12-6 The Raja’s Army Saved From Drowning

In the morning, Satguru ji mounted his horse along with Bishan Singh.  Many Nagaras sounded and the army marched forward.  Thousands of men were in the army.

The army reached Rangamati, where Maan Singh had been killed many years ago.  The Brahmaputra flows through there and is 12 Km wide.  The banks of the river had really tall hills, on which, Guru Sahib set up camp atop one of those hills.  Guru Sahib had a Damdama set up, and everyone prepared the area.  The soldiers used their shields to mount the soil.  They set the soil there and made a levelled area.  The land was leveled and a bungalow was made, in which Guru Sahib set up his living quarters.  Guru ji could see far from that height.  The view from that place was great, as you could see far into the distance in every direction.  Guru ji could see the river from there.  The army set up their camps for miles along the shore.  There was a long line of horses tied up, along with elephants held by chains.  The green and white tents could be seen in an organized fashion.  The Emperor’s canons were set down with their barrels facing towards the other side of the river.  Rifles and guns were fired, whose sounds echoed across the opposite shore.  The soldiers were camped within their regiments.  The canons were all set, spread across the shore.  The King of Kamroop sent his army as well.  They set up their camps along the shoreline.  The hundreds of thousands of warriors were standing on guard for both sides along the river’s shore.  The Nagaras were playing.  Shots from the guns and canons were fired as warning shots.  Both sides were showing their might. 

The King of Kamroop called his ministers to discuss their strategy: “the enemy is ready to charge.  We need to destroy them, just as we killed Maan Singh.  I want all of the generals and officers killed.  Make sure they don’t ever try to attack us again.  They should go back scared.  The Moghul Emperor’s huge army is here as well.  I want them killed using mantric and tantric techniques.  Since Maan Singh was killed, nobody bothered to come here, till now.  These people are fools to march upon us.  They do not know our power.  They are unaware that we are blessed by Kamukhya Devi.  Who can defeat us?  We can kill the enemy with Mantras.”  The King addressed his ministers and gave out his orders to make the effort.  They gathered the chanters and the army. 

The Moghul Emperor’s forces were camped along the lower side of the river.  After two days, the citizens of Kamroop began performing their spells and praying to the Devi.  They devised a plan to cause a great tidal wave in the river and wash away the army.  They figured that most of the army would drown and the remaining would run away by fear.  There would be no need for fighting.  Most would die.  The remaining would be killed or run away.  As this strategy was being concocted, the Omniscient Guru Sahib ji sensed what plans were being made on the other side.  Guru Sahib thought to himself: “they will be killed tonight.  Bishan Singh is under my protection.  I held his arm.  He came here on my trust.  If I don’t protect him, he will lose.  I must save him like a parent.  I must save him by any means.”  Guru Sahib told one of the Sikhs to give Bishan Singh a message: “command the regiments that are camped along the lower side of the river to mobilize and set up camp at higher ground.  Do this as soon as possible as there are only 3 hours till evening.  Don’t let anyone stay at the lower level.  Tell the whole army to go.  If you don’t listen to me, I wouldn’t want anyone to drown during the night.”  The Sikh went to Bishan Singh and gave him Guru Sahib’s message.  Bishan Singh was very surprised with the message and called his officers at once to carry out these orders.  He said: “move the camps to higher ground.  Otherwise the river will drown us.”  The officers and warriors that were Hindu, understood Guru Sahib’s orders and moved their camps, along with their belongings, to higher ground right away.  They picked up their big and small items.  The officers of the Mughal forces, the ones who were fools, did not believe Guru ji’s words and said: “these Hindus are such weak-minded people.  They hear one statement and start to change their whole plans.  They get anxious for no reason.  We’ve been here for two days and nothing has happened.  What damage has been done so far?  Their king has way too much faith in the Guru.  The Guru has influenced the Raja too much.  We will not change our positions.  We can’t.  We already scoped this as a good place.”  The Moghul officers laughingly dismissed the orders and talked amongst themselves.  The fools laughed at the ones that moved. 

