,,sketch    ,,of    ,,the ,,sikhs2    ,a
 ,singular ,nation1    ,,who ,,inhabit  
,,the    ,,provinces ,,of ,,the         
,,penjab1    ,,situated ,,between       
,the ,rivers ,jumna and ,indus4         
,,by    ,,lieutenant-,,colonel          
,,malcolm1    ,,author ,,of ,,the       
,,political ,,sketch ,,of ,,india4      
,,london3    ,,printed ,,for ,,john     
,,murray1 ,,albemarle ,,street1    ,by  
,james ,moyes1 ,greville ,street1       
,hatton ,garden4      #ahab4            
,,advertisement4      ,this ,sketch has 
already appeared in the eleventh volume 
of the ,asiatic  ,researches3 but1 as   
that valuable work is not in common     
circulation1  it is now republished2 and
 may prove acceptable1 as a short and   
clear  account of an oriental people1 of
 singular religion and manners1 with    
whose history the ,european reader can  
be but little acquainted4               
,,sketch ,,of ,,the ,,sikhs4            
,,introduction4      ,when with the     
,british army in the ,penjb1 in #ahje1  

,i endeavoured to  collect materials    
that would throw light upon the history1
 manners1 and  religion of the ,sikhs4  
,though this subject had been treated by
 several  ,english writers1 none of them
 had possessed opportunities of         
obtaining  more than very general       
information regarding this extraordinary
 race2  and their narratives therefore1 
though meriting regard1 have served     
more to excite than to gratify          
curiosity4    ,in addition to the       
information ,i collected while the army 
continued  within the territories of the
 ,sikhs1 and the personal observations  
,i was able to make1 during that period1
 upon the customs and manners  of that  
nation1 ,i succeeded with difficulty in 
obtaining a copy of  the ,ad-,grant'h#a1
 and of some historical tracts1 the most
 essential  parts of which1 when ,i     
returned to ,calcutta1 were explained to
 me by a  ,sikh priest of the ,nirmala  
order1 whom ,i found equally intelligent
 and  communicative1 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    
,penjb4 ,this slender stock of materials
 was subsequently much enriched  by my  
friend ,dr4 ,leyden1 who has favoured me
 with a translation of  several tracts  
written by ,sikh authors in the ,penjb  
and ,dggar  dialects1 treating of their 
history and religion2 which1 though full
  of that warm imagery which marks all  
oriental works1 and particularly  those 
whose authors enter on the boundless    
field of ,hind mythology1  contain the  
most valuable verifications of the      
different religious  institutions of the
 ,sikh nation4    ,it was my first      
intention to have endeavoured to add to 
these  materials1 and to have written1  
when ,i had leisure1 a history of the   
,sikhs2 but the active nature of my     
public duties has made it impossible  to
 carry this plan into early execution1  
and ,i have had the choice of  deferring
 it to a distant and uncertain period2  

or of giving1 from  what ,i actually    
possessed1 a short and hasty sketch of  
their history1  customs1 and religion4  
,the latter alternative ,i have adopted3
 for1  although the information ,i may  
convey in such a sketch may be very     
defective1 it will be useful at a moment
 when every information  regarding the  
,sikhs is of importance2 and it may1    
perhaps1 stimulate  and aid some person1
 who has more leisure and better        
opportunities1 to  accomplish that task 
which ,i once contemplated4    ,in      
composing this rapid sketch of the      
,sikhs1 ,i have still had to  encounter 
various difficulties4 ,there is no part 
of oriental biography  in which it is   
more difficult to separate truth from   
falsehood1 than  that which relates to  
the history of religious impostors4 ,the
 account  of their lives is generally   
recorded1 either by devoted disciples   
and warm adherents1 or by violent       
enemies and bigotted persecutors4  ,the 
former1 from enthusiastic admiration1   

decorate them with every  quality and   
accomplishment that can adorn men3 the  
latter misrepresent  their characters1  
and detract from all their merits and   
pretensions4  ,this general remark ,i   
have found to apply with peculiar force 
to the  varying accounts given1 by ,sikh
 and ,muhammedan authors1 of ,nnac and  
his successors4 ,as it would have been  
an endless and unprofitable task  to    
have entered into a disquisition        
concerning all the points in which      
these authors differ1 many              
considerations have induced me to give a
  preference1 on almost all occasions1  
to the original ,sikh writers4 ,in      
every research into the general history 
of mankind1 it is of the most  essential
 importance to hear what a nation has to
 say of itself2 and  the knowledge      
obtained from such sources has a value1 
independent of  its historical utility4 
,it aids the promotion of social        
intercourse1  and leads to the          
establishment of friendship between     

nations4 ,the  most savage states are   
those who have most prejudices1 and who 
are  consequently most easily           
conciliated or offended3 they are always
  pleased and flattered1 when they find1
 that those whom they cannot  but admit 
to possess superior intelligence1 are   
acquainted with their  history1 and     
respect their belief and usages3 and1 on
 the contrary1  they hardly ever pardon 
an outrage against their religion or    
customs1  though committed by men who   
have every right to plead the most      
profound  ignorance1 as an excuse for   
the words or actions that have provoked 
resentment4          ,,section ,i4      
,,sketch ,,of ,,the ,,history ,,and     
,,present ,,state ,,of ,,the ,,sikhs2   
,,with    ,,observations ,,on ,,their   
,,religious ,,institutions1 ,,usages1   
,,manners1 ,,and    ,,character4        
,nnac ,shh1 the founder of the sect1    
since distinguished by the name  of     
,sikhs#b1 was born in the year of       
,christ #adfi1 at a small village       

called ,talwandi#c1 in the district of  
,bhatti1 in the province of  ,lahore4   
,his father1 whose name was ,cl#d1 was  
of the ,cshatrya  cast1 and ,vd tribe of
 ,hinds1 and had no family except ,nnac1
 and  his sister ,nnaci1 who married a  
,hind of the name of ,jayarm1 that  was 
employed as a grain-factor by ,daulet   
,khn ,ld1 a relation of the  reigning   
emperor of ,delhi4 ,nnac was1 agreeably 
to the usage of the  tribe in which he  
was born1 married to a woman of         
respectable family1  at an early age#e1 
by whom he had two sons1 named ,srchand 
and ,lacshm  ,ds4 ,the former1 who      
abandoned the vanities of the world1 had
 a son  called ,dherm ,chand1 who       
founded the sect of ,uds2 and his       
descendants  are yet known by the name  
of ,nnac ,putrh1 or the children of     
,nnac4  ,lacshm ,ds addicted himself to 
the pleasures of this world1 and left   
neither heirs nor reputation4    ,nnac  
is stated1 by all ,sikh writers1 to have
 been1 from his  childhood1 inclined to 

devotion2 and the indifference which    
this  feeling created towards all       
worldly concerns1 appears to have been  
a source of continual uneasiness to his 
father2 who endeavoured1 by  every      
effort1 to divert his mind from the     
religious turn which it  had taken4     
,with a view to effect this object1 he  
one day gave ,nnac  a sum of money1 to  
purchase salt at one village1 in order  
to sell it  at another2 in the hope of  
enticing him to business1 by allowing   
him  to taste the sweets of commercial  
profit4 ,nnac was pleased with the      
scheme1 took the money1 and proceeded1  
accompanied by a servant of  the name of
 ,bla1 of the tribe of ,sand'h1 towards 
the village where  he was to make his   
purchase4 ,he happened1 however1 on the 
road1 to  fall in with some ,fakrs1     
7holy mendicants17 with whom he wished  
to  commence a conversation2 but they   
were so weak1 from want of victuals1    
which they had not tasted for three     
days1 that they could only reply  to the

 observations of ,nnac by bending their 
heads1 and other civil  signs of        
acquiescence4 ,nnac1 affected by their  
situation1 said to his  companion1 with 
emotion3 ,my father has sent me to deal 
in salt1 with a  view to profit2 but the
 gain of this world is unstable1 and    
profitless2  my wish is to relieve these
 poor men1 and to obtain that gain which
 is  permanent and eternal4 ,his        
companion#f replied3 ,thy resolution is 
good3 do not delay its execution4 ,nnac 
immediately distributed his  money among
 the hungry ,fakrs2 who1 after they had 
gained strength from  the refreshment   
which it obtained them1 entered into a  
long discourse  with him on the unity of
 ,god1 with which he was much delighted4
 ,he  returned next day to his father1  
who demanded what profit he had made8   
,i have fed the poor1 said ,nnac1 and   
have obtained that gain for  you which  
will endure for ever4 ,as the father    
happened to have little  value for the  
species of wealth which the son had     

acquired1 he was  enraged at having his 
money so fruitlessly wasted1 abused poor
 ,nnac1  and even struck him2 nor could 
the mild representations of ,nnac save  
her brother from the violence of        
parental resentment4 ,fortune1 however1 
according to the ,sikh narrators of this
 anecdote of their teacher's  early     
life1 had raised him a powerful         
protector1 who not only rescued  him    
from punishment1 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 father4 ,when ,nnac was quite
 a youth1 and  employed to tend cattle  
in the fields1 he happened to repose    
himself  one day under the shade of a   
tree2 and1 as the sun declined towards  
the west1 its rays fell on his face1    
when a large black snake#g1  advancing  
to the spot where he lay1 raised itself 
from the ground1  and interposed its    
spread hood between ,nnac and the sun's 
rays4 ,ry  ,bolar#h1 the ruler of the   

district1 was passing the road1 near the
  place where ,nnac slept1 and marked1  
in silence1 though not without          
reflection1 this unequivocal sign of his
 future greatness4 ,this chief          
overheard ,cl punishing his son for his 
kindness to the ,fakrs4 ,he  immediately
 entered1 and demanded the cause of the 
uproar2 and1 when  informed of the      
circumstances1 he severely chid ,cl for 
his conduct1  and interdicted him from  
ever again lifting his hand to ,nnac1   
before  whom1 to the astonishment of all
 present1 he humbled himself with every 
mark of the most profound veneration4   
,though ,cl1 from this event1 was       
obliged to treat his son with more      
respect than formerly1 he remained  as  
solicitous as ever to detach him from   
his religious habits1 and  to fix him in
 some worldly occupation2 and he        
prevailed upon ,jayrm1  his son-in-law1 
to admit him into partnership in his    
business4 ,nnac1  obliged to acquiesce  
in these schemes1 attended at the       

granary of  ,daulet ,khn ,ld1 which was 
in charge of ,jayrm2 but though his     
hands  were employed in this work1 and  
his kindness of manner made all the     
inhabitants of ,sultnpr1 where the      
granary was established1 his  friends1  
yet his heart never strayed for one     
moment from its object4  ,it was        
incessantly fixed on the ,divinity2 and 
one morning1 as he sat  in a            
contemplative posture1 a holy           
,muhammedan ,fakr approached1 and       
exclaimed3 ,oh ,nnac6 upon what are thy 
thoughts now employed8 ,quit  such      
occupations1 that thou mayest obtain the
 inheritance of eternal  wealth4 ,nnac  
is said to have started up at this      
exclamation1 and  after looking for a   
moment in the face of the ,fakr1 he fell
 into a  trance2 from which he had no   
sooner recovered1 than he immediately   
distributed every thing in the granary  
among the poor#i3 and1 after  this act1 
proceeded with loud shouts out of the   
gates of the city1 and  running into a  

pool of water1 remained there three     
days2 during which  some writers assert 
he had an interview with the prophet    
,elias1 termed  by the ,muhammedans1    
,khizzer1 from whom he learnt all       
earthly sciences4    ,while ,nnac       
remained in the pool1 abstracted from   
all worldly  considerations1 holding    
converse with a prophet1 poor ,jayrm was
 put  in prison by ,daulet ,khn ,ld1 on 
the charge of having dissipated his     
property4 ,nnac1 however1 returned1 and 
told ,daulet ,khn that ,jayrm  was      
faultless2 that he was the object of    
punishment2 and that1 as such1  he held 
himself ready to render the strictest   
account of all he had  lost4 ,the ,khn  
accepted his proposal3 ,jayrm's accounts
 were settled2  and1 to the surprise of 
all1 a balance was found in his favour2 
on  which he was not only released1 but 
reinstated in the employment and  favour
 of his master4 ,we are told1 by the    
,sikh authors1 that these  wonderful    
actions increased the fame of ,nnac in a

 very great degree2  and that he began1 
from this period1 to practise all the   
austerities  of a holy man2 and1 by his 
frequent abstraction in the             
contemplation  of the divine ,being1 and
 his abstinence and virtue1 he soon     
acquired  great celebrity through all   
the countries into which he travelled4  
,there are many extravagant accounts    
regarding the travels of ,nnac4 ,one    
author#aj1 who treats of the great      
reform which he made in the worship  of 
the true ,god1 which he found degraded  
by the idolatry of the ,hinds1  and the 
ignorance of the ,muhammedans1 relates  
his journey to all the  different ,hind 
places of pilgrimage1 and to ,mecca1 the
 holy temple of  the ,muhammedans4      
,it would be tedious1 and foreign to the
 purpose of this sketch1 to  accompany  
,nnac in his travels1 of which the      
above-mentioned author1  as well as     
others1 has given the most              
circumstantial accounts4 ,he was        
accompanied 7agreeable to them7 by a    

celebrated musician1 of the name  of    
,merdan1 and a person named ,bla        
,sand'h2 and it is on the tradition  of 
the latter of these disciples1 that most
 of the miracles#aa and  wonders of his 
journies are related4 ,in ,bengal1 the  
travellers had to  encounter all kinds  
of sorcerers and magicians4 ,poor       
,merdan1 who had  some of the           
propensities of ,sancho1 and preferred  
warm houses and good  meals to deserts  
and starvation1 was constantly in       
trouble1 and more  than once had his    
form changed into that of a sheep1 and  
of several  other animals4 ,nnac1       
however1 always restored his humble     
friend to the  human shape1 and as      
constantly read him lectures on his     
imprudence4  ,it is stated1 in one of   
those accounts1 that a ,rj of ,sivanb'hu
  endeavoured to tempt ,nnac1 by        
offering him all the luxuries of the    
world1 to depart from his austere       
habits1 but in vain4 ,his presents  of  
rich meats1 splendid clothes1 and fair  

ladies1 only afforded the  ,sikh teacher
 so many opportunities of decrying the  
vanities of this  world1 and preaching  
to the ,rj the blessings of eternal     
life2 and he  at last succeeded in      
making him a convert1 and resided at    
,sivanb'hu  two years and five months2  
during which period he composed the ,prn
  ,sancali#ab1 for the instruction of   
his followers4 ,after ,nnac had  visited
 all the cities of ,india1 and explained
 to all ranks the great  doctrines of   
the unity and omnipresence of ,god1 he  
went to ,mecca and  ,medina1 where his  
actions1 his miracles1 and his long     
disputations  with the most celebrated  
,muhammedan saints and doctors1 are most
  circumstantially recorded by his      
biographers4 ,he is stated1 on this     
occasion1 to have maintained his own    
principles1 without offending  those of 
others2 always professing himself the   
enemy of discord1 and  as having no     
object but to reconcile the two faiths  
of the ,muhammedans  and ,hinds in one  

religion2 which he endeavoured to do by 
recalling  them to that great and       
original tenet1 in which they both      
believed1  the unity of ,god1 and by    
reclaiming them from the numerous errors
  into which they had fallen4 ,during   
his travels1 ,nnac was introduced  to   
the emperor ,bber#ac1 before whom he is 
said to have defended  his doctrine with
 great firmness and eloquence4 ,bber was
 pleased  with him1 and ordered an ample
 maintenance to be bestowed upon him2   
which the ,sikh priest refused2         
observing1 that he trusted in him who   
provided for all men1 and from whom     
alone a man of virtue and religion      
would consent to receive favour or      
reward4 ,when ,nnac returned from  his  
travels1 he cast off the garments of a  
,fakr1 and wore plain  clothes1 but     
continued to give instructions to his   
numerous disciples2  and he appears1 at 
this period1 to have experienced the    
most violent  opposition from the ,hind 
zealots1 who reproached him with having 

laid  aside the habits of a ,fakr1 and  
with the impiety of the doctrines  which
 he taught4 ,these accusations he       
treated with great contempt2  and an    
author1 before cited1 ,bhai ,gr ,ds     
,vali1 states1 that when  he visited    
,vatla1 he enraged the ,ygswaras#ad so  
much1 that they  tried all their powers 
of enchantment to terrify him4 ,some1   
says  this writer1 assumed the shape of 
lions and tigers1 others hissed  like   
snakes1 one fell in a shower of fire1   
and another tore the stars  from the    
firmament2 but ,nnac remained tranquil3 
and when required to  exhibit some proof
 of his powers that would astonish them1
 he replied3  ,i have nothing to exhibit
 worthy of you to behold4 ,a holy       
teacher has  no defence but the purity  
of his doctrine3 the world may change1  
but  the ,creator is unchangeable4      
,these words1 adds the author1 caused   
the  miracles and enchantments of the   
,ygswaras to cease1 and they all fell   
at the feet of the humble ,nnac1 who was

 protected by the all perfect  ,god4    
,nnac1 according to the same authority1 
went from ,vatla to ,multn1  where he   
communed with the ,prs1 or holy fathers 
of the ,muhammedan  religion of that    
country4 ,i am come1 said he1 when he   
entered that  province1 into a country  
full of ,prs1 like the sacred ,gang1    
visiting  the ocean4 ,from ,multn he    
went to ,krtipr#ae1 where he threw off  
his  earthly shape1 and was buried near 
the bank of the river ,rvi1 which  has  
since overflowed his tomb4 ,krtipr      
continues a place of religious  resort  
and worship2 and a small piece of       
,nnac's garment is exhibited  to        
pilgrims1 as a sacred relic1 at his     
,dharmasl1 or temple4    ,it would be   
difficult to give the character of      
,nnac#af on the  authority of any       
account we yet possess4 ,his writings1  
especially  the first chapters of the   
,ad-,grant'h1 will1 if ever translated1 
be  perhaps a criterion by which he may 
be fairly judged2 but the great         

eminence which he obtained1 and the     
success with which he combated the      
opposition which he met1 afford ample   
reason to conclude that he was  a man of
 more than common genius3 and this      
favourable impression of  his character 
will be confirmed by a consideration of 
the object of  his life1 and the means  
he took to accomplish it4 ,born in a    
province  on the extreme verge of       
,india1 at the very point where the     
religion of  ,muhammed and the          
idolatrous worship of the ,hinds        
appeared to touch1  and at a moment when
 both these tribes cherished the most   
violent  rancour and animosity towards  
each other1 his great aim was to blend  
those jarring elements in peaceful      
union1 and he only endeavoured to       
effect this purpose through the means of
 mild persuasion4 ,his wish was  to     
recall both ,muhammedans and ,hinds to  
an exclusive attention to that          
sublimest of all principles1 which      
inculcates devotion to ,god1 and  peace 

towards man4 ,he had to combat the      
furious bigotry of the one1 and  the    
deep-rooted superstition of the other2  
but he attempted to overcome  all       
obstacles by the force of reason and    
humanity4 ,and we cannot have a  more   
convincing proof of the general         
character of that doctrine which  he    
taught1 and the inoffensive light in    
which it was viewed1 than the  knowledge
 that its success did not rouse the     
bigotry of the intolerant  and          
tyrannical ,muhammedan government under 
which he lived4    ,nnac did not deem   
either of his sons1 before mentioned1   
worthy of  the succession to his        
spiritual functions1 which he bequeathed
 to  a ,cshatrya of the ,trhn tribe1    
called ,lehana1 who had long been       
attached to him1 and whom he had        
initiated in the sacred mysteries of    
his sect1 clothed in the holy mantle of 
a ,fakr1 and honoured with the  name of 
,angad#ag1 which1 according to some     
commentators1 means own  body4    ,gr   

,angad1 for that is the name by which he
 is known by all ,sikhs1 was  born at   
the village of ,khandr1 on the bank of  
the ,byah1 or ,hyphasis1  in the        
province of ,lahore4 ,his life does not 
appear to have been  distinguished by   
any remarkable actions4 ,he taught the  
same doctrine as  ,nnac1 and wrote some 
chapters that now form part of the      
,grant'h4 ,he  left two sons1 ,vsu and  
,dtu1 but neither of them was initiated2
 and  he was succeeded1 at his death#ah1
 which happened in the year ,a4 ,d4     
#aeeb1 and of the ,samvat #afji1 by     
,amera ,ds1 a ,cshatrya of the tribe of 
,b'hal1 who performed the duties of a   
menial towards him for upwards  of      
twelve years4 ,it is stated1 that the   
daily occupation of ,amera ,ds  was to  
bring water from the ,byah river1 a     
distance of six miles1 to  wash the feet
 of his master2 and that one night1     
during a severe storm1  as he was       
returning from his journey1 his foot    
slipped1 and he fell  and broke the     

vessel that contained the river water1  
opposite the  door of a weaver1 who     
lived next house to ,angad4 ,the weaver1
 startled  at the noise1 demanded1 in a 
loud voice1 of his wife1 from whence it 
proceeded4 ,the woman1 who was well     
acquainted with the daily toils and  the
 devotion of ,angad's servant1 replied1 
,it was poor ,amera ,ds1 who  knows     
neither the sweets of sleep by night1   
nor of rest by day4 ,this  conversation 
was overheard by ,angad2 and when ,amera
 ,ds came1 next  morning1 to perform his
 usual duties1 he treated him with      
extraordinary  kindness1 and said3 ,you 
have endured great labour2 but1         
henceforward1  enjoy rest4 ,amera ,ds   
was distinguished for his activity in   
preaching  the tenets of ,nnac1 and was 
very successful in obtaining converts   
and followers2 by the aid of whom he    
established some temporal power1  built 
,kujarwl1 and separated from the regular
 ,sikhs the ,uds sect1  which was       
founded by ,dherm-,chand1 the son of    

,nnac1 and was probably  considered1 at 
that period1 as heretical4    ,amera ,ds
 had two children1 a son named ,mhan1   
and a daughter named  ,mhani1 known by  
the name of ,b'hini2 regarding whose    
marriage he  is stated to have been very
 anxious3 and as this event gave rise to
  a dynasty of leaders1 who are almost  
adored among the ,sikhs1 it is  recorded
 with much minuteness by the writers of 
that nation4    ,amera ,ds had          
communicated his wishes1 regarding the  
marriage of  ,b'hini1 to a ,brhmen1 who 
was his head servant1 and directed him  
to  make some inquiries4 ,the ,brhmen   
did so1 and reported to his master  that
 he had been successful1 and had found a
 youth every way suited  to be the      
husband of his daughter4 ,as they were  
speaking upon this  subject in the      
street1 ,amera ,ds asked what was the   
boy's stature8  ,about the same height  
as that lad1 said the ,brhmen1 pointing 
to a  youth standing near them4 ,the    
attention of ,amera ,ds was instantly   

withdrawn from the ,brhmen1 and intently
 fixed upon the youth to whom  he had   
pointed4 ,he asked him regarding his    
tribe1 his name1 and his  family4 ,the  
lad said his name was ,rm ,ds1 and that 
he was a ,cshatrya1  of a respectable   
family1 of the ,sndi tribe1 and an      
inhabitant of  the village of ,gndawl4  
,amera ,ds1 pleased with the information
 he  had received1 took no more notice  
of the ,brhmen and his choice of a      
son-in-law1 but gave his daughter to the
 youth whom fortune had so  casually    
introduced to his acquaintance#ai4      
,amera ,ds died in the  year ,a4 ,d4    
#aegd1 and of the ,samvat #afca1 at the 
village of ,gndawl1  in the province of 
,lahore1 and was succeeded by his       
son-in-law1 ,rm  ,ds#bj1 whom he had    
initiated in the sacred mysteries of his
 holy  profession1 and who became famous
 for his piety1 and still more from  the
 improvements he made at ,amritsar1     
which was for some time called  ,rmpr1  
or ,rmdspr1 after him4 ,some ,sikh      

authorities ascribe the  foundation of  
this city to him1 which is not correct1 
as it was a very  ancient town1 known   
formerly under the name of ,chak4 ,he1  
however1 added  much to its population1 
and built a famous tank1 or reservoir of
 water1  which he called ,amritsar1 a   
name signifying the water of            
immortality1  and which has become so   
sacred1 that it has given its name1 and 
imparted its sanctity1 to the town of   
,rmdspr1 which has become the  sacred   
city of the ,sikh nation1 and is now    
only known by the name of  ,amritsar4   
,after a life passed in the undisturbed 
propagation of his tenets1 in           
explanation of which he wrote several   
works1 he died1 in the year ,a4 ,d4     
#aeha1 and of the ,samvat #afch1 at     
,amritsar1 leaving two sons1 ,arjunmal  
and ,bharatmal4 ,he was succeeded by the
 former#ba1 who has rendered  himself   
famous by compiling the ,ad-,grant'h#bb4
 ,the ,ad-,grant'h1 or  first sacred    
volume of the ,sikhs1 contains          

ninety-two sections3 it was  partly     
composed by ,nnac and his immediate     
successors1 but received its  present   
form and arrangement from ,arjunmal#bc1 
who has blended his  own additions with 
what he deemed most valuable in the     
compositions of  his predecessors4 ,it  
is ,arjun1 then1 who ought1 from this   
act1 to be  deemed the first who gave   
consistent form and order to the        
religion of  the ,sikhs3 an act which1  
though it has produced the effect he    
wished1  of uniting that nation more    
closely1 and of increasing their        
numbers1  proved fatal to himself4 ,the 
jealousy of the ,muhammedan government  
was  excited1 and he was made its       
sacrifice4 ,the mode of his death1 which
  happened in the year of ,christ #afjf1
 and of the ,samvat #affc1 is related   
very differently by different           
authorities3 but several of the most    
respectable agree in stating1 that his  
martyrdom1 for such they term  it1 was  
caused by the active hatred of a rival  

