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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

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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 Penjb, 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 Ad-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
Penjb. 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 Penjb and Dggar
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 Hind 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 Nnac 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.


Nnac Shh, 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 Cl[4], was of the Cshatrya
cast, and Vd tribe of Hinds, and had no family except Nnac, and
his sister Nnaci, who married a Hind of the name of Jayarm, that
was employed as a grain-factor by Daulet Khn Ld, a relation of the
reigning emperor of Delhi. Nnac 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 Srchand and Lacshm
Ds. The former, who abandoned the vanities of the world, had a son
called Dherm Chand, who founded the sect of Uds; and his descendants
are yet known by the name of Nnac Putrh, or the children of Nnac.
Lacshm Ds addicted himself to the pleasures of this world, and left
neither heirs nor reputation.

Nnac 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 Nnac
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. Nnac was pleased with the
scheme, took the money, and proceeded, accompanied by a servant of
the name of Bla, of the tribe of Sand'h, towards the village where
he was to make his purchase. He happened, however, on the road, to
fall in with some Fakrs, (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 Nnac by bending their heads, and other civil
signs of acquiescence. Nnac, 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." Nnac immediately distributed his
money among the hungry Fakrs; 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 Nnac, "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 Nnac,
and even struck him; nor could the mild representations of Nnac 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 Nnac 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 Nnac and the sun's rays. Ry
Bolar[8], the ruler of the district, was passing the road, near the
place where Nnac slept, and marked, in silence, though not without
reflection, this unequivocal sign of his future greatness. This chief
overheard Cl punishing his son for his kindness to the Fakrs. He
immediately entered, and demanded the cause of the uproar; and, when
informed of the circumstances, he severely chid Cl for his conduct,
and interdicted him from ever again lifting his hand to Nnac, before
whom, to the astonishment of all present, he humbled himself with every
mark of the most profound veneration. Though Cl, 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 Jayrm,
his son-in-law, to admit him into partnership in his business. Nnac,
obliged to acquiesce in these schemes, attended at the granary of
Daulet Khn Ld, which was in charge of Jayrm; but though his hands
were employed in this work, and his kindness of manner made all the
inhabitants of Sultnpr, 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 Fakr approached, and
exclaimed: "Oh Nnac! upon what are thy thoughts now employed? Quit
such occupations, that thou mayest obtain the inheritance of eternal
wealth." Nnac is said to have started up at this exclamation, and
after looking for a moment in the face of the Fakr, 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 Nnac remained in the pool, abstracted from all worldly
considerations, holding converse with a prophet, poor Jayrm was put
in prison by Daulet Khn Ld, on the charge of having dissipated his
property. Nnac, however, returned, and told Daulet Khn that Jayrm
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 Khn accepted his proposal: Jayrm'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 Nnac 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 Nnac. 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 Hinds,
and the ignorance of the Muhammedans, relates his journey to all the
different Hind 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 Nnac 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 Merdan, and a person named Bla Sand'h; 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 Merdan, 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. Nnac, 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 Rj of Sivanb'hu
endeavoured to tempt Nnac, 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 Rj the blessings of eternal life; and he
at last succeeded in making him a convert, and resided at Sivanb'hu
two years and five months; during which period he composed the Prn
Sancali[12], for the instruction of his followers. After Nnac 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 Hinds 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, Nnac was introduced
to the emperor Bber[13], before whom he is said to have defended
his doctrine with great firmness and eloquence. Bber 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 Nnac returned from
his travels, he cast off the garments of a Fakr, 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 Hind zealots, who reproached him with having laid
aside the habits of a Fakr, and with the impiety of the doctrines
which he taught. These accusations he treated with great contempt;
and an author, before cited, Bhai Gr Ds Vali, states, that when
he visited Vatla, he enraged the Ygswaras[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 Nnac 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 Ygswaras to cease, and they all fell
at the feet of the humble Nnac, who was protected by the all perfect
God.

Nnac, according to the same authority, went from Vatla to Multn,
where he communed with the Prs, 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 Prs, like the sacred Gang, visiting
the ocean." From Multn he went to Krtipr[15], where he threw off his
earthly shape, and was buried near the bank of the river Rvi, which
has since overflowed his tomb. Krtipr continues a place of religious
resort and worship; and a small piece of Nnac's garment is exhibited
to pilgrims, as a sacred relic, at his Dharmasl, or temple.

It would be difficult to give the character of Nnac[16] on the
authority of any account we yet possess. His writings, especially
the first chapters of the Ad-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 Hinds 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 Hinds 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.

Nnac did not deem either of his sons, before mentioned, worthy of
the succession to his spiritual functions, which he bequeathed to
a Cshatrya of the Trhn 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 Fakr, and honoured with the
name of Angad[17], which, according to some commentators, means _own
body_.

Gr Angad, for that is the name by which he is known by all Sikhs, was
born at the village of Khandr, on the bank of the Byah, 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
Nnac, and wrote some chapters that now form part of the Grant'h. He
left two sons, Vsu and Dtu, 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 Ds, a Cshatrya of the tribe of
B'hal, who performed the duties of a menial towards him for upwards
of twelve years. It is stated, that the daily occupation of Amera Ds
was to bring water from the Byah 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 Ds, who
knows neither the sweets of sleep by night, nor of rest by day." This
conversation was overheard by Angad; and when Amera Ds 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 Ds was distinguished for his activity in preaching
the tenets of Nnac, and was very successful in obtaining converts
and followers; by the aid of whom he established some temporal power,
built Kujarwl, and separated from the regular Sikhs the Uds sect,
which was founded by Dherm-Chand, the son of Nnac, and was probably
considered, at that period, as heretical.

