor to eat with them.
-
-The higher cast of Hindús, such as Bráhmens and Cshatríyas, who have
-become Sikhs, continue to intermarry with converts of their own tribes,
-but not with Hindús of the cast they have abandoned, as they are
-polluted by eating animal food; all kinds of which are lawful to Sikhs,
-except the cow, which it is held sacrilege to slay[91]. Nánac, whose
-object was to conciliate the Muhammedans to his creed, prohibited hog's
-flesh also; but it was introduced by his successors, as much, perhaps,
-from a spirit of revenge against the Moslems, as from considerations of
-indulgence to the numerous converts of the Ját and Gujar tribe, among
-whom wild hog is a favourite species of food.
-
-The Muhammedans, who become Sikhs, intermarry with each other, but are
-allowed to preserve none of their usages, being obliged to eat hog's
-flesh, and abstain from circumcision.
-
-The Sikhs are forbid the use of tobacco[92], but allowed to indulge
-in spirituous[93] liquors, which they almost all drink to excess; and
-it is rare to see a Singh soldier, after sunset, quite sober. Their
-drink is an ardent spirit[94], made in the Penjáb; but they have no
-objections to either the wine or spirits of Europe, when they can
-obtain them.
-
-The use of opium, to intoxicate, is very common with the Sikhs, as
-with most of the military tribes of India. They also take B'hang[95],
-another inebriating drug.
-
-The conduct of the Sikhs to their women differs in no material respect
-from that of the tribes of Hindús, or Muhammedans, from whom they are
-descended. Their moral character with regard to women, and indeed in
-most other points, may, from the freedom of their habits, generally
-be considered as much more lax than that of their ancestors, who
-lived under the restraint of severe restrictions, and whose fear of
-excommunication from their cast, at least obliged them to cover their
-sins with the veil of decency. This the emancipated Sikhs despise: and
-there is hardly an infamy which this debauched and dissolute race are
-not accused (and I believe with justice) of committing in the most open
-and shameful manner.
-
-The Sikhs are almost all horsemen, and they take great delight in
-riding. Their horses were, a few years ago, famous; and those bred in
-the Lak'hi Jungle, and other parts of their territory, were justly
-celebrated for their strength, temper, and activity: but the internal
-distractions of these territories has been unfavourable to the
-encouragement of the breed, which has consequently declined; and the
-Sikhs now are in no respect better mounted than the Mahrátas. From a
-hundred of their cavalry it would be difficult to select ten horses
-that would be admitted as fit to mount native troopers in the English
-service.
-
-Their horsemen use swords and spears, and most of them now carry
-matchlocks, though some still use the bow and arrow; a species of arms,
-for excellence in the use of which their forefathers were celebrated,
-and which their descendants appear to abandon with great reluctance.
-
-The education of the Sikhs renders them hardy, and capable of great
-fatigue; and the condition of the society in which they live, affords
-constant exercise to that restless spirit of activity and enterprise
-which their religion has generated. Such a race cannot be epicures:
-they appear, indeed, generally to despise luxury of diet, and pride
-themselves in their coarse fare. Their dress is also plain, not unlike
-that of the Hindús, equally light and divested of ornament. Some
-of the chiefs wear gold bangles; but this is rare; and the general
-characteristic of their dress and mode of living, is simplicity.
-
-The principal leaders among the Sikhs affect to be familiar and easy
-of intercourse with their inferiors, and to despise the pomp and
-state of the Muhammedan chiefs: but their pride often counteracts
-this disposition; and they appeared to me to have, in proportion to
-their rank and consequence, more state, and to maintain equal, if not
-more, reserve and dignity with their followers, than is usual with the
-Mahráta chiefs.
-
-It would be difficult, if not impracticable, to ascertain the amount
-of the population of the Sikh territories, or even to compute the
-number of the armies which they could bring into action. They boast
-that they can raise more than a hundred thousand horse: and, if it
-were possible to assemble every Sikh horseman, this statement might
-not be an exaggeration: but there is, perhaps, no chief among them,
-except Ranjít Singh, of Lahore, that could bring an effective body of
-four thousand men into the field. The force of Ranjít Singh did not,
-in 1805, amount to eight thousand; and part of that was under chiefs
-who had been subdued from a state of independence, and whose turbulent
-minds ill brooked an usurpation which they deemed subversive of the
-constitution of their commonwealth. His army is now more numerous than
-it was, but it is composed of materials which have no natural cohesion;
-and the first serious check which it meets, will probably cause its
-dissolution.
-
-FOOTNOTES:
-
-[67] A general estimate of the value of the country possessed by the
-Sikhs may be formed, when it is stated, that it contains, besides other
-countries, the whole of the province of Lahore; which, agreeable to Mr.
-Bernier, produced, in the reign of Aurungzéb, two hundred and forty-six
-lacks and ninety-five thousand rupees; or two millions, four hundred
-and sixty-nine thousand, five hundred pounds sterling.
-
-[68] This province now forms almost the whole territory of Daulet Ráo
-Sindíá.
-
-[69] With the chiefs of the Sikhs in the Jaléndra Dúáb we are little
-acquainted. Tárá Singh is the most considerable; but he and the others
-have been greatly weakened by their constant and increasing internal
-divisions.
-
-[70] Fateh Singh is, like Ranjít Singh, of a Ját family.
-
-[71] Jud'h Singh, of Ramgadiá, is of the carpenter cast.
-
-[72] The term Gujarát Singh is sometimes given to the inhabitants of
-this Dúáb, of which the chiefs of Gujarát and Rotás are the principal
-rulers.
-
-[73] The word Khálsá, which has before been explained to mean the state
-or commonwealth, is supposed, by the Sikhs, to have a mystical meaning,
-and to imply that superior government, under the protection of which
-"they live, and to the established rules and laws of which, as fixed by
-Gúrú Góvind, it is their civil and religious duty to conform."
-
-[74] Acálí, derived from Acál, a compound term of _cál_, _death_, and
-the Sanscrit privative _a_, which means _never-dying_, or _immortal_.
-It is one of the names of the Divinity; and has, probably, been given
-to this remarkable class of devotees, from their always exclaiming
-Acál! Acál! in their devotions.
-
-[75] All Singhs do not wear bracelets; but it is indispensable to have
-steel about their persons, which they generally have in the shape of a
-knife or dagger. In support of this ordinance they quote the following
-verses of Gúrú Góvind:
-
-  Sáheb beá ki rach'ha hamné,
-  Tuhi Srí Sáheb, churi, káti, katár--
-  Acál purukh ki rach'ha hamné,
-  Serv lóh di rach'ha hamné,
-  Servacál di rach'ha hamné,
-  Serv lohji di sada rach'ha hamné.
-
-which may be translated: "The protection of the infinite Lord is
-over us: thou art the lord, the cutlass, the knife, and the dagger.
-The protection of the immortal Being is over us: the protection of
-ALL-STEEL is over us: the protection of ALL-TIME is over us: the
-protection of ALL-STEEL is constantly over us."
-
-[76] The Shahíd and Nirmala, two other religious tribes among the
-Sikhs, have Bungás, or places, upon the great reservoir of Amritsar;
-but both these are peaceful orders of priests, whose duty is to address
-the Deity, and to read and explain the Adí-Grant'h to the Sikhs. They
-are, in general, men of some education. A Sikh, of any tribe, may be
-admitted into either of these classes, as among the Acálís, who admit
-all into their body who choose to conform to their rules.