,hind zealot1 ,danchand  ,cshatrya1     
whose writings he refused to admit into 
the ,ad-,grant'h1 on  the ground that   
the tenets inculcated in them were      
irreconcileable to  the pure doctrine of
 the unity and omnipotence of ,god1     
taught in that  sacred volume4 ,this    
rival had sufficient influence with the 
,muhammedan  governor of the province to
 procure the imprisonment of ,arjun2 who
  is affirmed1 by some writers1 to have 
died from the severity of his           
confinement2 and1 by others1 to have    
been put to death in the most  cruel    
manner4 ,in whatever way his life was   
terminated1 there can be no  doubt1 from
 its consequences1 that it was          
considered1 by his followers1  as an    
atrocious murder1 committed by the      
,muhammedan government2 and the  ,sikhs1
 who had been1 till then1 an            
inoffensive1 peaceable sect1 took  arms 
under ,har ,gvind1 the son of ,arjunmal1
 and wreaked their vengeance  upon all  
whom they thought concerned in the death

 of their revered  priest4    ,the      
contest carried on by ,har ,gvind       
against the ,muhammedan chiefs in  the  
,penjb1 though no doubt marked by that  
animosity which springs from  a deep and
 implacable sense of injury on one part1
 and the insolence  and violence of     
insulted power on the other1 could not  
have been of  great magnitude or        
importance1 else it would have been more
 noticed by  contemporary ,muhammedan   
writers2 but it was the first fruits of 
that  desperate spirit of hostility1    
which was soon after to distinguish the 
wars between the followers of ,nnac and 
those of ,muhammed3 and1 from  every    
account of ,har ,gvind's life1 it       
appears to have been his anxious  wish  
to inspire his followers with the most  
irreconcileable hatred of  their        
oppressors4    ,it is stated1 that this 
warlike#bd ,gr1 or priest militant1 wore
  two swords in his girdle4 ,being asked
 why he did so3 ,the one1 said  he1 is  
to revenge the death of my father2 the  

other1 to destroy the  miracles of      
,muhammed4    ,har ,gvind is reputed1 by
 some authors1 to have been the first   
who  allowed his followers to eat#be the
 flesh of all animals1 with the         
exception of the cow3 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 habits1 by          
converting a race of  peaceable         
enthusiasts into an intrepid band of    
soldiers#bf4 ,he had  five sons1 ,bb    
,grdaitya1 ,saurat ,singh1 ,tgh ,bahdur1
 ,anna ,ry1 and  ,atal ,ry4 ,the two    
last died without descendants4 ,saurat  
,singh and  ,tgh ,singh1 or ,tgh        
,bahdur1 were1 by the cruel persecution 
of the  ,muhammedans1 forced to fly into
 the mountains to the northward of the  
,penjb4 ,his eldest son1 ,gurudatya1    
died early1 but left two sons1  ,dharmal
 and ,har ,ry2 the latter of whom       
succeeded his grandfather1  who died in 
the year ,a4 ,d4 #afdd1 and of the      

,samvat #agja4 ,it does not  appear that
 ,har ,ry enjoyed much temporal power1  
or that he entered  into any hostilities
 with the ,muhammedans3 his rule was    
tranquil1 and  passed without any       
remarkable event2 owing1 probably1 to   
the vigor  which the ,muhammedan power  
had attained in the early part of the   
reign  of ,aurungzb4 ,at his death1     
which happened in the year ,a4 ,d4      
#affa1 and  of the ,samvat #agah1 a     
violent contest arose among the ,sikhs1 
regarding  the succession to the office 
of spiritual leader2 for the temporal   
power of their ruler was1 at this       
period1 little more than nominal4  ,the 
dispute between his sons1 or1 as some   
,sikh authors state1 his son  and       
grandson1 ,har ,crishn and ,rm ,ry1 was 
referred to ,dehli1 whither  both       
parties went2 and1 by an imperial decree
 of ,aurungzb1 the ,sikhs  were allowed 
to elect their own priest4 ,they chose  
,har ,crishn1 who  died at ,dehli in the
 year ,a4 ,d4 #affd1 and of the ,samvat 

#agba2 and was  succeeded by his uncle1 
,tgh ,behdur4 ,he1 however1 had to      
encounter the  most violent opposition  
from his nephew1 ,rm ,ry#bg1 who        
remained at  ,dehli1 and endeavoured1 by
 every art and intrigue1 to effect his  
ruin3  he was seized1 and brought to    
,dehli1 in consequence of his nephew's  
misrepresentations2 and1 after being in 
prison for two years1 was  released at  
the intercession of ,jayasingh1 ,rj of  
,jayapr1 whom he  accompanied to        
,bengal4 ,tgh ,behdur afterwards took up
 his abode at  the city of ,patna#bh2   
but was pursued1 agreeable to ,sikh     
authors1 to  his retreat1 with          
implacable rancour1 by the jealousy and 
ambition of  ,rm ,ry2 who at last       
accomplished the destruction of his     
rival4 ,he was  brought from ,patna1    
and1 by the accounts of the same        
authors1 publicly  put to death1 without
 even the allegation of a crime1 beyond 
a firm  and undaunted assertion of the  
truth of that faith of which he was  the

 high priest4 ,this event is said to    
have taken place in the year  ,a4 ,d4   
#afge1 and of the ,samvat #agcb3 but the
 ,sikh records of their own  history1   
from the death of ,har ,gvind to that of
 ,tgh ,behdur1 are  contradictory and   
unsatisfactory1 and appear to merit     
little attention4  ,the fact is1 that   
the sect was almost crushed1 in         
consequence of their  first effort to   
attain power1 under ,har ,gvind2 and1   
from the period  of his death to that of
 ,tgh ,behdur1 the ,mogul empire was1 as
 has  been before stated1 in the zenith 
of its power1 under ,aurungzb3 and  the 
,sikhs1 who had never attained any real 
strength1 were rendered  still weaker by
 their own internal dissensions4 ,their 
writers have  endeavoured to supply this
 chasm in their history by a fabulous   
account  of the numerous miracles which 
were wrought by their priests1 ,rm ,ry1 
,har ,crishn1 and even the unfortunate  
,tgh ,behdur1 at ,delhi1 all of  whom   
are said to have astonished the emperor 

and his nobles1 by a  display of their  
supernatural powers3 but their wide     
difference from  each other1 in these   
relations1 would prove1 if any proof was
 wanting1  that all the annals of that  
period are fabricated4    ,the history  
of the ,sikhs1 after the death of ,tgh  
,behdur1 assumes  a new aspect4 ,it is  
no longer the record of a sect1 who1    
revering  the conciliatory and mild     
tenets of their founder1 desired more to
  protect themselves than to injure     
others2 but that of a nation1 who1      
adding to a deep sense of the injuries  
they had sustained from a  bigotted and 
overbearing government1 all the ardour  
of men commencing  a military career of 
glory1 listened1 with rapture1 to a son 
glowing  with vengeance against the     
murderers of his father1 who taught a   
doctrine suited to the troubled state of
 his mind1 and called upon  his         
followers1 by every feeling of manhood1 
to lay aside their  peaceable habits1 to
 graft the resolute courage of the      

soldier on the  enthusiastic faith of   
the devotee1 to swear eternal war with  
the cruel  and haughty ,muhammedans1 and
 to devote themselves to steel1 as the  
only means of obtaining every blessing  
that this world1 or that to  come1 could
 afford to mortals4    ,this was the    
doctrine of ,gr ,gvind1 the son of ,tgh 
,behdur2 who1  though very young at his 
father's death1 had his mind imbued with
 the  deepest horror at that event1 and 
cherished a spirit of implacable        
resentment against those whom he        
considered as his murderers4 ,devoting  
his life to this object1 we find him1   
when quite a youth1 at the head  of a   
large party of his followers1 amid the  
hills of ,srnagar1 where  he gave proofs
 of that ardent and daring mind1 which  
afterwards raised  him to such eminence4
 ,he was not1 however1 able to maintain 
himself  against the prince of that     
country1 with whom he had entered into  
hostilities2 and1 being obliged to leave
 it1 he went to the ,penjb1  where he   

was warmly welcomed by a ,hind chief in 
rebellion against the  government4 ,this
 chief gave ,gvind possession of        
,mk'havl#bi1 and  several other         
villages1 where he settled with his     
followers1 and repaid  his benefactor by
 aiding him in his depredations4 ,gvind 
appears1 at  this moment1 to have been  
universally acknowledged by the ,sikhs1 
as  their ,sat-gr1 or chief spiritual   
leader2 and he used the influence  which
 that station1 his sufferings1 and the  
popularity of his cause1  gave him1 to  
effect a complete change in the habits  
and religion of  his countrymen#cj4 ,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 this1 the most revered of  all their
 priests1 to power2 or to enter1 at any 
length1 into those  accounts which they1
 and ,gvind himself1 for he is equally  
celebrated  as an author and as a       
warrior1 have given of his exploits4 ,it

 will be  sufficient1 for the purpose of
 this sketch1 to state the essential    
changes which he effected in his tribe1 
and the consequences of his             
innovations4    ,though the ,sikhs had  
already1 under ,har ,gvind1 been        
initiated in  arms1 yet they appear to  
have used these only in self-defence3   
and  as every tribe of ,hinds1 from the 
,brhmen to the lowest of the  ,sdra1    
may1 in cases of necessity1 use them    
without any infringement  of the        
original institutions of their tribe1 no
 violation of these  institutions was   
caused by the rules of ,nnac2 which1    
framed with a  view to conciliation1    
carefully abstained from all            
interference with  the civil institutes 
of the ,hinds4 ,but his more daring     
successor1 ,gr  ,gvind1 saw that such   
observances were at variance with the   
plans of  his lofty ambition2 and he    
wisely judged1 that the only means by   
which  he could ever hope to oppose the 
,muhammedan government with success1    

were not only to admit converts from all
 tribes1 but to break1 at once1  those  
rules by which the ,hinds had been so   
long chained2 to arm1 in  short1 the    
whole population of the country1 and to 
make worldly wealth  and rank an object 
to which ,hinds1 of every class1 might  
aspire4    ,the extent to which ,gvind  
succeeded in this design will be more   
fully  noticed in another place4 ,it is 
here only necessary to state the        
leading features of those changes by    
which he subverted1 in so short  a time1
 the hoary institutions of ,brahm#ca1   
and excited terror and  astonishment in 
the minds of the ,muhammedan conquerors 
of ,india1 who  saw the religious       
prejudices of the ,hinds1 which they had
 calculated  upon as one of the pillars 
of their safety1 because they limited   
the  great majority of the population to
 peaceable occupations1 fall before  the
 touch of a bold and enthusiastic       
innovator1 who opened at once1 to  men  
of the lowest tribe#cb1 the dazzling    

prospect of earthly glory4  ,all who    
subscribed to his tenets were upon a    
level1 and the ,brhmen  who entered his 
sect had no higher claims to eminence   
than the lowest  ,sdra who swept his    
house4 ,it was the object of ,gvind to  
make all  ,sikhs equal#cc1 and that     
their advancement should solely depend  
upon  their exertions3 and well aware   
how necessary it was to inspire men  of 
a low race1 and of groveling minds1 with
 pride in themselves1 he  changed the   
name of his followers from ,sikh to     
,singh1 or lion2 thus  giving to all his
 followers that honourable title which  
had been before  exclusively assumed by 
the ,rajapts1 the first military class  
of  ,hinds3 and every ,sikh felt himself
 at once elevated to rank with the      
highest1 by this proud appellation4     
,the disciples of ,gvind were required  
to devote themselves to arms1  always to
 have steel about them in some shape or 
other2 to wear a  blue dress2 to allow  
their hair to grow2 to exclaim1 when    

they met each  other1 ,w6 ,grj k khlsah6
 ,w6 ,grj k futteh6 which means1        
,success to the state of the ,gr6       
,victory attend the ,gr#cd6 ,the        
intention of some of these institutions 
is obvious2 such as that  principle of  
devotion to steel1 by which all were    
made soldiers2 and  that exclamation1   
which made the success of their priest1 
and that of  the commonwealth1 the      
object of their hourly prayer4 ,it      
became1 in  fact1 the watchword which   
was continually to revive1 in the minds 
of  the ,sikh disciple1 the obligations 
he owed to that community of which  he  
had become a member1 and to that faith  
which he had adopted4    ,of the causes 
which led ,gvind to enjoin his followers
 to regard it as  impious to cut the    
hair of their heads1 or shave their     
beards1 very  different accounts are    
given4 ,several ,muhammedan authors     
state1 that  both this ordination1 and  
the one which directed his followers to 
wear blue clothes1 was given in         

consequence of his gratitude to some    
,afghn mountaineers1 who aided his      
escape from a fort1 in which he was     
besieged1 by clothing him in a chequered
 blue dress1 and causing him to  allow  
his hair to grow1 in order to pass him  
for one of their own ,prs1  or holy     
fathers2 in which they succeeded4 ,this 
account1 however1 is  not supported by  
any ,sikh writer2 and one of the most   
respectable and  best informed authors  
of that sect states1 that when ,gr      
,gvind first  went to ,anandpr          
,mk'haval1 which was also called        
,csgher1 or the house  of hair1 he spent
 much of his time in devotion1 at a     
temple of ,drga  ,bhavan1 the goddess of
 courage1 by whom he was directed to    
unloose  his hair and draw his sword4   
,gvind1 in consequence of this pretended
  divine order1 vowed he would preserve 
his hair1 as consecrated to that        
divinity1 and directed his followers to 
do the same#ce4 ,the origin  of that    
blue chequered#cf dress1 which was at   

one time worn by all  ,gvind's          
followers1 and is still worn by the     
,acls1 or never-dying1  7the most       
remarkable class of devotees of that    
sect17 is differently  stated by        
different authors3 but it appears       
probable1 that both  these institutions 
proceeded from the policy of ,gvind1 who
 sought  to separate his followers from 
all other classes of ,india1 as much  by
 their appearance as by their religion3 
and he judged with wisdom  when he gave 
consequence to such distinctions2 which1
 though first  established as mere      
forms1 soon supersede the substance of  
belief2  and1 when strengthened by      
usage1 become the points to which       
ignorant  and unenlightened minds have1 
in all ages of the world1 shown the most
  resolute and unconquerable adherence4 
,gr ,gvind inculcated his tenets upon   
his followers by his preaching1  his    
actions1 and his works2 among which is  
the ,dasama ,pdshh k  ,grant'h1 or the  
book of the tenth king or ruler2 ,gr    

,gvind being the  tenth leader of the   
sect from ,nnac4 ,this volume1 which is 
not limited  to religious subjects1 but 
filled with accounts of his own battles1
 and  written with the view of stirring 
up a spirit of valour and emulation     
among his followers1 is at least as much
 revered1 among the ,sikhs1 as  the     
,ad-,grant'h of ,arjunmal4 ,gvind is    
said to have first instituted  the ,gr  
,mata1 or state council1 among the      
,sikhs2 which meets at  ,amritsar4 ,the 
constitution and usages of this national
 assembly will  be described hereafter3 
it is here only necessary to observe1   
that  its institution adds one more     
proof to those already stated1 of the   
comprehensive and able mind of this bold
 reformer1 who gave1 by its  foundation1
 that form of a federative republic1 to 
the commonwealth  of the ,sikhs1 which  
was most calculated to rouse his        
followers from  their indolent habits1  
and deep-rooted prejudices1 by giving   
them a  personal share in the           

government1 and placing within the reach
 of every  individual the attainment of 
rank and influence in the state4    ,it 
could not be expected that ,gr ,gvind   
could accomplish all those  great       
schemes he had planned4 ,he planted the 
tree2 but it was not  permitted1        
according to ,sikh writers1 that he     
should see it in that  maturity which it
 was destined to reach3 and this1 these 
authors state1  was foretold to him by  
some ,brhmens1 skilled in necromancy4   
,it would  be tedious to dwell on such  
fables#cg2 and it is time to return to  
the political life of ,gvind1 which is  
marked by but few events of  importance4
 ,these are either related by           
,muhammedan authors1 who detract  from  
all the pretensions of this enemy of    
their faith and name2 by his  disciples1
 who exalt the slightest of his actions 
into the achievements  of a divinity2 or
 by himself1 for he wrote an account of 
his own wars4  ,this last work1 however1
 is more calculated to inflame the      

courage of  his followers1 than to      
convey correct information of actual    
events4    ,gr ,gvind ,singh1 in the    
,vichitra ,ntac1 a work written by      
himself1  and inserted in the ,dasama   
,pdshh k ,grant'h1 traces the descent of
  the ,cshatrya tribe of ,snd1 to which 
he belongs1 from a race of  ,hind       
,rjs#ch1 who founded the cities of ,casr
 and ,lahore4 ,he was  born1 he states1 
at ,patn1 or ,patna1 and brought up at  
,madra ,ds1 in  the ,penjb4 ,he went1   
after his father's death1 to the banks  
of the  ,clnd1 or ,yamun1 and addicted  
himself to hunting the wild beasts of   
the forest1 and other manly diversions3 
but this occupation1 he adds1  offended 
the emperor of ,dehli1 who ordered      
chiefs1 of the ,muhammedan  race1 to    
attack him4 ,gr ,gvind describes1 in    
this work1 with great  animation1 his   
own feats1 and those of his friends#ci1 
in the first  of his actions2 in which1 
by his account1 the arrows of the ,sikhs
 were  victorious over the sabres of the

 ,muhammedans#dj4    ,this first success
 appears to have greatly increased the  
number of  ,gr ,gvind's followers1 whom 
he established at ,anandpr1 ,khlr1 and  
the towns in their vicinity2 where they 
remained1 till called to aid  the ,rj of
 ,nadn#da1 ,bhma ,chand1 who was        
threatened with an invasion  by the ,rj 
of ,jammu2 who had been excited to      
hostilities by ,ma ,khn1  a ,mogul      
chief1 then at war with ,bhma ,chand4   
,gr ,gvind gives an account of this war1
 which consisted of attacking  and      
defending the narrow passes of the      
mountains4 ,he describes ,bhma  ,chand  
and himself as leading on their         
warriors1 who advanced1 he says1  to    
battle1 like a stream of flame consuming
 the forest4 ,they were  completely     
successful in this expedition2 the ,rj  
of ,jammu1 and his  ,muhammedan allies1 
having been defeated1 and chased with   
disgrace  across the ,satlj4    ,gr     
,gvind next relates the advance of the  
son of ,dilwer ,khn against  him4 ,the  

object of the ,muhammedan chief appears 
to have been1 to  surprise ,gvind and   
his followers at night3 but1 when that  
project was  defeated1 his troops were  
seized with a panic1 and fled from the  
,sikhs  without a contest4 ,the father1 
enraged at the disgraceful retreat of   
his son1 collected all his followers1   
and sent ,husain ,khn1 who made         
successful inroads upon the ,sikhs1     
taking several of their principal       
forts#db4 ,a general action at last took
 place1 in which the ,khn1  after       
performing prodigies of valour1 was     
defeated1 and lost his life4  ,gr ,gvind
 was not present at this battle4 ,the   
lord of the earth1 he  says1 detained me
 from this conflict1 and caused the rain
 of steel to  descend in another        
quarter4    ,dilwer ,khn and ,rustam    
,khn next marched against the ,sikhs1   
who appear  to have been disheartened at
 the loss of some of their principal    
chiefs1 and more at the accounts they   
received of ,aurungzb's rage at  their  

progress1 and of his having detached his
 son to the district of  ,madra#dc1 in  
order to take measures to quell them4   
,at the prince's  approach1 every body1 
says ,gr ,gvind1 was struck with terror4
  ,unable to comprehend the ways of the 
,eternal1 several deserted me1  and     
fled1 and took refuge in the lofty      
mountains4 ,these vile cowards  were1 he
 adds1 too greatly alarmed in mind to   
understand their own  advantage2 for the
 emperor sent troops1 who burnt the     
habitations of  those that had fled4 ,he
 takes this occasion of denouncing every
 misery  that this world can bring1 and 
all the pains and horrors of the next1  
on those who desert their ,gr1 or       
priest4 ,the man who does this1  he     
writes1 shall neither have child nor    
offspring4 ,his aged parents  shall die 
in grief and sorrow1 and he shall perish
 like a dog1 and be  thrown into hell to
 lament4 ,after many more curses on     
apostates1 he  concludes this anathema  
by stating1 that the good genius of     

prosperity  in this world1 and eternal  
blessings in the next1 shall be the     
certain  reward of all who remain       
attached to their ,gr3 and1 as an       
instance1  he affirms1 that not one of  
those faithful followers1 who had       
adhered  to him at this trying crisis1  
had received the least injury#dd4    ,gr
 ,gvind closes his first work1 the      
,vichitra ,ntac1 with a further         
representation on the shame that attends
 apostasy1 and the rewards that  await  
those that prove true to their religion2
 and he concludes by a  prayer to the   
,deity1 and a declaration of his        
intention to compose1  for the use of   
his disciples1 a still larger work2 by  
which the ,sikhs  conceive that he meant
 the rest of the ,dasama ,pdshh k       
,grant'h1 of  which the ,vichitra ,ntac 
forms the first section4    ,an account 
of ,gvind's war with the ,rj of         
,kahilr#de1 is found in a  work written 
in the ,dgar1 or mountain dialect of the
 ,penjbi tongue1  which gives an account

 of some other actions of this chief4   
,though  this account is greatly        
exaggerated1 it no doubt states some    
facts  correctly1 and therefore merits a
 brief notice4 ,according to this       
authority1 the ,rjs of ,kahilr1 ,jiswl1 
and others1 being defeated and          
disgraced in several actions1 applied to
 the court of ,aurungzb for aid  against
 ,gr ,gvind1 from whom they stated that 
they had received great  injuries4 ,when
 the emperor asked who made the         
complaint1 the answer  was3 ,it is the  
chief of ,kahilr1 thy servant1 who has  
been despoiled  of his country by       
violence1 though a faithful ,zemindar   
7landholder71  and one who has always   
been punctual in paying his             
contributions4 ,such  were the          
representations1 this author states1 by 
which they obtained  the aid of an army 
from the emperor4    ,their combined    
forces proceeded against ,gr ,gvind and 
his followers1  who were obliged to shut
 themselves up in their fortresses1     

where they  endured every misery that   
sickness and famine can bring upon a    
besieged  place4 ,gvind1 after suffering
 the greatest hardships1 determined to  
attempt his escape4 ,he ordered his     
followers to leave the fort1 one  by    
one1 at midnight1 and to separate the   
moment they went out4 ,the  misery of   
this separation1 which divided the      
father from the child1  the husband from
 the wife1 and brothers from sisters1   
was horrible2  but it was the only      
chance which they had of safety1 and his
 orders  were obeyed4 ,he himself went1 
among the rest2 and1 after undergoing   
great fatigue1 and escaping many        
dangers1 he arrived at ,chamkur1 by  the
 ,rj of which place he was received in a
 kind and friendly manner4  ,his enemies
 had entered the fortress which ,gvind  
left1 the moment  he fled1 and made many
 prisoners2 among which were his mother 
and  his two children1 who were carried 
to ,foujdar ,khn1 the governor of       
,sirhind1 by whose orders they were     

inhumanly massacred#df4 ,the army  of   
the emperor1 aided by the ,rjs hostile  
to ,gvind1 next marched to  ,chamkur1   
and encompassed it on all sides4 ,gvind1
 in despair1 clasping  his hands1 called
 upon the goddess of the sword#dg4 ,the 
world sees1  he exclaimed1 that we have 
no help but thee6 saying which1 he      
prepared1 with his few followers1 to    
make the most desperate resistance4     
,the emperor's army1 employed at this   
period against ,gvind1 was  commanded by
 ,khwjeh ,muhammed and ,nahar ,khn1 who 
deputed1 at the  commencement of the    
siege1 an envoy to the ,sikh leader1    
with the  following message3 ,this army 
is not one belonging to ,rjs and ,rns3  
it is that of the great ,aurungzb3 show1
 therefore1 thy respect1 and  embrace   
the true faith4 ,the envoy proceeded1 in
 the execution of his  mission1 with all
 the pride of those he represented4     
,listen1 said  he1 from himself to ,gr  
,gvind1 to the words of the ,nawb3 leave
 off  contending with us1 and playing   

the infidel2 for it is evident you      
never can reap advantage from such an   
unequal war4 ,he was stopped by  ,ajit  
,singh1 the son of ,gvind1 from saying  
more4 ,that youth1 seizing  his         
scimetar1 exclaimed3 ,if you utter      
another word1 ,i will humble  your      
pride3 ,i will smite your head from your
 body1 and cut you to  pieces1 for      
daring to speak such language before our
 chiefs4 ,the blood  of the envoy boiled
 with rage1 and he returned with this   
answer to his  master4    ,this effort  
to subdue the fortitude and faith of    
,gvind having failed1  the siege        
commenced with great vigour4 ,a long    
description is given by  ,b'hai ,gr ,ds 
,b'hal and other ,sikh authors1 of the  
actions that were  performed4 ,amongst  
the most distinguished1 were those of   
the brave1 but  unfortunate1 ,ajit      
,singh#dh1 the son of ,gr ,gvind1 whose 
death is  thus recorded3 ,a second time 
the ,khn advanced1 and the battle raged4
  ,some fought1 some fled4 ,ajit ,singh1

 covered with glory1 departed to        
,swarga 7heaven74 ,indra#di1 first of   
the gods 7,dvats71 advanced with  the   
celestial host to meet him2 he conducted
 him to ,dvapr1 the city  of the gods1  
and seated him on a celestial throne3   
having remained  there a short time1 he 
proceeded to the region of the sun4     
,thus1 he  concludes1 ,ajit ,singh      
departed in glory2 and his fame extends 
over  three worlds1 for the fame of the 
warrior lives for ever4    ,though      
,gvind showed an invincible spirit1 and 
performed prodigies  of valour1 having  
killed1 with his own hand1 ,nahar ,khn1 
and wounded  ,khwjeh ,muhammed1 the     
other leader of the emperor's troops1 it
 was  impossible to contend longer      
against such superior numbers2 and he at
  last1 taking advantage of a dark      
night1 fled from ,chamkur1 covering  his
 face1 according to the ,sikh author1   
from shame at his own disgrace4    ,this
 sketch of the life of ,gvind is        
compiled from his own works1 and  those 

