In the era of Guru Ram Das, one cannot leave out Rajni, youngest daughter of Rai
Duni Chand, revenue collector (kardar) of Patti. (The story has all the myth, magic
and miracles of a genuine Sakhi, but is nevertheless a charming story). Rajni was a
Sikh, a disciple of the Guru. One day she was sitting with her sisters admiring some
new clothing they all had received from their father. The girls were ecstatic and
exclaiming how good their father was to them. Rajni observed that all gifts are
ultimately from God. Their father was merely an instrument of His greatness.
Unfortunately for her, he overheard her comment and became very angry.
It was not the First time that she incurred his wrath because of her extreme piety. The
infuriated father, believing her to be an ungrateful wretch, married her to a leper with
a taunt that he would see how her God would help her lead a normal life. The leper
was severely disfigured and a foul smell came from his body. The poor girl had
accepted her fate ungrudgingly and worked hard to maintain herself and her crippled
husband. She kept repeating the name of God, and was certain that he was testing her
with this turn of events. She was forced to beg for a living. Still she bathed and fed
her leper husband, never losing faith. One day, she reached the site of a pool on her
way to a neighbouring village. Placing the basket containing her husband by the side
of the pool, she had gone otf on an errand, most probably to look for food. In the
meantime, her crippled husband had seen a black crow dip into the water of the pool
and come out white. Amazed at this miracle, the man crawled up to the edge of the
pool and managed a dip. He found himself completely cured. When his wife returned,
she was amazed to find her husband in good health. He was handsome and whole. At
first, she was alarmed and suspected that he might be a different person. He had,
however, kept one finger with leprosy marks un-dipped. He showed her the diseased
finger as proof of his identity. The couple thanked God, and went to the Guru to seek
his blessings.
The pool was the future site of the Golden Temple. The medicinal properties of the
water were said to have come trom Basil (Tulsi), which grew in abundance on its
banks. Guru Amar Das used to pick the herb there to make poultices for an infected
toe that plagued Guru Angad. The legendary importance of the site highlights the
medicinal properties of the waters of the pool, Rajni's leper husband was cured in.
Sakhi relates that if you keep faith in God then one day all rewards are paid. Bibi
Rajni had always kept the faith in Guru and God, being happy with whatever she had
and thus was rewarded at the end.
Article taken from these book.
"Champion of Women" by Alice Basarke.
Bibi Sahib Kaur
Bibi Sahib Kaur (1771-1801) was a warrior and leader of men who played a
prominent part in the history of the Sutlej states from 1793 to 1801, was the elder
sister of Raja Sahib Singh of Patiala. Born in 1771, Sahib Kaur was married at an
early age to Jaimal Singh of the Kanhaiya clan, who resided at Fatehgarh and was
master of a greater part of the Bari Doab above Dina Nagar in present-day Gurdaspur
district of the Punjab. In 1793, Raja Sahib Singh, in view of mounting dissensions
within his state, recalled his sister Blbl Sahib Kaur to Patiala and entrusted to her the
of fice of prime minister. She had not been long in Patiala when she had to return to
Fatehgarh at the head of a large Patiala army to rescue her husband who had been
captured by Fateh Singh, a rival chief. Back in Patiala she faced a large Maratha force
marching towards the town in 1794 under the command of Anta Rao and Lachhman
Rao.
Raja Bhag Singh of Jind,Jodh Singh of Kalsia and Bhanga Singh of Thanesar joined
hands n with her while Tara Singh Ghaiba sent a detachment of troops. The joint
force, numbering about 7,000 men, met the enemy at Mardanpur near Ambala where
a fierce engagement took place. The Sikhs were severely outnumbered and would
have retreated had not Sahib Kaur, alighting from her rath, i.e. chariots made a brave
call with a drawn sword in hand for them to stay firm in their ranks. The next morning
they made a sudden charge on the Marathas who, taken by surprise, retired towards
Karnal in utter confusion.