Raja Bishan Singh had full faith in Guru ji and moved his regiments up to higher ground as soon as possible.  The Rajput regiments moved towards the direction where Guru Sahib’s bungalow was.  They saw blessings in following Guru ji’s words.  The sun set and night fell, the Moghul forces were now left with no support.  They ate and went to sleep.  The men from Kamroop came and started to prepare their powers and chanted their spells.  Along with the spells, they began to play dholaks and dumroos.  The men made a sacrifice along the river banks.  As soon as they performed the sacrifice, the flow of the river stopped.  A great wave began to form.  It headed towards the shore where the Moghul forces were camped.  Without warning, the great tidal wave climbed higher and higher and swept the Moghul army away.  Most of the Turks died while some swam to higher ground in time.  The weapons, animals and tents swept away.  There was a lot of noise and shouting.  Some were yelling to their brothers to save them.  Some saw their sons or father being swept away.  The saddles and weapons were taken away by the wave and the current to follow.  They couldn’t find their weapons or clothes.  Only some survived.  There was a great fear that shadowed them.  Hearing the screams and watching the catastrophic event, Bishan Singh ran to Guru Sahib with fear.  We requested Guru ji: “save the army Guru Sahib!  The army is being swept away by a tidal wave.”  Guru Sahib responded: “when I told everyone to not stay along the lower ground, why did they not listen to my advice?  The wave would not have reached higher ground.  I wanted the Mantras to go without fruit.  Don’t worry.  The river will no longer create such tidal waves now.  What has been swept, is now gone.  This will not happen again.”  As soon as Guru Sahib said these words, the waves stopped immediately and the river flow calmed down to its normal current. 

When dawn came through, the Moghul officers came to Bishan Singh with great fear in their hearts.  They told him exactly what happened and the horrifying events.  They said: “Kamroop cannot be won with weapons.  They have such powerful Mantras.  This is not a battle of weapons.  How can we fight?  This is a different type of battle.”  Bishan Singh took all of the officers to Guru Sahib to discuss battle plans.  They were all worried and without hope.  They said to each other: “what can we plan now?”  They bowed to Guru Sahib in his Bungalow and sat down.  They told Guru ji of what happened at night.  They said: “Sri Prabhoo ji, how can we win this battle?  We can’t overpower their magic.”  Sri Guru Tegh Bahadhur Sahib ji spoke: “I came to fulfill your mission.  I want to make sure your mission is successful.  You need to stop these minor calculations and have faith.  Listen to what I have to say.  Do not falter on your faith and do exactly as I say.  Don’t think of Hindu or Turk.  Don’t doubt.  There is only magic and spells here.  They know the Mantras and Jantras.  If you listen to me, there won’t be any obstacles.  If you want to win Kamroop, do what I say.  You have come here on my watch and I will make sure you will succeed.”  Guru ji gave hope to all.  Bishan Singh heard Guru Sahib’s words, and was calmer than he was before.  He had faith.

12-7 Protecting the Raja From More Trouble

Hearing Satguru ji’s words, Bishan Singh’s faith was now firmer.  The Raja came into a state of humility.  He folded his hands and praised Guru ji.  He said to Guru Sahib: “there is no task you are unable to do, when one comes to your shelter.  You have given me a second life by saving me from the tidal wave.  I am confident that I will win the Kamroop state.  I had no hope of staying alive, once I heard that I had to come and battle Kamroop.  I have put my ego aside and came to you, Lord, as I heard your praises.”  From that day onwards, everyone in Bishan Singh’s army listened to every little or big thing that Guru ji had to say, even the Turks who were initially skeptical.  High or low ranking, they all listened.

For many months, both armies stood on guard on both sides of the river.  The people from Kamroop did many spells and sent many spirits to kill Bishan Singh, but the True Guru protecting Bishan Singh from everything.  They tried hard to kill Bishan Singh with their Mantras.  None of the spells worked in front of Guru Sahib’s blessings.  The Mantras and Jantras were powerless in front of Guru ji.  The most unbreakable spells, that would kill the most expert yogis, were tried by the Kamroop people, but they all failed.  Physical, mental, and spiritual tantric and mantric magic was attempted.  Bishan Singh did not feel anything close to a pinch.  The spells would put the 3 types of illnesses on the person.  They would kill the strongest person.  The chanters had practiced many years to make the Mantras powerful.  Not a hair of Bishan Singh’s was harmed.  Their powers were useless in front of the Guru.  Bishan Singh did not feel the heat of the Mantras.  The Mantras would have made one senseless.  They had spells to separate body parts, and to morph into some other beings.  They would make one into a pillar.  Some Mantras would make the tongue stop working.  One could not talk then.  Some mantras would take the strength away.  These mantras are a big problem.  The magicians knew them all.  They could kill a person.  The Raja was not affected by anything.  Whom the Satguru protects, that person is safe in every Lok.  There is no other being as the Satguru in all three worlds.  Whosoever the Guru protects, they feel absolutely no pain. The people tried many times but everything failed.  Their Mantras failed. 