-
-[77] A custom of a similar nature, with regard to all tribes eating
-promiscuously, is observed among the Hindús, at the temple of
-Jagannáth, where men of all religions and casts, without distinction,
-eat of the Mahá Prasád, _the great offering_; i.e. food dressed by the
-cooks of the idols, and sold on the stairs of the temple.
-
-[78] The Sikh priest, who gave an account of this custom, was of a high
-Hindú tribe; and, retaining some of his prejudices, he at first said,
-that Muhammedan Sikhs, and those who were converts from the sweeper
-cast, were obliged, even on this occasion, to eat a little apart from
-the other Sikhs: but, on being closely questioned, he admitted the fact
-as stated in the narrative; saying, however, it was only on this solemn
-occasion that these tribes are admitted to eat with the others.
-
-[79] The army is called, when thus assembled, the Dal Khálsá, or the
-army of the state.
-
-[80] The Muhammedans who have become Sikhs, and their descendants, are,
-in the Penjábi jargon, termed Mezhebi Singh, or Singhs of the faith;
-and they are subdivided into the four classes which are vulgarly,
-but erroneously, supposed to distinguish the followers of Muhammed,
-Sayyad Singh, Sheikh Singh, Moghul Singh, and Patán Singh; by which
-designations the names of the particular race or country of the
-Muhammedans have been affixed, by Hindús, as distinctions of cast.
-
-[81] The Muhammedan inhabitants of the Penjáb used to flock to the
-British camp; where, they said, they enjoyed luxuries which no man
-could appreciate that had not suffered privation. They could pray
-aloud, and feast upon beef.
-
-[82] Grain pays in kind; sugar-cane, melons, &c. pay in cash.
-
-[83] This is called Penchayat, or a court of five; the general number
-of arbitrators chosen to adjust differences and disputes. It is usual
-to assemble a Panchayat, or a court of arbitration, in every part of
-India, under a native government; and, as they are always chosen from
-men of the best reputation in the place where they meet, this court has
-a high character for justice.
-
-[84] A Sikh priest, who has been several years in Calcutta, gave this
-outline of the administration of justice among his countrymen. He spoke
-of it with rapture; and insisted, with true patriotic prejudice, on its
-great superiority over the vexatious system of the English government;
-which was, he said, tedious, vexatious, and expensive, and advantageous
-only to clever rogues.
-
-[85] Talking aloud is so habitual to a Sikh, that he bawls a secret
-in your ear. It has often occurred to me, that they have acquired it
-from living in a country where internal disputes have so completely
-destroyed confidence, that they can only carry on conversation with
-each other at a distance: but it is fairer, perhaps, to impute this
-boisterous and rude habit to their living almost constantly in a camp,
-in which the voice certainly loses that nice modulated tone which
-distinguishes the more polished inhabitants of cities.
-
-[86] The old Sikh soldier generally returns to his native village,
-where his wealth, courage, or experience, always obtains him respect,
-and sometimes station and consequence. The second march which the
-British army made into the country of the Sikhs, the headquarters were
-near a small village, the chief of which, who was upwards of a hundred
-years of age, had been a soldier, and retained all the look and manner
-of his former occupation. He came to me, and expressed his anxiety to
-see Lord Lake. I showed him the general, who was sitting alone, in
-his tent, writing. He smiled, and said he knew better: "The hero who
-had overthrown Sindiá and Holkár, and had conquered Hindústan, must
-be surrounded with attendants, and have plenty of persons to write
-for him." I assured him that it was Lord Lake; and, on his lordship
-coming to breakfast, I introduced the old Singh, who seeing a number
-of officers collect round him, was at last satisfied of the truth of
-what I said; and, pleased with the great kindness and condescension
-with which he was treated by one whom he justly thought so great a man,
-sat down on the carpet, became quite talkative, and related all he
-had seen, from the invasion of Nádir Sháh to that moment. Lord Lake,
-pleased with the bold manliness of his address, and the independence
-of his sentiments, told him he would grant him any favour he wished.
-"I am glad of it," said the old man; "then march away with your army
-from my village, which will otherwise be destroyed." Lord Lake, struck
-with the noble spirit of the request, assured him he would march next
-morning, and that, in the mean-time, he should have guards, who would
-protect his village from injury. Satisfied with this assurance, the old
-Singh was retiring, apparently full of admiration and gratitude at Lord
-Lake's goodness, and of wonder at the scene he had witnessed, when,
-meeting two officers at the door of the tent, he put a hand upon the
-breast of each, exclaiming at the same time, "_Brothers! where were you
-born, and where are you at this moment?_" and, without waiting for an
-answer, proceeded to his village.
-
-[87] When Lord Lake entered the Penjáb, in 1805, a general protection
-was requested, by several principal chiefs, for the Nánac Pautra,
-on the ground of the veneration in which they were held, which
-enabled them, it was stated, to travel all over the country without
-molestation, even when the most violent wars existed. It was, of
-course, granted.
-
-[88] The Játs are Hindús of a low tribe, who, taking advantage of the
-decline of the Moghul empire, have, by their courage and enterprise,
-raised themselves into some consequence on the north-western parts of
-Hindústan, and many of the strongest forts of that part of India are
-still in their possession.
-
-[89] The Gujars, who are also Hindús, have raised themselves to power
-by means not dissimilar to those used by the Játs. Almost all the
-thieves in Hindústan are of this tribe.
-
-[90] A marriage took place very lately between the Sikh chief of
-Patiálá, and that of the Ját Rájá, of B'haratpúr.
-
-[91] Their prejudice regarding the killing of cows is stronger, if
-possible, than that of the Hindús.
-
-[92] The Khalása Sikhs, who follow Nánac, and reject Gúrú Góvind's
-institutions, make use of it.
-
-[93] Spirituous liquors, they say, are allowed by that verse in the
-Adí-Grant'h, which states, "Eat, and give unto others to eat. Drink,
-and give unto others to drink. Be glad, and make others glad." There
-is also an authority, quoted by the Sikhs, from the Hindú Sástras,
-in favour of this drinking to excess. Durgá, agreeably to the Sikh
-quotations, used to drink, because liquor inspires courage; and this
-goddess, they say, was drunk when she slew Mahíshásur.
-
-[94] When Fateh Singh, of Aluwál, who was quite a young man, was with
-the British army, Lord Lake gratified him by a field review. He was
-upon an elephant, and I attended him upon another. A little before
-sunset he became low and uneasy. I observed it; and B'hág Singh, an old
-chief, of frank, rough manners, at once said, "Fateh Singh wants his
-dram, but is ashamed to drink before you." I requested he would follow
-his custom, which he did, by drinking a large cup of spirits.
-
-[95] Cannabis sativa.
-
-
-
-
-SECTION III.