of other ,sikh writers1 such as ,nand   
and ,b'hai ,gr ,ds2 and the  events     
recorded1 allowing for the colouring    
with which such narratives  are written 
in the ,east1 appear to be correct3 the 
leading facts are  almost all           
established by the evidence of          
contemporary ,muhammedan  writers1 to   
whom we must trust for the remainder of 
his history2 as  the authorities we have
 followed end at the period of his      
flight from  ,chamkur4    ,most accounts
 agree that ,gr ,gvind1 after his       
flight1 was1 from a  sense of his       
misfortunes1 and the loss of his        
children1 bereft of  his reason1 and    
wandered about for a considerable time  
in the most  deplorable condition4 ,one 
account states1 that he died in the     
,penjb2  another1 that he went to       
,patna1 where he ended his days2 a      
third1 taken  from a ,sikh authority#ej1
 asserts that ,gr ,gvind1 after         
remaining  some time in the             
,lak'hi-,jungle1 to which he had fled1  

returned without  molestation to his    
former residence in the ,penjb2 and     
that1 so far  from meeting with any     
persecution from the ,muhammedan        
government1 he  received favours from   
the emperor1 ,bahder ,shh2 who1 aware of
 his  military talents1 gave him a small
 military command in the ,dek'hin1      
where he was stabbed by a ,patn         
soldier's son1 and expired of his       
wounds1 in the year #agjh1 at ,nadr1 a  
town situated on the ,godaveri  river1  
about one hundred miles from            
,haiderabad4    ,it is sufficiently     
established1 from these contradictory   
and imperfect  accounts of the latter   
years of ,gr ,gvind1 that he performed  
no  actions worthy of record after his  
flight from ,chamkur3 and when we       
consider the enthusiastic ardour of his 
mind1 his active habits1 his  valour1   
and the insatiable thirst of revenge1   
which he had cherished  through life1   
against the murderers of his father1 and
 the oppressors  of his sect1 we cannot 

think1 when that leading passion of his 
mind  must have been increased by the   
massacre of his children1 and the  death
 or mutilation#ea of his most attached  
followers1 that he would  have remained 
inactive2 much less that he would have  
sunk into a  servant of that government1
 against which he had been in constant  
rebellion3 nor is it likely that such a 
leader as ,gr ,gvind could  ever have   
been trusted by a ,muhammedan prince3   
and there appears1  therefore1 every    
reason to give credit to those accounts 
which  state1 that mental distraction1  
in consequence of deep distress and     
disappointment1 was the cause of the    
inactivity of ,gr ,gvind's  declining   
years4 ,nor is such a conclusion at all 
at variance with the  fact of his being 
killed at ,nadr1 as it is probable1 even
 if he was  reduced to the state        
described1 that he continued1 till the  
close of  his existence1 that wandering 
and adventurous life to which he had    
been  so early accustomed4    ,in the   

character of this reformer of the       
,sikhs1 it is impossible not  to        
recognise many of those features which  
have distinguished the most  celebrated 
founders of political communities4 ,the 
object he attempted  was great and      
laudable4 ,it was the emancipation of   
his tribe from  oppression and          
persecution2 and the means which he     
adopted1 were such  as a comprehensive  
mind could alone have suggested4 ,the   
,muhammedan  conquerors of ,india1 as   
they added to their territories1 added  
to their  strength1 by making proselytes
 through the double means of persuasion 
and force2 and these1 the moment they   
had adopted their faith1 became  the    
supporters of their power against the   
efforts of the ,hinds2 who1  bound in   
the chains of their civil and religious 
institutions1 could  neither add to     
their number by admitting converts1 nor 
allow more than  a small proportion of  
the population of the country to arm    
against  the enemy4 ,gvind saw that he  

could only hope for success by a bold   
departure from usages which were        
calculated to keep those1 by whom they  
were observed1 in a degraded subjection 
to an insulting and intolerant  race4   
,you make ,hinds ,muhammedans1 and are  
justified by your laws1  he is said to  
have written to ,aurungzb3 now ,i1 on a 
principle of  self-preservation1 which  
is superior to all laws1 will make      
,muhammedans  ,hinds#eb4 ,you may rest1 
he added1 in fancied security3 but      
beware6  for ,i will teach the sparrow  
to strike the eagle to the ground4 ,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 actions4    ,the manner in     
which ,gvind endeavoured to accomplish  
the great plan  he had formed1 has been 
exhibited in the imperfect sketch given 
of  his life4 ,his efforts to establish 
that temporal power in his own  person1 
of which he laid the foundation for his 

tribe1 were daring and  successful in as
 great a degree as circumstances would  
admit3 but it  was not possible he could
 create means1 in a few years1 to       
oppose1 with  success1 the force of one 
of the greatest empires in the universe4
 ,the  spirit1 however1 which he infused
 into his followers1 was handed down  as
 a rich inheritance to their children2  
who1 though they consider ,bb  ,nnc as  
the author of their religion1 revere1   
with a just gratitude1  ,gr ,gvind1 as  
the founder of their worldly greatness  
and political  independence4 ,they are  
conscious1 indeed1 that they have       
become1  from the adoption of his laws  
and institutions1 the scourge of their  
enemies2 and have conquered and held1   
for more than half a century1 the       
finest portion of the once great empire 
of the house of ,taimr4    ,gr ,gvind   
was the last acknowledged religious     
ruler of the ,sikhs4  ,a prophecy had   
limited their spiritual guides to the   
number of ten2  and their superstition1 

aided1 no doubt1 by the action of that  
spirit  of independence which his       
institutions had introduced1 caused its 
fulfilment4 ,the success1 however1 of   
,banda1 a ,bairgi1 who was the  devoted 
follower and friend of ,gr ,gvind1      
established their union  under his      
banners4 ,a short period after ,gvind's 
death1 the grief  of ,banda at the      
misfortune of his priest1 is said1 by   
,sikh authors1  to have settled into a  
gloomy and desperate desire to revenge  
his  wrongs4 ,the confusion which took  
place on the death of ,aurungzb1  which 
happened in the year #agjg1 was         
favourable to his wishes4 ,after        
plundering the country1 and defeating   
most of the petty ,muhammedan  chiefs   
that were opposed to him1 he thought    
himself sufficiently strong  to venture 
on an action with ,foujdar ,khn1 the    
governor of the province  of ,sarhind1  
and the man of all others most abhorred 
by the ,sikhs1 as  the murderer of the  
infant children of ,gr ,gvind4 ,this    

action was  fought with valour by the   
,muhammedans2 and with all that         
desperation on  the part of the ,sikhs1 
which the most savage spirit of revenge 
could  inspire3 and this1 aided by the  
courage and conduct of their leader1    
gave them the victory1 after a severe   
contest4 ,foujdar ,khn fell1 with  most 
of his army1 to whom the enraged ,sikhs 
gave no quarter4 ,nor was  their savage 
revenge satiated by the destruction of  
the ,muhammedan  army3 they put to death
 the wife and children of ,vizr ,khn1   
and almost  all the inhabitants of      
,sarhind4 ,they destroyed or polluted   
the mosques  of that city2 and1 in a    
spirit of wild and brutal rage1 dug up  
the  carcasses of the dead1 and exposed 
them to be devoured by beasts of  prey4 
,encouraged by this success1 and        
hardened by the lessons of ,banda  to   
deeds of the most horrid atrocity1 the  
,sikhs rushed forward1 and  subdued all 
the country between the ,satlj and the  
,jumna2 and1 crossing  that river1 made 

inroads into the province of            
,shranpr#ec4 ,it is  unnecessary to     
state the particulars of this memorable 
incursion1  which1 from all accounts1   
appears to have been one of the severest
  scourges with which a country was ever
 afflicted4 ,every excess that the  most
 wanton barbarity could commit1 every   
cruelty that an unappeased  appetite of 
revenge could suggest1 was inflicted    
upon the miserable  inhabitants of the  
provinces through which they passed4    
,life was  only granted to those who    
conformed to the religion1 and adopted  
the  habits and dress of the ,sikhs2 and
 if ,behdur ,shh had not quitted the    
,dek'hin1 which he did in ,a4 ,d4 #agaj1
 there is reason to think the whole  of 
,hindstan would have been subdued by    
these merciless invaders4    ,the first 
check the ,sikhs received was from an   
army under ,sultn ,kli  ,khn4 ,that     
chief defeated one of their advanced    
corps at ,pnipat'h1  which1 after being 
dispersed1 fled to join their leader    

,banda1 at  ,sarhind4 ,the death of     
,behdur ,shh prevented this success from
 being  pursued2 and the confusion which
 followed that event1 was favourable  to
 the ,sikhs4 ,banda defeated ,islm ,khn1
 the viceroy of ,lahore1 and  one of his
 fanatic followers stabbed ,byezd ,khn1 
the governor of  ,sarhind1 who had      
marched out of that town to encounter   
this army4  ,this1 however1 was the last
 of ,banda's successful atrocities4     
,abdal  ,smad ,khn1 a general of great  
reputation1 was detached1 with a large  
army1 by the emperor ,farakhseir1       
against the ,sikhs1 whom he defeated  in
 a very desperate action2 in which1     
agreeable to ,muhammedan authors1       
,banda performed prodigies of valour1   
and was only obliged to give way  to the
 superior numbers and discipline of the 
imperialists4 ,the ,sikhs  were never   
able to make a stand after this defeat1 
and were hunted1  like wild beasts1 from
 one strong hold to another1 by the army
 of  the emperor2 by whom their leader1 

and his most devoted followers1  were at
 last taken1 after having suffered every
 extreme of hunger and  fatigue#ed4     
,abdal ,smad ,khn put to death great    
numbers of the ,sikhs after the         
surrender of ,lhgad1 the fortress in    
which they took refuge2 but sent        
,banda1 and the principal chiefs of the 
tribe1 to ,dehli1 where they were  first
 treated with every kind of obloquy and 
insult1 and then executed4  ,a          
,muhammedan writer#ee relates the       
intrepidity with which these ,sikh      
prisoners1 but particularly their       
leader1 ,banda1 met death4 ,it is       
singular1 he writes1 that these people  
not only behaved firmly during  the     
execution1 but they would dispute and   
wrangle with each other who  should     
suffer first2 and they made interest    
with the executioner to  obtain the     
preference4 ,banda1 he continues1 was at
 last produced1 his  son being seated in
 his lap4 ,his father was ordered to cut
 his throat1  which he did1 without     

uttering one word4 ,being then brought  
nearer the  magistrate's tribunal1 the  
latter ordered his flesh to be torn off 
with  red hot pincers2 and it was in    
those moments he expired3 his black soul
  taking its flight1 by one of those    
wounds1 towards the regions for  which  
it was so well fitted4    ,thus perished
 ,banda2 who1 though a brave and able   
leader1 was one of  the most cruel and  
ferocious of men1 and endeavoured to    
impart to his  followers that feeling of
 merciless resentment which he cherished
  against the whole ,muhammedan race1   
whom he appears to have thought         
accountable for the cruelty and         
oppression of a few individuals of the  
persuasion#ef4    ,though the ,sikhs1   
from being animated by a similar        
feeling1 and  encouraged by his first   
successes1 followed ,banda to the field1
 they  do not revere his memory2 and he 
is termed1 by some of their authors1  a 
heretic2 who1 intoxicated with victory1 
endeavoured to change the  religious    

institutions and laws of ,gr ,gvind1    
many of whose most  devoted followers   
this fierce chief put to death1 because 
they refused  to depart from those      
usages which that revered spiritual     
leader had  taught them to consider     
sacred4 ,among other changes1 ,banda    
wished to  make the ,sikhs abandon their
 blue dress1 to refrain from drinking   
and  eating flesh2 and1 instead of      
exclaiming ,w6 ,grji ki ,futteh6 ,w6    
,khlsaji ki ,futteh6 the salutations    
directed by ,gvind1 he directed  them to
 exclaim1 ,futteh ,d'herm6 ,futteh      
dersan6 which means1 ,success  to piety6
 ,success to the sect6 ,these           
innovations were very generally         
resisted2 but the dreaded severity of   
,banda made many conform to his  orders4
 ,the class of ,acls#eg1 or immortals1  
who had been established  by ,gr ,gvind1
 continued to oppose the innovations    
with great  obstinacy2 and many of them 
suffered martyrdom1 rather than change  
either their mode of salutation1 diet1  

or dress2 and1 at the death of  ,banda1 
their cause triumphed4 ,all the         
institutions of ,gr ,gvind were         
restored3 but the blue dress1 instead of
 being1 as at first1 worn by  all1      
appears1 from that date1 to have become 
the particular right of  the ,acls1     
whose valour1 in its defence1 well      
merited the exclusive  privilege of     
wearing this original uniform of a true 
,sikh4    ,after the defeat and death of
 ,banda1 every measure was taken1 that  
an  active resentment could suggest1 not
 only to destroy the power1 but to      
extirpate the race1 of the ,sikhs4 ,an  
astonishing number of that sect  must   
have fallen1 in the last two or three   
years of the contest with  the imperial 
armies1 as the irritated ,muhammedans   
gave them no quarter4  ,after the       
execution of their chief1 a royal edict 
was issued1 ordering  all who professed 
the religion of ,nnac to be taken and   
put to death1  wherever found4 ,to give 
effect to this mandate1 a reward was    

offered  for the head of every ,sikh2   
and all ,hinds were ordered to shave    
their  hair off1 under pain of death4   
,the few ,sikhs1 that escaped this      
general  execution1 fled into the       
mountains to the ,n4 ,e4 of the ,penjb1 
where  they found a refuge from the     
rigorous persecution by which their     
tribe  was pursued2 while numbers bent  
before the tempest which they could not 
resist1 and abandoning the outward      
usages of their religion1 satisfied     
their consciences with the secret       
practice of its rites4    ,from the     
defeat and death of ,banda till the     
invasion of ,india by ,ndir  ,shh1 a    
period of nearly thirty years1 we hear  
nothing of the ,sikhs2  but1 on the     
occurrence of that event1 they are      
stated to have fallen  upon the         
peaceable inhabitants of the ,penjb1 who
 sought shelter in  the hills1 and to   
have plundered them of that property    
which they were  endeavouring to secure 
from the rapacity of the ,persian       

invader4    ,enriched with these spoils1
 the ,sikhs left the hills1 and built   
the fort of ,dalewl1 on the ,rvi1 from  
whence they made predatory  incursions1 
and are stated to have added both to    
their wealth and  reputation1 by        
harassing and plundering the rear of    
,ndir ,shh's army1  which1 when it      
returned to ,persia1 was encumbered with
 spoil1 and  marched1 from a contempt of
 its enemies1 with a disregard to all   
order4    ,the weak state to which the  
empire of ,hindstan was reduced2 and the
  confusion into which the provinces of 
,lahore and ,cbul were thrown1 by  the  
death of ,ndir2 were events of too      
favourable a nature to the ,sikhs  to be
 neglected by that race1 who became     
daily more bold1 from their  numbers    
being greatly increased by the union of 
all those who had taken  shelter in the 
mountains2 the readmission into the sect
 of those who1  to save their lives1 had
 abjured1 for a period1 their usages2   
and the  conversion of a number of      

proselytes1 who hastened to join a      
standard1  under which robbery was made 
sacred2 and to plunder1 was to be pious4
    ,aided with these recruits1 the     
,sikhs now extended their irruptions    
over most of the provinces of the       
,penjb3 and though it was some time     
before they repossessed themselves of   
,amritsar1 they began1 immediately      
after they quitted their fastnesses1 to 
flock to that holy city at the  periods 
of their feasts4 ,some performed this   
pilgrimage in secret1 and  in disguise3 
but in general1 according to a          
contemporary ,muhammedan  author1 the   
,sikh horsemen were seen riding1 at full
 gallop1 towards  their favourite shrine
 of devotion4 ,they were often slain in 
making  this attempt1 and sometimes     
taken prisoners2 but they used1 on such 
occasions1 to seek1 instead of avoiding1
 the crown of martyrdom3 and  the same  
authority states1 that an instance was  
never known of a ,sikh1  taken in his   
way to ,amritsar1 consenting to abjure  

his faith4    ,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  possess4 ,it will be sufficient to 
glance at the principal events which    
have marked their progress1 from the    
period of their emerging from the       
mountains1 to which they had been driven
 after the death of ,banda1  to that of 
the conquest and subjection of those    
fine provinces over  which their rule is
 now established4 ,this sect1 as has    
been before  stated1 have never admitted
 a spiritual leader since the death of  
,gr  ,gvind4 ,it was success1 and the   
force of a savage but strong genius1    
which united them1 for a period1 under  
,banda2 and they have1 since his  death1
 had no acknowledged general1 leader1 or
 prince4 ,each individual  followed to  
the field the ,sirdar or chief1 who1    
from birth1 the  possession of property1
 or from valour and experience1 had     
become his  superior4 ,these chiefs     

again were of different rank and        
pretensions3  a greater number of       
followers1 higher reputation1 the       
possession of  wealth1 or lands1        
constituted that difference2 and1 from  
one or other  of these causes1 one chief
 generally enjoyed a decided            
pre-eminence1  and1 consequently1 had a 
lead in their military councils4 ,but1  
nevertheless1 they always went through  
the form of selecting a military  leader
 at their ,gr-mat1 or national council2 
where1 however1  influence prevailed1   
and the most powerful was certain of    
being elected4    ,such a mode of       
government was in itself little         
calculated to give that  strength and   
union which the cause of the ,sikhs     
required3 but the  peculiarities of     
their usages1 the ardent character of   
their faith1 the  power of their        
enemies1 and the oppression they        
endured1 amply supplied  the place of   
all other ordinances4 ,to unite and to  
act in one body1  and on one principle1 

was1 with the first ,sikhs1 a law of    
necessity3  it was1 amid the dangers    
with which they were surrounded1 their  
only  hope of success1 and their sole   
means of preservation3 and it was to    
these causes1 combined with the weakness
 and internal contests of their         
enemies1 to which this sect owes its    
extraordinary rise1--not to their       
boasted constitution2 which1 whether we 
call it an oligarchy1 which  it really  
is2 or a theocracy1 which the ,sikhs    
consider it2 has not a  principle in its
 composition that would preserve it one 
day from ruin1  if vigorously assailed4 
,but of this their history will furnish 
the best  example4    ,encouraged by the
 confusion which took place on the first
 ,afghn#eh  invasion1 the ,sikhs made   
themselves masters of a considerable    
part of  the ,dub of ,rvi and           
,jalndra#ei1 and extended their         
incursions to the  neighbouring         
countries4 ,they1 however1 at this      
period received several  severe checks  

from ,mr ,manu1 the governor of ,lahore1
 who is said1 by  ,muhammedan authors1  
to have been only withheld from         
destroying them by  the counsel of his  
minister1 ,kod ,mal1 who was himself a  
,sikh of the  ,khalsa#fj tribe4 ,mr     
,manu appointed ,adna ,bg ,khn to the   
charge of  the countries in which the   
,sikhs maintained themselves2 and1 as   
that  able but artful chief considered  
this turbulent tribe in no other light  
than as the means of his personal       
advancement1 he was careful not to      
reduce them altogether2 but1 after      
defeating them in an action1 which  was 
fought near ,mak'havl1 he entered into a
 secret understanding with  them1 by    
which1 though their excursions were     
limited1 they enjoyed  a security to    
which they had been unaccustomed1 and   
from which they  gathered strength and  
resources for future efforts4    ,at the
 death of ,mr ,manu#fa1 the ,sikhs took 
all those advantages1  which the local  
distractions of a falling empire offered

 them1 of  extending and establishing   
their power4 ,their bands1 under their  
most  active leaders1 plundered in every
 direction1 and were successful in      
obtaining possession of several         
countries1 from which they have never   
since been expelled3 and their success1 
at this period1 was promoted1  instead  
of being checked1 by the appointment of 
their old friend1 ,adna  ,bg ,khn1 to   
,lahore2 as that brave chief1 anxious to
 defend his own  government against the 
,afghns1 immediately entered into a     
confederacy  with the ,sikhs1 whom he   
encouraged to plunder the territories of
 ,ahmed  ,shh ,abdli4    ,the ,afghn    
monarch1 resenting this predatory       
warfare1 in which the  governor of      
,lahore was supported by the court of   
,dehli1 determined upon  invading       
,india4 ,adna ,bg1 unable to oppose him1
 fled2 and the ,sikhs  could only       
venture to plunder the baggage1 and cut 
off the stragglers  of the ,afghn army2 
by which they so irritated ,ahmed ,shh1 

that he  threatened them with punishment
 on his return2 and1 when he marched  to
 ,cbul1 he left his son1 ,taimr ,khn1   
and his vizr1 ,jehn ,khn1 at  ,lahore1  
with orders to take vengeance on the    
,sikhs for all the excesses  which they 
had committed4 ,the first expedition of 
,taimr ,khn was  against their capital1 
,amritsar1 which he destroyed1 filling  
up their  sacred tank1 and polluting all
 their places of worship3 by which      
action  he provoked the whole race to   
such a degree1 that they all assembled  
at  ,lahore1 and not only attempted to  
cut off the communication between the   
fort and country1 but collected and     
divided the revenues of the towns  and  
villages around it4 ,taimr ,khn1 enraged
 at this presumption1 made  several     
attacks upon them1 but was constantly   
defeated2 and being at  last reduced to 
the necessity of evacuating ,lahore1 and
 retreating to  ,cbul1 the ,sikhs1 under
 one of their celebrated leaders1 called
 ,jasa  ,singh ,call1 immediately took  

possession of the vacant ,subah of      
,lahore1  and ordered rupees to be      
coined1 with an inscription to the      
following  import3 ,coined by the grace 
of ,khlsah j1 in the country of ,ahmed1 
conquered by ,jasa ,singh ,call4    ,the
 ,sikhs1 who were so deeply indebted to 
the forbearance of ,adna ,bg  ,khn1 now 
considered themselves above the power of
 that chief2 who1 in  order to regain   
his government from them and the        
,afghns1 was obliged  to invite the     
,mahrta leaders1 ,raghunt'h ,ro1 ,sheb  
,pateil1 and ,malhr  ,ro1 to enter the  
,penjb4 ,aided by these chiefs1 he first
 advanced to  ,sarhind1 where he was    
joined by some ,sikhs that remained     
attached to  him4 ,smad ,khn1 the       
officer who had been left in charge of  
,sarhind by  ,ahmed ,khn1 found himself 
obliged to evacuate that place2 which he
 had  no sooner done1 than the ,sikhs   
began to plunder4 ,the ,mahrtas1 always 
jealous of their booty1 determined to   
attack and punish them for this         

violation of what they deemed their     
exclusive privilege3 but ,adna  ,bg     
receiving intelligence of their         
intentions1 communicated it to  the     
,sikhs2 who1 taking advantage of the    
darkness of the night1 saved  themselves
 by flight4    ,after the fall of       
,sarhind1 the ,mahrtas1 accompanied by  
,adna ,bg  ,khn1 advanced to ,lahore1   
and soon expelled both the ,sikhs and   
the  ,afghns from the principal towns of
 the provinces of ,sarhind and  ,lahore2
 of which they not only took possession1
 but sent a governor to  the province of
 ,multn2 and ,sheb ,pateil advanced to  
the ,attock#fb1  where he remained for a
 few months4 ,but the commotions of     
,hindstan  and the ,dek'hin soon obliged
 these foreigners to abandon the ,penjb2
  which they did the same year they had 
reduced it4 ,they appointed ,adna  ,bg  
,khn governor of ,lahore4 ,he died in   
the ensuing year2 and1 by  his death1   
afforded an opportunity to the ,sikhs1  
which they eagerly  seized1 to make     

themselves again masters of the province
 of ,lahore4  ,their success was1       
however1 soon checked by ,ahmed ,shh    
,abdli2 who1  irritated by their        
unsubdued turbulence1 and obstinate     
intrepidity1  made every effort 7after  
he had gained the victory of ,pnipat'h1 
which  established his supremacy at     
,dehli7 to destroy their power2 and1    
with  this view1 he entered the ,penjb  
early in #agfb1 and overran the whole   
of that country with a numerous army1   
defeating and dispersing the  ,sikhs in 
every direction4 ,that sect1 unable to  
make any stand against  the army of the 
,abdli1 pursued their old plan of       
retreating near the  mountains2 and     
collected a large force in the northern 
districts of  ,sarhind1 a distance of   
above one hundred miles from ,lahore1   
where the  army of ,ahmed ,shh was      
encamped4 ,here they conceived          
themselves to be  in perfect safety3 but
 that prince made one of those rapid    
movements  for which he was so          

celebrated1 and reaching the ,sikh army 
on the  second day1 completely          
surprised1 and defeated it with great   
slaughter4  ,in this action1 which was  
fought in ,february1 #agfb1 the ,sikhs  
are said  to have lost upwards of twenty
 thousand men1 and the remainder fled   
into the hills1 abandoning all the lower
 countries to the ,afghns1 who          
committed every ravage that a barbarous 
and savage enemy could devise4          
,amritsar was razed to the ground1 and  
the sacred reservoir again  choaked with
 its ruins4 ,pyramids#fc were erected1  
and covered with  the heads of          
slaughtered ,sikhs3 and it is mentioned1
 that ,ahmed ,shh  caused the walls of  
those mosques1 which the ,sikhs had     
polluted1 to be  washed with their      
blood1 that the contamination might be  
removed1 and  the insult offered to the 
religion of ,muhammed expiated#fd4      
,this species of savage retaliation     
appears to have animated1 instead  of   
depressing1 the courage of the ,sikhs2  

who1 though they could not  venture to  
meet ,ahmed ,shh's army in action1      
harassed it with an  incessant predatory
 warfare2 and1 when that sovereign was  
obliged1 by  the commotions of          
,afghnistan1 to return to ,cbul1 they   
attacked and  defeated the general he   
had left in ,lahore1 and made themselves
 masters  of that city1 in which they   
levelled with the ground those mosques  
which the ,afghns had1 a few months     
before1 purified with the blood of      
their brethren4    ,ahmed ,shh1 in      
#agfc1 retook ,lahore1 and plundered the
 provinces around  it2 but1 being       
obliged to return to his own country in 
the ensuing  year1 the ,sikhs again     
expelled his garrison1 and made         
themselves  masters of the ,penjb2 and1 
from that period until his death1 a     
constant war was maintained1 in which   
the enterprise and courage of  the      
,afghns gradually gave way before the   
astonishing activity and  invincible    
perseverance of their enemies2 who1 if  