The people of Kamroop, including the King, were very worried now.  They were concerned of why their magic and yogic, tantric and mantric powers, were not working.  The King said: “Why are the mantras not working?  You tried everything.  Nothing worked.  Who is this powerful being that is stopping us?  We are utterly useless in front of this being.  Why is it not working?  You tried everything but all went fruitless.  You tried many things.” The King then summoned the most elite enchantresses who had practiced the most extreme and difficult arts of magic.  He gave them a lot of money and said: “I want you to go and use your powers to create illusions of fear.  Use your powers.  Even if you are not able to kill anyone, I want you to scare them to a point that they cannot fight.  The army of the Turks should run away.”  The enchantresses and witches heard the command and set forth with their task at hand.  They got their Mantras ready.  These witches were from the Dhoban (launderers), Ghumiaaris (potters) and Chumaaris (leather binders) castes.  They gathered at the Raja’s calling.  Some of the women climbed walls, some climbed trees and made them into a vehicle to fly in.  Some were breathing fire and some possessed lions to ride them.  They were making loud noises using dholaks and dumroos.  Some of these women changed into a form that was scary to see by the weak-hearted while some became beautiful temptresses.  All of them flew into the sky with their powers and began to frighten the enemy army.  They failed though, even though the soldiers were scared.  They were amazed to see the witches.    

Bishan Singh’s soldiers saw the witches and tried to catch them.  They were terrified to see this spectacle and their confidence began to fall.  Bishan Singh saw the witches with immense powers and ordered to fire canons and bullets at them.  The witches stayed back.  The cannons fired with loud noises.  None of the cannon balls reached the witches.  Some of the cannon balls would stop mid-air and fall, and some would get stuck in the barrel of the cannon.  The cannon balls reversed course and injured many soldiers.  Some cannon balls came back to kill the soldiers.  Nothing happened to the witches.  The witches began to laugh out loud.  They would dance and sing their songs.  They clapped with joy.  They would fly around the river and continue to spread fear.  They would run here and there.  Some of these witches had long flowing hair and some were very old.  Some were young, well dressed and spewed fire from their mouths.  They flew over the army and shouted out to each other: “let’s eat these people!”  Bishan Singh was now really worried, seeing this.  He thought to himself: “it is useless fighting these sorceresses.  They will kill us with their Mantras.  We will surely be killed as was my grandfather, Maan Singh.  They killed him.  How can I win?  There is only one way out of this: I must go to Guru ji for his help.” 

The soldiers saw the magic for many days.  Bishan Singh mounted his horse and rode towards the Damdama of Guru Sahib on the high hill.  Other officers and warriors followed Bishan Singh.  Bishan Singh got off his horse and bowed when he reached the Damdama.  He was worried.  He saw Guru ji and ran to where Guru Sahib was seated and bowed to his feet quickly.  He was wearing a sword with a golden hilt.  He was wearing jewellery and earrings with jewels.  He wore a high Kalgi.  He had expensive clothes on.  He stood up and folded his hands.  Guru Sahib was wearing his Tulwar and shield.  The Tulwar had a golden hilt with diamonds embedded into it.  He had golden bracelets in his hands and was wearing pearl studded hoops in his ears.  The embroidery on his Dumalla was shining and a tall Kalgi was adorning it. He was wearing expensive clothes.  Bishan Singh sat down in front of Guru Sahib.  Guru Sahib’s chola was white and a well-made bow and quiver were hanging from his shoulders.  A Sikh was fanning the Chaur atop of Guru Sahib’s head.  His eyes were peaceful and mesmerizing. His heart was full of Brahamgyaan.  Whoever comes to the Guru with faith and devotion, he is given the peace of this world and of the world beyond.  Guru Sahib smiled and said: “How are you, Bishan Singh?”  Bishan Singh folded his hands and responded: “all is well as per your blessings, but the people of Kamroop are using Mantas.  The witches are flying above the army and scaring them.  The women are scary.  The men are losing their patience and confidence and their attempts to catch the witches have resulted useless.  We tried firing bullets and cannon balls but the witches’ spells caused them to come back and injure our soldiers.   They are flying mounted on trees, climbing walls and breathing fire.  We can’t catch them.  They come over our army.  The soldiers are surprised.  They can’t do anything in fear.  I came here by your support.  Otherwise I can’t win.  Maan Singh died.  What can I do?  We have been camped out here for many months along the Brahmaputra and nothing has progressed.  Prabhoo ji, do something please.  This battle worries me day and night and I don’t understand how I can win this battle.  I don’t see success.  Guru Sahib, I don’t know what to do.  I have come to seek your protection.  Please help us.  You are our only hope.  Please keep our honour as you hold our arm.  Help us cross this river of worry.”  Guru Sahib heard the fear-filled words of Bishan Singh and told him to stay calm.