Amera Ds had two children, a son named Mhan, and a daughter named
Mhani, known by the name of B'hini; 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 Ds had communicated his wishes, regarding the marriage of
B'hini, to a Brhmen, who was his head servant, and directed him to
make some inquiries. The Brhmen 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 Ds asked what was the boy's stature?
"About the same height as that lad," said the Brhmen, pointing to a
youth standing near them. The attention of Amera Ds was instantly
withdrawn from the Brhmen, 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 Rm Ds, and that he was a Cshatrya,
of a respectable family, of the Sndi tribe, and an inhabitant of
the village of Gndawl. Amera Ds, pleased with the information he
had received, took no more notice of the Brhmen 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 Ds died in the
year A. D. 1574, and of the Samvat 1631, at the village of Gndawl,
in the province of Lahore, and was succeeded by his son-in-law, Rm
Ds[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
Rmpr, or Rmdspr, 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 Rmdspr, 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 Ad-Grant'h[22]. The Ad-Grant'h, or
first sacred volume of the Sikhs, contains ninety-two sections: it was
partly composed by Nnac 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 Hind zealot, Danchand
Cshatrya, whose writings he refused to admit into the Ad-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 Gvind, 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 Gvind against the Muhammedan chiefs in
the Penjb, 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 Nnac and those of Muhammed: and, from
every account of Har Gvind'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] Gr, 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 Gvind 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, Bb Grdaitya, Saurat Singh, Tgh Bahdur, Anna Ry, and
Atal Ry. The two last died without descendants. Saurat Singh and
Tgh Singh, or Tgh Bahdur, were, by the cruel persecution of the
Muhammedans, forced to fly into the mountains to the northward of the
Penjb. His eldest son, Gurudatya, died early, but left two sons,
Dharmal and Har Ry; 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 Ry 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 Aurungzb. 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 Rm Ry, was referred to Dehli, whither
both parties went; and, by an imperial decree of Aurungzb, 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, Tgh Behdur. He, however, had to encounter the
most violent opposition from his nephew, Rm Ry[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, Rj of Jayapr, whom he
accompanied to Bengal. Tgh Behdur 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
Rm Ry; 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 Gvind to that of Tgh Behdur, 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 Gvind; and, from the period
of his death to that of Tgh Behdur, the Mogul empire was, as has
been before stated, in the zenith of its power, under Aurungzb: 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, Rm Ry,
Har Crishn, and even the unfortunate Tgh Behdur, 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 Tgh Behdur, 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 Gr Gvind, the son of Tgh Behdur; 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 Srnagar, 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 Penjb,
where he was warmly welcomed by a Hind chief in rebellion against the
government. This chief gave Gvind possession of Mk'havl[29], and
several other villages, where he settled with his followers, and repaid
his benefactor by aiding him in his depredations. Gvind appears, at
this moment, to have been universally acknowledged by the Sikhs, as
their Sat-gr, 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 Gvind 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 Gvind, been initiated in
arms, yet they appear to have used these only in self-defence: and
as every tribe of Hinds, from the Brhmen to the lowest of the
Sdra, 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 Nnac; which, framed with a
view to conciliation, carefully abstained from all interference with
the civil institutes of the Hinds. But his more daring successor, Gr
Gvind, 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 Hinds 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 Hinds, of every class, might aspire.

The extent to which Gvind 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 Brahm[31], and excited terror and
astonishment in the minds of the Muhammedan conquerors of India, who
saw the religious prejudices of the Hinds, 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 Brhmen
who entered his sect had no higher claims to eminence than the lowest
Sdra who swept his house. It was the object of Gvind 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 Rajapts, the first military class of
Hinds: and every Sikh felt himself at once elevated to rank with the
highest, by this proud appellation.

The disciples of Gvind 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, _W! Grj k khlsah! W! Grj k futteh!_ which means,
"Success to the state of the Gr! Victory attend the Gr[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 Gvind 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
Afghn 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 Prs,
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 Gr Gvind first
went to Anandpr Mk'haval, which was also called Csgher, or the house
of hair, he spent much of his time in devotion, at a temple of Drga
Bhavan, the goddess of courage, by whom he was directed to unloose
his hair and draw his sword. Gvind, 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
Gvind's followers, and is still worn by the Acls, 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 Gvind, 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.

Gr Gvind inculcated his tenets upon his followers by his preaching,
his actions, and his works; among which is the Dasama Pdshh k
Grant'h, or the book of the tenth king or ruler; Gr Gvind being the
tenth leader of the sect from Nnac. 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 Ad-Grant'h of Arjunmal. Gvind is said to have first instituted
the Gr 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 Gr Gvind 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 Brhmens, skilled in necromancy. It would
be tedious to dwell on such fables[37]; and it is time to return to
the political life of Gvind, 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.

Gr Gvind Singh, in the Vichitra Ntac, a work written by himself,
and inserted in the Dasama Pdshh k Grant'h, traces the descent of
the Cshatrya tribe of Snd, to which he belongs, from a race of
Hind Rjs[38], who founded the cities of Casr and Lahore. He was
born, he states, at Patn, or Patna, and brought up at Madra Ds, in
the Penjb. He went, after his father's death, to the banks of the
Clnd, or Yamun, 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. Gr Gvind 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
Gr Gvind's followers, whom he established at Anandpr, Khlr, and
the towns in their vicinity; where they remained, till called to aid
the Rj of Nadn[41], Bhma Chand, who was threatened with an invasion
by the Rj of Jammu; who had been excited to hostilities by Ma Khn,
a Mogul chief, then at war with Bhma Chand.

Gr Gvind gives an account of this war, which consisted of attacking
and defending the narrow passes of the mountains. He describes Bhma
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 Rj of Jammu, and his
Muhammedan allies, having been defeated, and chased with disgrace
across the Satlj.

Gr Gvind next relates the advance of the son of Dilwer Khn against
him. The object of the Muhammedan chief appears to have been, to
surprise Gvind 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 Khn, who made
successful inroads upon the Sikhs, taking several of their principal
forts[42]. A general action at last took place, in which the Khn,
after performing prodigies of valour, was defeated, and lost his life.
Gr Gvind 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."

Dilwer Khn and Rustam Khn 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 Aurungzb'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 Gr Gvind, "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 Gr, 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 Gr: 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].

Gr Gvind closes his first work, the Vichitra Ntac, 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 Pdshh k Grant'h, of
which the Vichitra Ntac forms the first section.

An account of Gvind's war with the Rj of Kahilr[45], is found in a
work written in the Dgar, or mountain dialect of the Penjbi 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 Rjs of Kahilr, Jiswl, and others, being defeated and
disgraced in several actions, applied to the court of Aurungzb for aid
against Gr Gvind, 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 Kahilr, 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 Gr Gvind 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. Gvind, 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 Chamkur, by
the Rj of which place he was received in a kind and friendly manner.
His enemies had entered the fortress which Gvind left, the moment
he fled, and made many prisoners; among which were his mother and
his two children, who were carried to Foujdar Khn, the governor of
Sirhind, by whose orders they were inhumanly massacred[46]. The army
of the emperor, aided by the Rjs hostile to Gvind, next marched to
Chamkur, and encompassed it on all sides. Gvind, 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 Gvind, was
commanded by Khwjeh Muhammed and Nahar Khn, 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 Rjs and Rns:
it is that of the great Aurungzb: 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 Gr Gvind, "to the words of the Nawb: 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 Gvind, 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 Gvind having failed,
the siege commenced with great vigour. A long description is given by
B'hai Gr Ds B'hal 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 Gr Gvind, whose death is
thus recorded: "A second time the Khn advanced, and the battle raged.
Some fought, some fled. Ajit Singh, covered with glory, departed to
Swarga (heaven). Indra[49], first of the gods (Dvats), advanced with
the celestial host to meet him; he conducted him to Dvapr, 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 Gvind showed an invincible spirit, and performed prodigies
of valour, having killed, with his own hand, Nahar Khn, and wounded
Khwjeh 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 Chamkur, covering
his face, according to the Sikh author, from shame at his own disgrace.

This sketch of the life of Gvind is compiled from his own works, and
those of other Sikh writers, such as Nand and B'hai Gr Ds; 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
Chamkur.