unable to stand a  general action1      
retreated to impenetrable mountains1 and
 the moment  they saw an advantage1     
rushed again into the plains with       
renewed  vigour1 and recruited numbers4 
,several ,sikh authors1 treating of the 
events of this period1 mention a great  
action having been fought1  by their    
countrymen1 near ,amritsar1 against the 
whole ,afghn army1  commanded by ,ahmed 
,shh in person2 but they differ with    
regard to the  date of this battle1 some
 fixing it in #agfb1 and others later4  
,they  pretend that the ,sikhs1 inspired
 by the sacredness of the ground on     
which this action was fought1 contended 
for victory against superior  numbers   
with the most desperate fury1 and that  
the battle terminated  in both parties  
quitting the field1 without either being
 able to claim  the least advantage4    
,the historians of ,ahmed ,shh are1     
however1 silent  regarding this action2 
which1 indeed1 from all the events of   
his long  contests with the ,sikhs1     

appears unlikely to have occurred4 ,it  
is  possible the ,sikhs fought1 at      
,amritsar1 with a division of the ,afghn
  army1 and that might have been        
commanded by the prince2 but it is very 
improbable they had ever force to       
encounter the concentrated army of  the 
,abdlis2 before which1 while it remained
 in a body1 they appear1  from the first
 to the last of their contests with that
 prince1 to have  always retreated1 or  
rather fled4    ,the internal state of  
,afghnistan1 since the death of ,ahmed  
,shh1  has prevented the progress of the
 ,sikh nation receiving any serious     
check from that quarter2 and the        
distracted and powerless condition  of  
the empire of ,india has offered        
province after province to their        
usurpation4 ,their history1 during this 
latter period1 affords little  but a    
relation of village warfare1 and        
predatory incursions4 ,their            
hostilities were first directed against 
the numerous ,muhammedan chiefs  who    

were settled in the ,penjb1 and who     
defended1 as long as they  could1 their 
jgrs1 or estates1 against them3 but     
these have either  been conquered1 or   
reduced to such narrow limits1 as to owe
 their  security to their               
insignificance1 or the precarious       
friendship of  some powerful ,sikh      
chief1 whose support they have gained2  
and who1  by protecting them against the
 other leaders of his tribe1 obtains a  
slight accession of strength and        
influence4    ,the ,sikh nation1 who    
have1 throughout their early history1   
always  appeared1 like a suppressed     
flame1 to rise into higher splendour    
from  every attempt to crush them1 had  
become1 while they were oppressed1  as  
formidable for their union1 as for their
 determined courage and  unconquerable  
spirit of resistance3 but a state of    
persecution and  distress was the one   
most favourable for the action of a     
constitution  like theirs2 which1 formed
 upon general and abstract principles1  

required constant and great sacrifices  
of personal advantage to the  public    
good2 and such can alone be expected    
from men1 acting under the  influence of
 that enthusiasm1 which the fervor of a 
new religion1 or a  struggle for        
independence1 can alone impart1 and     
which are ever most  readily made1 when 
it becomes obvious to all1 that a       
complete union in  the general cause is 
the only hope of individual safety4     
,the ,sikhs would appear1 from their own
 historians1 to have attributed  the    
conquests they made entirely to their   
valour1 and to have  altogether forgot  
that they owed them chiefly to the      
decline of the  house of ,taimr1 and the
 dissensions of the government of ,cbul4
  ,intoxicated with their success1 they 
have given way to all those  passions   
which assail the minds of men in the    
possession of power4  ,the desire1 which
 every petty chief entertained1 of      
increasing his  territories1 of building
 strong forts1 and adding to the numbers

 of his  troops1 involved them in       
internal wars2 and these1 however       
commenced1  soon communicated to        
numbers1 who engaged in the dispute as  
passion or  interest dictated4 ,though  
such feuds have1 no doubt1 helped to    
maintain  their military spirit1 yet    
their extent and virulence have         
completely  broken down that union1     
which their great legislator1 ,gvind1   
laboured  to establish4 ,quarrels have  
been transmitted from father to son2    
and1  in a country where the infant is  
devoted to steel1 and taught to         
consider war as his only occupation1    
these could not but multiply in  an     
extraordinary degree2 and1 independent  
of the comparative large  conquests in  
which the greater chiefs occasionally   
engaged1 every  village#fe has become an
 object of dispute2 and there are few1  
if any1  in the ,penjb1 the rule of     
which is not contested between brothers 
or  near relations#ff4 ,in such a state1
 it is obvious1 the ,sikhs could  alone 

be formidable to the most weak and      
distracted governments4 ,such1  indeed1 
was the character1 till within a very   
late period1 of all their  neighbours2  
and they continued to plunder1 with     
impunity1 the upper  provinces of       
,hindstan1 until the establishment of   
the power of ,daulet  ,ro ,sind1 when   
the regular brigades1 commanded by      
,french officers  in the service of that
 prince1 not only checked their inroads1
 but  made all the ,sikh chiefs1 to the 
southward of the ,satlj1 acknowledge    
obedience and pay tribute to ,sind3 and 
it was in the contemplation of  ,general
 ,perron1 had the war with the ,english 
government not occurred1  to have       
subdued the ,penjb1 and made the ,indus 
the limit of his  possession3 and every 
person acquainted with his means1 and   
with the  condition and resources of the
 ,sikhs1 must be satisfied he would have
  accomplished this project with great  
ease1 and at a very early period4       
,when ,holkr fled into the ,penjb1 in   

#ahje1 and was pursued by that          
illustrious ,british commander1 ,lord   
,lake1 a complete opportunity was  given
 of observing the actual state of this  
nation1 which was found  weak and       
distracted1 in a degree that could      
hardly have been imagined4  ,it was     
altogether destitute of union4 ,and     
though a ,gr-mat1 or  national council1 
was called1 with a view to decide on    
those means  by which they could best   
avert the danger by which their country 
was  threatened1 from the presence of   
the ,english and ,mahrta armies1 it  was
 attended by few chiefs3 and most of the
 absentees1 who had any  power1 were    
bold and forward in their offers to     
resist any resolution  to which this    
council might come4 ,the intrigues and  
negotiations of all  appeared1 indeed1  
at this moment1 to be entirely directed 
to objects of  personal resentment1 or  
personal aggrandizement2 and every      
shadow of  that concord1 which once     
formed the strength of the ,sikh nation1

 seemed  to be extinguished4            
,,footnotes3    #a ,the sacred volume of
 the ,sikhs4 ,the chief1 who gave me    
this copy1  sent it at night1 and with  
either a real or affected reluctance1   
after  having obtained a promise that ,i
 would treat it with great respect4 ,i  
understand1 however1 that the           
indefatigable research of ,mr4          
,colebrooke  has procured not only the  
,ad-,grant'h1 but also the ,dasima      
,pdshh k  ,grant'h2 and that1           
consequently1 he is in possession of the
 two most  sacred books of the ,sikhs4  
#b ,sikh or ,sicsha1 is a ,sanscrit     
word1 which means a disciple1 or        
devoted follower4 ,in the ,penjb it is  
corrupted into ,sikh3 it is a  general  
term1 and applicable to any person that 
follows a particular  teacher4    #c    
,this village1 or rather town1 for such 
it has become1 is now called  ,ryapr4   
,it is situated on the banks of the     
,byah1 or ,hyphasis4    #d ,he is       
called1 by some authors1 ,kl ,vd2 but   

,vd is a name  derived from his tribe or
 family4    #e ,several ,sikh authors   
have been very precise in establishing  
the  date of the consummation of this   
marriage1 which they fix in the month   
of ,asrh1 of the ,hind ra of            
,vicramditya1 #aede4    #f ,bla ,sand'h1
 who gave this advice1 continued1       
through ,nnac's  life1 to be his        
favourite attendant and disciple4    #g 
,the veneration which the ,hinds have   
for the snake is well known2  and this  
tradition1 like many others1 proves the 
attachment of the ,sikh  writers to that
 mythology1 the errors of which they    
pretend to have  wholly abandoned4    #h
 ,ry1 a title inferior to that of a     
,rjah1 generally applied to the  ,hind  
chief of a village1 or small district4  
#i ,this remarkable anecdote in ,nnac's 
life is told very differently  by       
different ,sikh authors4 ,i have        
followed the narrative of ,bhacta       
,mall4 ,they all agree in ,nnac's       
having1 at this period1 quitted the     

occupations of the world1 and become    
,fakr4    #aj ,bhai ,gr ,vali1 author of
 the ,gnyna ,ratnvali1 a work written in
  the ,sikh dialect of the ,penjb4      
#aa ,though his biographers have        
ascribed miracles to ,nnac1 we never    
find that he pretended to work any3 on  
the contrary1 he derided those  who did1
 as deriving power from evil spirits4   
#ab ,it is believed that this work of   
,nnac has been incorporated in  the     
first part of the ,ad-,grant'h4    #ac  
,this interview must have taken place in
 #aebf or #aebg2 as it is  stated to    
have been immediately after ,daulet ,khn
 ,ld had visited  ,paniput1 in #aebf2   
where that prince had fought1 and       
subdued ,ibrahim1  emperor of ,hindstan4
    #ad ,recluse penitents1 who1 by     
means of mental and corporeal           
mortifications1 have acquired a command 
over the powers of nature4    #ae       
,krtipr ,dehra1 on the banks of the     
,rvi1 or ,hydraotes4    #af ,he is1     
throughout this sketch1 called ,nnac4   

,muhammedan historians  generally term  
him ,nnac ,shh1 to denote his being a   
,fakr1 the name  of ,shh being          
frequently given to men of celebrity in 
that sect4 ,the  ,sikhs1 in speaking of 
him1 call him ,bb ,nnac1 or ,gr ,nnac1  
father  ,nnac1 or ,nnac the teacher2 and
 their writers term him ,nnac ,nirinkar1
  which means ,nnac the omnipresent4    
#ag ,this fanciful etymology represents 
the word ,angad as a compound  of the   
,sanscrit ,ang1 which signifies body1   
and the ,persian ,khd1  which signifies 
own4 ,this mixture of language is quite 
common in the  jargon of the ,penjb4    
#ah ,angad died at ,khandr1 a village   
about forty miles east of ,lahore4      
#ai ,though a contrary belief is        
inculcated by ,nnac1 the ,sikhs1 like   
the ,hinds1 are inclined to be          
predestinarians1 and this gives their   
minds a great tendency to view accidents
 as decrees of ,providence2 and  it is  
probable that this instance of early    
good fortune in ,rm ,ds1  by impressing 

his countrymen with an idea of his being
 particularly  favoured of ,heaven1 gave
 rise to an impression that promoted1 in
 no  slight degree1 that success which  
it anticipated4    #bj ,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   
drawn4  ,one author1 however1 states1   
that he lived in the time of ,akber1 and
  was honoured with the favour of that  
truly tolerant and great emperor4    #ba
 ,arjunmal1 or ,arjun1 as he is more    
commonly called1 according to  ,b'hai   
,gr ,ds ,b'hal1 the author of the ,gnyn 
,ratnval1 was not  initiated in the     
sacred mysteries of his father4 ,this   
author says1 that  ,arjun1 though a     
secular man1 did not suffer the office  
of ,gr1 or  priest1 to leave the ,sndi  
tribe4 ,like a substance1 he adds1 which
  none else could digest1 the property  
of the family remained in the  family4  
#bb ,grant'h means book2 but1 as a mark 
of its superiority to all  others1 is   

given to this work1 as ,the ,book4      
,ad-,grant'h means1  the first ,grant'h1
 or book1 and is generally given to this
 work to  distinguish it from the       
,dasama ,pdshh k ,grant'h1 or the book  
of the  tenth king1 composed by ,gr     
,gvind4    #bc ,though the original     
,ad-,grant'h was compiled by ,arjunmal1 
from  the writings of ,nnac1 ,angad1    
,amera ,ds1 and ,rm ,ds1 and enlarged   
and  improved by his own additions and  
commentaries1 some small portions  have 
been subsequently added by thirteen     
different persons1 whose  numbers1      
however1 are reduced1 by the ,sikh      
authors1 to twelve and a  half3 the last
 contributor to this sacred volume being
 a woman1 is only  admitted to rank in  
the list as a fraction1 by these        
ungallant writers4    #bd ,several      
historical accounts of the ,sikhs1      
particularly that  published by ,major  
,browne1 which is1 in general1 drawn    
from authentic  sources1 appear to be in
 error with regard to the period at     

which this  race first took arms1 which 
the last author states to have occurred 
under ,gr ,gvind2 but several ,sikh     
authors1 of great respectability  and   
information1 agree in ascribing to the  
efforts of ,har ,gvind1 the  son of     
,arjun1 this great change in the ,sikh  
commonwealth2 and their  correctness1 in
 this point1 appears to be placed beyond
 all question1  by a passage in the     
,ratnval of ,b'hai ,gr ,ds ,b'hal2 who  
observes1  ,that five phials 7of divine 
grace7 were distributed to five ,prs    
7holy men71 but the sixth ,pr was a     
mighty ,gr 7priest74 ,arjun threw  off  
his earthly frame1 and the form of ,har 
,gvind mounted the seat of  authority4  
,the ,sndi race continued exhibiting    
their different forms  in their turns4  
,har ,gvind was the destroyer of armies1
 a martial ,gr  7priest71 a great       
warrior1 and performed great actions4   
,the mistake  of some ,european writers 
on this subject probably originated in a
  confusion of verbal accounts2 and the 

similarity of the name of ,har  ,gvind1 
the son of ,arjunmal1 and ,gvnd1 the    
last and greatest of the  ,sikh ,grs1   
the son of ,tgh ,bahdur4 ,in the        
,persian sketch1 which ,major  ,browne  
translates1 the name of ,har ,gvind is  
not mentioned4 ,the son of  ,arjunmal is
 called ,gr ,rm ,ry1 which is obviously 
a mistake of the  author of that        
manuscript4    #be ,nnac had forbidden  
hog's flesh1 though a common species of 
food  among the lower tribe of ,hinds1  
in compliance with the prejudices of    
the ,muhammedans1 whom it was his great 
wish to reconcile to his faith  by every
 concession and persuasion4    #bf ,it  
is stated1 by a ,sikh author named      
,nand1 that ,har ,gvind1 during  his    
ministry1 established the practice of   
invoking the three great  ,hind deities1
 ,brahm1 ,vishnu1 and ,sva3 but this is 
not confirmed by  any other authority   
which ,i have seen4    #bg ,the violent 
contests of the ,sikhs are mentioned by 
most of  their writers2 and1 though they

 disagree in their accounts1 they all   
represent ,tgh ,behdur as falling the   
innocent sacrifice of ,muhammedan       
despotism and intolerance2 which1 from  
the evidence of all respectable         
contemporary ,muhammedan authors1 would 
appear not to be the fact4  ,tgh        
,behdur1 agreeable to them1 provoked his
 execution by a series  of crimes4 ,he  
joined1 they state1 with a ,moslem      
,fakr1 of the name of  ,hafiz ed ,dn2   
and1 supported by a body of armed       
mendicants1 committed  the most violent 
depredations on the peaceable           
inhabitants of the  ,penjb4 ,the author 
of the ,seir ,mutkhherin says he was1 in
 consequence  of these excesses1 put to 
death at ,gwalior1 and his body cut into
 four  quarters1 one of which was hung  
up at each gate of the fortress4    #bh 
,a ,sikh college was founded in that    
city4    #bi ,a town on the ,satlj4     
#cj ,gr ,gvind is stated1 by a ,sikh    
author of respectability1 ,b'hai  ,gr   
,ds ,b'hal1 to have been fourteen years 

of age when his father was  put to      
death4    #ca ,the object of ,nnac was  
to abolish the distinctions of cast     
amongst the ,hinds1 and to bring them to
 the adoration of that ,supreme  ,being1
 before whom all men1 he contended1 were
 equal4 ,gr ,gvind1  who adopted all the
 principles of his celebrated           
predecessor1 as far  as religious usages
 were concerned1 is reported to have    
said1 on this  subject1 that the four   
tribes of ,hinds1 the ,brhmen1          
,cshatrya1  ,vaisya1 and ,sdra1 would1  
like pn 7betle-leaf71 chunm 7lime71     
supri 7betle-nut71 and khat 7terra      
japonica1 or catechu71  become all of   
one colour1 when well chewed4    #cb    
,some men of the lowest ,hind tribe1 of 
the occupation of sweepers1  were       
employed to bring away the corpse of    
,tgh ,bhadur from ,dehli4  ,their       
success was rewarded by high rank and   
employment4 ,several of  the same tribe1
 who have become ,sikhs1 have been      
remarkable for their  valour1 and have  

attained great reputation4 ,they are    
distinguished1  among the ,sikhs1 by the
 name of ,ran-,rata ,singh4    #cc ,that
 is1 equal in civil rights4 ,he wished  
to remove the  disqualifications of     
birth1 and do away cast4 ,that he did   
not  completely effect this object1 and 
that some distinctions of their  former 
tribes1 particularly those relating to  
intermarriage1 should  still be kept up 
by the ,sikhs1 cannot be a matter of    
astonishment to  those acquainted with  
the deep-rooted prejudices of the ,hinds
 upon  this point2 which is as much a   
feeling of family pride as of religious 
usage4    #cd ,spiritual leader4    #ce 
,the goddess ,durg ,bhavn is said1 by a 
,sikh author1 to be  represented1 in    
some images1 with her hair long and     
dishevelled4    #cf ,this institution is
 also said to be borrowed from the ,hind
  mythology4 ,bla ,rm1 the elder brother
 of ,crishna1 wore blue clothes2  from  
which he is called ,nilmbar1 or the     
clothed in dark blue2 and  ,shitivas1 or

 the blue clothed4    #cg ,one of the   
most popular of these fables states1    
that in the year  of the ,hjerah #aaah1 
,gr ,gvind1 agreeably to the directions 
he had  received from two ,brhmen       
necromancers1 threw a number of magical 
compounds1 given him by these ,brhmens1 
into a fire1 near which he  continued in
 prayers for several days4 ,a sword of  
lightning at last  burst from the flame 
of fire2 but ,gvind1 instead of seizing 
this  sword in an undaunted manner1 as  
he was instructed1 was dazzled by its   
splendour1 and shrunk from it in alarm4 
,the sword instantly flew to  heaven2   
from whence a loud voice was heard to   
say1 ,gr ,gvind6 thy  wishes shall be   
fulfilled by thy posterity1 and thy     
followers shall  daily increase4 ,the   
,brhmens were in despair at this        
failure2 but1  after deep reflection1   
they told ,gvind1 there was still one   
mode of  acquiring that honour for      
himself1 which appeared1 by the decree  
that  had been pronounced1 doomed for   

his posterity4 ,if he would only allow  
them to take off his head1 and throw it 
into the fire1 he would be  resuscitated
 to the enjoyment of the greatest glory4
 ,the ,gr excused  himself from trying  
this experiment1 declaring that he was  
content  that his descendants should    
enjoy the fruits of that tree which he  
had  planted4    #ch ,these ,rjs appear1
 from the same authority1 to be         
descended in a  direct line from ,hind  
gods4    #ci ,the following short       
extract from the translation of the     
,vichitra  ,ntac1 will show that ,gvind 
gave his friends their full meed of     
praise1 and will also exhibit the       
character of his style3 ,cripl  rages1  
wielding his mace3 he crushed the skull 
of the fierce ,hyt ,khn4  ,he made the  
blood spurt aloft1 and scattered the    
brains of the chief1  as ,crishna       
crushed the earthen vessel of butter4   
,then ,nand ,chand raged  in dreadful   
ire1 launching the spear1 and wielding  
the sword4 ,he broke  his keen scimitar1

 and drew his dagger1 to support the    
honour of the  ,sndi race4 ,then my     
maternal uncle1 ,cripl1 advanced in his 
rage1  and exhibited the skilful        
war-feats of a true ,cshatrya4 ,the     
mighty  warrior1 though struck by an    
arrow1 with another made a valiant ,khn 
fall from his saddle1 and ,sheb ,chand1 
of the ,cshatrya race1 strove  in the   
battle's fury1 and slew a blood-thirsty 
,khn1 a warrior of  ,khorsan4 ,after    
recording the actions of many others1   
,gvind thus  describes his own deeds3   
,the blood-drinking spectres and ghosts 
yelled  for carnage2 the fierce ,vetla1 
the chief of the spectres1 laughed  for 
joy1 and sternly prepared for his       
repast4 ,the vultures hovered  around1  
screaming for their prey4 ,hari ,chand1 
7a ,hind chief in the  emperor's army17 
in his wrath1 drawing his bow1 first    
struck my steed  with an arrow3 aiming a
 second time1 he discharged his arrow2  
but the  ,deity preserved me1 and it    
passed me1 and only grazed my ear4 ,his 

third arrow struck my breast3 it tore   
open the mail1 and pierced the  skin1   
leaving a slight scar2 but the ,god whom
 ,i adore saved me4 ,when ,i  felt this 
hurt1 my anger was kindled2 ,i drew my  
bow and discharged an  arrow3 all my    
champions did the same1 rushing onwards 
to the battle4  ,then ,i aimed at the   
young hero1 and struck him4 ,hari ,chand
 perished1  and many of his host2 death 
devoured him1 who was called a ,rj among
 a  hundred thousand ,rjs4 ,then all the
 host1 struck with consternation1  fled1
 deserting the field of combat4 ,i      
obtained the victory through the  favour
 of the ,most ,high2 and1 victorious in 
the field1 we raised aloud  the song of 
triumph4 ,riches fell on us like rain1  
and all our warriors  were glad4    #dj 
,hyt ,khn and ,nejbet ,khn are mentioned
 as two of the principal  chiefs of the 
emperor's army that fell in this first  
action4 ,gvind1  speaking of the fall of
 the latter1 says3 ,when ,nejbet ,khn   
fell1 the  world exclaimed1 ,alas6 but  

the region of ,swarga 7the heavens7     
shouted  victory4    #da ,a mountainous 
tract of country1 that borders on the   
,penjb4 ,it  lies to the ,n4 ,w4 of     
,srnagar1 and the ,s4 ,e4 of ,jammu4    
,the present  ,rj1 ,sansr ,chand1 is a  
chief of great respectability4 ,his     
country  has lately been overrun by the 
,rj of ,nepl and ,gore'ha4 ,i derived   
considerable information regarding this 
family1 and their territories1  from the
 envoy of ,sansr ,chand1 who attended   
,lord ,lake1 in #ahje1 when  the        
,british army was in the ,penjb4    #db 
,though the account of this war is given
 in a style sufficiently  inflated for  
the wars of the demons and angels2 yet1 
as ,gvind relates1  that ,husain ,khn   
returned a messenger1 which one of the  
principal  ,rjs had sent him1 with this 
message to his master2 ,pay down ten    
thousand rupees1 or destruction descends
 on thy head2 we may judge1  both from  
the demand1 and the amount of the       
contribution1 of the nature  of this    

contest1 as well as its scale4 ,it was  
evidently one of those  petty provincial
 wars1 which took place in every remote 
part of the  ,indian empire1 when it was
 distracted3 and1 at this period1       
,aurungzb  was wholly engaged in the    
,dek'hin1 and the northern provinces    
were  consequently neglected1 and their 
governments in a weak and unsettled     
state4    #dc ,this must have been in   
the year #agja1 when ,bahder ,shh was   
detached from the ,dek'hin to take      
charge of the government of ,cbul1  and 
was probably ordered1 at the same time1 
to settle the disturbances  in the      
,penjb4    #dd ,there is a remarkable   
passage in this chapter1 in which ,gr   
,gvind appears to acknowledge the       
supremacy of the emperor4 ,god1 he      
says1 formed both ,bb 7,nnac7 and ,bber 
7the emperor of that name74  ,look upon 
,bb as the ,pdshh 7king7 of religion1   
and ,bber1 the lord  of the world4 ,he  
who will not give ,nnac a single damri1 
7a coin the  sixteenth part of an ana17 

will receive a severe punishment from   
,bber4    #de ,kahilr1 or ,kahlre1 is   
situated on the ,satlj1 above ,mk'havl4 
,it is near the mountains through which 
that river flows into the  ,penjb4      
,another place of the name of ,kahilr1  
or ,kahlre1 is situated  a short        
distance from ,lahore1 to the ,n4 ,e4 of
 that city4    #df ,the ,muhammedan     
authors blame ,vzr ,khn for this        
unnecessary and  impolitic act of       
barbarity4    #dg ,bhavn ,durg4    #dh  
,in the ,penjbi narrative of ,b'hai ,gr 
,ds ,b'hal1 the actions  of ,ajit       
,singh1 and ,ranjt ,singh1 sons of      
,gvind1 are particularly  described2    
and1 from one part of the description1  
it would appear  that the family of     
,gvind1 proud of their descent1 had not 
laid aside  the zunr1 or holy cord1 to  
which they were1 as belonging to the    
,cshatrya race1 entitled4 ,speaking of  
these youths1 the author says3          
,slaughtering every ,turk and ,pahlan   
whom they saw1 they adorned their       

sacred strings1 by converting them into 
sword-belts4 ,returning from the  field1
 they sought their father1 who bestowed 
a hundred blessings on  their scimetars4
    #di ,the ,sikh author1 though he may
 reject the superstitious idolatry  of  
the ,hinds1 adorns his descriptions with
 every image its mythology  can furnish2
 and claims for his hero the same high  
honours in ,swarga1  that a ,brhmen     
would expect for one of the ,pndu race4 
#ej ,mr4 ,foster has followed this      
authority in his account of the ,sikh   
nation3 and ,i am inclined to believe   
that the part of it which relates  to   
,gr ,gvind's dying at ,nadr1 in the     
,dek'hin1 of a wound received  from a   
,patn1 is correct2 as it is written on  
the last page of a copy  of the         
,ad-,grant'h1 in my possession1 with    
several other facts relative  to the    
dates of the births and deaths of the   
principal high priests of  the ,sikhs4  
#ea ,both at ,chamkur1 and other forts1 
from which the famished ,sikhs          