12-8 The King of Assam Gets Ready for Battle

Listening to Bishan Singh, Guru Sahib spoke to him: “don’t worry, the Lord Raghubhir will be the protector.  Whatever your grandfather Maan Singh could not do, that same difficult responsibility fell into your lap.  You will be victorious though.  You will win Kamroop.  Guru Nanak Dev ji’s glory is great, through his blessing, you will win and return victorious to your home.  It will only be a few days now that we will win and return.  When the witches come towards the army this time, come get me as soon as they come.  Send a messenger on a horse as soon as they come.  I will extract all their powers and they will no longer be able to do any magic.  They will fall without magic.  Do not let any doubt come near you.  Be in a still state of mind.  Be in bliss.”  Bishan Singh heard the words of the Guru and felt a great hope.  Just as a person drowning in the water is given a canoe, so did Bishan Singh feel.  He was very happy and felt like he was given the Kalapbrish (wish-fulfilling tree) with ease.  Bishan Singh was really happy.  Raja Maan Singh was not victorious but Bishan Singh felt that he will now win.  Bishan Singh folded his hands and bowed to Guru ji’s feet.  He took leave and went back to his army lines.  He told them to stay aware: “don’t be afraid and stay alert.  When any of those witches come again to show their powers, come tell me at once and go to inform Guru Sahib as soon as possible.  Guru Sahib will snatch their powers away.  He won’t let them go back.  The King of Kamroop will then have a fair match.”  The Raja alerted his army in this way.  It was night and everyone rested. 

The next day, the army lines were on guard for the witches.  They looked towards the directions from where they came before.  They discussed amongst themselves: “we won’t let them go this time.  They did many types of magic.”  They then saw a young witch from the Dhobi (launderer) caste on top of a tree.  She was flying the tree with her power.  Bishan Singh sent a messenger on a horse to Guru Sahib right away.   Guru Sahib was given the message: “a new woman has come.”  Guru ji came out right away from his bungalow.  The omniscient Guru Sahib used his divine sight to see the witch.  As soon his attention went towards the witch, her power was pulled right away.  The witch had lifted a rock that was 15 tonnes in weight.  She threw the rock towards Guru Sahib, but it stopped mid-way and dropped.  Her tree stopped mid-air and she lost all her powers.  Without her powers, she could no longer fly.  She tried to use more spells but nothing worked.  She began to tremble with fear.  The tree was still.  She looked around, anxious.  She knew there was someone very strong around that had made her powers useless.  She felt the power of this great being and that her power was snatched away.  The soldiers then caught her and arrested her.  The soldiers brought her into the presence of Guru Sahib.  The witch went pail with fear as she thought she was going to be killed.  As soon as she saw Guru Sahib, the radiance of Guru Sahib gave her a great calm.  She folded her hands and bowed her head.  She said: “oh great Saint, you are a very strong being.  My magic does not work on you.  I have recognized you.  You are the Avatar of Parmeshwar Vishnu.  There is no other Dev or Devi that can stop our magic.  Nobody else can defeat us.  You are Akaal Purakh and the master of the universe.  You are the cause and effect.  You are omnipotent.  But I don’t understand why have you sided with the army that is sent by the Moghul Emperor.  We want to stay independent and practice our religion with freedom.  We will become slaves of the Moghuls if we cannot use our magic.  Our king is a Hindu Raja and we have our own way of fighting, with magic.  We want to protect our Hindu religion.  You know these Turks are different than us.  Bishan Singh is Hindu but he is on the side of the Moghuls.”  Guru Sahib heard the clever words of the Dhoban and said smilingly: “I want all of the soldiers to move back.  Leave her alone.  Oh lady, what you say is true.  We want to rid the country of the Moghuls, but Bishan Singh is my beloved and I am here for him.  Call your King and we shall speak as friends.  I will rid the duality.  I will keep both Kings as equals.  Nobody will lose out on anything.  We will come to an agreement and solve all of the problems.  We will devise a plan that will work for everyone.   I will fulfill the tasks.  I won’t let anyone hurt your people or your country and your rights.  Oh Dhoban, go and sit close to your tree.  Call your family and build your house here.  There will be a city named after you.  Stay here and recite the true name of Akaal Purakh and let go of your tantric magic.  You will be known throughout the ages.  There will be a Gurduara named Dhubri Sahib here.  Till the earth will exist, your village will be known.  I will leave this area but the place will remain by your name.  Stay under the tree till I am here.”  The young Dhoban heard Guru Sahib and sat near her tree and began to recite Satnam.  The other magicians got scared and went back home, seeing the Dhoban getting caught.  They didn’t look back out of fear.  They came back home, fast.  They told the King: “we went to scare everyone.  We flew in the sky.  The Dhoban went before us.  There is a very powerful saint named Guru Tegh Bahadhur ji who has taken her power away and has arrested her.  She was flying on her tree.  Her tree stopped in the air.  We cannot go back as it is now very dangerous.  We will get caught.  You need to do something now or else we will lose.”  The king then began to think of his next steps.  He began to wonder that he had used many spells and nothing happened to Bishan Singh.  He then realized that this Saint is the one that has been deflecting all their powers: “I can make mountains fly.  The flowing can be stopped.  I can stop the flow of the river.”  The king had such strong wizards and magicians that they could break mountains, stop the wind and block the rivers.  Bishan Singh would have been no match and would have been dead by now along with the army.  They wouldn’t have survived.  The great saint was the reason why he wasn’t successful.  He then decided to go to the temple of Kamukhya Devi and ask for her protection.  Kamukhya has protected Kamroop till now and did not let anyone harm Kamroop.  “The Devi will save us.  Nobody defeated us before, whoever attacked before.  She gives us Dharma and Arth.  She protects our honour.  This is her greatness.”  The king brought all the materials for the worship of the Kamukhya Devi and headed towards the temple.  All the priests (of Mantras) were called and began to light the fire for the worship.  They bathed and began the havans and called upon the Devi.  The leading priests were chanting the prayers.  The Devi then began to speak through the Pandits.  The head priest fell into a trance and spoke: “Oh King, do not worry.  I will protect you and the people of your kingdom will be safe.  You will not face defeat and will be safe as well.  Go to the Saint and do as he says.  Do what the Purshotam says.  He is the Avatar of Akaal Purakh and all-powerful.”  The King and the ministers heard the words and bowed their heads.  They left the Mandir and went to their homes.  They then began to think what should they do.  They thought: “what should we do by which we are not afraid of the army anymore?  We used our Mantras and lost.  Nothing was fulfilled by them.  We should fight now.  Sri Kamakhya will give us victory.”  The Raja was ready to fight now.  The bullets and gunpowder were distributed.  The soldiers were gathered.  The canons were prepared.  A great army was sent to fight.  He said: “attack first.  I will follow.  I will fight too.”  Bishan Singh’s army had his canons set and didn’t want an escalated situation.  The only option they saw now was that they should get ready for war as the Devi didn’t give any instructions except to listen to the saint.  The army was mobilized.  The guns were made ready and a great army was sent to fight at the battle fronts.  The king sent the warriors first and told them he would come after a few days.