Most accounts agree that Gr Gvind, 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 Penjb;
another, that he went to Patna, where he ended his days; a third, taken
from a Sikh authority[50], asserts that Gr Gvind, after remaining
some time in the Lak'hi-Jungle, to which he had fled, returned without
molestation to his former residence in the Penjb; and that, so far
from meeting with any persecution from the Muhammedan government, he
received favours from the emperor, Bahder Shh; who, aware of his
military talents, gave him a small military command in the Dek'hin,
where he was stabbed by a Patn soldier's son, and expired of his
wounds, in the year 1708, at Nadr, 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 Gr Gvind, that he performed no
actions worthy of record after his flight from Chamkur: 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 Gr Gvind 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 Gr Gvind's
declining years. Nor is such a conclusion at all at variance with the
fact of his being killed at Nadr, 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 Hinds; 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. Gvind 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 Hinds Muhammedans, and are justified by your laws,"
he is said to have written to Aurungzb: "now I, on a principle of
self-preservation, which is superior to all laws, will make Muhammedans
Hinds[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 Hinds
with that valour and ambition which would lead them to perform the
greatest actions.

The manner in which Gvind 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 Bb
Nnc as the author of their religion, revere, with a just gratitude,
Gr Gvind, 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 Taimr.

Gr Gvind 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 Bairgi, who was the
devoted follower and friend of Gr Gvind, established their union
under his banners. A short period after Gvind'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 Aurungzb,
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 Khn, 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 Gr Gvind. 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 Khn 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 Vizr Khn, 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 Satlj and the Jumna; and, crossing
that river, made inroads into the province of Shranpr[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 Behdur Shh had not quitted the
Dek'hin, which he did in A. D. 1710, there is reason to think the whole
of Hindstan would have been subdued by these merciless invaders.

The first check the Sikhs received was from an army under Sultn Kli
Khn. That chief defeated one of their advanced corps at Pnipat'h,
which, after being dispersed, fled to join their leader Banda, at
Sarhind. The death of Behdur Shh prevented this success from being
pursued; and the confusion which followed that event, was favourable
to the Sikhs. Banda defeated Islm Khn, the viceroy of Lahore, and
one of his fanatic followers stabbed Byezd Khn, 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
Smad Khn, 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 Smad Khn put to death great numbers of the Sikhs after the
surrender of Lhgad, 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 Gr Gvind, 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 _W! Grji ki Futteh! W!
Khlsaji ki Futteh!_ the salutations directed by Gvind, 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 Acls[57], or immortals, who had been established
by Gr Gvind, 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 Gr Gvind 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 Acls, 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 Nnac 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 Hinds 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 Penjb, 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 Ndir
Shh, 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 Penjb, 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 Dalewl, on the Rvi, 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 Ndir Shh'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 Hindstan was reduced; and the
confusion into which the provinces of Lahore and Cbul were thrown, by
the death of Ndir; 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 Penjb: 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 Gr
Gvind. 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 Gr-mat, 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 Afghn[58]
invasion, the Sikhs made themselves masters of a considerable part of
the Dub of Rvi and Jalndra[59], and extended their incursions to the
neighbouring countries. They, however, at this period received several
severe checks from Mr 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, Kod Mal, who was himself a Sikh of the
Khalsa[60] tribe. Mr Manu appointed Adna Bg Khn 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'havl, 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 Mr 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, Adna
Bg Khn, to Lahore; as that brave chief, anxious to defend his own
government against the Afghns, immediately entered into a confederacy
with the Sikhs, whom he encouraged to plunder the territories of Ahmed
Shh Abdli.

The Afghn monarch, resenting this predatory warfare, in which the
governor of Lahore was supported by the court of Dehli, determined upon
invading India. Adna Bg, unable to oppose him, fled; and the Sikhs
could only venture to plunder the baggage, and cut off the stragglers
of the Afghn army; by which they so irritated Ahmed Shh, that he
threatened them with punishment on his return; and, when he marched
to Cbul, he left his son, Taimr Khn, and his vizr, Jehn Khn, at
Lahore, with orders to take vengeance on the Sikhs for all the excesses
which they had committed. The first expedition of Taimr Khn 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. Taimr Khn, 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
Cbul, the Sikhs, under one of their celebrated leaders, called Jasa
Singh Call, 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 Khlsah j, in the country of Ahmed,
conquered by Jasa Singh Call."

The Sikhs, who were so deeply indebted to the forbearance of Adna Bg
Khn, now considered themselves above the power of that chief; who, in
order to regain his government from them and the Afghns, was obliged
to invite the Mahrta leaders, Raghunt'h Ro, Sheb Pateil, and Malhr
Ro, to enter the Penjb. Aided by these chiefs, he first advanced to
Sarhind, where he was joined by some Sikhs that remained attached to
him. Smad Khn, the officer who had been left in charge of Sarhind by
Ahmed Khn, found himself obliged to evacuate that place; which he had
no sooner done, than the Sikhs began to plunder. The Mahrtas, always
jealous of their booty, determined to attack and punish them for this
violation of what they deemed their exclusive privilege: but Adna
Bg 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 Mahrtas, accompanied by Adna Bg
Khn, advanced to Lahore, and soon expelled both the Sikhs and the
Afghns 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 Multn; and Sheb Pateil advanced to the Attock[62],
where he remained for a few months. But the commotions of Hindstan
and the Dek'hin soon obliged these foreigners to abandon the Penjb;
which they did the same year they had reduced it. They appointed Adna
Bg Khn 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 Shh Abdli; who,
irritated by their unsubdued turbulence, and obstinate intrepidity,
made every effort (after he had gained the victory of Pnipat'h, which
established his supremacy at Dehli) to destroy their power; and, with
this view, he entered the Penjb 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 Abdli, 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 Shh 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 Afghns, 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 Shh
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 Shh's army in action, harassed it with an
incessant predatory warfare; and, when that sovereign was obliged, by
the commotions of Afghnistan, to return to Cbul, 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 Afghns had, a few months before, purified with the blood of
their brethren.

Ahmed Shh, 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 Penjb; and, from that period until his death, a
constant war was maintained, in which the enterprise and courage of
the Afghns 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 Afghn army,
commanded by Ahmed Shh 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 Shh 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 Afghn
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 Abdlis; 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 Afghnistan, since the death of Ahmed Shh,
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 Penjb, and who defended, as long as they
could, their jgrs, 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 Taimr, and the dissensions of the government of Cbul.
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, Gvind, 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 Penjb, 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 Hindstan, until the establishment of the power of Daulet
Ro Sind, 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 Satlj, acknowledge
obedience and pay tribute to Sind: and it was in the contemplation of
General Perron, had the war with the English government not occurred,
to have subdued the Penjb, 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 Holkr fled into the Penjb, 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 Gr-mat, 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 Mahrta 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 Ad-Grant'h, but also the Dasima Pdshh k
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 Penjb 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
Ryapr. It is situated on the banks of the Byah, or Hyphasis.

[4] He is called, by some authors, Kl Vd; but Vd 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 Asrh, of the Hind ra of Vicramditya, 1545.