attempted to escape1 many of them were  
taken1 and had their noses and  ears cut
 off4    #eb ,meaning ,sikhs2 whose     
faith1 though it differs widely from the
  present worship of the ,hinds1 has    
been thought to have considerable       
analogy to the pure and simple religion 
originally followed by that  nation4    
#ec ,this province lies a few miles to  
the ,n4 ,e4 of ,delhi1 between the      
rivers ,jumna and ,ganges4    #ed ,they 
were taken in the fort of ,lhgad1 which 
is one hundred miles  to the north-east 
of ,lahore4 ,this fortress was          
completely surrounded1  and the ,sikhs  
were only starved into surrender1 having
 been reduced to  such extremes1 that   
they were reported to have eaten1 what  
to them must  have been most horrible1  
the flesh of the cow4    #ee ,the author
 of the ,seir ,mutkherin4    #ef ,it is 
necessary1 however1 to state1 that there
 is a schismatical  sect of ,sikhs1 who 
are termed ,bandi1 or the followers of  
,banda1 who  totally deny this account  

of the death of ,banda1 and maintain    
that  he escaped severely wounded from  
his last battle1 and took refuge in     
,b'habar1 where he quietly ended his    
days1 leaving two sons1 ,ajit ,singh    
and ,zorwer ,singh1 who successfully    
propagated his doctrine4 ,this sect     
chiefly resides in ,multn1 ,tata1 and   
the other cities on the banks of  the   
,indus4 ,they receive the ,ad-,grant'h1 
but not the ,dasama ,pdshh k  ,grant'h4 
#eg ,an account of this class of ,sikhs 
will be hereafter given4    #eh ,a4 ,d4 
#agdf4    #ei ,the country between the  
rivers ,rav and ,byah1 and that river   
and  the ,satlj4    #fj ,a sect of      
non-conformist ,sikhs1 who believe in   
the ,ad-,grant'h  of ,nnac1 but do not  
conform to the institutions of ,gr      
,gvind4 ,they  are called ,khalsa4 ,this
 word is said1 by some1 to be from      
khlis1  pure or select1 and to mean the 
purest1 or the select3 by others1  from 
khals1 free1 and to mean the freed or   
exempt1 alluding to the  tribe being    

exempt from the usages imposed on the   
other ,sikhs4    #fa ,a4 ,d4 #ageb4     
#fb ,the empire of the ,mahrtas had1 at 
this proud moment1 reached its  zenith4 
,the battle of ,pnipat'h took place soon
 afterwards2 since which  it has rapidly
 declined4    #fc ,this is a very common
 usage amongst eastern conquerors4 ,the 
history of ,jnghz ,khn1 ,taimr and ,ndir
 ,shh1 afford many examples of  this    
mode of treating their vanquished       
enemies4    #fd ,foster's ,travels1     
,vol4 ,i4 p4 #bgi4    #fe ,all the      
villages in the ,penjb are walled round2
 as they are in  almost all the         
countries of ,india that are exposed to 
sudden incursions  of horse1 which this 
defence can always repel4    #ff ,when  
the ,british and ,mhrta armies entered  
the ,penjb1 they  were both daily joined
 by discontented petty chiefs of the    
,sikhs1 who  offered their aid to the   
power that would put them in the        
possession of  a village or a fort1 from
 which1 agreeably to their statement1   

they had  been unjustly excluded by a   
father or brother4 ,holkr encouraged    
these  applications1 and used them to   
his advantage4 ,the ,british commander  
abstained from all interference in such 
disputes4          ,,section ,,ii4      
,neither the limits of this sketch1 nor 
the materials from which it is  drawn1  
will admit of my giving a particular or 
correct account of the  countries       
possessed by the ,sikhs1 or of their    
forms of government1  manners1 and      
habits3 but a cursory view of these     
subjects may be  useful1 and may excite 
and direct that curiosity which it      
cannot expect  to gratify4    ,the      
country now possessed by the ,sikhs1    
which reaches from latitude  #bh #dj' to
 beyond latitude #cb ,n41 and includes  
all the ,penjb#fg1 a  small part of     
,multn1 and most of that tract of       
country which lies  between the ,jumna  
and the ,satlj1 is bounded1 to the      
northward and  westward1 by the         
territories of the king of ,cbul2 to the

 eastward1 by  the possessions of the   
mountaineer ,rjs of ,jammu1 ,nadn1 and  
,srnagar2  and to the southward1 by the 
territories of the ,english government1 
and  the sandy deserts of ,jasalmr and  
,hnsy ,hisr4    ,the ,sikhs1 who inhabit
 the country between the ,satlj and the 
,jumna1  are called ,mlaw ,singh1 and   
were almost all converted from the ,hind
  tribes of ,jts and ,gujars4 ,the title
 of ,mlaw ,singh was conferred upon     
them for their extraordinary gallantry1 
under the ,barg ,banda1 who is  stated  
to have declared1 that the countries    
granted to them should be  fruitful as  
,mlw1 one of the provinces#fh in ,india4
 ,the principal  chiefs among the ,mlaw 
,singhs1 are1 ,sheb ,singh1 of ,patil2  
,b'hang  ,singh1 of ,t'hnsur2 ,b'hg     
,singh1 of ,jhind2 and ,b'hailal ,singh1
 of  ,keintal4 ,besides these1 there are
 several inferior chiefs1 such as       
,grdah ,singh1 ,jud'h ,singh1 and ,carm 
,singh2 all of whom have a few          
villages1 and some horse1 and consider  

themselves independent2 though  they1 in
 general1 are content to secure their   
possessions by attaching  themselves to 
one or other of the more powerful       
leaders4    ,the country of the ,mlaw   
,singh is1 in some parts1 fruitful3 but 
those  districts of it1 which border on 
,hnsy and ,carnl1 are very barren2      
being covered with low wood1 and1 in    
many places1 almost destitute of  water4
 ,sarhind was formerly the capital of   
this country2 but it is now  a complete 
ruin1 and has probably never recovered  
the dreadful ravages  of the ,bairg     
,banda1 who is stated not only to have  
destroyed its  mosques1 but to have     
levelled all its palaces and public     
buildings  with the ground4 ,patil is   
now the largest and most flourishing    
town  of this province1 and next to it  
,t'hnsur1 which is still held in  high  
religious veneration by the ,hinds2 who 
have also a very high  reverence for the
 river ,seraswet1 which flows through   
this province4  ,the territories of the 

chiefs of ,mlaw ,singh are bounded to   
the ,n4  ,w4 by the ,satlj2 between     
which and the ,byah1 is the country     
called  the ,jalndra ,beit1 or ,jalndra 
,db2 the ,sikhs inhabiting which are    
called the ,db ,singh1 or the ,singhs   
who dwell between the rivers#fi4  ,the  
country of ,jalndra ,db1 which reaches  
from the mountains to  the junction of  
the ,satlj and the ,byah1 is the most   
fruitful of all  the possessions of the 
,sikhs2 and is1 perhaps1 excelled in    
climate  and vegetation by no province  
of ,india4 ,the soil is light1 but very 
productive3 the country1 which is open  
and level1 abounds with every  kind of  
grain4 ,that want of water1 which is so 
much felt in other  parts of ,india1    
must be here unknown2 as it is found    
every where in  abundance1 within two1  
or at furthest three1 feet from the     
surface of  the soil4 ,the towns of     
,jalndra and ,sultnpr are the principal 
in the  ,db4    ,the country between the
 ,byah and ,rv rivers is called ,bri    

,db1  or ,mnj'h2 and the ,sikhs         
inhabiting it are called ,mnj'h ,singh4 
,the cities of ,lahore and ,amritsar are
 both in this province2 and it  becomes1
 in consequence1 the great centre of the
 power of this nation4  ,ranjt ,singh1  
of ,lahore2 ,fateh ,singh#gj1 of        
,alluwl2 and ,jud'h ,singh1  of         
,rmgadi#ga2 are the principal chiefs of 
this country4    ,the country of ,bri is
 said to be less fertile1 particularly  
towards  the mountains1 than ,jalndra2  
but1 as it lies on the same level1 it   
must possess nearly the same climate and
 soil4    ,the inhabitants of the       
country between the ,rv and ,chanhb1 are
 called  ,d'harp ,singh1 from the       
country being called ,d'harp4 ,the      
,d'hanghb  ,singh are beyond the        
,chanhb#gb1 but within the ,jhalam      
river4    ,the ,sind ,singh is the term 
by which the inhabitants of the         
districts  under the ,sikhs1 bordering  
on the ,sind1 are known2 and ,naki      
,singh is  the name given to the ,sikhs 

who reside in ,multn4 ,with the leaders 
of  the ,sikhs in these provinces1 the  
extent of their possessions1 or the     
climate and productions of the country  
under their rule1 ,i am little          
acquainted4 ,those in ,multn1 as well as
 those settled on the river  ,jhalam1   
are said to be constantly engaged in a  
predatory warfare1  either with the     
officers of the ,afghn government1 or   
with ,muhammedan  chiefs who have jgrs  
in their vicinity4    ,the government of
 the ,sikhs1 considered in its theory1  
may1 as has been  before stated1 be     
termed a theocracy4 ,they obey a        
temporal chief1 it is  true2 but that   
chief preserves his power and authority 
by professing  himself the servant of   
the ,khls#gc1 or government1 which can  
only  be said to act1 in times of great 
public emergency1 through the means  of 
a national council1 of which every chief
 is a member1 and which is  supposed to 
deliberate and resolve under the        
immediate inspiration and  impulse of an

 invisible being2 who1 they believe1    
always watches over  the interests of   
the commonwealth4    ,the nature of the 
power established by the temporal chiefs
 of the  ,sikhs1 has been sufficiently  
explained in the narrative of their     
history4 ,it will be necessary1 before  
any account is given of the forms  and  
actions of their ,gr-mat1 or great      
national council1 which is  intended to 
have a supreme authority over their     
federative republic1 to  take a view of 
that body of ,acls1 or immortals1 who1  
under the double  character of fanatic  
priests and desperate soldiers1 have    
usurped  the sole direction of all      
religious affairs at ,amritsar1 and are1
  consequently1 leading men in a council
 which is held at that sacred  place1   
and which deliberates under all the     
influence of religious  enthusiasm4     
,the ,acls#gd are a class of ,sikh      
devotees2 who1 agreeably to the         
historians of that nation1 were first   
founded by ,gr ,gvind1 whose            

institutes1 as it has been before       
stated1 they most zealously defended    
against the innovations of the ,bairg   
,banda4 ,they wear blue chequered       
clothes1 and bangles1 or bracelets of   
steel#ge1 round their wrists1  initiate 
converts1 and have almost the sole      
direction of the religious  ceremonies  
at ,amritsar1 where they reside1 and of 
which they deem  themselves the         
defenders2 and1 consequently1 never     
desire to quit it  unless in cases of   
great extremity4    ,this order of      
,sikhs have a place1 or ,bung#gf1 on the
 bank of the  sacred reservoir of       
,amritsar1 where they generally resort1 
but are  individually possessed of      
property1 though they affect poverty1   
and subsist upon charity2 which1        
however1 since their numbers have       
increased1 they generally extort1 by    
accusing the principal chiefs of        
crimes1 imposing fines upon them2 and1  
in the event of their refusing  to pay1 
preventing them from performing their   

ablutions1 or going  through any of     
their religious ceremonies at ,amritsar4
    ,it will not1 when the above        
circumstances are considered1 be thought
  surprising1 that the most powerful of 
the ,sikh chiefs should desire  to      
conciliate this body of fanatics1 no    
individual of which can be  offended    
with impunity1 as the cause of one is   
made the cause of the  whole2 and a     
chief1 who is become unpopular with the 
,acls1 must not  only avoid ,amritsar1  
but is likely to have his dependants    
taught1 when  they pay their devotions  
at that place1 that it is pious to      
resist his  authority4    ,the ,acls    
have a great interest in maintaining    
both the religion and  government of the
 ,sikhs1 as established by ,gr ,gvind2  
as1 on its  continuance in that shape1  
their religious and political influence 
must depend4 ,should ,amritsar cease to 
be a place of resort1 or be no  longer  
considered as the religious capital of  
the state1 in which all  questions that 

involve the general interests of the    
commonwealth are  to be decided1 this   
formidable order would at once fall from
 that  power and consideration which    
they now possess1 to a level with other 
mendicants4    ,when a ,gr-mat1 or great
 national council1 is called1 7as it    
always  is1 or ought to be1 when any    
imminent danger threatens the country1  
or  any large expedition is to be       
undertaken17 all the ,sikh chiefs       
assemble  at ,amritsar4 ,the assembly1  
which is called the ,gr-mat1 is convened
  by the ,acls2 and when the chiefs meet
 upon this solemn occasion1 it  is      
concluded that all private animosities  
cease1 and that every man  sacrifices   
his personal feelings at the shrine of  
the general good2  and1 actuated by     
principles of pure patriotism1 thinks of
 nothing but  the interests of the      
religion1 and commonwealth1 to which he 
belongs4    ,when the chiefs and        
principal leaders are seated1 the       
,ad-,grant'h and  ,dasama ,pdshh k      

,grant'h are placed before them4 ,they  
all bend their  heads before these      
scriptures1 and exclaim1 ,w6 ,grji k    
,khlsa6 ,w6  ,grji ki ,fateh6 ,a great  
quantity of cakes1 made of wheat1       
butter1  and sugar1 are then placed     
before the volumes of their sacred      
writings1  and covered with a cloth4    
,these holy cakes1 which are in         
commemoration  of the injunction of     
,nnac1 to eat and to give to others to  
eat1 next  receive the salutation of the
 assembly1 who then rise1 and the ,acls 
pray aloud1 while the musicians play4   
,the ,acls1 when the prayers  are       
finished1 desire the council to be      
seated4 ,they sit down1 and the  cakes  
being uncovered1 are eaten of by all    
classes#gg of ,sikhs3 those             
distinctions of original tribes1 which  
are1 on other occasions1 kept  up1 being
 on this occasion laid aside1 in token  
of their general and  complete union in 
one cause#gh4 ,the ,acls then exclaim3  
,sirdars6  7chiefs7 this is a ,gr-mat6  

on which prayers are again said aloud4  
,the chiefs1 after this1 sit closer1 and
 say to each other3 ,the sacred         
,grant'h is betwixt us1 let us swear by 
our scripture to forget all  internal   
disputes1 and to be united4 ,this moment
 of religious fervor  and ardent        
patriotism1 is taken to reconcile all   
animosities4 ,they  then proceed to     
consider the danger with which they are 
threatened1  to settle the best plans   
for averting it1 and to choose the      
generals  who are to lead their         
armies#gi against the common enemy4 ,the
 first  ,gr-mat was assembled by ,gr    
,gvind2 and the latest was called in    
#ahje1 when the ,british army pursued   
,holkr into the ,penjb4    ,the         
principal chiefs of the ,sikhs are all  
descended from ,hind tribes4  ,there is1
 indeed1 no instance of a ,singh of a   
,muhammedan family  attaining high      
power#hj3 a circumstance to be accounted
 for from  the hatred still cherished1  
by the followers of ,gr ,gvind1 against 

the descendants of his persecutors3 and 
that this rancorous spirit  is          
undiminished1 may be seen from their    
treatment of the wretched  ,muhammedans 
who yet remain in their territories4    
,these1 though very  numerous1 appear to
 be all poor1 and to be an oppressed1   
despised  race4 ,they till the ground1  
and are employed to carry burdens1 and  
to  do all kinds of hard labour3 they   
are not allowed to eat beef1 or to  say 
their prayers aloud1 and but seldom     
assemble in their mosques#ha2  of which 
few1 indeed1 have escaped destruction4  
,the lower order of  ,sikhs are more    
happy3 they are protected from the      
tyranny and violence  of the chiefs1    
under whom they live1 by the precepts of
 their common  religion1 and by the     
condition of their country1 which       
enables them  to abandon1 whenever they 
choose1 a leader whom they dislike2 and 
the  distance of a few miles generally  
places them under the protection  of his
 rival and enemy4 ,it is from this cause

 that the lowest ,sikh  horseman usually
 assumes a very independent style1 and  
the highest  chief treats his military  
followers with attention and            
conciliation4  ,the civil officers1--to 
whom the chiefs intrust their accounts1 
and  the management of their property   
and revenue concerns1 as well as the    
conduct of their negotiations1--are1 in 
general1 ,sikhs of the ,khalsa  cast2   
who1 being followers of ,nnac1 and not  
of ,gr ,gvind1 are not  devoted to arms1
 but educated for peaceful occupations1 
in which they  often become very expert 
and intelligent4    ,in the collection  
of the revenue in the ,penjb it is      
stated to be a  general rule1 that the  
chiefs1 to whom the territories belong1 
should  receive one half of the         
produce#hb1 and the farmer the other3   
but  the chief never levies the whole of
 his share3 and in no country1  perhaps1
 is the ,rayat1 or cultivator1 treated  
with more indulgence4  ,commerce is not 
so much encouraged2 heavy duties are    

levied upon it by  all petty rulers     
through whose districts it passes3 and  
this1 added to  the distracted state in 
which the ,penjb has been1 from the     
internal  disputes of its possessors1   
caused the rich produce of ,csmr to be  
carried to ,india by the difficult and  
mountainous tract of ,jammu1  ,nadn1 and
 ,srnagar4 ,the ,sikh chiefs have1      
however1 discovered the  injury which   
their interests have suffered from this 
cause1 and have  endeavoured1 and not   
without success1 to restore confidence  
to the  merchant2 and great part of the 
shawl trade now flows through the       
cities of ,lahore1 ,amritsar1 and       
,patil1 to ,hindstan4    ,the           
administration of justice in the        
countries under the ,sikhs1 is  in a    
very rude and imperfect state2 for1     
though their scriptures  inculcate      
general maxims of justice1 they are not 
considered1 as the  ,old ,testament is  
by the ,jews1 or the ,korn by the       
,muhammedans1 as  books of law3 and1    

having no fixed code1 they appear to    
have adopted  that irregular practice1  
which is most congenial to the temper of
 the  people1 and best suited to the    
unsteady and changing character of their
  rule of government4 ,the following    
appears to be the general outline of    
their practice in the administration of 
justice4    ,trifling disputes about    
property are settled by the heads of the
  village1 by arbitration#hc1 or by the 
chiefs4 ,either of these modes1         
supposing the parties consent to refer  
to it1 is final2 and they must  agree to
 one or other4 ,if a theft occurs1 the  
property is recovered1  and the party   
punished by the person from whom it was 
stolen1 who  is aided on such occasions 
by the inhabitants of his village1 or   
his chief4 ,the punishment1 however1 is 
never capital#hd4 ,murder is  generally 
revenged by the relations of the        
deceased1 who1 in such  cases1          
rigorously retaliate on the murderer1   
and often on all who  endeavour to      

protect him4    ,the character of the   
,sikhs1 or rather ,singhs1 which is the 
name by  which the followers of ,gr     
,gvind1 who are all devoted to arms1 are
  distinguished1 is very marked4 ,they  
have1 in general1 the ,hind cast  of    
countenance1 somewhat altered by their  
long beards1 and are to  the full as    
active as the ,mahrtas2 and much more   
robust1 from their  living fuller1 and  
enjoying a better and colder climate4   
,their courage  is equal1 at all times1 
to that of any natives of ,india2 and   
when  wrought upon by prejudice or      
religion1 is quite desperate4 ,they are 
all horsemen1 and have no infantry in   
their own country1 except for  the      
defence of their forts and villages1    
though they generally serve  as infantry
 in foreign armies4 ,they are bold1 and 
rather rough1 in  their address2 which  
appears more to a stranger from their   
invariably  speaking in a loud tone#he  
of voice3 but this is quite a habit1    
and is alike used by them to express the

 sentiments of regard and  hatred4 ,the 
,sikhs have been reputed deceitful and  
cruel2 but ,i know  no grounds upon     
which they can be considered more so    
than the other  tribes of ,india4 ,they 
seemed to me1 from all the intercourse  
,i had  with them1 to be more open and  
sincere than the ,mahrtas1 and less     
rude and savage than the ,afghns4 ,they 
have1 indeed1 become1 from  national    
success1 too proud of their own         
strength1 and too irritable  in their   
tempers1 to have patience for the wiles 
of the former2 and  they retain1 in     
spite of their change of manners and    
religion1 too much  of the original     
character of their ,hind ancestors1 7for
 the great  majority are of the ,hind   
race17 to have the constitutional       
ferocity  of the latter4 ,the ,sikh     
soldier is1 generally speaking1 brave1  
active1  and cheerful1 without polish1  
but neither destitute of sincerity nor  
attachment2 and if he often appears     
wanting in humanity1 it is not so  much 

to be attributed to his national        
character1 as to the habits of a  life1 
which1 from the condition of the society
 in which he is born1 is  generally     
passed in scenes of violence and rapine4
    ,the ,sikh merchant1 or cultivator  
of the soil1 if he is a ,singh1 differs 
little in character from the soldier1   
except that his occupation  renders him 
less presuming and boisterous4 ,he also 
wears arms1 and is1  from education1    
prompt to use them whenever his         
individual interest1  or that of the    
community in which he lives#hf1 requires
 him to do so4  ,the general occupations
 of the ,khalsa ,sikhs has been before  
mentioned4  ,their character differs    
widely from that of the ,singhs4 ,full  
of  intrigue1 pliant1 versatile1 and    
insinuating1 they have all the art of   
the lower classes of ,hinds1 who are    
usually employed in transacting         
business3 from whom1 indeed1 as they    
have no distinction of dress1 it  is    
very difficult to distinguish them4     

,the religious tribes of ,acls1 ,shahd1 
and ,nirmala1 have been  noticed4 ,their
 general character is formed from their 
habits of life4  ,the ,acls are         
insolent1 ignorant1 and daring3         
presuming upon those  rights which their
 numbers and fanatic courage have       
established1 their  deportment is hardly
 tolerant to the other ,sikhs1 and      
insufferable to  strangers1 for whom    
they entertain a contempt1 which they   
take little  pains to conceal4 ,the     
,shhd and the ,nirmala1 particularly the
 latter1  have more knowledge1 and more 
urbanity4 ,they are almost all men of   
quiet1 peaceable habits2 and many of    
them are said to possess learning4      
,there is another tribe among the       
,sikhs1 called the ,nnac ,pautra1  or   
descendants of ,nnac1 who have the      
character of being a mild1  inoffensive 
race2 and1 though they do not           
acknowledge the institutions  of ,gr    
,gvind1 they are greatly revered by his 
followers1 who hold it  sacrilege to    

injure the race of their founder2 and1  
under the advantage  which this general 
veneration affords them1 the ,nnac      
,pautra pursue  their occupations2      
which1 if they are not mendicants1 is   
generally  that of travelling merchants4
 ,they do not carry arms2 and profess1  
agreeably to the doctrine of ,nnac1 to  
be at peace#hg with all mankind4    ,the
 ,sikh converts1 it has been before     
stated1 continue1 after they have       
quitted their original religion1 all    
those civil usages and customs  of the  
tribes to which they belonged1 that they
 can practise1 without  infringing the  
tenets of ,nnac1 or the institutions of 
,gr ,gvind4  ,they are most particular  
with regard to their intermarriages2    
and1 on  this point1 ,sikhs descended   
from ,hinds almost invariably conform to
  ,hind customs1 every tribe            
intermarrying within itself4 ,the ,hind 
usage1 regarding diet1 is also held     
equally sacred2 no ,sikh1 descended     
from a ,hind family1 ever violating it1 

except upon particular  occasions1 such 
as a ,gr-mat1 when they are obliged1 by 
their tenets  and institutions1 to eat  
promiscuously4 ,the strict observance of
 these  usages has enabled many of the  
,sikhs1 particularly of the ,jt#hh and  
,gujar#hi tribes1 which include almost  
all those settled to the south  of the  
,satlj1 to preserve an intimate         
intercourse with their original  tribes2
 who1 considering the ,sikhs not as     
having lost cast1 but as  ,hinds that   
have joined a political association1    
which obliges them  to conform to       
general rules established for its       
preservation1 neither  refuse to        
intermarry#ij nor to eat with them4     
,the higher cast of ,hinds1 such as     
,brhmens and ,cshatryas1 who have       
become ,sikhs1 continue to intermarry   
with converts of their own tribes1  but 
not with ,hinds of the cast they have   
abandoned1 as they are  polluted by     
eating animal food2 all kinds of which  
are lawful to ,sikhs1  except the cow1  

which it is held sacrilege to slay#ia4  
,nnac1 whose  object was to conciliate  
the ,muhammedans to his creed1          
prohibited hog's  flesh also2 but it was
 introduced by his successors1 as much1 
perhaps1  from a spirit of revenge      
against the ,moslems1 as from           
considerations of  indulgence to the    
numerous converts of the ,jt and ,gujar 
tribe1 among  whom wild hog is a        
favourite species of food4    ,the      
,muhammedans1 who become ,sikhs1        
intermarry with each other1 but are     
allowed to preserve none of their       
usages1 being obliged to eat hog's      
flesh1 and abstain from circumcision4   
,the ,sikhs are forbid the use of       
tobacco#ib1 but allowed to indulge  in  
spirituous#ic liquors1 which they almost
 all drink to excess2 and  it is rare to
 see a ,singh soldier1 after sunset1    
quite sober4 ,their  drink is an ardent 
spirit#id1 made in the ,penjb2 but they 
have no  objections to either the wine  
or spirits of ,europe1 when they can    

obtain them4    ,the use of opium1 to   
intoxicate1 is very common with the     
,sikhs1 as  with most of the military   
tribes of ,india4 ,they also take       
,b'hang#ie1  another inebriating drug4  
,the conduct of the ,sikhs to their     
women differs in no material respect    
from that of the tribes of ,hinds1 or   
,muhammedans1 from whom they are        
descended4 ,their moral character with  
regard to women1 and indeed in  most    
other points1 may1 from the freedom of  
their habits1 generally  be considered  
as much more lax than that of their     
ancestors1 who  lived under the         
restraint of severe restrictions1 and   
whose fear of  excommunication from     
their cast1 at least obliged them to    
cover their  sins with the veil of      
decency4 ,this the emancipated ,sikhs   
despise3 and  there is hardly an infamy 
which this debauched and dissolute race 
are  not accused 7and ,i believe with   
justice7 of committing in the most open 
and shameful manner4    ,the ,sikhs are 

almost all horsemen1 and they take great
 delight in  riding4 ,their horses were1
 a few years ago1 famous2 and those bred
 in  the ,lak'hi ,jungle1 and other     
parts of their territory1 were justly   
celebrated for their strength1 temper1  
and activity3 but the internal          
distractions of these territories has   
been unfavourable to the  encouragement 
of the breed1 which has consequently    
declined2 and the  ,sikhs now are in no 
respect better mounted than the         
,mahrtas4 ,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  service4    ,their horsemen   
use swords and spears1 and most of them 
now carry  matchlocks1 though some still
 use the bow and arrow2 a species of    
arms1  for excellence in the use of     
which their forefathers were celebrated1
  and which their descendants appear to 
abandon with great reluctance4    ,the  
education of the ,sikhs renders them    

hardy1 and capable of great  fatigue2   
and the condition of the society in     
which they live1 affords  constant      
exercise to that restless spirit of     
activity and enterprise  which their    
religion has generated4 ,such a race    
cannot be epicures3  they appear1       
indeed1 generally to despise luxury of  
diet1 and pride  themselves in their    
coarse fare4 ,their dress is also plain1
 not unlike  that of the ,hinds1 equally
 light and divested of ornament4 ,some  
of the chiefs wear gold bangles2 but    
this is rare2 and the general           
characteristic of their dress and mode  
of living1 is simplicity4    ,the       
principal leaders among the ,sikhs      
affect to be familiar and easy  of      
intercourse with their inferiors1 and to
 despise the pomp and  state of the     
,muhammedan chiefs3 but their pride     
often counteracts  this disposition2 and
 they appeared to me to have1 in        
proportion to  their rank and           
consequence1 more state1 and to maintain

 equal1 if not  more1 reserve and       
dignity with their followers1 than is   
usual with the  ,mahrta chiefs4    ,it  
would be difficult1 if not              
impracticable1 to ascertain the amount  
of the population of the ,sikh          
territories1 or even to compute the     
number of the armies which they could   
bring into action4 ,they boast  that    
they can raise more than a hundred      
thousand horse3 and1 if it  were        
possible to assemble every ,sikh        
horseman1 this statement might  not be  
an exaggeration3 but there is1 perhaps1 
no chief among them1  except ,ranjt     
,singh1 of ,lahore1 that could bring an 
effective body of  four thousand men    
into the field4 ,the force of ,ranjt    
,singh did not1  in #ahje1 amount to    
eight thousand2 and part of that was    
under chiefs  who had been subdued from 
a state of independence1 and whose      
turbulent  minds ill brooked an         
usurpation which they deemed subversive 
of the  constitution of their           

commonwealth4 ,his army is now more     
numerous than  it was1 but it is        
composed of materials which have no     
natural cohesion2  and the first serious
 check which it meets1 will probably    
cause its  dissolution4    ,,footnotes3 
#fg ,a general estimate of the value of 
the country possessed by the  ,sikhs may
 be formed1 when it is stated1 that it  
contains1 besides other  countries1 the 
whole of the province of ,lahore2 which1
 agreeable to ,mr4  ,bernier1 produced1 
in the reign of ,aurungzb1 two hundred  
and forty-six  lacks and ninety-five    
thousand rupees2 or two millions1 four  
hundred  and sixty-nine thousand1 five  
hundred pounds sterling4    #fh ,this   
province now forms almost the whole     
territory of ,daulet ,ro  ,sind4    #fi 
,with the chiefs of the ,sikhs in the   
,jalndra ,db we are little  acquainted4 
,tr ,singh is the most considerable2 but
 he and the others  have been greatly   
weakened by their constant and          
increasing internal  divisions4    #gj  