12-9 The Devi tells the King of Assam to go seek the refuge of Guru Sahib

As the Dhoban was arrested, she accepted the glory of Guru Sahib.  No other witch came to attack.  She asked for forgiveness.  Bishan Singh was very happy and came to Guru Sahib.  He bowed to Guru Sahib and sat down.  He made a plea to Guru Sahib: “with your blessing we are now sure that we will be victorious.  We will be successful in this huge task.  Listen to my plea: the army that I have is all under your command.  They saw your powers and now have full faith in you.  The fear of the magic spells that the witches were using is now gone.  We have been in this location for a long time now.  A lot of money has been spent on the soldier’s salaries and ammunition.  Everyone is away from home.  We have been fighting for a while but we still have not defeated the enemy as we have not been able to cross the Brahmaputra.  We have not been able to fight the army of Kamroop, face to face.  How long will we be here for?  The officers are anxious for this war to be over and want to go home.  As we see your compassion, everyone believes that you will save us.  Oh Lord, please help us end this war.  Thousands of men are seeking your blessings.  My officers asked me to come to you and say this.  The army is in your shelter.  Maharaj, please protect us.  We have a deep faith in you.  Protect the honour of whoever comes to your shelter.  There is no other way to win this war.  You, Guru Sahib, are the only one that can help us win or help us come to a mutual agreement.”  Guru Sahib then spoke: “Bishan Singh, this is not an easy task.  It is very difficult.  The people of Kamroop have the blessings of Kamukhya Devi.  The King of Kamroop and all of the citizens have worshipped her for generations.  The King’s ancestors made the Devi happy.  She has given them many blessings and given them many powers.  Their ancestors have asked for a stable kingdom that won’t ever be defeated.  Enemies would always lose.  They didn’t want their kingdom to be ruined.  They were blessed that: no one would be able to take over their kingdom.  So Akaal Purakh’s power, Devi Chandi, has blessed them.  To reverse this blessing is not a practical thing.  It is not good to meddle into the works of Akaal Purakh.  The Shakti of Akaal Purakh has blessed them and I don’t want to overturn this blessing.  Nobody can reverse the Devi’s blessings.  That’s why this is a difficult task.  The Devi’s blessings can’t be erased.  It is the power of the Prabhoo which commands the whole universe.  You, Bishan Singh, have come to our home for help.  So, we now have to seek the blessing of Guru Nanak Dev ji and meditate on Satnam.  Destroy the doubts of your mind.  All Shakti, Devis and Devatas look toward the glory of Guru Nanak Dev ji.  Have faith.  It won’t be long.  Everything will be resolved and we will all go back home in a few days.  The conflicts will all be over soon.”  Bishan Singh heard Guru Sahib’s words and had faith on Guru Nanak Dev ji’s blessings.  He bowed to Guru Sahib and went back to his camp, folding his hands.  Bishan Singh went to his home with faith.  He thought to himself: “Guru ji will fulfill my tasks.  If Guru Sahib was not here, there is no way I would have survived.  Who could have defeated Kamroop?” As night fell, everyone went to sleep in their places. 