[6] Bla Sand'h, who gave this advice, continued, through Nnac's
life, to be his favourite attendant and disciple.

[7] The veneration which the Hinds 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] Ry, a title inferior to that of a Rjah, generally applied to the
Hind chief of a village, or small district.

[9] This remarkable anecdote in Nnac's life is told very differently
by different Sikh authors. I have followed the narrative of Bhacta
Mall. They all agree in Nnac's having, at this period, quitted the
occupations of the world, and become Fakr.

[10] Bhai Gr Vali, author of the Gnyna Ratnvali, a work written in
the Sikh dialect of the Penjb.

[11] Though his biographers have ascribed miracles to Nnac, 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 Nnac has been incorporated in
the first part of the Ad-Grant'h.

[13] This interview must have taken place in 1526 or 1527; as it is
stated to have been immediately after Daulet Khn Ld had visited
Paniput, in 1526; where that prince had fought, and subdued Ibrahim,
emperor of Hindstan.

[14] Recluse penitents, who, by means of mental and corporeal
mortifications, have acquired a command over the powers of nature.

[15] Krtipr Dehra, on the banks of the Rvi, or Hydraotes.

[16] He is, throughout this sketch, called Nnac. Muhammedan historians
generally term him Nnac Shh, to denote his being a Fakr, the name
of Shh being frequently given to men of celebrity in that sect. The
Sikhs, in speaking of him, call him Bb Nnac, or Gr Nnac, father
Nnac, or Nnac the teacher; and their writers term him Nnac Nirinkar,
which means Nnac the omnipresent.

[17] This fanciful etymology represents the word Angad as a compound
of the Sanscrit _Ang_, which signifies _body_, and the Persian _Khd_,
which signifies _own_. This mixture of language is quite common in the
jargon of the Penjb.

[18] Angad died at Khandr, a village about forty miles east of Lahore.

[19] Though a contrary belief is inculcated by Nnac, the Sikhs, like
the Hinds, 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 Rm Ds,
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 Rm Ds
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 Gr Ds B'hal, the author of the Gnyn Ratnval, 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 Gr, or
priest, to leave the Sndi 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." Ad-Grant'h means,
the first Grant'h, or book, and is generally given to this work to
distinguish it from the Dasama Pdshh k Grant'h, or the book of the
tenth king, composed by Gr Gvind.

[23] Though the original Ad-Grant'h was compiled by Arjunmal, from
the writings of Nnac, Angad, Amera Ds, and Rm Ds, 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 Gr Gvind; but several Sikh authors, of great respectability
and information, agree in ascribing to the efforts of Har Gvind, 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 Ratnval of B'hai Gr Ds B'hal; who observes,
"That five phials (of divine grace) were distributed to five Prs
(holy men), but the sixth Pr was a mighty Gr (priest). Arjun threw
off his earthly frame, and the form of Har Gvind mounted the seat of
authority. The Sndi race continued exhibiting their different forms
in their turns. Har Gvind was the destroyer of armies, a martial Gr
(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
Gvind, the son of Arjunmal, and Gvnd, the last and greatest of the
Sikh Grs, the son of Tgh Bahdur. In the Persian sketch, which Major
Browne translates, the name of Har Gvind is not mentioned. The son of
Arjunmal is called Gr Rm Ry, which is obviously a mistake of the
author of that manuscript.

[25] Nnac had forbidden hog's flesh, though a common species of food
among the lower tribe of Hinds, 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 Gvind, during
his ministry, established the practice of invoking the three great
Hind deities, Brahm, Vishnu, and Sva: 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 Tgh Behdur 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.
Tgh Behdur, agreeable to them, provoked his execution by a series
of crimes. He joined, they state, with a Moslem Fakr, of the name of
Hafiz ed Dn; and, supported by a body of armed mendicants, committed
the most violent depredations on the peaceable inhabitants of the
Penjb. The author of the Seir Mutkhherin 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 Satlj.

[30] Gr Gvind is stated, by a Sikh author of respectability, B'hai
Gr Ds B'hal, to have been fourteen years of age when his father was
put to death.

[31] The object of Nnac was to abolish the distinctions of cast
amongst the Hinds, and to bring them to the adoration of that Supreme
Being, before whom all men, he contended, were equal. Gr Gvind,
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 Hinds, the Brhmen, Cshatrya,
Vaisya, and Sdra, would, like _pn_ (betle-leaf), _chunm_ (lime),
_supri_ (betle-nut), and _khat_ (_terra japonica_, or _catechu_),
become all of one colour, when well chewed.

[32] Some men of the lowest Hind tribe, of the occupation of sweepers,
were employed to bring away the corpse of Tgh Bhadur 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 Hinds upon
this point; which is as much a feeling of family pride as of religious
usage.

[34] Spiritual leader.

[35] The goddess Durg Bhavn 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 Hind
mythology. Bla Rm, the elder brother of Crishna, wore blue clothes;
from which he is called Nilmbar, 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 Hjerah 1118, Gr Gvind, agreeably to the directions he had
received from two Brhmen necromancers, threw a number of magical
compounds, given him by these Brhmens, 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 Gvind, 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, "Gr Gvind! thy
wishes shall be fulfilled by thy posterity, and thy followers shall
daily increase." The Brhmens were in despair at this failure; but,
after deep reflection, they told Gvind, 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 Gr 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 Rjs appear, from the same authority, to be descended in a
direct line from Hind gods.

[39] The following short extract from the translation of the Vichitra
Ntac, will show that Gvind gave his friends their full meed of
praise, and will also exhibit the character of his style: "Cripl
rages, wielding his mace: he crushed the skull of the fierce Hyt Khn.
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
Sndi race. Then my maternal uncle, Cripl, advanced in his rage,
and exhibited the skilful war-feats of a true Cshatrya. The mighty
warrior, though struck by an arrow, with another made a valiant Khn
fall from his saddle, and Sheb Chand, of the Cshatrya race, strove
in the battle's fury, and slew a blood-thirsty Khn, a warrior of
Khorsan." After recording the actions of many others, Gvind thus
describes his own deeds: "The blood-drinking spectres and ghosts yelled
for carnage; the fierce Vetla, 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 Hind 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 Rj among a
hundred thousand Rjs. 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] Hyt Khn and Nejbet Khn are mentioned as two of the principal
chiefs of the emperor's army that fell in this first action. Gvind,
speaking of the fall of the latter, says: "When Nejbet Khn fell, the
world exclaimed, Alas! but the region of Swarga (the heavens) shouted
victory."

[41] A mountainous tract of country, that borders on the Penjb. It
lies to the N. W. of Srnagar, and the S. E. of Jammu. The present
Rj, Sansr Chand, is a chief of great respectability. His country
has lately been overrun by the Rj of Nepl and Gore'ha. I derived
considerable information regarding this family, and their territories,
from the envoy of Sansr Chand, who attended Lord Lake, in 1805, when
the British army was in the Penjb.