,fateh ,singh is1 like ,ranjt ,singh1 of
 a ,jt family4    #ga ,jud'h ,singh1 of 
,ramgadi1 is of the carpenter cast4     
#gb ,the term ,gujart ,singh is         
sometimes given to the inhabitants of   
this ,db1 of which the chiefs of ,gujart
 and ,rots are the principal  rulers4   
#gc ,the word ,khls1 which has before   
been explained to mean the state  or    
commonwealth1 is supposed1 by the       
,sikhs1 to have a mystical meaning1  and
 to imply that superior government1     
under the protection of which  they     
live1 and to the established rules and  
laws of which1 as fixed by  ,gr ,gvind1 
it is their civil and religious duty to 
conform4    #gd ,acl1 derived from ,acl1
 a compound term of cl1 death1 and  the 
,sanscrit privative a1 which means      
never-dying1 or immortal4  ,it is one of
 the names of the ,divinity2 and has1   
probably1 been given  to this remarkable
 class of devotees1 from their always   
exclaiming  ,acl6 ,acl6 in their        
devotions4    #ge ,all ,singhs do not   

wear bracelets2 but it is indispensable 
to have  steel about their persons1     
which they generally have in the shape  
of a  knife or dagger4 ,in support of   
this ordinance they quote the following 
verses of ,gr ,gvind3      ,sheb be ki  
rach'ha hamn1    ,tuhi ,sr ,sheb1 churi1
 kti1 katr--    ,acl purukh ki rach'ha  
hamn1    ,serv lh di rach'ha hamn1      
,servacl di rach'ha hamn1    ,serv lohji
 di sada rach'ha hamn4    which may be  
translated3 ,the protection of the      
infinite ,lord is  over us3 thou art the
 lord1 the cutlass1 the knife1 and the  
dagger4  ,the protection of the immortal
 ,being is over us3 the protection of   
,,all-,,steel is over us3 the protection
 of ,,all-,,time is over us3 the        
protection of ,,all-,,steel is          
constantly over us4    #gf ,the ,shahd  
and ,nirmala1 two other religious tribes
 among the  ,sikhs1 have ,bungs1 or     
places1 upon the great reservoir of     
,amritsar2  but both these are peaceful 
orders of priests1 whose duty is to     

address  the ,deity1 and to read and    
explain the ,ad-,grant'h to the ,sikhs4 
,they  are1 in general1 men of some     
education4 ,a ,sikh1 of any tribe1 may  
be  admitted into either of these       
classes1 as among the ,acls1 who admit  
all into their body who choose to       
conform to their rules4    #gg ,a custom
 of a similar nature1 with regard to all
 tribes eating  promiscuously1 is       
observed among the ,hinds1 at the temple
 of  ,jagannth1 where men of all        
religions and casts1 without            
distinction1  eat of the ,mah ,prasd1   
the great offering2 i4e4 food dressed by
 the  cooks of the idols1 and sold on   
the stairs of the temple4    #gh ,the   
,sikh priest1 who gave an account of    
this custom1 was of a high  ,hind tribe2
 and1 retaining some of his prejudices1 
he at first said1  that ,muhammedan     
,sikhs1 and those who were converts from
 the sweeper  cast1 were obliged1 even  
on this occasion1 to eat a little apart 
from  the other ,sikhs3 but1 on being   

closely questioned1 he admitted the fact
  as stated in the narrative2 saying1   
however1 it was only on this solemn     
occasion that these tribes are admitted 
to eat with the others4    #gi ,the army
 is called1 when thus assembled1 the    
,dal ,khls1 or the  army of the state4  
#hj ,the ,muhammedans who have become   
,sikhs1 and their descendants1 are1  in 
the ,penjbi jargon1 termed ,mezhebi     
,singh1 or ,singhs of the faith2  and   
they are subdivided into the four       
classes which are vulgarly1  but        
erroneously1 supposed to distinguish the
 followers of ,muhammed1  ,sayyad       
,singh1 ,sheikh ,singh1 ,moghul ,singh1 
and ,patn ,singh2 by which  designations
 the names of the particular race or    
country of the  ,muhammedans have been  
affixed1 by ,hinds1 as distinctions of  
cast4    #ha ,the ,muhammedan           
inhabitants of the ,penjb used to flock 
to the  ,british camp2 where1 they said1
 they enjoyed luxuries which no man     
could appreciate that had not suffered  

privation4 ,they could pray  aloud1 and 
feast upon beef4    #hb ,grain pays in  
kind2 sugar-cane1 melons1 c4 pay in     
cash4    #hc ,this is called ,penchayat1
 or a court of five2 the general number 
of arbitrators chosen to adjust         
differences and disputes4 ,it is usual  
to assemble a ,panchayat1 or a court of 
arbitration1 in every part of  ,india1  
under a native government2 and1 as they 
are always chosen from  men of the best 
reputation in the place where they meet1
 this court has  a high character for   
justice4    #hd ,a ,sikh priest1 who has
 been several years in ,calcutta1 gave  
this  outline of the administration of  
justice among his countrymen4 ,he spoke 
of it with rapture2 and insisted1 with  
true patriotic prejudice1 on its  great 
superiority over the vexatious system of
 the ,english government2  which was1 he
 said1 tedious1 vexatious1 and          
expensive1 and advantageous  only to    
clever rogues4    #he ,talking aloud is 
so habitual to a ,sikh1 that he bawls a 

secret  in your ear4 ,it has often      
occurred to me1 that they have acquired 
it  from living in a country where      
internal disputes have so completely    
destroyed confidence1 that they can only
 carry on conversation with  each other 
at a distance3 but it is fairer1        
perhaps1 to impute this  boisterous and 
rude habit to their living almost       
constantly in a camp1  in which the     
voice certainly loses that nice         
modulated tone which  distinguishes the 
more polished inhabitants of cities4    
#hf ,the old ,sikh soldier generally    
returns to his native village1  where   
his wealth1 courage1 or experience1     
always obtains him respect1  and        
sometimes station and consequence4 ,the 
second march which the  ,british army   
made into the country of the ,sikhs1 the
 headquarters were  near a small        
village1 the chief of which1 who was    
upwards of a hundred  years of age1 had 
been a soldier1 and retained all the    
look and manner  of his former          

occupation4 ,he came to me1 and         
expressed his anxiety to  see ,lord     
,lake4 ,i showed him the general1 who   
was sitting alone1 in  his tent1        
writing4 ,he smiled1 and said he knew   
better3 ,the hero who  had overthrown   
,sindi and ,holkr1 and had conquered    
,hindstan1 must  be surrounded with     
attendants1 and have plenty of persons  
to write  for him4 ,i assured him that  
it was ,lord ,lake2 and1 on his lordship
  coming to breakfast1 ,i introduced the
 old ,singh1 who seeing a number  of    
officers collect round him1 was at last 
satisfied of the truth of  what ,i said2
 and1 pleased with the great kindness   
and condescension  with which he was    
treated by one whom he justly thought so
 great a man1  sat down on the carpet1  
became quite talkative1 and related all 
he  had seen1 from the invasion of ,ndir
 ,shh to that moment4 ,lord ,lake1      
pleased with the bold manliness of his  
address1 and the independence  of his   
sentiments1 told him he would grant him 

any favour he wished4  ,i am glad of it1
 said the old man2 then march away with 
your army  from my village1 which will  
otherwise be destroyed4 ,lord ,lake1    
struck  with the noble spirit of the    
request1 assured him he would march next
  morning1 and that1 in the mean-time1  
he should have guards1 who would        
protect his village from injury4        
,satisfied with this assurance1 the old 
,singh was retiring1 apparently full of 
admiration and gratitude at ,lord       
,lake's goodness1 and of wonder at the  
scene he had witnessed1 when1  meeting  
two officers at the door of the tent1 he
 put a hand upon the  breast of each1   
exclaiming at the same time1 ,brothers6 
where were you  born1 and where are you 
at this moment8 and1 without waiting for
 an  answer1 proceeded to his village4  
#hg ,when ,lord ,lake entered the       
,penjb1 in #ahje1 a general protection  
was requested1 by several principal     
chiefs1 for the ,nnac ,pautra1  on the  
ground of the veneration in which they  

were held1 which  enabled them1 it was  
stated1 to travel all over the country  
without  molestation1 even when the most
 violent wars existed4 ,it was1 of      
course1 granted4    #hh ,the ,jts are   
,hinds of a low tribe1 who1 taking      
advantage of the  decline of the ,moghul
 empire1 have1 by their courage and     
enterprise1  raised themselves into some
 consequence on the north-western parts 
of  ,hindstan1 and many of the strongest
 forts of that part of ,india are  still
 in their possession4    #hi ,the       
,gujars1 who are also ,hinds1 have      
raised themselves to power  by means not
 dissimilar to those used by the ,jts4  
,almost all the  thieves in ,hindstan   
are of this tribe4    #ij ,a marriage   
took place very lately between the ,sikh
 chief of  ,patil1 and that of the ,jt  
,rj1 of ,b'haratpr4    #ia ,their       
prejudice regarding the killing of cows 
is stronger1 if  possible1 than that of 
the ,hinds4    #ib ,the ,khalsa ,sikhs1 
who follow ,nnac1 and reject ,gr        

,gvind's  institutions1 make use of it4 
#ic ,spirituous liquors1 they say1 are  
allowed by that verse in the            
,ad-,grant'h1 which states1 ,eat1 and   
give unto others to eat4 ,drink1  and   
give unto others to drink4 ,be glad1 and
 make others glad4 ,there  is also an   
authority1 quoted by the ,sikhs1 from   
the ,hind ,sstras1  in favour of this   
drinking to excess4 ,durg1 agreeably to 
the ,sikh  quotations1 used to drink1   
because liquor inspires courage2 and    
this  goddess1 they say1 was drunk when 
she slew ,mahshsur4    #id ,when ,fateh 
,singh1 of ,aluwl1 who was quite a young
 man1 was with  the ,british army1 ,lord
 ,lake gratified him by a field review4 
,he was  upon an elephant1 and ,i       
attended him upon another4 ,a little    
before  sunset he became low and uneasy4
 ,i observed it2 and ,b'hg ,singh1 an   
old  chief1 of frank1 rough manners1 at 
once said1 ,fateh ,singh wants his      
dram1 but is ashamed to drink before    
you4 ,i requested he would follow  his  

custom1 which he did1 by drinking a     
large cup of spirits4    #ie ,cannabis  
sativa4          ,,section ,,iii4       
,there is no branch of this sketch which
 is more curious and important1  or that
 offers more difficulties to the        
inquirer1 than the religion of  the     
,sikhs4 ,we meet with a creed of pure   
deism1 grounded on the most  sublime    
general truths1 blended with the belief 
of all the absurdities  of the ,hind    
mythology1 and the fables of            
,muhammedanism2 for ,nnac  professed a  
desire to reform1 not to destroy1 the   
religion of the  tribe in which he was  
born2 and1 actuated by the great and    
benevolent  design of reconciling the   
jarring faiths of ,brahm and ,muhammed1 
he  endeavoured to conciliate both      
,hinds and ,moslems to his doctrine1 by 
persuading them to reject those parts of
 their respective beliefs and  usages1  
which1 he contended1 were unworthy of   
that ,god whom they both  adored4 ,he   
called upon the ,hinds to abandon the   

worship of idols1 and  to return to that
 pure devotion of the ,deity1 in which  
their religion  originated4 ,he called  
upon the ,muhammedans to abstain from   
practices1  like the slaughter of cows1 
that were offensive to the religion of  
the  ,hinds1 and to cease from the      
persecution of that race4 ,he adopted1  
in order to conciliate them1 many of the
 maxims which he had learnt  from       
mendicants1 who professed the principles
 of the ,sfi sect2 and  he constantly   
referred to the admired writings of the 
celebrated  ,muhammedan ,kabr#if1 who   
was a professed ,sfi1 and who inculcated
  the doctrine of the equality of the   
relation of all created beings to  their
 ,creator4 ,nnac endeavoured1 with all  
the power of his own genius1  aided by  
such authorities1 to impress both ,hinds
 and ,muhammedans with  a love of       
toleration and an abhorrence of war2 and
 his life was as  peaceable as his      
doctrine4 ,he appears1 indeed1 to have  
adopted1 from  the hour in which he     

abandoned his worldly occupations to    
that of his  death1 the habits practised
 by that crowd of holy mendicants1      
,sanyss  and ,fakrs1 with whom ,india   
swarms4 ,he conformed to their customs2 
and  his extraordinary austerities#ig   
are a constant theme of praise with  his
 followers4 ,his works are all in praise
 of ,god2 but he treats the  polytheism 
of the ,hinds with respect1 and even    
veneration4 ,he never  shows a          
disposition to destroy the fabric1 but  
only wishes to divest  it of its useless
 tinsel and false ornaments1 and to     
establish its  complete dependence upon 
the great ,creator of the universe4 ,he 
speaks  every where of ,muhammed1 and   
his successors1 with moderation2 but    
animadverts boldly on what he conceives 
to be their errors2 and1 above  all1 on 
their endeavours to propagate their     
faith by the sword4    ,as ,nnac made no
 material invasion of either the civil  
or religious  usages of the ,hinds1 and 
as his only desire was to restore a     

nation  who had degenerated from their  
original pure worship#ih into  idolatry1
 he may be considered more in the light 
of a reformer than  of a subverter of   
the ,hind religion2 and those ,sikhs who
 adhere to  his tenets1 without         
admitting those of ,gr ,gvind1 are      
hardly to be  distinguished from the    
great mass of ,hind population2 among   
whom there  are many sects who differ1  
much more than that of ,nnac1 from the  
general and orthodox worship at present 
established in ,india4    ,the first    
successors of ,nnac appear to have      
taught exactly the  same doctrine as    
their leader2 and though ,har ,gvind    
armed all his  followers1 it was on a   
principle of self-defence1 in which he  
was  fully justified1 even by the usage 
of the ,hinds4 ,it was reserved for  ,gr
 ,gvind to give a new character to the  
religion of his followers2  not by      
making any material alteration in the   
tenets of ,nnac1 but  by establishing   
institutions and usages1 which not only 

separated  them from other ,hinds1 but  
which1 by the complete abolition of all 
distinction of casts1 destroyed1 at one 
blow1 a system of civil polity1  that1  
from being interwoven with the religion 
of a weak and bigoted  race1 fixed the  
rule of its priests upon a basis that   
had withstood the  shock of ages4       
,though the code of the ,hinds was      
calculated to preserve  a vast community
 in tranquillity and obedience to its   
rulers1 it had  the natural effect of   
making the country1 in which it was     
established1  an easy conquest to every 
powerful foreign invader2 and it appears
  to have been the contemplation of this
 effect that made ,gr ,gvind  resolve on
 the abolition of cast1 as a necessary  
and indispensable  prelude to any       
attempt to arm the original native      
population of ,india  against their     
foreign tyrants4 ,he called upon all    
,hinds to break  those chains in which  
prejudice and bigotry had bound them1   
and to  devote themselves to arms1 as   

the only means by which they could free 
themselves from the oppressive          
government of the ,muhammedans2 against 
whom1 a sense of his own wrongs1 and    
those of his tribe1 led him to  preach  
eternal warfare4 ,his religious doctrine
 was meant to be popular1  and it       
promised equality4 ,the invidious       
appellations of ,brhmen1  ,cshatrya1    
,vaisya1 and ,sdra1 were abolished4 ,the
 pride of descent  might remain1 and    
keep up some distinctions2 but1 in the  
religious code  of ,gvind1 every ,khlsa 
,singh 7for such he termed his          
followers7 was  equal1 and had a like   
title to the good things of this world1 
and to  the blessings of a future life4 
,though ,gr ,gvind mixes1 even more than
 ,nnac1 the mythology of the  ,hinds    
with his own tenets2 though his desire  
to conciliate them1 in  opposition to   
the ,muhammedans1 against whom he always
 breathed war and  destruction1 led him 
to worship at ,hind sacred shrines2 and 
though the  peculiar customs and dress  

among his followers1 are stated to have 
been  adopted from veneration to the    
,hind goddess of courage1 ,drga ,bhavn2 
yet it is impossible to reconcile the   
religion and usages1 which  ,gvind has  
established1 with the belief of the     
,hinds4 ,it does not1  like that of     
,nnac1 question some favourite dogmas of
 the disciples of  ,brahm1 and attack   
that worship of idols1 which few of     
these defend1  except upon the ground of
 these figures1 before which they bend1 
being symbolical representations of the 
attributes of an all-powerful           
,divinity2 but it proceeds at once to   
subvert the foundation of the  whole    
system4 ,wherever the religion of ,gr   
,gvind prevails1 the  institutions of   
,brahm must fall4 ,the admission of     
proselytes1 the  abolition of the       
distinctions of cast1 the eating of all 
kinds of  flesh1 except that of cows1   
the form of religious worship1 and the  
general devotion of all ,singhs to arms1
 are ordinances altogether              

irreconcileable with ,hind mythology1   
and have rendered the religion  of the  
,sikhs as obnoxious to the ,brhmens1 and
 higher tribes of the  ,hinds1 as it is 
popular with the lower orders of that   
numerous class  of mankind4    ,after   
this rapid sketch of the general        
character of the religion of  the       
,sikhs1 ,i shall take a more detailed   
view of its origin1 progress1  tenets1  
and forms4    ,a ,sikh author#ii1 whom  
,i have followed in several parts of    
this  sketch1 is very particular in     
stating the causes of the origin of  the
 religion of ,nnac3 he describes the    
different ,yugas1 or ages of  the world1
 stated in the ,hind mythology4 ,the    
,cli ,yug1 which is the  present1 is    
that in which it was written that the   
human race would  become completely     
depraved3 ,discord1 says the author1    
speaking of the  ,cli ,yug1 will rise in
 the world1 sin prevail1 and the        
universe become  wicked2 cast will      
contend with cast2 and1 like bamboos in 

friction1  consume each other to embers4
 ,the ,vdas1 or scriptures1 he adds1    
will be held in disrepute1 for they     
shall not be understood1 and the        
darkness of ignorance will prevail every
 where4 ,such is this author's  record  
of a divine prophecy regarding this     
degenerate age4 ,he proceeds  to state  
what has ensued3 ,every one followed his
 own path1 and sects  were separated2   
some worshipped ,chandra 7the moon72    
some ,surya 7the  sun72 some prayed to  
the earth1 to the sky1 and the air1 and 
the water1  and the fire1 while others  
worshipped ,d'herma ,rj 7the judge of   
the  dead72 and in the fallacy of the   
sects nothing was to be found but       
error4 ,in short1 pride prevailed in the
 world1 and the four casts#ajj          
established a system of ascetic         
devotion4 ,from these1 the ten sects  of
 ,sanyss1 and the twelve sects of ,ygis1
 originated4 ,the ,jangam1  the ,srvra1 
and the ,dva ,digambar1 entered into    
mutual contests4 ,the  ,brhmens divided 

into different classes2 and the ,sstras1
 ,vdas1 and  ,purnas#aja1 contradicted  
each other4 ,the six ,dersans           
7philosophical  sects7 exhibited enmity1
 and the thirty-six ,pshands 7heterodox 
sects7  arose1 with hundreds of         
thousands of chimerical and magical     
7tantra  mantra7 sects3 and thus1 from  
one form1 many good and many evil forms 
originated1 and error prevailed in the  
,cli ,yug1 or age of general  depravity4
    ,the ,sikh author pursues this      
account of the errors into which the    
,hinds fell1 with a curious passage     
regarding the origin and progress  of   
the ,muhammedan religion4    ,the world1
 he writes1 went on with these numerous 
divisions1  when ,muhammed ,yara#ajb    
appeared1 who gave origin to the        
seventy-two  sects#ajc1 and widely      
disseminated discord and war4 ,he       
established the  ,rzeh o ,ad 7fast and  
festivals71 and the ,namz 7prayer71 and 
made his  practice of devotional acts   
prevalent in the world1 with a multitude

 of  distinctions1 of ,pr 7saint71      
,paighamber 7prophet71 ,ulem 7the order 
of priesthood71 and ,kitb 7the ,korn74  
,he demolished the temples1  and on     
their ruins built the mosques1          
slaughtering cows and helpless  persons1
 and spreading transgression far and    
wide1 holding in hostility  ,cfirs      
7infidels71 ,mulhids 7idolaters71       
,irmenis 7,armenians71 ,rumis 7the      
,turks71 and ,zingis 7,ethiopians74     
,thus vice greatly diffused itself in   
the universe4    ,then1 this author     
adds1 there were two races in the world2
 the one  ,hind1 the other ,muhammedan2 
and both were alike excited by pride1   
enmity1 and avarice1 to violence4 ,the  
,hinds set their heart on ,gang  and    
,benares2 the ,muhammedans on ,mecca and
 the ,caba3 the ,hinds clung  to their  
mark on the forehead and brahminical    
string2 the ,moslemans  to their        
circumcision3 the one cried ,rm 7the    
name of an ,avatr71 the  other ,rahm    
7the merciful72 one name1 but two ways  

of pronouncing it2  forgetting equally  
the ,vdas and the ,korn3 and through the
 deceptions  of lust1 avarice1 the      
world1 and ,satan1 they swerved equally 
from the  true path3 while ,brhmens and 
,moulavis destroyed each other by their 
quarrels1 and the vicissitudes of life  
and death hung always suspended  over   
their heads4    ,when the world was in  
this distracted state1 and vice         
prevailed1  says this writer1 the       
complaint of virtue1 whose dominion was 
extinct1 reached the throne of the      
,almighty1 who created ,nnac1 to        
enlighten and improve a degenerate and  
corrupt age3 and that holy man  made    
,god the ,supreme known to all1 giving  
the nectareous water that  washed his   
feet to his disciples to drink4 ,he     
restored to ,virtue her  strength1      
blended the four casts#ajd into one1    
established one mode of  salutation1    
changed the childish play of bending the
 head at the feet  of idols1 taught the 
worship of the true ,god1 and reformed a

 depraved  world4    ,nnac appears1 by  
the account of this author1 to have     
established  his fame for sanctity by   
the usual modes of religious mendicants4
 ,he  performed severe ,tapasa#aje1     
living upon sand and swallow-wort1 and  
sleeping on sharp pebbles2 and1 after   
attaining fame by this kind of  penance1
 he commenced his travels1 with the view
 of spreading his  doctrine over the    
earth4    ,after ,nnac had completed his
 terrestrial travels1 he is supposed to 
have ascended to ,sumru1 where he saw   
the ,sidd'his#ajf1 all seated in  a     
circle4 ,these1 from a knowledge of that
 eminence for which he was  predestined1
 wished to make him assume the          
characteristic devotion of  their sect1 
to which they thought he would be an    
ornament4 ,while means  were used to    
effect this purpose1 a divine voice was 
heard to exclaim3  ,nnac shall form his 
own sect1 distinct from all the         
,yats#ajg and  ,sidd'his2 and his name  
shall be joyful to the ,cli ,yug4 ,after