Bedi Sahib Singh of Una charged the Pathan chief of Malerkotla with cow-killing and
attacked him. He was saved by the timely succour given him hy Sahib Kaur. In 1796,
in response to the request of the Raja of Nahan who had sought help from Raja Sahib
Singh of Patiala to quell a revolt in his state, Sahib Kaur proceeded to the hills with a
strong force and soon reduced the insurgents to submission. The Raja was reinstalled
on the gaddi and, at the time of Sahib Kaur's departure, he presented her with many
rich and valuable gifts in token of his gratitude. In the summer of l799, George
Thomas, an English adventurer, who had become very powerful and who ruled the
country in the neighborhood of Hansi and Hissar, turned his attention to the Sikh
territories on his northern frontier and reached upon Jind. Sahib Kaur led out a strong
contingent to relieve the besieged town and, assisted by the troops of other Sikh
chiefs, she forced George Thomas to withdraw.
Owing to differences with her brother, Blbi Sahib Kaur had to leave Patiala to take up
residence in Bherlan, near Sunam, which fell within her jagir and where she had built
a fort changing the name of the village to Ubheval. She died there in 1801 in the
prime of her life.
After the death of the Maharaja Alla Singh, the founder of Patiala rule, his grandson
Maharaja Amar Singh became the ruler of Patiala. He too, like his grandfather, turned
out to intelligent and brave. He clobbered his opponents and extended his rule
stretching up to the river Jamuna. His subjects trusted him and were willing to give
their lives for his cause. And likewise the Maharaja was extremely considerate of his
subjects. Because of this trust and closeness among the ruler and his subjects, this rule
made increasing progress. It seemed certain that Maharaja Amar Singh’s tactics and
braveness would further extend the boundaries of his rule.
Unfortunately, we humans plan something while our Creator has something in store
for us. At the moment when Patiala rule was at its peek, the young newly wed
Maharaja passed away suddenly. All happiness were replaced by sadness, expectation
by hopelessness, positiveness by negative attitudes. The future of Patiala seems to
hang among major difficulties and facing numerous dangers.
Maharaja Amar Singh’s death came unexpected in his youth. He left behind two
prince and a princess. This princess is the heroin of our story, Rani Sahib Kaur. She
was the eldest among her brothers. At the time of Maharaja’s death, she was 15 years
old. Younger than her was Maharaja Sahib Singh of 7 years and the youngest, Kanwar
Budh Singh. The rule was passed on to Maharaja Sahib Singh. However, he was the
ruler in name only. The real control was in the hands of Diwan Nanu Mal who was
the most trusted advisor during Maharaja Amar Singh’s period. Unfortunately, after
the master’s death, his trust quickly evaporated and was replaced by selfishness. He
aligned with the Marhatas and initiated efforts for Patiala rule’s destructions from its
roots. Diwan’s attitude also influence the other servants of the empire. They too
initiated pursuits for their selfish gains. As a result, corruption, looting, and injustice
reigned in the empire. Justice and peace simply fled away like a bird. The empire was
in immediate danger now. On one hand the inner situation was fast deteriorating while
on the other hand, the external enemies were eager for its destruction. Child Maharaja
Sahib Singh was terrified of the emerging situation.
By now Bibi Sahib Kaur had been married and was happily living with her in-law. No
women is willing to leave her home, yet Sahib Kaur took immediate action upon
learning of the situation in her brother’s empire. Her love for the younger brother
drove her to set aside her own happily married life and immediately proceed to protect
the Patiala rule.
A working machinery isn’t difficult to operate. However, only a knowledgeable
mechanic can operate a machine whose essential parts have seriously deteriorated.
That was the situation of Patiala. However, the daughter of Khalsa was undeterred.
She cleverly fix the broken machinery and attempted to operate it.