-
-
-There is no branch of this sketch which is more curious and important,
-or that offers more difficulties to the inquirer, than the religion of
-the Sikhs. We meet with a creed of pure deism, grounded on the most
-sublime general truths, blended with the belief of all the absurdities
-of the Hindú mythology, and the fables of Muhammedanism; for Nánac
-professed a desire to reform, not to destroy, the religion of the
-tribe in which he was born; and, actuated by the great and benevolent
-design of reconciling the jarring faiths of Brahmá and Muhammed, he
-endeavoured to conciliate both Hindús and Moslems to his doctrine, by
-persuading them to reject those parts of their respective beliefs and
-usages, which, he contended, were unworthy of that God whom they both
-adored. He called upon the Hindús to abandon the worship of idols, and
-to return to that pure devotion of the Deity, in which their religion
-originated. He called upon the Muhammedans to abstain from practices,
-like the slaughter of cows, that were offensive to the religion of the
-Hindús, and to cease from the persecution of that race. He adopted,
-in order to conciliate them, many of the maxims which he had learnt
-from mendicants, who professed the principles of the Súfi sect; and
-he constantly referred to the admired writings of the celebrated
-Muhammedan Kabír[96], who was a professed Súfi, and who inculcated
-the doctrine of the equality of the relation of all created beings to
-their Creator. Nánac endeavoured, with all the power of his own genius,
-aided by such authorities, to impress both Hindús and Muhammedans with
-a love of toleration and an abhorrence of war; and his life was as
-peaceable as his doctrine. He appears, indeed, to have adopted, from
-the hour in which he abandoned his worldly occupations to that of his
-death, the habits practised by that crowd of holy mendicants, Sanyásís
-and Fakírs, with whom India swarms. He conformed to their customs; and
-his extraordinary austerities[97] are a constant theme of praise with
-his followers. His works are all in praise of God; but he treats the
-polytheism of the Hindús with respect, and even veneration. He never
-shows a disposition to destroy the fabric, but only wishes to divest
-it of its useless tinsel and false ornaments, and to establish its
-complete dependence upon the great Creator of the universe. He speaks
-every where of Muhammed, and his successors, with moderation; but
-animadverts boldly on what he conceives to be their errors; and, above
-all, on their endeavours to propagate their faith by the sword.
-
-As Nánac made no material invasion of either the civil or religious
-usages of the Hindús, and as his only desire was to restore a nation
-who had degenerated from their original pure worship[98] into
-idolatry, he may be considered more in the light of a reformer than
-of a subverter of the Hindú religion; and those Sikhs who adhere to
-his tenets, without admitting those of Gúrú Góvind, are hardly to be
-distinguished from the great mass of Hindú population; among whom there
-are many sects who differ, much more than that of Nánac, from the
-general and orthodox worship at present established in India.
-
-The first successors of Nánac appear to have taught exactly the
-same doctrine as their leader; and though Har Góvind armed all his
-followers, it was on a principle of self-defence, in which he was
-fully justified, even by the usage of the Hindús. It was reserved for
-Gúrú Góvind to give a new character to the religion of his followers;
-not by making any material alteration in the tenets of Nánac, but
-by establishing institutions and usages, which not only separated
-them from other Hindús, but which, by the complete abolition of all
-distinction of casts, destroyed, at one blow, a system of civil polity,
-that, from being interwoven with the religion of a weak and bigoted
-race, fixed the rule of its priests upon a basis that had withstood the
-shock of ages. Though the code of the Hindús was calculated to preserve
-a vast community in tranquillity and obedience to its rulers, it had
-the natural effect of making the country, in which it was established,
-an easy conquest to every powerful foreign invader; and it appears
-to have been the contemplation of this effect that made Gúrú Góvind
-resolve on the abolition of cast, as a necessary and indispensable
-prelude to any attempt to arm the original native population of India
-against their foreign tyrants. He called upon all Hindús to break
-those chains in which prejudice and bigotry had bound them, and to
-devote themselves to arms, as the only means by which they could free
-themselves from the oppressive government of the Muhammedans; against
-whom, a sense of his own wrongs, and those of his tribe, led him to
-preach eternal warfare. His religious doctrine was meant to be popular,
-and it promised equality. The invidious appellations of Bráhmen,
-Cshatríya, Vaisya, and Súdra, were abolished. The pride of descent
-might remain, and keep up some distinctions; but, in the religious code
-of Góvind, every Khálsa Singh (for such he termed his followers) was
-equal, and had a like title to the good things of this world, and to
-the blessings of a future life.
-
-Though Gúrú Góvind mixes, even more than Nánac, the mythology of the
-Hindús with his own tenets; though his desire to conciliate them, in
-opposition to the Muhammedans, against whom he always breathed war and
-destruction, led him to worship at Hindú sacred shrines; and though the
-peculiar customs and dress among his followers, are stated to have been
-adopted from veneration to the Hindú goddess of courage, Dúrga Bhavání;
-yet it is impossible to reconcile the religion and usages, which
-Góvind has established, with the belief of the Hindús. It does not,
-like that of Nánac, question some favourite dogmas of the disciples of
-Brahmá, and attack that worship of idols, which few of these defend,
-except upon the ground of these figures, before which they bend,
-being symbolical representations of the attributes of an all-powerful
-Divinity; but it proceeds at once to subvert the foundation of the
-whole system. Wherever the religion of Gúrú Góvind prevails, the
-institutions of Brahmá must fall. The admission of proselytes, the
-abolition of the distinctions of cast, the eating of all kinds of
-flesh, except that of cows, the form of religious worship, and the
-general devotion of all Singhs to arms, are ordinances altogether
-irreconcileable with Hindú mythology, and have rendered the religion
-of the Sikhs as obnoxious to the Bráhmens, and higher tribes of the
-Hindús, as it is popular with the lower orders of that numerous class
-of mankind.
-
-After this rapid sketch of the general character of the religion of
-the Sikhs, I shall take a more detailed view of its origin, progress,
-tenets, and forms.
-
-A Sikh author[99], whom I have followed in several parts of this
-sketch, is very particular in stating the causes of the origin of
-the religion of Nánac: he describes the different Yugas, or ages of
-the world, stated in the Hindú mythology. The Cáli Yug, which is the
-present, is that in which it was written that the human race would
-become completely depraved: "Discord," says the author, speaking of the
-Cáli Yug, "will rise in the world, sin prevail, and the universe become
-wicked; cast will contend with cast; and, like bamboos in friction,
-consume each other to embers. The Védas, or scriptures," he adds,
-"will be held in disrepute, for they shall not be understood, and the
-darkness of ignorance will prevail every where." Such is this author's
-record of a divine prophecy regarding this degenerate age. He proceeds
-to state what has ensued: "Every one followed his own path, and sects
-were separated; some worshipped Chandra (the moon); some Surya (the
-sun); some prayed to the earth, to the sky, and the air, and the water,
-and the fire, while others worshipped D'herma Rájá (the judge of the
-dead); and in the fallacy of the sects nothing was to be found but
-error. In short, pride prevailed in the world, and the four casts[100]
-established a system of ascetic devotion. From these, the ten sects
-of Sanyásís, and the twelve sects of Yógis, originated. The Jangam,
-the Srívíra, and the Déva Digambar, entered into mutual contests. The
-Bráhmens divided into different classes; and the Sástras, Védas, and
-Puránas[101], contradicted each other. The six Dersans (philosophical
-sects) exhibited enmity, and the thirty-six Páshands (heterodox sects)
-arose, with hundreds of thousands of chimerical and magical (_tantra
-mantra_) sects: and thus, from one form, many good and many evil forms
-originated, and error prevailed in the Cáli Yug, or age of general
-depravity."
-
-The Sikh author pursues this account of the errors into which the
-Hindús fell, with a curious passage regarding the origin and progress
-of the Muhammedan religion.