 this1  ,nnac preached the adoration of 
the true ,god to the ,hinds2 and then   
went to instruct the ,muhammedans1 in   
their sacred temples at ,mecca4  ,when  
at that place1 the holy men are said to 
have gathered round him1  and demanded1 
,whether their faith1 or that of the    
,hinds1 was the best8  ,without the     
practice of true piety1 both1 said      
,nnac1 are erroneous1  and neither      
,hinds nor ,moslems will be acceptable  
before the throne of  ,god2 for the     
faded tinge of scarlet1 that has been   
soiled by water1  will never return4    
,you both deceive yourselves1           
pronouncing aloud ,rm  and ,rahm1 and   
the way of ,satan prevails in the       
universe4    ,the courageous            
independence with which ,nnac announced 
his religion to  the ,muhammedans1 is a 
favourite topic with his biographers4   
,he was one  day abused1 and even       
struck1 as one of these relates1 by a   
,moullah1 for  lying on the ground with 
his feet in the direction of the sacred 

temple  of ,mecca4 ,how darest thou1    
infidel6 said the offended ,muhammedan  
priest1 turn thy feet towards the house 
of ,god6--,turn them1 if you  can1 said 
the pious but indignant ,nnac1 in a     
direction where the  house of ,god is   
not4    ,nnac did not deny the mission  
of ,muhammed4 ,that prophet was sent1   
he said1 by ,god1 to this world1 to do  
good1 and to disseminate the  knowledge 
of one ,god through means of the ,korn2 
but he1 acting on the  principle of     
free-will1 which all human beings       
exercise1 introduced  oppression1 and   
cruelty1 and the slaughter of cows#ajh1 
for which  he died4--,i am now sent1 he 
added1 from heaven1 to publish unto     
mankind a book1 which shall reduce all  
the names given unto ,god to  one name1 
which is ,god2 and he who calls him by  
any other1 shall fall  into the path of 
the devil1 and have his feet bound in   
the chains  of wretchedness4 ,you have1 
said he to the ,muhammedans1 despoiled  
the temples1 and burnt the sacred ,vdas1

 of the ,hinds2 and you have  dressed   
yourselves in dresses of blue1 and you  
delight to have your  praises sung from 
house to house3 but ,i1 who have seen   
all the world1  tell you1 that the      
,hinds equally hate you and your        
mosques4 ,i am  sent to reconcile your  
jarring faiths1 and ,i implore you to   
read  their scriptures1 as well as your 
own3 but reading is useless without     
obedience to the doctrine taught2 for   
,god has said1 no man shall be  saved   
except he has performed good works4 ,the
 ,almighty will not ask  to what tribe  
or persuasion he belongs4 ,he will only 
ask1 ,what has he  done8 ,therefore     
those violent and continued disputes1   
which subsist  between the ,hinds and   
,moslemans1 are as impious as they are  
unjust4    ,such were the doctrines1    
according to his disciples1 which ,nnac 
taught  to both ,hinds and ,muhammedans4
 ,he professed veneration and respect1  
but refused adoration to the founders of
 both their religions2 for  which1 as   

for those of all other tribes1 he had   
great tolerance4 ,a  hundred thousand of
 ,muhammeds1 said ,nnac1 a million of   
,brahms1  ,vishnus1 and a hundred       
thousand ,rmas1 stand at the gate of the
 ,most  ,high4 ,these all perish2 ,god  
alone is immortal4 ,yet men1 who unite  
in  the praise of ,god1 are not ashamed 
of living in contention with each       
other2 which proves that the evil spirit
 has subdued all4 ,he alone is a  true  
,hind whose heart is just2 and he only  
is a good ,muhammedan whose  life is    
pure4    ,nnac is stated1 by the ,sikh  
author from whom the above account of   
his  religion is taken1 to have had an  
interview with the supreme ,god1 which  
he thus describes3 ,one day ,nnac heard 
a voice from above exclaim1  ,nnac1     
approach6 ,he replied1 ,oh ,god6 what   
power have ,i to stand in  thy presence8
 ,the voice said1 ,close thine eyes4    
,nnac shut his eyes1  and advanced3 he  
was told to look up3 he did so1 and     
heard the word  ,w6 or well done1       

pronounced five times2 and then ,w6     
,grj1 or  well done teacher4 ,after this
 ,god said1 ,nnac6 ,i have sent thee    
into  the world1 in the ,cli ,yug 7or   
depraved age72 go and bear my name4     
,nnac said1 ,oh ,god6 how can ,i bear   
the mighty burthen8 ,if my age was      
extended to tens of millions of years1  
if ,i drank of immortality1 and  my eyes
 were formed of the sun and moon1 and   
were never closed1 still1  oh ,god6 ,i  
could not presume to take charge of thy 
wondrous name4--,i  will be thy ,gr     
7teacher71 said ,god1 and thou shalt be 
a ,gr to  all mankind1 and thy sect     
shall be great in the world2 their word 
is  ,pr ,pr4 ,the word of the ,bairg is 
,rm6 ,rm6 that of the ,sanys1  ,om6     
,nam6 ,nryen6 and the word of the ,ygs1 
,ads6 ,ads6 and the  salutation of the  
,muhammedans is ,salm ,alkam2 and that  
of the ,hinds1  ,rm6 ,rm6 but the word  
of thy sect shall be ,gr1 and ,i will   
forgive  the crimes of thy disciples4   
,the place of worship of the ,bairgs is 

called ,rmsla2 that of the ,ygs1 ,asan2 
that of the ,sanyss1 ,mt2  that of thy  
tribe shall be ,dherma ,sla4 ,thou must 
teach unto thy  followers three lessons3
 the first1 to worship my name2 the     
second1  charity2 the third1 ablution4  
,they must not abandon the world1 and   
they  must do ill to no being2 for into 
every being have ,i infused breath2  and
 whatever ,i am1 thou art1 for betwixt  
us there is no difference4  ,it is a    
blessing that thou art sent into the    
,cli ,yug4 ,after this1  ,w ,gr6 or well
 done1 teacher6 was pronounced from the 
mouth of  the most high ,gr or teacher  
7,god71 and ,nnac came to give light and
  freedom to the universe4    ,the above
 will give a sufficient view of the     
ideas which the ,sikhs  entertain       
regarding the divine origin of their    
faith2 which1 as first  taught by ,nnac1
 might justly be deemed the religion of 
peace4    ,put on armour1 says ,nnac1   
that will harm no one2 let thy coat of  
mail be that of understanding1 and      

convert thy enemies to friends4  ,fight 
with valour1 but with no weapon except  
the word of ,god4 ,all  the principles  
which ,nnac inculcated1 were those of   
pure deism2 but  moderated1 in order to 
meet the deep-rooted usages of that     
portion of  mankind which he wished to  
reclaim from error4 ,though he condemned
 the  lives and habits of the           
,muhammedans1 he approved of the        
,korn#aji4  ,he admitted the truth of   
the ancient ,vdas1 but contended that   
the  ,hind religion had been corrupted1 
by the introduction of a plurality  of  
gods1 with the worship of images2 which 
led their minds astray  from that great 
and eternal ,being1 to whom adoration   
should alone be  paid4 ,he1 however1    
followed the forms of the ,hinds1 and   
adopted most  of their doctrines which  
did not interfere with his great and    
leading  tenet4 ,he admitted the claim  
to veneration1 of the numerous catalogue
  of ,hind ,dvas1 and ,dvats1 or        
inferior deities2 but he refused them   

adoration4 ,he held it impious to       
slaughter the cow2 and he directed  his 
votaries1 as has been seen1 to consider 
ablution as one of their  primary       
religious duties4    ,nnac1 according to
 ,penjbi authors1 admitted the ,hind    
doctrine of  metempsychosis4 ,he        
believed1 that really good men would    
enjoy ,paradise2  that those1 who had no
 claim to the name of good1 but yet were
 not  bad1 would undergo another        
probation1 by revisiting the world in   
the  human form3 and that the bad would 
animate the bodies of animals1          
particularly dogs and cats3 but it      
appears1 from the same authorities1     
that ,nnac was acquainted with the      
,muhammedan doctrine regarding the  fall
 of man1 and a future state2 and that he
 represented it to his  followers as a  
system1 in which ,god1 by showing a     
heaven and a hell1  had1 in his great   
goodness1 held out future rewards and   
punishments to  man1 whose will he had  
left free1 to incite him to good        

actions1 and  deter him from bad4 ,the  
principle of reward and punishment is so
 nearly  the same in the ,hind and in   
the ,muhammedan religion1 that it was   
not  difficult for ,nnac to reconcile   
his followers upon this point3 but  in  
this1 as in all others1 he seems to have
 bent to the doctrine of  ,brahm4 ,in   
all his writings1 however1 he borrowed  
indifferently from  the ,korn and the   
,hind ,sstras2 and his example was      
followed by his  successors2 and        
quotations from the scriptures of the   
,hinds1 and from  the book of ,muhammed1
 are indiscriminately introduced into   
all their  sacred writings1 to elucidate
 those points on which it was their     
object  to reconcile these jarring      
religions4    ,with the exact mode in   
which ,nnac instructed his followers to 
address  their prayers to that supreme  
,being whom he taught them to adore1 ,i 
am not acquainted4 ,their ,d'herma ,sla1
 or temples of worship1 are1  in        
general1 plain buildings4 ,images are1  

of course1 banished4 ,their  prescribed 
forms of prayer are1 ,i believe1 few and
 simple4 ,part of the  writings of      
,nnac1 which have since been            
incorporated with those of his          
successors1 in the ,ad-,grant'h1 are    
read1 or rather recited1 upon every     
solemn occasion4 ,these are all in      
praise of the ,deity1 of religion1 and  
of virtue2 and against impiety and      
immorality4 ,the ,ad-,grant'h1 the      
whole of the first part of which is     
ascribed to ,nnac1 is written1 like  the
 rest of the books of the ,sikhs1 in the
 ,grmuk'h#aaj character4  ,i can only   
judge very imperfectly of the value of  
this work3 but some  extracts1          
translated from it1 appear worthy of    
that admiration which is  bestowed upon 
it by the ,sikhs4    ,the ,ad-,grant'h  
is in verse2 and many of the chapters1  
written by  ,nnac1 are termed ,pdi1     
which means1 literally1 a ladder or     
flight of  steps2 and1 metaphorically1  
that by which a man ascends4    ,in the 

following fragment1 literally translated
 from the ,sdar rg s  mahilla pehla of  
,nnac1 he displays the supremacy of the 
true ,god1  and the inferiority of the  
,dvats1 and other created beings1 to the
  universal ,creator2 however they may  
have been elevated into deities by      
ignorance or superstition4      ,thy    
portals1 how wonderful they are1 how    
wonderful thy palace1      where thou   
sittest and governest all6              
,numberless and infinite are the sounds 
which proclaim thy praises4    ,how     
numerous are thy ,peris1 skilful in     
music and song6    ,pavan 7air71 water1 
and ,vasantar 7fire71 celebrate thee2   
,d'herma ,rj 7the ,hind ,rhadamanthus7  
celebrates thy praises1      at thy     
gates4    ,chitragupta 7,secretary to   
,d'herma ,rj7 celebrates thy praises2   
who1 skilful in writing1 writes and     
administers final justice4    ,iswara1  
,brahm1 and ,dvi1 celebrate thy praises2
      they declare in fit terms thy     
majesty1 at thy gates4    ,indra        

celebrates thy praises1 sitting on the  
,indraic throne      amid the ,dvats4   
,the just celebrate thy praises in      
profound meditation1      the pious     
declare thy glory4    ,the ,yats and the
 ,sats joyfully celebrate thy might4    
,the ,pandits1 skilled in reading1 and  
the ,rishswaras1      who1 age by age1  
read the ,vdas1 recite thy praises4     
,the ,mhins 7celestial courtezans71     
heart alluring1      inhabiting ,swarga1
 ,mritya1 and ,ptl1 celebrate thy       
praises4    ,the ,ratnas 7gems71 with   
the thirty-eight ,trt'has 7sacred       
springs71      celebrate thy praises4   
,heroes of great might celebrate thy    
name2 beings of the four kinds      of  
production celebrate thy praises4       
,the continents1 and regions of the     
world1 celebrate thy praises2      the  
universal ,brahmnda 7the mundane egg71  
which thou hast established firm4       
,all who know thee praise thee1 all who 
are desirous of thy worship4    ,how    
numerous they are who praise thee6 they 

exceed my comprehension3       how1     
then1 shall ,nnac describe them8    ,he1
 even he1 is the ,lord of truth1 true1  
and truly just4    ,he is1 he was1 he   
passes1 he passes not1      the         
preserver of all that is preserved4     
,of numerous hues1 sorts and kinds1     
he is the original author of ,my        
7deception74    ,having formed the      
creation1 he surveys his own work1      
the display of his own greatness4       
,what pleases him he does1 and no order 
of any other being      can reach him4  
,he is the ,pdshh and the ,pdsheb of    
,shhs2      ,nnac resides in his favour4
    ,these few verses are1 perhaps1     
sufficient to show1 that it was on a    
principle of pure deism that ,nnac      
entirely grounded his religion4  ,it was
 not possible1 however1 that the minds  
of any large portion  of mankind could  
remain long fixed in a belief which     
presented  them only with general       
truths1 and those of a nature too vast  
for  their contemplation or             

comprehension4 ,the followers of ,nnac1 
since  his death1 have paid an adoration
 to his name1 which is at variance  with
 the lessons which he taught2 they have 
clothed him in all the  attributes of a 
saint3 they consider him as the selected
 instrument of  ,god to make known the  
true faith to fallen man2 and1 as such1 
they give  him divine honours2 not only 
performing pilgrimage to his tomb1 but  
addressing him1 in their prayers1 as    
their saviour and mediator4    ,the     
religious tenets and usages of the      
,sikhs continued1 as they had  been     
established by ,nnac#aaa1 till the time 
of ,gr ,gvind2 who1  though he did not  
alter the fundamental principles of the 
established  faith1 made so complete a  
change in the sacred usages and civil   
habits  of his followers1 that he gave  
them an entirely new character3 and     
though the ,sikhs retain all their      
veneration for ,nnac1 they deem  ,gr    
,gvind to have been equally exalted1 by 
the immediate favour and  protection of 

the ,divinity2 and the ,dasama ,pdshh k 
,grant'h1 or book  of the tenth king1   
which was written by ,gr ,gvind1 is     
considered1 in  every respect1 as holy  
as the ,ad-,grant'h of ,nnac1 and his   
immediate  successors4 ,i cannot better 
explain the pretensions which ,gr ,gvind
  has made to the rank of a prophet1    
than by exhibiting his own account  of  
his mission in a literal version from   
his ,vichitra ,ntac4    ,i now declare  
my own history1 and the multifarious    
austerities which  ,i have performed4   
,where the seven peaks rise beautiful on
 the mountain ,hmacuta1 and the  place  
takes the name of ,sapta ,sringa1       
greater penance have ,i performed  than 
was ever endured by ,pndu ,rj1          
meditating constantly on ,mah ,cl  and  
,clica1 till diversity was changed into 
one form4 ,my father and  mother        
meditated on the ,divinity1 and         
performed the ,yga1 till ,gr  ,dva      
approved of their devotions4 ,then the  
,supreme issued his order1  and ,i was  

born1 in the ,cli ,yug1 though my       
inclination was not to come  into the   
world1 my mind being fixed on the foot  
of the ,supreme4 ,when  the supreme     
,being made known his will1 ,i was sent 
into the world4 ,the  eternal ,being    
thus addressed this feeble insect3      
--,i have manifested thee as my own son1
 and appointed thee to  establish a     
perfect ,pant'h 7sect74 ,go into the    
world1 establish virtue  and expel      
vice4--    --,i stand with joined hands1
 bending my head at thy word3 the       
,pant'h  shall prevail in the world1    
when thou lendest thine aid4--,then was 
,i sent into the world3 thus ,i received
 mortal birth4 ,as the ,supreme  spoke  
to me1 so do ,i speak1 and to none do ,i
 bear enmity4 ,whoever shall  call me   
,paramswara1 he shall sink into the pit 
of hell3 know1 that ,i  am only the     
servant of the ,supreme1 and concerning 
this entertain no  doubt4 ,as ,god      
spoke1 ,i announce unto the world1 and  
remain not silent  in the world of men4 

,as ,god spoke1 so do ,i declare1 and ,i
 regard no person's word4 ,i wear  my   
dress in nobody's fashion1 but follow   
that appointed by the ,supreme4  ,i     
perform no worship to stones1 nor       
imitate the ceremonies of any one4  ,i  
pronounce the infinite name1 and have   
attained to the supreme ,being4  ,i wear
 no bristling locks on my head1 nor     
adorn myself with ear-rings4  ,i receive
 no person's words in my ears2 but as   
the ,lord speaks1 ,i act4  ,i meditate  
on the sole name1 and attain my object4 
,to no other do ,i  perform the ,jp1 in 
no other do ,i confide3 ,i meditate on  
the infinite  name1 and attain the      
supreme light4 ,on no other do ,i       
meditate2 the name  of no other do ,i   
pronounce4    ,for this sole reason1 to 
establish virtue1 was ,i sent into the  
world by ,gr ,dva4 ',every where1' said 
he1 'establish virtue1 and  exterminate 
the wicked and vitious4' ,for this      
purpose have ,i received  mortal birth2 
and this let all the virtuous           

understand4 ,to establish  virtue1 to   
exalt piety1 and to extirpate the       
vitious utterly4 ,every  former ,avatr  
established his own ,jp2 but no one     
punished the  irreligious1 no one       
established both the principles and     
practice of  virtue1 7,dherm ,carm74    
,every holy man 7,ghus71 and prophet    
7,ambia71  attempted only to establish  
his own reputation in the world2 but no 
one comprehended the supreme ,being1 or 
understood the true principles  or      
practice of virtue4 ,the doctrine of no 
other is of any avail3 this  doctrine   
fix in your minds4 ,there is no benefit 
in any other doctrine1  this fix in your
 minds4    ,whoever reads the ,korn1    
whoever reads the ,purn1 neither of them
  shall escape death1 and nothing but   
virtue shall avail at last4  ,millions  
of men may read the ,korn1 they may read
 innumerable ,purns2  but it shall be of
 no avail in the life to come1 and the  
power of  destiny shall prevail over    
them4    ,gr ,gvind1 after this account 

of the origin of his mission1 gives a   
short account of his birth and          
succession to the spiritual duties at   
his father's death4    ,at the command  
of ,god ,i received mortal birth1 and   
came into the  world4 ,this ,i now      
declare briefly2 attend to what ,i      
speak4    ,my father journeyed towards  
the ,east1 performing ablution in all   
the  sacred springs4 ,when he arrived at
 ,triveni1 he spent a day in acts  of   
devotion and charity4 ,on that occasion 
was ,i manifested4 ,in the  town of     
,patna ,i received a body4 ,then the    
,madra ,ds received me1 and  nurses     
nursed me tenderly1 and tended me with  
great care1 instructing  me attentively 
every day4 ,when ,i reached the age of  
,dherm and ,carm  7principles and       
practice71 my father departed to the    
,dva ,lca4 ,when  ,i was invested with  
the dignity of ,rja1 ,i established     
virtue to the  utmost of my power4 ,i   
addicted myself to every species of     
hunting in  the forests1 and daily      

killed the bear and the stag4 ,when ,i  
had become  acquainted with that        
country1 ,i proceeded to the city of    
,pvat1 where  ,i amused myself on the   
banks of the ,calindri1 and viewed every
 kind  of spectacle4 ,there ,i slew a   
great number of tigers2 and1 in various 
modes1 hunted the bear4    ,the above   
passages will convey an idea of that    
impression which ,gr  ,gvind gave his   
followers of his divine mission4 ,i     
shall shortly  enumerate those          
alterations he made in the usages of the
 ,sikhs1 whom it  was his object to     
render1 through the means of religious  
enthusiasm1 a  warlike race4    ,though 
,gr ,gvind was brought up in the        
religion of ,nnac1 he appears1  from    
having been educated among the ,hind    
priests of ,mathura1 to  have been      
deeply tainted with their superstitious 
belief2 and he  was1 perhaps1 induced by
 considerations of policy1 to lean still
  more strongly to their prejudices1 in 
order to induce them to become  converts

 to that religious military community1  
by means of which it  was his object to 
destroy the ,muhammedan power4    ,the  
principal of the religious institutions 
of ,gr ,gvind1 is that  of the          
,phal1--the ceremony by which a convert 
is initiated into the  tribe of ,sikhs2 
or1 more properly speaking1 that of     
,singhs4 ,the meaning  of this          
institution is to make the convert a    
member of the ,khlsa1 or  ,sikh         
commonwealth1 which he can only become  
by assenting to certain  observances2   
the devoting himself to arms for the    
defence of the  commonwealth1 and the   
destruction of its enemies2 the wearing 
his hair1  and putting on a blue        
dress#aab4    ,the mode in which ,gr    
,gvind first initiated his converts1 is 
described by a ,sikh writer2 and1 as ,i 
believe it is nearly the same  as that  
now observed1 ,i shall shortly state it 
as he has described  it4 ,gr ,gvind1 he 
says1 after his arrival at ,mk'haval1   
initiated  five converts1 and gave them 

instructions how to initiate others4    
,the  mode is as follows4 ,the convert  
is told that he must allow his hair  to 
grow4 ,he must clothe himself from head 
to foot in blue clothes4 ,he  is then   
presented with the five weapons3 a      
sword1 a firelock1 a bow  and arrow1 and
 a pike#aac4 ,one of those who initiate 
him then says1  ,the ,gr is thy holy    
teacher1 and thou art his ,sikh or      
disciple4  ,some sugar and water is put 
into a cup1 and stirred round with a    
steel  knife1 or dagger1 and some of the
 first chapters of the ,ad-,grant'h1    
and the first chapters of the ,dasama   
,pdshh k ,grant'h1 are read2 and  those 
who perform the initiation exclaim1 ,w6 
,grji k ,khlsa6 ,w6  ,grji k ,fateh6    
7,success to the state of the ,gr6      
,victory attend  the ,gr67 ,after this  
exclamation has been repeated five      
times1 they  say1 ,this sherbet is      
nectar4 ,it is the water of life2 drink 
it4  ,the disciple obeys2 and some      
sherbet1 prepared in a similar manner1  

is sprinkled over his head and beard4   
,after these ceremonies1 the  disciple  
is asked if he consents to be of the    
faith of ,gr ,gvind4 ,he  answers1 ,i do
 consent4 ,he is then told1 ,if you do1 
you must abandon  all intercourse1 and  
neither eat1 drink1 nor sit in company  
with men  of five sects which ,i shall  
name4 ,the first1 the ,mna ,d'hirmal2   
who1  though of the race of ,nnac1 were 
tempted by avarice to give poison to    
,arjun2 and1 though they did not        
succeed1 they ought to be expelled from 
society4 ,the second are the ,musandi2 a
 sect who call themselves ,grs1  or     
priests1 and endeavour to introduce     
heterodox doctrines#aad4 ,the  third1   
,rm ,ry1 the descendants of ,rm ,ry1    
whose intrigues were the  great cause of
 the destruction of the holy ruler1 ,tgh
 ,singh4 ,the  fourth are the ,kud i-mr1
 or destroyers#aae of their own         
daughters4  ,fifth1 the ,bhadan1 who    
shave the hair of their head and beards4
  ,the disciple1 after this warning     

against intercourse with sectaries1  or 
rather schismatics1 is instructed in    
some general precepts1 the  observance  
of which regard the welfare of the      
community into which he  has entered4   
,he is told to be gentle and polite to  
all with whom he  converses1 to         
endeavour to attain wisdom1 and to      
emulate the persuasive  eloquence of ,bb
 ,nnac4 ,he is particularly enjoined1   
whenever he  approaches any of the ,sikh
 temples1 to do it with reverence and   
respect1 and to go to ,amritsar1 to pay 
his devotions to the ,khlsa1  or state2 
the interests of which he is directed1  
on all occasions1 to  consider paramount
 to his own4 ,he is instructed to labour
 to increase  the prosperity of the town
 of ,amritsar2 and told1 that at every  
place  of worship which he visits he    
will be conducted in the right path by  
the ,gr 7,gr ,gvind74 ,he is instructed 
to believe1 that it is the  duty of all 
those who belong to the ,khlsa1 or      
commonwealth of the  ,sikhs1 neither to 

lament the sacrifice of property1 nor of
 life1 in  support of each other2 and he
 is directed to read the ,ad-,grant'h   
and  ,dasama ,pdshh k ,grant'h1 every   
morning and every evening4 ,whatever he 
has received from ,god1 he is told it is
 his duty to share with others4  ,and   
after the disciple has heard and        
understood all these and similar        
precepts1 he is declared to be duly     
initiated4    ,gr ,gvind ,singh1        
agreeably to this ,sikh author1 after   
initiating the  first five disciples in 
the mode above stated1 ordered the      
principal  persons among them#aaf to    
initiate him exactly on similar         
occasions1  which he did4 ,the author   
from whom the above account is taken1   
states1  that when ,gvind was at the    
point of death1 he exclaimed1 ,wherever 
five ,sikhs are assembled1 there ,i also
 shall be present6 and1 in  consequence 
of this expression1 five ,sikhs are the 
number necessary to  make a ,singh1 or  
convert4 ,by the religious institutions 

of ,gr ,gvind1  proselytes are admitted 
from all tribes and casts in the        
universe4 ,the  initiation may take     
place at any time of life1 but the      
children of the  ,singhs all go through 
this rite at a very early age4    ,the  
leading tenet of ,gr ,gvind's religious 
institutions1 which  obliges his        
followers to devote themselves to arms1 
is stated1 in  one of the chapters of   
the ,dasama ,pdshh k ,grant'h1 or book  
of  the tenth king1 written in praise of
 ,drga ,b'havn1 the goddess of  courage3
 ,drga1 ,gr ,gvind says1 appeared to me 
when ,i was asleep1  arrayed in all her 
glory4 ,the goddess put into my hand the
 hilt of a  bright scimitar1 which she  
had before held in her own4 ',the       
country  of the ,muhammedans1' said the 
goddess1 'shall be conquered by thee1   
and numbers of that race shall be       
slain4' ,after ,i had heard this1 ,i    
exclaimed1 ',this steel shall be the    
guard to me and my followers1  because1 
in its lustre1 the splendour of thy     