[42] Though the account of this war is given in a style sufficiently
inflated for the wars of the demons and angels; yet, as Gvind relates,
that Husain Khn returned a messenger, which one of the principal
Rjs 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, Aurungzb
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 Bahder Shh was
detached from the Dek'hin to take charge of the government of Cbul,
and was probably ordered, at the same time, to settle the disturbances
in the Penjb.

[44] There is a remarkable passage in this chapter, in which Gr
Gvind appears to acknowledge the supremacy of the emperor. "God," he
says, "formed both Bb (Nnac) and Bber (the emperor of that name).
Look upon Bb as the Pdshh (king) of religion, and Bber, the lord
of the world. He who will not give Nnac a single damri, (a coin the
sixteenth part of an ana,) will receive a severe punishment from Bber."

[45] Kahilr, or Kahlre, is situated on the Satlj, above Mk'havl.
It is near the mountains through which that river flows into the
Penjb. Another place of the name of Kahilr, or Kahlre, is situated
a short distance from Lahore, to the N. E. of that city.

[46] The Muhammedan authors blame Vzr Khn for this unnecessary and
impolitic act of barbarity.

[47] Bhavn Durg.

[48] In the Penjbi narrative of B'hai Gr Ds B'hal, the actions
of Ajit Singh, and Ranjt Singh, sons of Gvind, are particularly
described; and, from one part of the description, it would appear
that the family of Gvind, proud of their descent, had not laid aside
the _zunr_, or holy cord, to which they were, as belonging to the
Cshatrya 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 Hinds, adorns his descriptions with every image its mythology
can furnish; and claims for his hero the same high honours in Swarga,
that a Brhmen would expect for one of the Pndu 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 Gr Gvind's dying at Nadr, in the Dek'hin, of a wound received
from a Patn, is correct; as it is written on the last page of a copy
of the Ad-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 Chamkur, 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 Hinds, 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 Lhgad, 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 Mutkherin_.

[56] It is necessary, however, to state, that there is a schismatical
sect of Sikhs, who are termed Bandi, 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 Zorwer Singh, who successfully propagated his doctrine. This sect
chiefly resides in Multn, Tata, and the other cities on the banks of
the Indus. They receive the Ad-Grant'h, but not the Dasama Pdshh k
Grant'h.

[57] An account of this class of Sikhs will be hereafter given.

[58] A. D. 1746.

[59] The country between the rivers Rav and Byah, and that river and
the Satlj.

[60] A sect of non-conformist Sikhs, who believe in the Ad-Grant'h
of Nnac, but do not conform to the institutions of Gr Gvind. They
are called Khalsa. This word is said, by some, to be from _khlis_,
_pure_ or _select_, and to mean the purest, or the select: by others,
from _khals_, _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 Mahrtas had, at this proud moment, reached its
zenith. The battle of Pnipat'h took place soon afterwards; since which
it has rapidly declined.

[63] This is a very common usage amongst eastern conquerors. The
history of Jnghz Khn, Taimr and Ndir Shh, 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 Penjb 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 Mhrta armies entered the Penjb, 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. Holkr 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 Penjb[67], a
small part of Multn, and most of that tract of country which lies
between the Jumna and the Satlj, is bounded, to the northward and
westward, by the territories of the king of Cbul; to the eastward, by
the possessions of the mountaineer Rjs of Jammu, Nadn, and Srnagar;
and to the southward, by the territories of the English government, and
the sandy deserts of Jasalmr and Hnsy Hisr.

The Sikhs, who inhabit the country between the Satlj and the Jumna,
are called Mlaw Singh, and were almost all converted from the Hind
tribes of Jts and Gujars. The title of Mlaw Singh was conferred upon
them for their extraordinary gallantry, under the Barg Banda, who is
stated to have declared, that the countries granted to them should be
fruitful as Mlw, one of the provinces[68] in India. The principal
chiefs among the Mlaw Singhs, are, Sheb Singh, of Patil; B'hang
Singh, of T'hnsur; B'hg Singh, of Jhind; and B'hailal Singh, of
Keintal. Besides these, there are several inferior chiefs, such as
Grdah 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 Mlaw Singh is, in some parts, fruitful: but those
districts of it, which border on Hnsy and Carnl, 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 Bairg Banda, who is stated not only to have destroyed its
mosques, but to have levelled all its palaces and public buildings
with the ground. Patil is now the largest and most flourishing town
of this province, and next to it T'hnsur, which is still held in
high religious veneration by the Hinds; who have also a very high
reverence for the river Seraswet, which flows through this province.
The territories of the chiefs of Mlaw Singh are bounded to the N.
W. by the Satlj; between which and the Byah, is the country called
the Jalndra Beit, or Jalndra Db; the Sikhs inhabiting which are
called the Db Singh, or the Singhs who dwell between the rivers[69].
The country of Jalndra Db, which reaches from the mountains to
the junction of the Satlj and the Byah, 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 Jalndra and Sultnpr are the principal in the
Db.

The country between the Byah and Rv rivers is called Bri Db,
or Mnj'h; and the Sikhs inhabiting it are called Mnj'h 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.
Ranjt Singh, of Lahore; Fateh Singh[70], of Alluwl; and Jud'h Singh,
of Rmgadi[71]; are the principal chiefs of this country.

The country of Bri is said to be less fertile, particularly towards
the mountains, than Jalndra; but, as it lies on the same level, it
must possess nearly the same climate and soil.

The inhabitants of the country between the Rv and Chanhb, are called
D'harp Singh, from the country being called D'harp. The D'hanghb
Singh are beyond the Chanhb[72], but within the Jhalam river.

The Sind Singh is the term by which the inhabitants of the districts
under the Sikhs, bordering on the Sind, are known; and Naki Singh is
the name given to the Sikhs who reside in Multn. 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 Multn, as well as those settled on the river
Jhalam, are said to be constantly engaged in a predatory warfare,
either with the officers of the Afghn government, or with Muhammedan
chiefs who have jgrs 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 Khls[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 Gr-mat, or great national council, which is
intended to have a supreme authority over their federative republic, to
take a view of that body of Acls, 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 Acls[74] are a class of Sikh devotees; who, agreeably to the
historians of that nation, were first founded by Gr Gvind, whose
institutes, as it has been before stated, they most zealously defended
against the innovations of the Bairg 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 Bung[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 Acls, 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 Acls have a great interest in maintaining both the religion and
government of the Sikhs, as established by Gr Gvind; 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 Gr-mat, 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 Gr-mat, is convened
by the Acls; 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 Ad-Grant'h and
Dasama Pdshh k Grant'h are placed before them. They all bend their
heads before these scriptures, and exclaim, _W! Grji k Khlsa! W!
Grji 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 Nnac, to eat and to give to others to eat, next
receive the salutation of the assembly, who then rise, and the Acls
pray aloud, while the musicians play. The Acls, 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 Acls then exclaim: "Sirdars!
(chiefs) this is a Gr-mat!" 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
Gr-mat was assembled by Gr Gvind; and the latest was called in
1805, when the British army pursued Holkr into the Penjb.