-
-"The world," he writes, "went on with these numerous divisions,
-when Muhammed Yara[102] appeared, who gave origin to the seventy-two
-sects[103], and widely disseminated discord and war. He established the
-Rózeh o Aíd (fast and festivals), and the Namáz (prayer), and made his
-practice of devotional acts prevalent in the world, with a multitude of
-distinctions, of Pír (saint), Paighamber (prophet), Ulemá (the order
-of priesthood), and Kitàb (the Korán). He demolished the temples,
-and on their ruins built the mosques, slaughtering cows and helpless
-persons, and spreading transgression far and wide, holding in hostility
-Cáfirs (infidels), Mulhids (idolaters), Irmenis (Armenians), Rumis (the
-Turks), and Zingis (Ethiopians). Thus vice greatly diffused itself in
-the universe."
-
-"Then," this author adds, "there were two races in the world; the one
-Hindú, the other Muhammedan; and both were alike excited by pride,
-enmity, and avarice, to violence. The Hindús set their heart on Gangá
-and Benares; the Muhammedans on Mecca and the Cáaba: the Hindús clung
-to their mark on the forehead and brahminical string; the Moslemans
-to their circumcision: the one cried Rám (the name of an Avatár), the
-other Rahím (the merciful); one name, but two ways of pronouncing it;
-forgetting equally the Védas and the Korán: and through the deceptions
-of lust, avarice, the world, and Satan, they swerved equally from the
-true path: while Bráhmens and Moulavis destroyed each other by their
-quarrels, and the vicissitudes of life and death hung always suspended
-over their heads.
-
-"When the world was in this distracted state, and vice prevailed,"
-says this writer, "the complaint of virtue, whose dominion was
-extinct, reached the throne of the Almighty, who created Nánac, to
-enlighten and improve a degenerate and corrupt age: and that holy man
-made God the Supreme known to all, giving the nectareous water that
-washed his feet to his disciples to drink. He restored to Virtue her
-strength, blended the four casts[104] into one, established one mode of
-salutation, changed the childish play of bending the head at the feet
-of idols, taught the worship of the true God, and reformed a depraved
-world."
-
-Nánac appears, by the account of this author, to have established
-his fame for sanctity by the usual modes of religious mendicants. He
-performed severe Tapasa[105], living upon sand and swallow-wort, and
-sleeping on sharp pebbles; and, after attaining fame by this kind of
-penance, he commenced his travels, with the view of spreading his
-doctrine over the earth.
-
-After Nánac had completed his terrestrial travels, he is supposed to
-have ascended to Suméru, where he saw the Sidd'his[106], all seated in
-a circle. These, from a knowledge of that eminence for which he was
-predestined, wished to make him assume the characteristic devotion of
-their sect, to which they thought he would be an ornament. While means
-were used to effect this purpose, a divine voice was heard to exclaim:
-"Nánac shall form his own sect, distinct from all the Yatís[107] and
-Sidd'his; and his name shall be joyful to the Cáli Yug." After this,
-Nánac preached the adoration of the true God to the Hindús; and then
-went to instruct the Muhammedans, in their sacred temples at Mecca.
-When at that place, the holy men are said to have gathered round him,
-and demanded, Whether their faith, or that of the Hindús, was the best?
-"Without the practice of true piety, both," said Nánac, "are erroneous,
-and neither Hindús nor Moslems will be acceptable before the throne of
-God; for the faded tinge of scarlet, that has been soiled by water,
-will never return. You both deceive yourselves, pronouncing aloud Rám
-and Rahím, and the way of Satan prevails in the universe."
-
-The courageous independence with which Nánac announced his religion to
-the Muhammedans, is a favourite topic with his biographers. He was one
-day abused, and even struck, as one of these relates, by a Moullah, for
-lying on the ground with his feet in the direction of the sacred temple
-of Mecca. "How darest thou, infidel!" said the offended Muhammedan
-priest, "turn thy feet towards the house of God!"--"Turn them, if you
-can," said the pious but indignant Nánac, "in a direction where the
-house of God is not."
-
-Nánac did not deny the mission of Muhammed. "That prophet was sent,"
-he said, "by God, to this world, to do good, and to disseminate the
-knowledge of one God through means of the Korán; but he, acting on the
-principle of free-will, which all human beings exercise, introduced
-oppression, and cruelty, and the slaughter of cows[108], for which
-he died.--I am now sent," he added, "from heaven, to publish unto
-mankind a book, which shall reduce all the names given unto God to
-one name, which is God; and he who calls him by any other, shall fall
-into the path of the devil, and have his feet bound in the chains
-of wretchedness. You have," said he to the Muhammedans, "despoiled
-the temples, and burnt the sacred Védas, of the Hindús; and you have
-dressed yourselves in dresses of blue, and you delight to have your
-praises sung from house to house: but I, who have seen all the world,
-tell you, that the Hindús equally hate you and your mosques. I am
-sent to reconcile your jarring faiths, and I implore you to read
-their scriptures, as well as your own: but reading is useless without
-obedience to the doctrine taught; for God has said, no man shall be
-saved except he has performed good works. The Almighty will not ask
-to what tribe or persuasion he belongs. He will only ask, What has he
-done? Therefore those violent and continued disputes, which subsist
-between the Hindús and Moslemans, are as impious as they are unjust."
-
-Such were the doctrines, according to his disciples, which Nánac taught
-to both Hindús and Muhammedans. He professed veneration and respect,
-but refused adoration to the founders of both their religions; for
-which, as for those of all other tribes, he had great tolerance. "A
-hundred thousand of Muhammeds," said Nánac, "a million of Brahmás,
-Vishnus, and a hundred thousand Rámas, stand at the gate of the Most
-High. These all perish; God alone is immortal. Yet men, who unite in
-the praise of God, are not ashamed of living in contention with each
-other; which proves that the evil spirit has subdued all. He alone is a
-true Hindú whose heart is just; and he only is a good Muhammedan whose
-life is pure."
-
-Nánac is stated, by the Sikh author from whom the above account of his
-religion is taken, to have had an interview with the supreme God, which
-he thus describes: "One day Nánac heard a voice from above exclaim,
-Nánac, approach!" He replied, "Oh God! what power have I to stand in
-thy presence?" The voice said, "Close thine eyes." Nánac shut his eyes,
-and advanced: he was told to look up: he did so, and heard the word
-_Wá!_ or _well done_, pronounced five times; and then _Wá! Gúrújí_, or
-_well done teacher_. After this God said, "Nánac! I have sent thee into
-the world, in the Cáli Yug (or depraved age); go and bear my name."
-Nánac said, "Oh God! how can I bear the mighty burthen? If my age was
-extended to tens of millions of years, if I drank of immortality, and
-my eyes were formed of the sun and moon, and were never closed, still,
-oh God! I could not presume to take charge of thy wondrous name."--"I
-will be thy Gúrú (teacher)," said God, "and thou shalt be a Gúrú to
-all mankind, and thy sect shall be great in the world; their word is
-Púrí Púrí. The word of the Bairágí is Rám! Rám! that of the Sanyásí,
-Om! Namá! Náráyen! and the word of the Yógís, Adés! Adés! and the
-salutation of the Muhammedans is Salám Alíkam; and that of the Hindús,
-Rám! Rám! but the word of thy sect shall be Gúrú, and I will forgive
-the crimes of thy disciples. The place of worship of the Bairágís is
-called Rámsála; that of the Yógís, Asan; that of the Sanyásís, Mát;
-that of thy tribe shall be Dherma Sála. Thou must teach unto thy
-followers three lessons: the first, to worship my name; the second,
-charity; the third, ablution. They must not abandon the world, and they
-must do ill to no being; for into every being have I infused breath;
-and whatever I am, thou art, for betwixt us there is no difference.