countenance1 ,o goddess6 is  always     
reflected#aag4'    ,the ,dasama ,pdshh k
 ,grant'h of ,gr ,gvind appears1 from   
the extracts  which ,i have seen of it1 
to abound in fine passages4 ,its author 
has  borrowed largely from the ,sstras  
of the ,brahmns1 and the ,korn4 ,he     
praises ,nnac as a holy saint1 accepted 
of ,god2 and grounds his faith1  like   
that of his predecessors1 upon the      
adoration of one ,god2 whose  power and 
attributes he however describes by so   
many ,sanscrit names1  and with such    
constant allusions to the ,hind         
mythology1 that it  appears often       
difficult to separate his purer belief  
from their gross  idolatry4 ,he1        
however1 rejects all worship of images1 
on an opinion  taken from one of the    
ancient ,vdas1 which declares1 that to  
worship  an idol made of wood1 earth1 or
 stone1 is as foolish as it is impious2 
for ,god alone is deserving of          
adoration4    ,the great points1        
however1 by which ,gr ,gvind has        

separated his  followers for ever from  
the ,hinds1 are those which have been   
before  stated2--the destruction of the 
distinction of casts1 the admission of  
proselytes1 and the rendering the       
pursuit of arms not only admissible1    
but the religious duty of all his       
followers4 ,whereas1 among the ,hinds1  
agreeable to the ,dherma ,sstra1 7one of
 the most revered of their  sacred      
writings17 carrying arms on all         
occasions1 as an occupation1 is  only   
lawful to the ,cshatrya or military     
tribe4 ,a ,brhmen is allowed to  obtain 
a livelihood by arms1 if he can by no   
other mode4 ,the ,vaisya and  ,sdra are 
not allowed to make arms their          
profession1 though they may  use them in
 self-defence4    ,the sacred book of   
,gr ,gvind is not confined to religious 
subjects1  or tales of ,hind mythology1 
related in his own way2 but abounds in  
accounts of the battles which he fought1
 and of the actions which were          
performed by the most valiant of his    

followers4 ,courage is1 throughout  this
 work1 placed above every other virtue2 
and ,gvind1 like ,muhammed1  makes      
martyrdom for the faith which he taught1
 the shortest and most  certain road to 
honour in this world1 and eternal       
happiness in the  future4 ,the opinion  
which the ,sikhs entertain of ,gvind    
will be best  collected from their most 
esteemed authors4    ,gr ,gvind ,singh1 
one#aah of those writers states1        
appeared as the  tenth ,avatr4 ,he      
meditated on the ,creator himself1      
invisible1 eternal1  and                
incomprehensible4 ,he established the   
,khlsa1 his own sect1 and1 by           
exhibiting singular energy1 leaving the 
hair on his head1 and seizing  the      
scimitar1 he smote every wicked person4 
,he bound the garment of  chastity round
 his loins1 grasped the sword of valour1
 and1 passing  the true word of victory1
 became victorious in the field of      
combat2  and seizing the ,dvats1 his    
foes1 he inflicted on them punishment2  

and1 with great success1 diffused the   
sublime ,gr ,jp 7a mystical  form of    
prayer composed by ,gr ,gvind7 through  
the world4 ,as he was  born a warlike   
,singh1 he assumed the blue dress2 and1 
by destroying  the wicked ,turks1 he    
exalted the name of ,hari 7,god74 ,no   
,sirdar could  stand in battle against  
him1 but all of them fled2 and1 whether 
,hind  ,rjs1 or ,muhammedan lords1      
became like dust in his presence4 ,the  
mountains1 hearing of him1 were struck  
with terror2 the whole world  was       
affrighted1 and the people fled from    
their habitations4 ,in short1  such was 
his fame1 that they were all thrown into
 consternation1 and  began to say1      
',besides thee1 ,o ,sat ,gr6 there is no
 dispeller of  danger1'--,having seized 
and displayed his sword1 no person could
 resist  his might4    ,the same author1
 in a subsequent passage1 gives a very  
characteristic  account of that spirit  
of hostility which the religion of ,gr  
,gvind  breathed against the            

,muhammedans2 and of the manner in which
 it treated  those sacred writings1 upon
 which most of the established usages of
  ,hinds are grounded4    ,by the       
command of the ,eternal1 the great ,gr  
disseminated the true  knowledge4 ,full 
of strength and courage1 he successfully
 established  the ,khlsa 7or state74    
,thus1 at once founding the sect of     
,singh1 he  struck the whole world with 
awe3 overturning temples and sacred     
places1  tombs and mosques1 he levelled 
them all with the plain3 rejecting the  
,vdas1 the ,purns1 the six ,sstras1 and 
the ,korn2 he abolished the  cry of     
,namz 7,muhammedan prayer71 and slew the
 ,sultans2 reducing the  ,mrs and ,prs  
7the lords and priests of the           
,muhammedans7 to silence1 he  overturned
 all their sects2 the ,moullahs         
7professors71 and the ,kzis  7judges71  
were confounded1 and found no benefit   
from their studies4 ,the  ,brhmens1 the 
,pandits1 and the ,jtshis 7or           
astrologers71 had acquired  a relish for

 worldly things3 they worshipped stones 
and temples1 and  forgot the ,supreme4  
,thus these two sects1 the ,muhammedan  
and ,hind1  remained involved in        
delusion and ignorance1 when the third  
sect of  the ,khlsa originated in       
purity4 ,when1 at the order of ,gr      
,gvind1  the ,singhs seized and         
displayed the scimitar1 then subduing   
all their  enemies1 they meditated on   
the ,eternal2 and1 as soon as the order 
of  the ,most ,high was manifested in   
the world1 circumcision ceased1 and the 
,turks trembled1 when they saw the      
ritual of ,muhammed destroyed3 then  the
 ,nakra 7large drum7 of victory sounded 
throughout the world1 and  fear and     
dread were abolished4 ,thus the third   
sect was established1 and  increased    
greatly in might4    ,these extracts1   
and what ,i have before stated1 will    
sufficiently show  the character of the 
religious institutions of ,gr ,gvind2   
which were  admirably calculated to     
awaken1 through the means of fanaticism1

 a  spirit of courage and independence1 
among men who had been content1  for    
ages1 with that degraded condition in   
society1 to which they were  taught to  
believe themselves born4 ,the end which 
,gvind sought1 could  not1 perhaps1 have
 been attained by the employment of     
other means4  ,exhortations respecting  
their civil rights1 and the wrongs which
 they  sustained1 would have been wasted
 on minds enslaved by superstition1  and
 who could only be persuaded to assert  
themselves men1 by an  impression that  
it was the will of ,heaven they should  
do so4 ,his  success is a strong        
elucidation of the general character of 
the ,hind  natives of ,india4 ,that     
race1 though in general mild and        
peaceable1  take the most savage and    
ferocious turn1 when roused to action by
 the  influence of religious feeling4   
,i have mentioned1 in the narrative part
 of this ,sketch1 the attempt of  the   
,bairg ,banda to alter the religious    
institutions of ,gr ,gvind1  and its    

failure4 ,the tribe of ,acls            
7immortals71 who have now assumed  a    
dictatorial sway in all the religious   
ceremonies at ,amritsar1 and  the       
,nirmala and ,shahid1 who read the      
sacred writings1 may hereafter          
introduce some changes in those usages  
which the ,sikhs revere3 but  it is     
probable that the spirit of equality1   
which has been hitherto  considered as  
the vital principle of the ,khlsa or    
commonwealth1  and which makes all      
,sikhs so reluctant to own either a     
temporal or  spiritual leader1 will tend
 greatly to preserve their institutions 
from invasion3 and it is stated1 in a   
tradition which is universally  believed
 by the ,sikhs1 and has1 indeed1 been   
inserted in their sacred  writings1 that
 ,gr ,gvind1 when he was asked by his   
followers1 who  surrounded his          
death-bed1 to whom he would leave his   
authority8  replied1 ,i have delivered  
over the ,khlsa 7commonwealth7 to ,god1 
who  never dies4 ,i have been your      

guide1 and will still preserve you2 read
  the ,grant'h1 and attend to its       
tenets2 and whoever remains true to the 
state1 him will ,i aid4 ,from these     
dying words of ,gr ,gvind1 the  ,sikhs  
believe themselves to have been placed1 
by their last and most  revered prophet1
 under the peculiar care of ,god3 and   
their attachment  to this mysterious    
principle1 leads them to consider the   
,khlsa 7or  commonwealth7 as a          
theocracy2 and such an impression is    
likely to  oppose a very serious        
obstacle1 if not an insuperable barrier1
 to  the designs of any of their chiefs1
 who may hereafter endeavour to         
establish an absolute power over the    
whole nation4      ,,the ,,end4         
,printed by ,j4 ,moyes1 ,greville       
,street1 ,london4    ,,footnotes3    #if
 ,this celebrated ,sfi1 or philosophical
 deist1 lived in the time  of the       
,emperor ,shr ,shh4 ,he was1 by trade1 a
 weaver2 but has written  several       
admired works4 ,they are all composed in

 a strain of universal  philanthropy and
 benevolence2 and1 above all1 he        
inculcated religious  toleration1       
particularly between the ,muhammedans   
and ,hinds1 by both of  whom his memory 
is held in the highest esteem and       
veneration4    #ig ,nnac was celebrated 
for the manner in which he performed    
,tapasa1  or austere devotion1 which    
requires the mind to be so totally      
absorbed  in the ,divinity1 as to be    
abstracted from every worldly thought1  
and  this for as long a period as human 
strength is capable of sustaining4      
#ih ,the most ancient ,hinds do not     
appear to have paid adoration  to idols2
 but1 though they adored ,god1 they     
worshipped the sun and  elements4    #ii
 ,b'hai ,gr ,ds ,b'hal4    #ajj ,brhmen1
 ,cshatrya1 ,vaisya1 and ,sdra4    #aja 
,different sacred books of the ,hinds4  
#ajb ,yr signifies friend2 and one of   
the prophet's titles1 among  his        
followers1 is ,yar-i-,khud1 or the      
,friend of ,god4    #ajc ,the           

,muhammedan religion is said to be      
divided into seventy-two  sects4    #ajd
 ,there is no ground to conclude that   
casts were altogether  abolished by     
,nnac2 though his doctrines and writings
 had a tendency to  equalize the ,hinds1
 and unite all in the worship of one    
,god4    #aje ,a kind of ascetic        
devotion1 which has been before         
explained4    #ajf ,the ,sidd'his       
7saints7 are the attendants of the gods4
 ,the name is  most generally applied to
 those who wait on ,gansa4    #ajg ,the 
name ,yat is most usually applied to the
 priests of the  ,jainas2 but it is also
 applicable to ,sanyss1 and other       
penitents4    #ajh ,nnac appears on     
this1 and every other occasion1 to have 
preserved his attachment to this        
favourite dogma of the ,hinds4    #aji  
,this fact is admitted by ,sikh authors4
 ,it is1 however1 probable1  that ,nnac 
was but imperfectly acquainted with the 
doctrines of that  volume4    #aaj ,a   
modified species of the ,ngari          

character4    #aaa ,certainly no        
material alteration was made1 either in 
the belief  or forms of the ,sikhs1 by  
any of his successors before ,gr ,gvind4
  ,har ,gvind1 who armed his followers  
to repel aggression1 would only  appear 
to have made a temporary effort to      
oppose his enemies1 without  an         
endeavour to effect any serious change  
in the religious belief or  customs of  
the sect to which he belonged4    #aab  
,it has been before stated1 that all the
 followers of ,gvind do  not now wear   
the blue dress1 but they all wear their 
hair2 and their  jealous regard of it is
 not to be described4 ,three inferior   
agents of  ,sikh chiefs were one day in 
my tent2 one of them was a ,khlsa       
,singh1  and the two others of the      
,khalsa tribe of ,sikhs4 ,i was laughing
 and  joking with the ,khlsa ,singh1 who
 said he had been ordered to attend  me 
to ,calcutta4 ,among other subjects of  
our mirth1 ,i rallied him on  trusting  
himself so much in my power4 ,why1 what 

is the worst1 said  he1 that you can do 
to me1 when ,i am at such a distance    
from home8 ,i  passed my hand across my 
chin1 imitating the act of shaving4 ,the
 man's  face was in an instant distorted
 with rage1 and his sword half drawn4   
,you are ignorant1 said he to me1 of the
 offence you have given4  ,i cannot     
strike you1 who are above me1 and the   
friend of my master  and the state4 ,but
 no power1 he added1 shall save these   
fellows1  alluding to the two ,khalsa   
,sikhs1 from my revenge1 for having     
dared  to smile at your action4 ,it was 
with the greatest difficulty1 and only  
by the good offices of some ,sikh       
chiefs1 that ,i was able to pacify the  
wounded honour of this ,singh4    #aac  
,the goddess of courage1 ,bhavn ,durg1  
represented in the ,dasama  ,pdshh k    
,grant'h1 or book of kings of ,gr       
,gvind1 as the soul of  arms1 or        
tutelary goddess of war1 and is thus    
addressed3 ,thou art the  edge of the   
sword1 thou art the arrow1 the sword1   

the knife1 and the  dagger4    #aad ,gr 
,gvind put to death many of this tribe4 
#aae ,this barbarous custom still       
prevails among the ,rjapts in many      
parts of ,hindstan4    #aaf ,agreeably  
to this author1 ,gr ,gvind was initiated
 on ,friday1  the #hth of the month     
,b'hdra1 in the year #agec of the ra of 
,vicramditya2 and on that day his great 
work1 the ,dasama ,pdshh k  ,grant'h1 or
 book of the tenth king1 was completed4 
#aag ,an author1 whom ,i have often     
quoted1 says1 ,gr ,gvind gave  the      
following injunctions to his followers3 
,it is right to slay a  ,muhammedan     
wherever you meet him4 ,if you meet a   
,hind1 beat him and  plunder him1 and   
divide his property among you4 ,employ  
your constant  effort to destroy the    
countries ruled by ,muhammedans4 ,if    
they oppose  you1 defeat and slay them4 
#aah ,b'hai ,gr ,ds ,bhal4              
,,books ,,lately ,,published  ,,by      
,,john ,,murray1  #ej1 ,,albemarle      
,,street1 ,,london4      #a4 ,,the      

,,quarterly ,,review2 from its          
,commencement1 in #ahji1 to ,december   
#ahab4 ,sixteen ,numbers1 forming ,eight
 ,volumes1 #hvo4 handsomely printed2    
price #el4 in extra boards4    ,new     
,editions of each ,number have been     
again printed1 and they may now  be had 
separately2 price #fs4    ,no4 #ag will 
be published early in ,february #ahac1  
and the future  ,numbers regularly every
 three months4      #b4 ,,sketch ,,of   
,,the ,,political ,,history ,,of ,india3
 ,from the ,introduction of  ,mr4       
,,pitt',s ,bill1 ,a4 ,d4 #aghd1 to the  
present ,date4 ,by ,,john ,,malcolm1    
,lieutenant-,colonel in the ,east ,india
 ,company's ,madras ,army1 ,resident at 
,mysore1 and late ,envoy to the ,court  
of ,persia4 ,second ,edition1 royal     
#hvo4 #ahs4      #c4 ,,geographical     
,,memoir ,,of ,,the ,,persian ,empire3  
interspersed with  ,accounts of ,manners
 and ,customs4 ,by ,,john ,,macdonald   
,,kinneir1 ,esq4  ,political ,assistant 
to ,brigadier-,general ,,malcolm1 late  

,envoy to the  ,court of ,persia4       
,handsomely printed in #dto4 with a     
,map4 #cl4 #cs4      #d4 ,a ,,voyage    
,,round ,,the ,,world1 ,,in ,,the ,years
 #ahjc1 #d1 #e1 and #f2 by the  command 
of his ,imperial ,majesty1 ,alexander   
,i4 in the ,ships ,nadeshda and  ,neva2 
under the orders of ,captain ,a4 ,j4    
,,von ,,krusenstern4 ,translated  from  
the ,german1 7now printing at ,berlin17 
by ,,richard ,,belgrave ,,hoppner1      
,esq4 ,handsomely printed in ,one large 
,volume #dto4 with ,charts1 ,plates1  c4
 c4 ,in the ,press4    ,this ,voyage is 
extremely interesting1 not only as being
 the first ever  undertaken by ,russia  
round the ,world1 but as replete with   
accurate  and valuable information4 ,its
 principal object was to carry out ,m4  
,de ,resanoff1 ,ambassador              
,extraordinary from the ,court of       
,russia to  the ,empire of ,japan1 with 
the view of establishing a              
communication4  ,it contains a          
particular ,account of this ,embassy1   

and an interesting  ,description of the 
,manners and ,customs of the several    
,tribes and  ,nations of the ,great     
,pacific1 hitherto so little known4     
#e4 ,,an ,,account ,,of ,,the ,,kingdom 
,,of ,,nepaul3 ,being the ,substance of 
,observations made during a ,mission to 
that ,country in the ,year #agic4 ,by   
,colonel ,,william ,,kirkpatrick4 ,in   
royal #dto4 embellished with a large    
,map  and ,fifteen ,engravings4 #bl4    
#abs4 #f;d4      #f4 ,,twenty-,,four    
,,large ,,views ,,in ,,arabia1          
,abyssinia1 and ,egypt1 c4  ,executed   
from ,drawings by ,,henry ,,salt1 ,esq4 
who accompanied ,lord  ,valentia on his 
,travels1 and has since been employed on
 a ,mission to  ,abyssinia4    ,the     
,engravings are in the same size and    
manner as ,mr4 ,,daniell',s  ,oriental  
,scenery1 being #bd by #ah inches4 ,the 
whole are mounted1 and  delivered in a  
portfolio1 at the price of ,twenty-six  
,guineas the ,set4      #g4 ,,the       
,,costumes3--,illustrative of the       

,manners1 ,habits1 and ,decorations  of 
the ,russians1 ,turks1 ,austrians1      
,chinese1 c4 represented in a ,series   
of ,three ,hundred and ,seventy-three   
,engravings1 accurately finished in  the
 ,colours of the original ,subjects1    
with short descriptive ,essays2  forming
 ,seven ,volumes1 ,imperial #dto4 as    
follow3    ,the ,,costume of ,,china2 by
 ,lieutenant-,colonel ,,mason2 from     
original  ,drawings1 by ,,peu ,,qua1 of 
,canton--,six ,guineas4    ,the         
,,punishments of ,,china2 by the        
,same--,three ,guineas and a ,half4     
,the ,,costume of ,,turkey2 by          
,,octavian ,d',,alvemart--,eight        
,guineas4    ,the ,,costume of          
,,russia--,eight ,guineas4    ,the      
,,costume of ,,austria--,six ,guineas4  
,the ,,costume of ,,china2 by ,,william 
,,alexander1 ,draftsman to the ,embassy 
of  ,earl ,macartney--,six ,guineas4    
,the ,,costume of ,,great ,,britain2 by 
,w4 ,h4 ,,pyne--,nine ,pounds4    ,the  
price of the complete ,set1 in extra    

boards1 is ,forty-eight ,pounds         
,sixteen ,shillings and ,sixpence4      
,either ,volume may be had separately4  
#h4 ,,the ,,costume ,,of ,,the          
,,ancients3 ,consisting of a ,series of 
,three ,hundred  ,engravings in         
,outline1 with some introductory        
,letter-press4 ,by ,,thomas  ,,hope1    
,esq4 ,in ,two ,volumes1 royal #dto4    
#fl4 #fs4    ,the same ,work1 in ,two   
,volumes1 royal #hvo4 #bl4 #abs4 #f;d4  
#i4 ,,the ,,historic ,,gallery ,,of     
,,portraits ,,and ,paintings2 or1       
,graphic  ,imitations of the finest     
,specimens of the ,arts1 ancient and    
modern2  with ,descriptions and         
,remarks1 ,biographical1 ,critical1 and 
,explanatory4  ,in ,seven ,volumes #hvo4
 ,containing more than #ejj outline     
,engravings1  executed with peculiar    
taste and spirit4 ,price #al4 #ds4 each 
,volume4 ,a  few ,copies1 printed in    
#dto4 may be had1 price #bl4 #es4 each  
,volume4    ,the design of the present  
publication is to display1 in a small   

compass1 the labours of the ,historian1 
combined with the happiest  efforts of  
the pencil4 ,it is intended to          
contribute to the advancement  of       
science1 by presenting to the           
contemplation of the artist and the     
connoisseur1 specimens of the most      
esteemed works of the best masters1     
ancient and modern1 both in painting and
 in sculpture2 and by diffusing  in a   
novel and interesting form a knowledge  
of what for ages has been  appreciated  
and enthusiastically admired1 instil    
into the mind of the  mere indifferent  
observer a taste for the polite arts4   
#aj4 ,,travels ,,in ,,the ,,island ,,of 
,,iceland during the ,summer of the     
,year  #ahaj4 ,by ,sir ,,george         
,,steuart ,,mackenzie1 ,bart4 ,fellow of
 the ,royal  ,society of ,edinburgh1 c4 
c4 ,in ,one ,volume1 #dto4 embellished  
with ,two  ,maps1 ,fifteen ,plates1     
7many finely coloured71 and ,fifteen    
,vignettes4  ,second ,edition4 #cl4 #cs4
      #aa4 ,,the ,,battles ,,of         

,,talavera3 a ,poem1 with ,notes4 ,the  
,ninth ,london  ,edition2 with important
 ,additions and ,corrections4 ,to which 
are now  added ,,trafalgar1 and other   
,poems4 ,with a ,portrait of ,lord      
,,wellington1  from an original ,bust4  
,handsomely printed in #dto4 #aes4      
#ab4 ,,romances3 ,consisting3 of        
,,mejnoun and ,,leila1 a ,persian       
,romance1  interspersed with ,notes and 
,poetry descriptive of ,oriental        
,scenery4--,,love and ,,humility2 a     
,roman ,romance4--,the ,,lovers2 or1    
,the  ,,birth of the ,,pleasing ,,arts2 
an ,arcadian ,romance4 ,by ,i4          
,d',,israeli1 ,esq4  ,third ,edition4   
,with an ,engraving1 after a design by  
,westall4 ,foolscap  #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4   
#ac4 ,,childe ,,harold',s ,,pilgrimage4 
,a ,romaunt4 ,written during the        
,author's  ,travels in ,portugal1       
,spain1 ,albania1 and some of the most  
interesting  ,parts of ,greece4 ,with   
,notes4 ,to which are added1 a few      
,miscellaneous  ,poems1 and             

,translations of modern ,greek ,songs1  
written chiefly abroad3  and an         
,appendix1 containing ,observations on  
modern ,greek ,literature1  with a short
 ,catalogue of ,romaic ,authors4 ,by the
 ,right ,hon4 ,lord ,,byron4  ,fifth    
,edition4 ,handsomely printed in #hvo4  
#abs4      #ad4 ,,the ,,life ,,of       
,,nelson4 ,beautifully printed in ,one  
,volume1 small #hvo4  with ,plates1 #gs4
 #f;d4    ,many ,lives of ,,nelson have 
been written3 one is yet wanting1 clear 
and concise enough to become a ,manual  
for the young ,sailor1 which he  may    
carry about with him till he has        
treasured up the example in his  memory 
and in his heart4 ,in attempting such a 
,work1 the ,author proposes  to himself 
to write the ,eulogy of our great ,naval
 ,hero2 for the best  ,eulogy of        
,,nelson is the faithful history of his 
actions2 the best  history is that which
 shall relate them most perspicuously4  
,a very few ,copies are printed on large
 paper1 price #abs4      #ae4 ,,life    

,,of ,,michel ,,angelo ,,buonarroti2    
comprising his ,letters1 ,poetry1  c4   
,specimens of which are translated by   
,,southey and ,,wordsworth into         
,english ,verse2 containing also a      
critical ,disquisition on his ,merit  as
 a ,sculptor1 a ,painter1 an ,architect1
 and a ,poet4 ,by ,r4 ,,duppa1 ,esq4    
,the ,second ,edition1 elegantly printed
 in ,imperial #dto4 by ,bensley2        
containing a ,portrait of ,michel       
,angelo1 by ,,bartolozzi1 and ,fifty    
other  ,engravings4 #cl4 #acs4 #f;d4    
#af4 ,,collections ,,from ,,the         
,,deiphnosophists1 or ,banquet of the   
,gods1 of  ,,athen,,us4 ,translated from
 the original ,greek1 by ,,thomas       
,,eagles1 ,esq4  ,f4,r4,s4 beautifully  
printed in ,two ,volumes1 post #hvo4    
#ahs4    ,this ,work is peculiarly      
interesting1 from its lively exhibition 
of  various convivial customs1 which    
prevailed in different countries in     
different periods3 interspersed with    
passages of exquisite ,poetry4      #ag4

 ,,calamities ,,of ,,authors3 ,including
 some ,inquiries respecting their       
,,moral and ,,literary ,characters4 ,by 
the ,author of ,,curiosities of         
,,literature4 ,neatly printed in ,two   
,volumes1 small #hvo4 #afs4      #ah4   
,,tales ,,of ,,the ,,east3 ,containing  
upwards of ,one ,thousand ,stories3     
comprising the whole of the ,arabian1   
,persian1 ,turkish1 ,mogul1  ,tartarian1
 and ,chinese ,tales3 besides a number  
of original ,translations  and ,reprints
 of interesting but little known        
,eastern ,romances4  ,elegantly printed 
by ,ballantyne1 in ,three ,volumes      
super-royal #hvo4  double columns4 #cl4 
#ahs4    ,this ,work will be continued  
till a ,series of our best ,novels and  
,romances be completed1 and may extend  
probably to ,fifteen ,volumes1 each     
portion of which will be distinct and   
complete in itself1 and sold            
separately4          ,transcriber's     
,notes      ,obvious errors of          
punctuation and diacritics repaired4    

,inconsistent hyphenation fixed4    ,pp4
 #da1 #gh;fn3 ,dehli - ,delhi4    ,p4   
#fc;fn3 ,kahlr - ,kahilr4    ,p4 #ga3 a 
town situate - a town situated4