The principal chiefs of the Sikhs are all descended from Hind 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 Gr Gvind, 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 Khalsa
cast; who, being followers of Nnac, and not of Gr Gvind, 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 Penjb 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 Penjb has been, from the internal
disputes of its possessors, caused the rich produce of Csmr to be
carried to India by the difficult and mountainous tract of Jammu,
Nadn, and Srnagar. 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 Patil, to Hindstan.

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 Korn 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 Gr Gvind, who are all devoted to arms, are
distinguished, is very marked. They have, in general, the Hind cast
of countenance, somewhat altered by their long beards, and are to
the full as active as the Mahrtas; 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 Mahrtas, and less
rude and savage than the Afghns. 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 Hind ancestors, (for the great
majority are of the Hind 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 Khalsa 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 Hinds, 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 Acls, Shahd, and Nirmala, have been
noticed. Their general character is formed from their habits of life.
The Acls 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 Shhd 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 Nnac Pautra,
or descendants of Nnac, who have the character of being a mild,
inoffensive race; and, though they do not acknowledge the institutions
of Gr Gvind, 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 Nnac 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 Nnac, 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 Nnac, or the institutions of Gr Gvind.
They are most particular with regard to their intermarriages; and, on
this point, Sikhs descended from Hinds almost invariably conform to
Hind customs, every tribe intermarrying within itself. The Hind
usage, regarding diet, is also held equally sacred; no Sikh, descended
from a Hind family, ever violating it, except upon particular
occasions, such as a Gr-mat, 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 Jt[88] and
Gujar[89] tribes, which include almost all those settled to the south
of the Satlj, to preserve an intimate intercourse with their original
tribes; who, considering the Sikhs not as having lost cast, but as
Hinds 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 Hinds, such as Brhmens and Cshatryas, who have
become Sikhs, continue to intermarry with converts of their own tribes,
but not with Hinds 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]. Nnac, 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 Jt 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 Penjb; 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 Hinds, 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 Mahrtas. 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 Hinds, 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
Mahrta 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 Ranjt Singh, of Lahore, that could bring an effective body of
four thousand men into the field. The force of Ranjt 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 Aurungzb, 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 Ro
Sind.

[69] With the chiefs of the Sikhs in the Jalndra Db we are little
acquainted. Tr 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 Ranjt Singh, of a Jt family.

[71] Jud'h Singh, of Ramgadi, is of the carpenter cast.

[72] The term Gujart Singh is sometimes given to the inhabitants of
this Db, of which the chiefs of Gujart and Rots are the principal
rulers.

[73] The word Khls, 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
Gr Gvind, it is their civil and religious duty to conform."

[74] Acl, derived from Acl, a compound term of _cl_, _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
Acl! Acl! 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 Gr Gvind:

  Sheb be ki rach'ha hamn,
  Tuhi Sr Sheb, churi, kti, katr--
  Acl purukh ki rach'ha hamn,
  Serv lh di rach'ha hamn,
  Servacl di rach'ha hamn,
  Serv lohji di sada rach'ha hamn.

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 Shahd and Nirmala, two other religious tribes among the
Sikhs, have Bungs, 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 Ad-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 Acls, 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 Hinds, at the temple of
Jagannth, where men of all religions and casts, without distinction,
eat of the Mah Prasd, _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
Hind 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 Khls, or the
army of the state.

[80] The Muhammedans who have become Sikhs, and their descendants, are,
in the Penjbi 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 Patn Singh; by which
designations the names of the particular race or country of the
Muhammedans have been affixed, by Hinds, as distinctions of cast.

[81] The Muhammedan inhabitants of the Penjb 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 Sindi and Holkr, and had conquered Hindstan, 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 Ndir Shh 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 Penjb, in 1805, a general protection
was requested, by several principal chiefs, for the Nnac 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 Jts are Hinds 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
Hindstan, and many of the strongest forts of that part of India are
still in their possession.

[89] The Gujars, who are also Hinds, have raised themselves to power
by means not dissimilar to those used by the Jts. Almost all the
thieves in Hindstan are of this tribe.

[90] A marriage took place very lately between the Sikh chief of
Patil, and that of the Jt Rj, of B'haratpr.

[91] Their prejudice regarding the killing of cows is stronger, if
possible, than that of the Hinds.

[92] The Khalsa Sikhs, who follow Nnac, and reject Gr Gvind's
institutions, make use of it.

[93] Spirituous liquors, they say, are allowed by that verse in the
Ad-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 Hind Sstras,
in favour of this drinking to excess. Durg, agreeably to the Sikh
quotations, used to drink, because liquor inspires courage; and this
goddess, they say, was drunk when she slew Mahshsur.

[94] When Fateh Singh, of Aluwl, 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'hg 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 Hind mythology, and the fables of Muhammedanism; for Nnac
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 Brahm and Muhammed, he
endeavoured to conciliate both Hinds 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 Hinds 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
Hinds, 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 Sfi sect; and
he constantly referred to the admired writings of the celebrated
Muhammedan Kabr[96], who was a professed Sfi, and who inculcated
the doctrine of the equality of the relation of all created beings to
their Creator. Nnac endeavoured, with all the power of his own genius,
aided by such authorities, to impress both Hinds 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, Sanyss
and Fakrs, 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 Hinds 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 Nnac made no material invasion of either the civil or religious
usages of the Hinds, 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 Hind religion; and those Sikhs who adhere to
his tenets, without admitting those of Gr Gvind, are hardly to be
distinguished from the great mass of Hind population; among whom there
are many sects who differ, much more than that of Nnac, from the
general and orthodox worship at present established in India.

The first successors of Nnac appear to have taught exactly the
same doctrine as their leader; and though Har Gvind armed all his
followers, it was on a principle of self-defence, in which he was
fully justified, even by the usage of the Hinds. It was reserved for
Gr Gvind to give a new character to the religion of his followers;
not by making any material alteration in the tenets of Nnac, but
by establishing institutions and usages, which not only separated
them from other Hinds, 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 Hinds 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 Gr Gvind
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 Hinds 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 Brhmen,
Cshatrya, Vaisya, and Sdra, were abolished. The pride of descent
might remain, and keep up some distinctions; but, in the religious code
of Gvind, every Khlsa 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 Gr Gvind mixes, even more than Nnac, the mythology of the
Hinds 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 Hind sacred shrines; and though the
peculiar customs and dress among his followers, are stated to have been
adopted from veneration to the Hind goddess of courage, Drga Bhavn;
yet it is impossible to reconcile the religion and usages, which
Gvind has established, with the belief of the Hinds. It does not,
like that of Nnac, question some favourite dogmas of the disciples of
Brahm, 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 Gr Gvind prevails, the
institutions of Brahm 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 Hind mythology, and have rendered the religion
of the Sikhs as obnoxious to the Brhmens, and higher tribes of the
Hinds, 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 Nnac: he describes the different Yugas, or ages of
the world, stated in the Hind mythology. The Cli 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
Cli 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 Vdas, 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 Rj (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 Sanyss, and the twelve sects of Ygis, originated. The Jangam,
the Srvra, and the Dva Digambar, entered into mutual contests. The
Brhmens divided into different classes; and the Sstras, Vdas, and
Purnas[101], contradicted each other. The six Dersans (philosophical
sects) exhibited enmity, and the thirty-six Pshands (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 Cli Yug, or age of general
depravity."