-It is a blessing that thou art sent into the Cáli Yug." After this,
-"_Wá Gúrú!_ or _well done, teacher!_ was pronounced from the mouth of
-the most high Gúrú or teacher (God), and Nánac came to give light and
-freedom to the universe."
-
-The above will give a sufficient view of the ideas which the Sikhs
-entertain regarding the divine origin of their faith; which, as first
-taught by Nánac, might justly be deemed the religion of peace.
-
-"Put on armour," says Nánac, "that will harm no one; let thy coat of
-mail be that of understanding, and convert thy enemies to friends.
-Fight with valour, but with no weapon except the word of God." All
-the principles which Nánac inculcated, were those of pure deism; but
-moderated, in order to meet the deep-rooted usages of that portion of
-mankind which he wished to reclaim from error. Though he condemned the
-lives and habits of the Muhammedans, he approved of the Korán[109].
-He admitted the truth of the ancient Védas, but contended that the
-Hindú religion had been corrupted, by the introduction of a plurality
-of gods, with the worship of images; which led their minds astray
-from that great and eternal Being, to whom adoration should alone be
-paid. He, however, followed the forms of the Hindús, and adopted most
-of their doctrines which did not interfere with his great and leading
-tenet. He admitted the claim to veneration, of the numerous catalogue
-of Hindú Dévas, and Dévatás, or inferior deities; but he refused them
-adoration. He held it impious to slaughter the cow; and he directed
-his votaries, as has been seen, to consider ablution as one of their
-primary religious duties.
-
-Nánac, according to Penjábi authors, admitted the Hindú doctrine of
-metempsychosis. He believed, that really good men would enjoy Paradise;
-that those, who had no claim to the name of good, but yet were not
-bad, would undergo another probation, by revisiting the world in the
-human form: and that the bad would animate the bodies of animals,
-particularly dogs and cats: but it appears, from the same authorities,
-that Nánac was acquainted with the Muhammedan doctrine regarding the
-fall of man, and a future state; and that he represented it to his
-followers as a system, in which God, by showing a heaven and a hell,
-had, in his great goodness, held out future rewards and punishments to
-man, whose will he had left free, to incite him to good actions, and
-deter him from bad. The principle of reward and punishment is so nearly
-the same in the Hindú and in the Muhammedan religion, that it was not
-difficult for Nánac to reconcile his followers upon this point: but
-in this, as in all others, he seems to have bent to the doctrine of
-Brahmá. In all his writings, however, he borrowed indifferently from
-the Korán and the Hindú Sástras; and his example was followed by his
-successors; and quotations from the scriptures of the Hindús, and from
-the book of Muhammed, are indiscriminately introduced into all their
-sacred writings, to elucidate those points on which it was their object
-to reconcile these jarring religions.
-
-With the exact mode in which Nánac instructed his followers to address
-their prayers to that supreme Being whom he taught them to adore, I
-am not acquainted. Their D'herma Sála, or temples of worship, are,
-in general, plain buildings. Images are, of course, banished. Their
-prescribed forms of prayer are, I believe, few and simple. Part of the
-writings of Nánac, which have since been incorporated with those of his
-successors, in the Adí-Grant'h, are read, or rather recited, upon every
-solemn occasion. These are all in praise of the Deity, of religion, and
-of virtue; and against impiety and immorality. The Adí-Grant'h, the
-whole of the first part of which is ascribed to Nánac, is written, like
-the rest of the books of the Sikhs, in the Gúrúmuk'h[110] character.
-I can only judge very imperfectly of the value of this work: but some
-extracts, translated from it, appear worthy of that admiration which is
-bestowed upon it by the Sikhs.
-
-The Adí-Grant'h is in verse; and many of the chapters, written by
-Nánac, are termed Pídi, which means, literally, a ladder or flight of
-steps; and, metaphorically, that by which a man ascends.
-
-In the following fragment, literally translated from the Sódar rág ásá
-mahilla pehla of Nánac, he displays the supremacy of the true God,
-and the inferiority of the Dévatás, and other created beings, to the
-universal Creator; however they may have been elevated into deities by
-ignorance or superstition.
-
-  Thy portals, how wonderful they are, how wonderful thy palace,
-    where thou sittest and governest all!
-  Numberless and infinite are the sounds which proclaim thy praises.
-  How numerous are thy Peris, skilful in music and song!
-  Pavan (air), water, and Vasantar (fire), celebrate thee;
-    D'herma Rájá (the Hindú Rhadamanthus) celebrates thy praises,
-    at thy gates.
-  Chitragupta (Secretary to D'herma Rájá) celebrates thy praises;
-    who, skilful in writing, writes and administers final justice.
-  Iswara, Brahmá, and Dévi, celebrate thy praises;
-    they declare in fit terms thy majesty, at thy gates.
-  Indra celebrates thy praises, sitting on the Indraic throne
-    amid the Dévatás.
-  The just celebrate thy praises in profound meditation,
-    the pious declare thy glory.
-  The Yatís and the Satís joyfully celebrate thy might.
-  The Pandits, skilled in reading, and the Rishíswaras,
-    who, age by age, read the Védas, recite thy praises.
-  The Móhinís (celestial courtezans), heart alluring,
-    inhabiting Swarga, Mritya, and Pátálá, celebrate thy praises.
-  The Ratnas (gems), with the thirty-eight Tírt'has (sacred springs),
-    celebrate thy praises.
-  Heroes of great might celebrate thy name; beings of the four kinds
-    of production celebrate thy praises.
-  The continents, and regions of the world, celebrate thy praises;
-    the universal Brahmánda (the mundane egg),
-    which thou hast established firm.
-  All who know thee praise thee, all who are desirous of thy worship.
-  How numerous they are who praise thee! they exceed my comprehension:
-     how, then, shall Nánac describe them?
-  He, even he, is the Lord of truth, true, and truly just.
-  He is, he was, he passes, he passes not,
-    the preserver of all that is preserved.
-  Of numerous hues, sorts and kinds,
-    he is the original author of Máyá (deception).
-  Having formed the creation, he surveys his own work,
-    the display of his own greatness.
-  What pleases him he does, and no order of any other being
-    can reach him.
-  He is the Pádsháh and the Pádsáheb of Sháhs;
-    Nánac resides in his favour.
-
-These few verses are, perhaps, sufficient to show, that it was on a
-principle of pure deism that Nánac entirely grounded his religion.
-It was not possible, however, that the minds of any large portion
-of mankind could remain long fixed in a belief which presented
-them only with general truths, and those of a nature too vast for
-their contemplation or comprehension. The followers of Nánac, since
-his death, have paid an adoration to his name, which is at variance
-with the lessons which he taught; they have clothed him in all the
-attributes of a saint: they consider him as the selected instrument of
-God to make known the true faith to fallen man; and, as such, they give
-him divine honours; not only performing pilgrimage to his tomb, but
-addressing him, in their prayers, as their saviour and mediator.
-
-The religious tenets and usages of the Sikhs continued, as they had
-been established by Nánac[111], till the time of Gúrú Góvind; who,
-though he did not alter the fundamental principles of the established
-faith, made so complete a change in the sacred usages and civil habits
-of his followers, that he gave them an entirely new character: and
-though the Sikhs retain all their veneration for Nánac, they deem
-Gúrú Góvind to have been equally exalted, by the immediate favour and
-protection of the Divinity; and the Dasama Pádsháh ká Grant'h, or book
-of the tenth king, which was written by Gúrú Góvind, is considered, in
-every respect, as holy as the Adí-Grant'h of Nánac, and his immediate
-successors. I cannot better explain the pretensions which Gúrú Góvind
-has made to the rank of a prophet, than by exhibiting his own account
-of his mission in a literal version from his Vichitra Nátac.