Slowly the situation started improving. The situation though improved significantly,
hadn’t completely recovered when a mob of Marhatas soldiers advanced to conquer
Patiala. The famous Lakshami Rao was the commander of the Marhata forces. He was
commanding a force of 100,000 men. The news of the impending attacked also
reached Rani Sahib Kaur. The rulers of Jind and Kaethal had already accepted the
conditions of Marhatas and paid large sum for their safety. This made the situation
even more grave for Patiala.
Marhatas were fast advancing towards Patiala. Their success with Jind and Kaethal
had given a huge boost to their confidence. On the other hand. Patiala’s inner situation
wasn’t completely recovered. In everyone’s estimations, Patiala forces were incapable
of defending themselves against the Marhatas. Bahadhur Sahib Kaur was well aware
of this assessment. But she neither twitched nor loss her confidence. In such situation,
even the bravest men could loose their courage. Yet this brave daughter of the Khalsa
remained undeterred. Her composure was unchanged, as if she didn’t know the
concepts of failure. She wasn’t discouraged. She had partaken Guru’s amrit which can
give lease of new life even to the dead. It can instills courageous spirit in birds to
defeat hawks. Then why should she be afraid? Fear couldn’t even approach her. She
ordered the sounding of the battle drums, Nagara, while preparing to face the invading
forces. During the darkness of the night, she summoned and gathered Bhai Bangha
Singh Thanaesar, Jodh Singh Kalsia, Deep Singh and Bir Singh Bhadodhiae, Tara
Singh Ghaeba and other Chiefs of the neighboring rules and made all necessary
preparations. Even before sunrise, the skies echoed with sounds of Khalsa’s Jaikara
"Jo Bohlae So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal" while the Sikhs advanced to welcome the invading
forces with the tips of their swords. Before reaching Kuch, she addressing a small
group of select associates. She said in sweet yet firm voice
"Brothers, the enemy thinking of you as few and weak, is advancing to snatch your
freedom. Our freedom is a blessed reward of our Guru Sahibans. Our Tenth Pathshah
addressed this rule as `your home is same as my home.’ This is Guru’s rule and that of
his GurSikhs. This is your freedom as well as your honor. Could you tolerate Marhata
feet reaching here to crush your freedom and honor? ..."
Every soldier collectively responded "Never, Never!"
Continuing with her speech, she said, "My brothers, this is what I expected from you.
You are Sikhs of the Guru and I am confident that you will not allow the enemy to
advance any further. The remaining issue is that of numbers. But remember, our
Tenth Guru engaged 150,000 against each Sikh. You are Sikhs of the same Guru.
Thus don’t worry about the huge numbers of the enemy force. We are within our
rights and following the truth. We are rasing our swords in defense of our freedom.
Guru is with us. Recognize your duty and responsibilities. the victory is yours. Take
oath with me that we shall die but not allow the enemy to advance even a foot."
The whole force collective took their oath. Subsequently, Bibi Sahib Kaur did her
ardas following which the skies echoed with the sounds of Jaikaras, "Jo Bohlae So
nihal, Sat Sri Akal," and the battle drums. Now the brave soldiers of Patiala advanced
in defence of their honor.
While these few brave soldiers of Patiala left their capital, Ghanta Rao and Lakshami
Rao left Ambala with their forces towards Patiala. Both sides clashed in the open
fields of Mardaan Pur. Upon facing each other, it became evident that not only the
Marhata force was large in numbers they had heavy artillery and cannons. In
comparison Sikhs were few in numbers and did not possess any cannons. There was
no match among both sides. It was clearly evident that Sikhs would simply disappear
facing the Marhatas as salt when mixed with flour.
The Marhata Sardars sent their envoy to convey a message, "why are you bent upon
getting your men killed for nothing, give up and surrender."
Bibi Sahib Kaur’s face reddened with anger upon hearing this message. "Surrender,"
she repeated. Then addressing the Marhata envoy, she said, "Surrender! Guru’s Sikhs
know no surrender. Go tell your sardars that if they have any desire to live, they
should return immediately. If not, Khalsa’s sword awaits them. They may approach
with their coffins."