The King of Kamroop went to his Runvaas, in his chambers with his queens.  Many queens served him with joy.  The beautiful queens were with the Raja.  He removed his yellow clothes and Dastaar.  He took off his dagger and set it on top of his clothes.  The hilt of the dagger was made of ivory, with gems embedded into it.  He removed his golden necklaces and jewellery and placed everything on a beautiful chest.  He climbed on top of his bed.  He bowed to the Devi and went to sleep.  Guru Sahib used his powers and pulled the Kings clothes, weapons and jewellery.  All of the King’s belongings that the King was wearing travelled to Guru Sahib’s place.  None of the Devatas or Devis could stop Guru Sahib’s doings. 

When it was morning, the King woke up and noticed that his clothes, Dastaar, and weapons were gone.  The King was surprised and shocked to see his belongings missing.  The King went to the temple of the Devi and prayed to her.  He prayed: “oh mother, where did my belongings go?  I am very worried as nothing like this has happened before.  Oh Devi, you protect me from everything.  No power can come close to me.  How did this happen?  Have your blessings been taken away?  Is the boon gone?  Did I do something wrong?  I know that nobody can enter my palace and I know that I have a boundary of spells protecting my forts.  No thief or anyone else can enter my palace.  No Jantra or Mantra can affect me.  Nobody can come close to me.  Who is this great powerful person that can go through all these shields and take my stuff?”  The king bathed and sat down in the Devi Mandir.  The King’s mother came to see him.  She gave him hope and said: “you are the Raja.  Don’t worry.  Have faith my son.  You are the King and you need to have faith for your subjects.  I am Chandi Mata’s devotee as well.  I will sit in meditation and ask the Devi.  I will ask why your clothes disappeared.  You will be fine.  The Devi has been protecting us for many generations and I am sure she will continue to do so.”  The Mother then left.  She took a bath and wore new clothes.  She then went to the Devi’s temple and ordered the stuff for worshiping the Devi.  She lit incense and performed the Aarti while chanting the ballads of the Devi.  She showered flowers onto the Devi.  She did many types of Poojas and uttered Mantras of praise to the Devi.  She told all of her servants to leave her in solitude.  She then sat down cross-legged in deep meditation.  When her mind was completely still, the Devi spoke from above: “oh Raj Mata, I will tell you where the King’s stuff has gone.  The master of the three worlds, Akaal Purakh’s Avatar, Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji, whose praise is spread throughout the universe; his throne is now occupied by Guru Tegh Bahadhur Sahib ji.  Wherever you think of him, he becomes present.  He is wise and comes to anyone who calls him.  He belongs to the whole world.  He is Akaal Purakh but he took the form of a devotee.  He is in the form of a Saint.  Whoever seeks his blessings with faith, he protects them.  Bishan Singh, the king of Jodhpur, has become his servant and brought Guru Sahib here.  You need not fear either of them.  Don’t be in doubt.  You need to go and seek the sanctuary of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadhur Sahib ji.  By meeting him, your conflicts will be resolved.  Your kingdom will not fall, but you will have to go to the Guru.  Understand my words as true.  Your whole family should become his Sikhs.  Take your son, daughter-in-law and all the ministers.  When you do his Darshan with devotion, your tasks will be fulfilled.  Sri Guru ji will bless you.  He destroys the problems.”  When the King’s mother heard these words, she folded her hands and bowed. 

The King’s mother got up and came to the King and said to him: “Guru Nanak Dev ji is the Purshottam.  he is Akaal Purakh and came to spread Sikhi.  He defeated the Sidhs and the Pandits.  He defeated many powerful people and destroyed their egos.  Nobody is equal to him.  He travelled the whole world.  On his throne, Guru Tegh Bahadhur ji is his 9th incarnation.  Bishan Singh requested him to come with him.  He brought him here.  He is the one that made us powerless.  The Devi told me that we need to go to him.  Bishan Singh has been under his protection after he bowed and asked for his protection.  For this reason, our spells are useless now.  Guru Tegh Bahadhur Sahib ji was the one that called your clothes to himself.  The Devi told me to take you and all of your ministers to seek the sanctuary of Guru Sahib.  He will bless you if you go to his shelter.  He will make your kingdom stable.  He will protect your kingdom.”  As soon as the king heard these words, he made all the preparations and reached the river of Brahmaputra.  He brought his family with him.  He called for a beautiful boat and began to sail across the water.  He brought many gifts.  It took him the whole day to sail across the river.  He arrived in the evening.  Guru Sahib was on top of the hill in his Damdama.  The army of Bishan Singh spread across the banks and many war drums and horns were sounding.