-
-"I now declare my own history, and the multifarious austerities which
-I have performed.
-
-"Where the seven peaks rise beautiful on the mountain Hémacuta, and the
-place takes the name of Sapta Sringa, greater penance have I performed
-than was ever endured by Pándu Rájá, meditating constantly on Mahá Cál
-and Cálica, till diversity was changed into one form. My father and
-mother meditated on the Divinity, and performed the Yóga, till Gúrú
-Déva approved of their devotions. Then the Supreme issued his order,
-and I was born, in the Cáli Yug, though my inclination was not to come
-into the world, my mind being fixed on the foot of the Supreme. When
-the supreme Being made known his will, I was sent into the world. The
-eternal Being thus addressed this feeble insect:
-
-"--I have manifested thee as my own son, and appointed thee to
-establish a perfect Pant'h (sect). Go into the world, establish virtue
-and expel vice."--
-
-"--I stand with joined hands, bending my head at thy word: the Pant'h
-shall prevail in the world, when thou lendest thine aid.--Then was
-I sent into the world: thus I received mortal birth. As the Supreme
-spoke to me, so do I speak, and to none do I bear enmity. Whoever shall
-call me Paraméswara, he shall sink into the pit of hell: know, that I
-am only the servant of the Supreme, and concerning this entertain no
-doubt. As God spoke, I announce unto the world, and remain not silent
-in the world of men.
-
-"As God spoke, so do I declare, and I regard no person's word. I wear
-my dress in nobody's fashion, but follow that appointed by the Supreme.
-I perform no worship to stones, nor imitate the ceremonies of any one.
-I pronounce the infinite name, and have attained to the supreme Being.
-I wear no bristling locks on my head, nor adorn myself with ear-rings.
-I receive no person's words in my ears; but as the Lord speaks, I act.
-I meditate on the sole name, and attain my object. To no other do I
-perform the Jáp, in no other do I confide: I meditate on the infinite
-name, and attain the supreme light. On no other do I meditate; the name
-of no other do I pronounce.
-
-"For this sole reason, to establish virtue, was I sent into the
-world by Gúrú Déva. 'Every where,' said he, 'establish virtue, and
-exterminate the wicked and vitious.' For this purpose have I received
-mortal birth; and this let all the virtuous understand. To establish
-virtue, to exalt piety, and to extirpate the vitious utterly. Every
-former Avatár established his own Jáp; but no one punished the
-irreligious, no one established both the principles and practice of
-virtue, (Dherm Carm). Every holy man (Ghóus), and prophet (Ambia),
-attempted only to establish his own reputation in the world; but no
-one comprehended the supreme Being, or understood the true principles
-or practice of virtue. The doctrine of no other is of any avail: this
-doctrine fix in your minds. There is no benefit in any other doctrine,
-this fix in your minds.
-
-"Whoever reads the Korán, whoever reads the Purán, neither of them
-shall escape death, and nothing but virtue shall avail at last.
-Millions of men may read the Korán, they may read innumerable Puráns;
-but it shall be of no avail in the life to come, and the power of
-destiny shall prevail over them."
-
-Gúrú Góvind, after this account of the origin of his mission, gives a
-short account of his birth and succession to the spiritual duties at
-his father's death.
-
-"At the command of God I received mortal birth, and came into the
-world. This I now declare briefly; attend to what I speak.
-
-"My father journeyed towards the East, performing ablution in all the
-sacred springs. When he arrived at Triveni, he spent a day in acts
-of devotion and charity. On that occasion was I manifested. In the
-town of Patna I received a body. Then the Madra Dés received me, and
-nurses nursed me tenderly, and tended me with great care, instructing
-me attentively every day. When I reached the age of Dherm and Carm
-(principles and practice), my father departed to the Déva Lóca. When
-I was invested with the dignity of Rája, I established virtue to the
-utmost of my power. I addicted myself to every species of hunting in
-the forests, and daily killed the bear and the stag. When I had become
-acquainted with that country, I proceeded to the city of Pávatá, where
-I amused myself on the banks of the Calindri, and viewed every kind
-of spectacle. There I slew a great number of tigers; and, in various
-modes, hunted the bear."
-
-The above passages will convey an idea of that impression which Gúrú
-Góvind gave his followers of his divine mission. I shall shortly
-enumerate those alterations he made in the usages of the Sikhs, whom it
-was his object to render, through the means of religious enthusiasm, a
-warlike race.
-
-Though Gúrú Góvind was brought up in the religion of Nánac, he appears,
-from having been educated among the Hindú priests of Mathura, to
-have been deeply tainted with their superstitious belief; and he
-was, perhaps, induced by considerations of policy, to lean still
-more strongly to their prejudices, in order to induce them to become
-converts to that religious military community, by means of which it
-was his object to destroy the Muhammedan power.
-
-The principal of the religious institutions of Gúrú Góvind, is that
-of the Páhal,--the ceremony by which a convert is initiated into the
-tribe of Sikhs; or, more properly speaking, that of Singhs. The meaning
-of this institution is to make the convert a member of the Khálsa, or
-Sikh commonwealth, which he can only become by assenting to certain
-observances; the devoting himself to arms for the defence of the
-commonwealth, and the destruction of its enemies; the wearing his hair,
-and putting on a blue dress[112].
-
-The mode in which Gúrú Góvind first initiated his converts, is
-described by a Sikh writer; and, as I believe it is nearly the same
-as that now observed, I shall shortly state it as he has described
-it. Gúrú Góvind, he says, after his arrival at Mák'haval, initiated
-five converts, and gave them instructions how to initiate others. The
-mode is as follows. The convert is told that he must allow his hair
-to grow. He must clothe himself from head to foot in blue clothes. He
-is then presented with the five weapons: a sword, a firelock, a bow
-and arrow, and a pike[113]. One of those who initiate him then says,
-"The Gúrú is thy holy teacher, and thou art his Sikh or disciple."
-Some sugar and water is put into a cup, and stirred round with a steel
-knife, or dagger, and some of the first chapters of the Adí-Grant'h,
-and the first chapters of the Dasama Pádsháh ká Grant'h, are read; and
-those who perform the initiation exclaim, _Wá! Gúrúji ká Khálsa! Wá!
-Gúrúji kí Fateh!_ (Success to the state of the Gúrú! Victory attend
-the Gúrú!) After this exclamation has been repeated five times, they
-say, "This sherbet is nectar. It is the water of life; drink it."
-The disciple obeys; and some sherbet, prepared in a similar manner,
-is sprinkled over his head and beard. After these ceremonies, the
-disciple is asked if he consents to be of the faith of Gúrú Góvind. He
-answers, "I do consent." He is then told, "If you do, you must abandon
-all intercourse, and neither eat, drink, nor sit in company with men
-of five sects which I shall name. The first, the Mína D'hirmal; who,
-though of the race of Nánac, were tempted by avarice to give poison to
-Arjun; and, though they did not succeed, they ought to be expelled from
-society. The second are the Musandiá; a sect who call themselves Gúrús,
-or priests, and endeavour to introduce heterodox doctrines[114]. The
-third, Rám Ráyí, the descendants of Rám Ráy, whose intrigues were the
-great cause of the destruction of the holy ruler, Tégh Singh. The
-fourth are the Kud i-már, or destroyers[115] of their own daughters.