Confident of their strength, the Marhata Sardars got aggravated hearing this response.
Winning over a few Patiala soldiers was no challenge for them. They signaled the
Marhata cannons to initiate shelling.
Competition between Swords and Cannons? This was a unique event in the history of
battles. However, such competition was clearly visible in the fields of Mardaan Pur.
On one side the cannons of Marhatas were blindly firing shells. While on other side,
Guru’s brave soldiers were advancing with their swords. Bibi Sahib Kaur, dressed in
male attire and riding on horse back, was directing her soldiers with an unsheathed
sword.
The Sikh soldiers fearlessly advanced into the enemy’s fortified positions. Now the
soldiers were directly facing each other and the cannons became useless. The battle of
swords ensued. Sikhs were renowned for their skills in using swords. For once the
Marhatas got scared. Witnessing the weakness of their soldiers, Lakshami Rao
advanced with fresh horsemen and attacked the Sikhs. At this moment, the Sikhs too
were in need of some fresh reinforcements. But where could they get it? All their
resources were tied in the battle with none to spare.
Intense battle pursued all day. Sometimes the Sikhs had the upper hand while other
times the Marhatas seemed to have the upper hand. The battle field was filled with
dead bodies with flowing rivers of blood. The Sun God couldn’t witness this bloody
battle and hide behind a hill.
At this moment, the Sikh’s position was grave. They were surrounded in the enemy’s
siege with no visible way to escape. Even at this moment, Sahib Kaur courage came
handy. Seeing a weak segment in the enemy’s siege, she shouted the Jaikara, Jo
Bohlae So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal, and forcefully attacked this segment. Her courage and
the Jaikara instilled new courage among the Sikh soldiers. Using their swords, the
Sikh soldiers successfully broke through the enemy’s siege. Ghanta Rao and
Lakshami Rao were astonished as their well planned scheme simply evaporated in
front of their eyes.
By now it was nightfall, the soldiers couldn’t see each other and thus both forces
returned to their camps for rest. Celebration in Marhata camps and mourning in Sikh
camps was evident. The reason being that the Sikhs took heavy casualties in today’s
battle. The Sikh Sardars and soldiers were discouraged. Despair and disappointment
was prevalent among them. However, Bibi Sahib Kaur was neither disappointed nor
in any despair. She appeared to be peaceful yet serious, as if engrossed in some deep
thoughts.
Select few Sikh Sardars gathered in Bibi Sahib Kaur’s tent to assess the day’s battle.
It was assesses that more than half of the Sikh force had been wiped out.
Sardar Jodh Singh said, "Bibi Ji! Tell us what to do now?
"You tell me what to do brother?" Bibi ji answered in slow and soft voice, as if trying
to probe the inner thoughts of the Sardars. After all the Sardars had collectively come
to her with some apparent consensus. Jodh Singh did not respond. But Dalip Singh
Bhadodhiae said, "Bibi Ji! The status of the battle is clear. There is no hope for any
type of victory. The time to give our lives is upon us. Although, Guru’s Sikhs aren’t
afraid of this but ..."
He couldn’t complete his sentence when he was interrupted by Bibi Ji’s question,
"But what?"
Silence prevailed. For a long time no one responded. Seeing no answer, she repeated
her question "Brothers! Tell me what we should do now?"
"Bibi Ji! What can we do. We will fight bravely. We shall fight in the face of sure
death. We shall happily accept our death. It is true that we have no hope of victory.
But a Sikh’s duty is to fight. We shall fight, for we can not witness any encroachment
of Patiala’s freedom or honor while living. However, we have a serious request of
you, that you should return to Patiala. The battle field isn’t in our control and we can
not sustain your capture by the enemy forces," Bhai Bangha Singh Thanaesar
hesitatingly uttered this response.
Hearing this Bibi’s face got reddened with anger as if her honor had been challenged.