12-10 The King of Assam Goes to Guru Sahib’s Sanctuary

The King of Assam got off his boat and had his servants pick up the gifts for Guru Sahib.  He walked bare-foot towards the residence of Guru Sahib.  He brought his whole family along as well.  They had their hands folded as they walked with faith and devotion. 

The Raja and his family came to Guru Sahib’s bungalow and bowed their heads with faith and devotion.  The king folded his hands, bowed and said: “Oh true Guru I seek your sanctuary and protection.  I am the King of Kamroop/Assam and I have come to your feet after leaving my kingdom and rejecting my ego.  The Mughal King wants to destroy the Hindu Kingdoms.  Protect your servants.  I have come to seek your protection to save us from the Mughals.  The Devi told my mother to come to your feet for your blessings.  We will accept your command and we are under your protection.  Oh Lord, I have one request: you are the light of Akaal Purakh, the all-powerful; we Hindus have full faith in Guru Nanak Dev ji.  Our whole kingdom follows him.  The Mughal King’s kingdom is getting bigger and wants to destroy the Hindu states.  He is making the Hindu states fight against themselves.  You are assisting Bishan Singh, who is allies with Aurangzeb.  If Bishan Singh wins, we will be ruled by Aurangzeb.  Please help the Hindus.  You are the Guru of the Hindus.  The Hindus live by your support.”  Guru Sahib heard the King’s request and ordered a Dastaar.  Guru Sahib tied the new and expensive Dastaar on the head of the King of Kamroop.  Whoever Guru Sahib’s hands touch, that person is blessed.  As soon as Guru Sahib’s hands touched the head, the King’s bondages were broken and he saw the light of Akaal Purakh.  The King’s life was now fulfilled and his attachment and doubts were gone.  The King was given a shawl as well.  Guru ji was compassionate and blessed the Raja.  Guru Sahib did not give his dagger back and kept it with himself.  Guru Sahib said: “what you said, I wish to do the same.  I do not want the Hindu states to fight against themselves.  I understand the crooked politics of Aurangzeb.  I don’t want you to worry about anything.  I will make sure the whole situation will be resolved.  Just accept my proposals and all the states will remain stable and happy.  Both sides will be happy.  Your land will not face any trouble.”  When the King saw his clothes that had disappeared were given back to him, his faith was now solid.  He bowed to the Guru and said: “Guru Sahib, I follow the Sanatan Dharam, the Vedic Dharam and I follow you.  Please save us from the Moghul King’s wrath.  I do not want to be the slave of the Moghul King.  People who have bad intentions, when we make friends with such people, we contribute towards their bad karma.  To talk to them or touching them is against our Dharma.  This is against the Vedic traditions.  I will listen to whatever you say Guru Sahib.  We believe in Guru Nanak Dev ji who is followed by the Hindus and Muslims.  Please don’t ask us to accept any command from Aurangzeb.  We will die but will not follow the Mughal king.  This is our big task, Prabhoo ji.  Other than that, we will accept any command you give us.”  Guru Sahib was very happy to see that the King had unwavering self-respect.  Guru Sahib was very upset with Aurangzeb who killed many saints of the Hindu and Muslim faith who did not follow his interpretation of religion.  Guru Sahib said to the King: “I will do as you say.  I am very upset with Aurangzeb who killed many Saints.  I won’t let him take over your kingdom.  Bishan Singh follows the Dharma.  He is a Raja that follows the Dharma.  He has no deceit in his heart.  He follows me.  I will make sure your two kingdoms won’t fight.  I won’t let Aurangzeb come between you two. Bishan Singh has no enmity with you.  I would like you and Bishan Singh to have a meeting and strategize a political move that will satisfy Aurangzeb and your states.  I want both of you to establish peace.  You won’t need to meet Aurangzeb and both of you Hindu Kings could exist in peace.”  The King of Kamroop said: “I accept your proposal but I also have one more request: the army that came with Bishan Singh, there are more regiments of the Mughal King than Rajputs.  I would not like the Mughal forces to come meet us when Bishan Singh and I have a meeting.  I would like all of the Rajputs and yourself to cross the Brahmaputra and come to our home.  Please bless our state with your feet.  All of our citizens will get a chance to meet you and be blessed.  They will all bring their gifts and be blessed.  They will bow their heads and touch your feet.  Please bring Bishan Singh and his Rajput officers.  The Moghul officers will cause a rift.  I give you my word right that I will accept any proposal you put before me.”  Guru Sahib was very happy with the Kamroop King’s words.  Guru Sahib said: “I will do as you asked.  You won’t be in any loss or damage.  You came to my shelter and therefore you will be protected and so will Bishan Singh.  Guru Nanak Dev ji will bless all.  I will make sure both of you kings will be happy.”  Guru Sahib gave a Siropa to the King.  The Kamroop King returned to his palace after bowing.  He left at night on the ferry. 