The Sikh author pursues this account of the errors into which the
Hinds 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
Rzeh o Ad (fast and festivals), and the Namz (prayer), and made his
practice of devotional acts prevalent in the world, with a multitude of
distinctions, of Pr (saint), Paighamber (prophet), Ulem (the order
of priesthood), and Kitb (the Korn). 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
Cfirs (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
Hind, the other Muhammedan; and both were alike excited by pride,
enmity, and avarice, to violence. The Hinds set their heart on Gang
and Benares; the Muhammedans on Mecca and the Caba: the Hinds clung
to their mark on the forehead and brahminical string; the Moslemans
to their circumcision: the one cried Rm (the name of an Avatr), the
other Rahm (the merciful); one name, but two ways of pronouncing it;
forgetting equally the Vdas and the Korn: and through the deceptions
of lust, avarice, the world, and Satan, they swerved equally from the
true path: while Brhmens 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 Nnac, 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."

Nnac 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 Nnac had completed his terrestrial travels, he is supposed to
have ascended to Sumru, 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:
"Nnac shall form his own sect, distinct from all the Yats[107] and
Sidd'his; and his name shall be joyful to the Cli Yug." After this,
Nnac preached the adoration of the true God to the Hinds; 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 Hinds, was the best?
"Without the practice of true piety, both," said Nnac, "are erroneous,
and neither Hinds 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 Rm
and Rahm, and the way of Satan prevails in the universe."

The courageous independence with which Nnac 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 Nnac, "in a direction where the
house of God is not."

Nnac 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 Korn; 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 Vdas, of the Hinds; 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 Hinds 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 Hinds and Moslemans, are as impious as they are unjust."

Such were the doctrines, according to his disciples, which Nnac taught
to both Hinds 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 Nnac, "a million of Brahms,
Vishnus, and a hundred thousand Rmas, 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 Hind whose heart is just; and he only is a good Muhammedan whose
life is pure."

Nnac 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 Nnac heard a voice from above exclaim,
Nnac, approach!" He replied, "Oh God! what power have I to stand in
thy presence?" The voice said, "Close thine eyes." Nnac shut his eyes,
and advanced: he was told to look up: he did so, and heard the word
_W!_ or _well done_, pronounced five times; and then _W! Grj_, or
_well done teacher_. After this God said, "Nnac! I have sent thee into
the world, in the Cli Yug (or depraved age); go and bear my name."
Nnac 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 Gr (teacher)," said God, "and thou shalt be a Gr to
all mankind, and thy sect shall be great in the world; their word is
Pr Pr. The word of the Bairg is Rm! Rm! that of the Sanys,
Om! Nam! Nryen! and the word of the Ygs, Ads! Ads! and the
salutation of the Muhammedans is Salm Alkam; and that of the Hinds,
Rm! Rm! but the word of thy sect shall be Gr, and I will forgive
the crimes of thy disciples. The place of worship of the Bairgs is
called Rmsla; that of the Ygs, Asan; that of the Sanyss, Mt;
that of thy tribe shall be Dherma Sla. 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 Cli Yug." After this,
"_W Gr!_ or _well done, teacher!_ was pronounced from the mouth of
the most high Gr or teacher (God), and Nnac 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 Nnac, might justly be deemed the religion of peace.

"Put on armour," says Nnac, "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 Nnac 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 Korn[109].
He admitted the truth of the ancient Vdas, but contended that the
Hind 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 Hinds, 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 Hind Dvas, and Dvats, 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.

Nnac, according to Penjbi authors, admitted the Hind 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 Nnac 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 Hind and in the Muhammedan religion, that it was not
difficult for Nnac to reconcile his followers upon this point: but
in this, as in all others, he seems to have bent to the doctrine of
Brahm. In all his writings, however, he borrowed indifferently from
the Korn and the Hind Sstras; and his example was followed by his
successors; and quotations from the scriptures of the Hinds, 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 Nnac instructed his followers to address
their prayers to that supreme Being whom he taught them to adore, I
am not acquainted. Their D'herma Sla, 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 Nnac, which have since been incorporated with those of his
successors, in the Ad-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 Ad-Grant'h, the
whole of the first part of which is ascribed to Nnac, is written, like
the rest of the books of the Sikhs, in the Grmuk'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 Ad-Grant'h is in verse; and many of the chapters, written by
Nnac, are termed Pdi, 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 Sdar rg s
mahilla pehla of Nnac, he displays the supremacy of the true God,
and the inferiority of the Dvats, 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 Rj (the Hind Rhadamanthus) celebrates thy praises,
    at thy gates.
  Chitragupta (Secretary to D'herma Rj) celebrates thy praises;
    who, skilful in writing, writes and administers final justice.
  Iswara, Brahm, and Dvi, celebrate thy praises;
    they declare in fit terms thy majesty, at thy gates.
  Indra celebrates thy praises, sitting on the Indraic throne
    amid the Dvats.
  The just celebrate thy praises in profound meditation,
    the pious declare thy glory.
  The Yats and the Sats joyfully celebrate thy might.
  The Pandits, skilled in reading, and the Rishswaras,
    who, age by age, read the Vdas, recite thy praises.
  The Mhins (celestial courtezans), heart alluring,
    inhabiting Swarga, Mritya, and Ptl, celebrate thy praises.
  The Ratnas (gems), with the thirty-eight Trt'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 Brahmnda (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 Nnac 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 My (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 Pdshh and the Pdsheb of Shhs;
    Nnac resides in his favour.

These few verses are, perhaps, sufficient to show, that it was on a
principle of pure deism that Nnac 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 Nnac, 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 Nnac[111], till the time of Gr Gvind; 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 Nnac, they deem
Gr Gvind to have been equally exalted, by the immediate favour and
protection of the Divinity; and the Dasama Pdshh k Grant'h, or book
of the tenth king, which was written by Gr Gvind, is considered, in
every respect, as holy as the Ad-Grant'h of Nnac, and his immediate
successors. I cannot better explain the pretensions which Gr Gvind
has made to the rank of a prophet, than by exhibiting his own account
of his mission in a literal version from his Vichitra Ntac.

"I now declare my own history, and the multifarious austerities which
I have performed.