-Fifth, the Bhadaní, who shave the hair of their head and beards."
-The disciple, after this warning against intercourse with sectaries,
-or rather schismatics, is instructed in some general precepts, the
-observance of which regard the welfare of the community into which he
-has entered. He is told to be gentle and polite to all with whom he
-converses, to endeavour to attain wisdom, and to emulate the persuasive
-eloquence of Bábá Nánac. He is particularly enjoined, whenever he
-approaches any of the Sikh temples, to do it with reverence and
-respect, and to go to Amritsar, to pay his devotions to the Khálsa,
-or state; the interests of which he is directed, on all occasions, to
-consider paramount to his own. He is instructed to labour to increase
-the prosperity of the town of Amritsar; and told, that at every place
-of worship which he visits he will be conducted in the right path by
-the Gúrú (Gúrú Góvind). He is instructed to believe, that it is the
-duty of all those who belong to the Khálsa, or commonwealth of the
-Sikhs, neither to lament the sacrifice of property, nor of life, in
-support of each other; and he is directed to read the Adí-Grant'h and
-Dasama Pádsháh ká Grant'h, every morning and every evening. Whatever he
-has received from God, he is told it is his duty to share with others.
-And after the disciple has heard and understood all these and similar
-precepts, he is declared to be duly initiated.
-
-Gúrú Góvind Singh, agreeably to this Sikh author, after initiating the
-first five disciples in the mode above stated, ordered the principal
-persons among them[116] to initiate him exactly on similar occasions,
-which he did. The author from whom the above account is taken, states,
-that when Góvind was at the point of death, he exclaimed, "Wherever
-five Sikhs are assembled, there I also shall be present!" and, in
-consequence of this expression, five Sikhs are the number necessary to
-make a Singh, or convert. By the religious institutions of Gúrú Góvind,
-proselytes are admitted from all tribes and casts in the universe. The
-initiation may take place at any time of life, but the children of the
-Singhs all go through this rite at a very early age.
-
-The leading tenet of Gúrú Góvind's religious institutions, which
-obliges his followers to devote themselves to arms, is stated, in
-one of the chapters of the Dasama Pádsháh ká Grant'h, or book of
-the tenth king, written in praise of Dúrga B'havání, the goddess of
-courage: "Dúrga," Gúrú Góvind says, "appeared to me when I was asleep,
-arrayed in all her glory. The goddess put into my hand the hilt of a
-bright scimitar, which she had before held in her own. 'The country
-of the Muhammedans,' said the goddess, 'shall be conquered by thee,
-and numbers of that race shall be slain.' After I had heard this, I
-exclaimed, 'This steel shall be the guard to me and my followers,
-because, in its lustre, the splendour of thy countenance, O goddess! is
-always reflected[117].'"
-
-The Dasama Pádsháh ká Grant'h of Gúrú Góvind appears, from the extracts
-which I have seen of it, to abound in fine passages. Its author has
-borrowed largely from the Sástras of the Brahméns, and the Korán. He
-praises Nánac as a holy saint, accepted of God; and grounds his faith,
-like that of his predecessors, upon the adoration of one God; whose
-power and attributes he however describes by so many Sanscrit names,
-and with such constant allusions to the Hindú mythology, that it
-appears often difficult to separate his purer belief from their gross
-idolatry. He, however, rejects all worship of images, on an opinion
-taken from one of the ancient Védas, which declares, "that to worship
-an idol made of wood, earth, or stone, is as foolish as it is impious;
-for God alone is deserving of adoration."
-
-The great points, however, by which Gúrú Góvind has separated his
-followers for ever from the Hindús, are those which have been before
-stated;--the destruction of the distinction of casts, the admission of
-proselytes, and the rendering the pursuit of arms not only admissible,
-but the religious duty of all his followers. Whereas, among the Hindús,
-agreeable to the Dherma Sástra, (one of the most revered of their
-sacred writings,) carrying arms on all occasions, as an occupation, is
-only lawful to the Cshatríya or military tribe. A Bráhmen is allowed to
-obtain a livelihood by arms, if he can by no other mode. The Vaisya and
-Súdra are not allowed to make arms their profession, though they may
-use them in self-defence.
-
-The sacred book of Gúrú Góvind is not confined to religious subjects,
-or tales of Hindú mythology, related in his own way; but abounds in
-accounts of the battles which he fought, and of the actions which were
-performed by the most valiant of his followers. Courage is, throughout
-this work, placed above every other virtue; and Góvind, like Muhammed,
-makes martyrdom for the faith which he taught, the shortest and most
-certain road to honour in this world, and eternal happiness in the
-future. The opinion which the Sikhs entertain of Góvind will be best
-collected from their most esteemed authors.
-
-"Gúrú Góvind Singh," one[118] of those writers states, "appeared as the
-tenth Avatár. He meditated on the Creator himself, invisible, eternal,
-and incomprehensible. He established the Khálsa, his own sect, and, by
-exhibiting singular energy, leaving the hair on his head, and seizing
-the scimitar, he smote every wicked person. He bound the garment of
-chastity round his loins, grasped the sword of valour, and, passing
-the true word of victory, became victorious in the field of combat;
-and seizing the Dévatás, his foes, he inflicted on them punishment;
-and, with great success, diffused the sublime Gúrú Jáp (a mystical
-form of prayer composed by Gúrú Góvind) through the world. As he was
-born a warlike Singh, he assumed the blue dress; and, by destroying
-the wicked Turks, he exalted the name of Hari (God). No Sirdar could
-stand in battle against him, but all of them fled; and, whether Hindú
-Rájás, or Muhammedan lords, became like dust in his presence. The
-mountains, hearing of him, were struck with terror; the whole world
-was affrighted, and the people fled from their habitations. In short,
-such was his fame, that they were all thrown into consternation, and
-began to say, 'Besides thee, O Sat Gúrú! there is no dispeller of
-danger,'--Having seized and displayed his sword, no person could resist
-his might."
-
-The same author, in a subsequent passage, gives a very characteristic
-account of that spirit of hostility which the religion of Gúrú Góvind
-breathed against the Muhammedans; and of the manner in which it treated
-those sacred writings, upon which most of the established usages of
-Hindús are grounded.
-
-"By the command of the Eternal, the great Gúrú disseminated the true
-knowledge. Full of strength and courage, he successfully established
-the Khálsa (or state). Thus, at once founding the sect of Singh, he
-struck the whole world with awe: overturning temples and sacred places,
-tombs and mosques, he levelled them all with the plain: rejecting the
-Védas, the Puráns, the six Sástras, and the Korán; he abolished the
-cry of Namáz (Muhammedan prayer), and slew the Sultans; reducing the
-Mírs and Pírs (the lords and priests of the Muhammedans) to silence, he
-overturned all their sects; the Moullahs (professors), and the Kázis
-(judges), were confounded, and found no benefit from their studies. The
-Bráhmens, the Pandits, and the Jótìshis (or astrologers), had acquired
-a relish for worldly things: they worshipped stones and temples, and
-forgot the Supreme. Thus these two sects, the Muhammedan and Hindú,
-remained involved in delusion and ignorance, when the third sect of
-the Khálsa originated in purity. When, at the order of Gúrú Góvind,
-the Singhs seized and displayed the scimitar, then subduing all their
-enemies, they meditated on the Eternal; and, as soon as the order of
-the Most High was manifested in the world, circumcision ceased, and the
-Turks trembled, when they saw the ritual of Muhammed destroyed: then
-the Nakára (large drum) of victory sounded throughout the world, and
-fear and dread were abolished. Thus the third sect was established, and
-increased greatly in might."