When it was morning, Guru Sahib asked a servant to summon Bishan Singh.  Bishan Singh arrived and bowed to Guru Sahib.  He sat nearby and said: “I am your servant.”  Guru Tegh Bahadhur Sahib ji told Bishan Singh about the conversation with the King of Kamroop. Guru Sahib said: “look Bishan Singh, you have won, but it is up to you how you want to take it.  You have won the place that couldn’t be won.  The king of Kamroop is ready to give you gifts and bow to you.  His Mantras did not work.  The King of Kamroop is ready to call a truce with you, because he wants all of the Hindu states to remain in peace.  I want you to collect 1,000 Rajput soldiers.  Take the mounted soldiers that are the best.  Make these preparations today.  We will go board the ferries and go to the palace of the king of the Kamroop and have a meeting.  We will go tomorrow morning.”  Bishan Singh heard this command and was over-joyed.  It was like he received the 9 Niddhis.  He bowed, over and over again.  He finally saw the end to the long and tiring battle.  He had full faith in Guru Tegh Bahadhur Sahib ji and was ready to go with Guru Sahib.  He bowed to the Guru continuously and said: “Guru Sahib, I now feel like I am out of danger.  I was worried that I was going to be killed by one of the witches.  You have given me a new life.  You have completed all my tasks.”  Bishan Singh praised Guru Sahib and went back to his camp.

Bishan Singh collected 1,000 Rajput soldiers who were the best of the best.  The soldiers were wearing all the best weapons and prepared their horses.  Bishan Singh made all the preparations at night.  He got up in the morning and took a bath and went to meet Guru Sahib.  Guru Sahib was ready as well.  Guru Sahib travelled in a palanquin and Guru Sahib’s armed force were with him as well.  The whole force crossed the Brahmaputra on boats.  The King of Kamroop was notified that Guru Sahib and Bishan Singh were on their way.  The King collected gifts, clothes, horses, money and jewels for Guru Sahib and Bishan Singh.

The King of Kamroop received and greeted everyone at shore.  They then went to the King’s palace and had a meeting with Guru Sahib sitting in the middle.  Bishan Singh presented his gifts from Rajasthan and the King of Kamroop presented his gifts.  Guru Sahib made sure this exchange happened in front of everyone.  Both kings were now friends and exchanged their Dastaars (a sign of brotherhood).  They hugged each other and spoke of friendship and love.  It was as though two long lost brothers were connected again by Guru Sahib.  The King of Kamroop said to Guru Sahib: “Guru Sahib, you have come to our country, please give us a symbol of your blessing.  Either please give us your shoes so we can worship them or something else you please.  The whole kingdom will worship it.  We would like to remember the blessing that you gave us and how you resolved this battle without any bloodshed from our state.”  Guru Sahib understood the love in the King’s heart.  Guru Sahib took off his bow from his shoulder and took an arrow from his quiver.  He mounted the arrow on to his bow and aimed it at a tree.  He released the arrow and hit the tree with great force.  The tree was a petrified tree.  The arrow went through the tree.  The head of the arrow was protruding out the other end.  Guru Sahib said: “here you go!  This is our symbol for you.  You can worship this arrow with devotion.  If you have any trouble in the land, come to this tree and pray to the arrow.  The arrow is our master and will protect you from anything.  The arrow is Shakti and Shakti is Akaal Purakh.  If the citizens have any wishes, come and pray to this arrow in the tree, their wishes will be fulfilled.  Recognize today and come and celebrate this day.  Your wishes will be fulfilled.  Light Divas with incense.  Bring fruit here.  Do Kirtan and Langar on this day every year.  Do the Aarti of this place and distribute Karah Prashaad.”  The King of Kamroop asked a Pandit to stay in the spot and allotted the property to the Pandit.  He set an allowance so that the Prashaad would be made there everyday.  Many types of Poojas happened there.  Many wishes were fulfilled there.  The Kings met.  Everyone heard as Guru Sahib then said: “both of you Kings are smart people.  I speak words of love.  I am going to take the dagger of the King of Kamroop and going to plant it into the ground.  I want a new city to be established here.  This city will be the boundary of both nations.  The army of Delhi will not cross this city and the Kamroop army will not cross it either.  None of the nations will cause any conflict.  Officers from both nations will keep a lookout here.  Establish the town so it is the boundary.”  Both of the kings were happy and accepted Guru Sahib’s proposal.  They both did their traditions.  They lived in peace as they listened to Guru ji.  Bishan Singh was given clothes, horses, gold and money from Kamroop and came back to the other side of the Brahmaputra River.  He came and had the Nagaras sound of the beat that signified victory.  The battle standards were raised and the canons were fired with empty shots as a salute marking the end of the battle.  He was happy that they won without a fight.  He wrote a letter, Fatehnama (letter of victory) and sent it to the Mughal King, telling him that truce was established, due to the negotiation efforts of Guru Sahib.