"Where the seven peaks rise beautiful on the mountain Hmacuta, and the
place takes the name of Sapta Sringa, greater penance have I performed
than was ever endured by Pndu Rj, meditating constantly on Mah Cl
and Clica, till diversity was changed into one form. My father and
mother meditated on the Divinity, and performed the Yga, till Gr
Dva approved of their devotions. Then the Supreme issued his order,
and I was born, in the Cli 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 Paramswara, 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 Jp, 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 Gr Dva. '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 Avatr established his own Jp; but no one punished the
irreligious, no one established both the principles and practice of
virtue, (Dherm Carm). Every holy man (Ghus), 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 Korn, whoever reads the Purn, neither of them
shall escape death, and nothing but virtue shall avail at last.
Millions of men may read the Korn, they may read innumerable Purns;
but it shall be of no avail in the life to come, and the power of
destiny shall prevail over them."

Gr Gvind, 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 Ds 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 Dva Lca. When
I was invested with the dignity of Rja, 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 Pvat, 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 Gr
Gvind 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 Gr Gvind was brought up in the religion of Nnac, he appears,
from having been educated among the Hind 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 Gr Gvind, is that
of the Phal,--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 Khlsa, 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 Gr Gvind 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. Gr Gvind, he says, after his arrival at Mk'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 Gr 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 Ad-Grant'h,
and the first chapters of the Dasama Pdshh k Grant'h, are read; and
those who perform the initiation exclaim, _W! Grji k Khlsa! W!
Grji k Fateh!_ (Success to the state of the Gr! Victory attend
the Gr!) 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 Gr Gvind. 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 Mna D'hirmal; who,
though of the race of Nnac, 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 Musandi; a sect who call themselves Grs,
or priests, and endeavour to introduce heterodox doctrines[114]. The
third, Rm Ry, the descendants of Rm Ry, whose intrigues were the
great cause of the destruction of the holy ruler, Tgh Singh. The
fourth are the Kud i-mr, or destroyers[115] of their own daughters.
Fifth, the Bhadan, 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 Bb Nnac. 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 Khlsa,
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 Gr (Gr Gvind). He is instructed to believe, that it is the
duty of all those who belong to the Khlsa, 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 Ad-Grant'h and
Dasama Pdshh k 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.

Gr Gvind 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 Gvind 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 Gr Gvind,
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 Gr Gvind's religious institutions, which
obliges his followers to devote themselves to arms, is stated, in
one of the chapters of the Dasama Pdshh k Grant'h, or book of
the tenth king, written in praise of Drga B'havn, the goddess of
courage: "Drga," Gr Gvind 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 Pdshh k Grant'h of Gr Gvind appears, from the extracts
which I have seen of it, to abound in fine passages. Its author has
borrowed largely from the Sstras of the Brahmns, and the Korn. He
praises Nnac 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 Hind 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 Vdas, 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 Gr Gvind has separated his
followers for ever from the Hinds, 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 Hinds,
agreeable to the Dherma Sstra, (one of the most revered of their
sacred writings,) carrying arms on all occasions, as an occupation, is
only lawful to the Cshatrya or military tribe. A Brhmen is allowed to
obtain a livelihood by arms, if he can by no other mode. The Vaisya and
Sdra are not allowed to make arms their profession, though they may
use them in self-defence.

The sacred book of Gr Gvind is not confined to religious subjects,
or tales of Hind 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 Gvind, 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 Gvind will be best
collected from their most esteemed authors.

"Gr Gvind Singh," one[118] of those writers states, "appeared as the
tenth Avatr. He meditated on the Creator himself, invisible, eternal,
and incomprehensible. He established the Khlsa, 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 Dvats, his foes, he inflicted on them punishment;
and, with great success, diffused the sublime Gr Jp (a mystical
form of prayer composed by Gr Gvind) 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 Hind
Rjs, 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 Gr! 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 Gr Gvind
breathed against the Muhammedans; and of the manner in which it treated
those sacred writings, upon which most of the established usages of
Hinds are grounded.

"By the command of the Eternal, the great Gr disseminated the true
knowledge. Full of strength and courage, he successfully established
the Khlsa (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
Vdas, the Purns, the six Sstras, and the Korn; he abolished the
cry of Namz (Muhammedan prayer), and slew the Sultans; reducing the
Mrs and Prs (the lords and priests of the Muhammedans) to silence, he
overturned all their sects; the Moullahs (professors), and the Kzis
(judges), were confounded, and found no benefit from their studies. The
Brhmens, the Pandits, and the Jtshis (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 Hind,
remained involved in delusion and ignorance, when the third sect of
the Khlsa originated in purity. When, at the order of Gr Gvind,
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 Nakra (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 Gr Gvind; 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 Gvind 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 Hind
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 Bairg Banda to alter the religious institutions of Gr Gvind,
and its failure. The tribe of Acls (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 Khlsa 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 Gr Gvind, 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 Khlsa (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 Gr Gvind, 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 Khlsa (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 Sfi, or philosophical deist, lived in the time
of the Emperor Shr Shh. 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 Hinds, by both of
whom his memory is held in the highest esteem and veneration.

[97] Nnac 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 Hinds do not appear to have paid adoration
to idols; but, though they adored God, they worshipped the sun and
elements.

[99] B'hai Gr Ds B'hal.

[100] Brhmen, Cshatrya, Vaisya, and Sdra.

[101] Different sacred books of the Hinds.

[102] Yr signifies _friend_; and one of the prophet's titles, among
his followers, is Yar-i-Khud, 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 Nnac; though his doctrines and writings had a tendency to
equalize the Hinds, 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 Gansa.

[107] The name Yat is most usually applied to the priests of the
Jainas; but it is also applicable to Sanyss, and other penitents.

[108] Nnac appears on this, and every other occasion, to have
preserved his attachment to this favourite dogma of the Hinds.

[109] This fact is admitted by Sikh authors. It is, however, probable,
that Nnac was but imperfectly acquainted with the doctrines of that
volume.

[110] A modified species of the Ngari character.

[111] Certainly no material alteration was made, either in the belief
or forms of the Sikhs, by any of his successors before Gr Gvind.
Har Gvind, 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 Gvind 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 Khlsa Singh,
and the two others of the Khalsa tribe of Sikhs. I was laughing and
joking with the Khlsa 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 Khalsa 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, Bhavn Durg, represented in the Dasama
Pdshh k Grant'h, or book of kings of Gr Gvind, 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] Gr Gvind put to death many of this tribe.

[115] This barbarous custom still prevails among the Rjapts in many
parts of Hindstan.

[116] Agreeably to this author, Gr Gvind was initiated on Friday,
the 8th of the month B'hdra, in the year 1753 of the ra of
Vicramditya; and on that day his great work, the Dasama Pdshh k
Grant'h, or book of the tenth king, was completed.

[117] An author, whom I have often quoted, says, Gr Gvind gave
the following injunctions to his followers: "It is right to slay a
Muhammedan wherever you meet him. If you meet a Hind, 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 Gr Ds Bhal.




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Transcriber's Notes


Obvious errors of punctuation and diacritics repaired.

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Pp. 41, 78fn: Dehli -> Delhi.

P. 63fn: Kahlr -> Kahilr.

P. 71: a town situate -> a town situated.





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