-
-These extracts, and what I have before stated, will sufficiently show
-the character of the religious institutions of Gúrú Góvind; which were
-admirably calculated to awaken, through the means of fanaticism, a
-spirit of courage and independence, among men who had been content,
-for ages, with that degraded condition in society, to which they were
-taught to believe themselves born. The end which Góvind sought, could
-not, perhaps, have been attained by the employment of other means.
-Exhortations respecting their civil rights, and the wrongs which they
-sustained, would have been wasted on minds enslaved by superstition,
-and who could only be persuaded to assert themselves men, by an
-impression that it was the will of Heaven they should do so. His
-success is a strong elucidation of the general character of the Hindú
-natives of India. That race, though in general mild and peaceable,
-take the most savage and ferocious turn, when roused to action by the
-influence of religious feeling.
-
-I have mentioned, in the narrative part of this Sketch, the attempt of
-the Bairágí Banda to alter the religious institutions of Gúrú Góvind,
-and its failure. The tribe of Acálís (immortals), who have now assumed
-a dictatorial sway in all the religious ceremonies at Amritsar, and
-the Nirmala and Shahid, who read the sacred writings, may hereafter
-introduce some changes in those usages which the Sikhs revere: but
-it is probable that the spirit of equality, which has been hitherto
-considered as the vital principle of the Khálsa or commonwealth,
-and which makes all Sikhs so reluctant to own either a temporal or
-spiritual leader, will tend greatly to preserve their institutions
-from invasion: and it is stated, in a tradition which is universally
-believed by the Sikhs, and has, indeed, been inserted in their sacred
-writings, that Gúrú Góvind, when he was asked by his followers, who
-surrounded his death-bed, to whom he would leave his authority?
-replied, "I have delivered over the Khálsa (commonwealth) to God, who
-never dies. I have been your guide, and will still preserve you; read
-the Grant'h, and attend to its tenets; and whoever remains true to the
-state, him will I aid." From these dying words of Gúrú Góvind, the
-Sikhs believe themselves to have been placed, by their last and most
-revered prophet, under the peculiar care of God: and their attachment
-to this mysterious principle, leads them to consider the Khálsa (or
-commonwealth) as a theocracy; and such an impression is likely to
-oppose a very serious obstacle, if not an insuperable barrier, to
-the designs of any of their chiefs, who may hereafter endeavour to
-establish an absolute power over the whole nation.
-
-
-THE END.
-
-
-Printed by J. Moyes, Greville Street, London.
-
-FOOTNOTES:
-
-[96] This celebrated Súfi, or philosophical deist, lived in the time
-of the Emperor Shér Sháh. He was, by trade, a weaver; but has written
-several admired works. They are all composed in a strain of universal
-philanthropy and benevolence; and, above all, he inculcated religious
-toleration, particularly between the Muhammedans and Hindús, by both of
-whom his memory is held in the highest esteem and veneration.
-
-[97] Nánac was celebrated for the manner in which he performed Tapasa,
-or austere devotion, which requires the mind to be so totally absorbed
-in the Divinity, as to be abstracted from every worldly thought, and
-this for as long a period as human strength is capable of sustaining.
-
-[98] The most ancient Hindús do not appear to have paid adoration
-to idols; but, though they adored God, they worshipped the sun and
-elements.
-
-[99] B'hai Gúrú Dás B'halé.
-
-[100] Bráhmen, Cshatríya, Vaisya, and Súdra.
-
-[101] Different sacred books of the Hindús.
-
-[102] Yár signifies _friend_; and one of the prophet's titles, among
-his followers, is Yar-i-Khudá, or _the Friend of God_.
-
-[103] The Muhammedan religion is said to be divided into seventy-two
-sects.
-
-[104] There is no ground to conclude that casts were altogether
-abolished by Nánac; though his doctrines and writings had a tendency to
-equalize the Hindús, and unite all in the worship of one God.
-
-[105] A kind of ascetic devotion, which has been before explained.
-
-[106] The Sidd'his (saints) are the attendants of the gods. The name is
-most generally applied to those who wait on Ganésa.
-
-[107] The name Yatí is most usually applied to the priests of the
-Jainas; but it is also applicable to Sanyásís, and other penitents.
-
-[108] Nánac appears on this, and every other occasion, to have
-preserved his attachment to this favourite dogma of the Hindús.
-
-[109] This fact is admitted by Sikh authors. It is, however, probable,
-that Nánac was but imperfectly acquainted with the doctrines of that
-volume.
-
-[110] A modified species of the Nágari character.
-
-[111] Certainly no material alteration was made, either in the belief
-or forms of the Sikhs, by any of his successors before Gúrú Góvind.
-Har Góvind, who armed his followers to repel aggression, would only
-appear to have made a temporary effort to oppose his enemies, without
-an endeavour to effect any serious change in the religious belief or
-customs of the sect to which he belonged.
-
-[112] It has been before stated, that all the followers of Góvind do
-not now wear the blue dress, but they all wear their hair; and their
-jealous regard of it is not to be described. Three inferior agents of
-Sikh chiefs were one day in my tent; one of them was a Khálsa Singh,
-and the two others of the Khalása tribe of Sikhs. I was laughing and
-joking with the Khálsa Singh, who said he had been ordered to attend
-me to Calcutta. Among other subjects of our mirth, I rallied him on
-trusting himself so much in my power. "Why, what is the worst," said
-he, "that you can do to me, when I am at such a distance from home?" I
-passed my hand across my chin, imitating the act of shaving. The man's
-face was in an instant distorted with rage, and his sword half drawn.
-"You are ignorant," said he to me, "of the offence you have given.
-I cannot strike you, who are above me, and the friend of my master
-and the state. But no power," he added, "shall save these fellows,"
-alluding to the two Khalása Sikhs, "from my revenge, for having dared
-to smile at your action." It was with the greatest difficulty, and only
-by the good offices of some Sikh chiefs, that I was able to pacify the
-wounded honour of this Singh.
-
-[113] The goddess of courage, Bhavání Durgá, represented in the Dasama
-Pádsháh ká Grant'h, or book of kings of Gúrú Góvind, as the soul of
-arms, or tutelary goddess of war, and is thus addressed: "Thou art the
-edge of the sword, thou art the arrow, the sword, the knife, and the
-dagger."
-
-[114] Gúrú Góvind put to death many of this tribe.
-
-[115] This barbarous custom still prevails among the Rájapúts in many
-parts of Hindústan.
-
-[116] Agreeably to this author, Gúrú Góvind was initiated on Friday,
-the 8th of the month B'hádra, in the year 1753 of the æra of
-Vicramáditya; and on that day his great work, the Dasama Pádsháh ká
-Grant'h, or book of the tenth king, was completed.
-
-[117] An author, whom I have often quoted, says, Gúrú Góvind gave
-the following injunctions to his followers: "It is right to slay a
-Muhammedan wherever you meet him. If you meet a Hindú, beat him and
-plunder him, and divide his property among you. Employ your constant
-effort to destroy the countries ruled by Muhammedans. If they oppose
-you, defeat and slay them."
-
-[118] B'hai Gúrú Dás Bhalé.
-
-
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