However, this quickly disappeared and was replaced with peace and seriousness. She
said, "Your courage is commendable that you can not witness any encroachment of
Patiala’s freedom or honor. Prior to such encroachment you would like to give up
your lives. But how could you assume that Maharaja Amar Singh’s daughter could
tolerate and witness the encroachment of Patiala’s freedom and honor. How could you
assume that her personal life is more important to her than these things. Brothers! No
one can live for ever in this world. One day we all have to die for sure. And if this live
is expended preserving freedom and honor what better honor can there be than this.
Sahib Kaur is prepared for this. Granted, I am a women and for sure weak. But
brothers! I too have partaken the amrit of same Guru that you have partaken. Then
why would I hesitate facing death? Don’t even think about it. If I leave here I shall
leave in victory or I shall not leave at all." Saying this, tears dropped her cheeks.
Apparently, the mere suggestion for her return to Patiala, inflicted some deep pain in
her.
Sahib Kaur’s words created silence in the meeting while everyone got deeply
engrossed in thoughts. After a while Sahib Kaur continued "You say we have no hope
of victory. I cannot accept this. We are fighting the battle of truth and righteousness.
VaahGuru is with us. I am confident of our victory. Don’t get discouraged."
Saying this, she stood up and started pacing around the tent as if she was about to take
a major decision. Soon her face lightened up with happiness as if she got convinced of
her victory. Addressing her Sardars she said, "Guru Sahib has shown me the way to
our victory. What we need now is your courage."
Everyone’s attention was now focused on Bibi’s face. They replied in unison, "we are
prepared to follow your orders."
Bibi said, "Look! Strength itself isn’t enough for For winning a battle. In fact the
understanding and deployment of strategy is more beneficial. We too can defeat the
Marhata forces with strategy."
"Tell us what to do" everyone responded collectively.
"At this moment the enemy forces are celebrating their victory. As such they are
careless in their egoistic happiness. If we were to suddenly attack them now, our
victory is assured and the freedom and honor of Patiala can be preserved."
All Sardars were astonished. They didn’t know that Sahib Kaur was equally sharp in
battle strategy. This decision was taken around 10:30pm. Until midnight all battle
preparations were carried out quietly. This decision invigorated new courage among
the Sikh forces. Soldiers started coming out of their tents after preparing themselves
for the battle. Bibi Sahib Kaur now dressed in male attire, riding horseback with
unsheathed sword, face her soldiers and gave a short speech, "Brothers! Time has
come for either victory or death in this battle for preserving the freedom and honor of
Patiala. Advance keeping faith in Guru. Victory shall be yours. Your swords shall be
the death message for the egoistic Marhatas. Prove the strength of our Tenth Guru’s
Amrit."
Subsequently, the sky echoed with the sounds of Jaikaras, "Jo Bohlae So Nihal, Sat
Sri Akal." The Sikh forces advanced and gave a surprise attack to the enemy forces.
Even before the enemy became aware of what happened their soldiers were killed by
the Sikh swords. In minutes the field was filled with dead bodies. The suddenness of
the attack as well as the darkness made it difficult to distinguish among their own and
Sikh soldiers. As a result, many enemy soldiers died fighting among themselves. Bibi
Sahib Kaur was moving around encouraging her soldiers with Jaikaras. Her sword too
killed many enemy soldiers.
This surprise attack by the Sikhs completely changes the status of the battle. Their
defeat turned into a victory while Marhata’s victory changed into a defeat. When
Ghanta Rao and Lakshami Rao saw the shining sword of Bibi Sahib Kaur upon them,
they found escape as the best way out. They quickly collected their remaining
companions and ran towards Hisar. Now the battle field was in total control of the
Khalsa.
The true status of the battle became evident with sunrise. Uncountable enemy soldiers
lay dead. Apart from the dead bodies, the enemy cannons, ammunition, ration, and
treasury were left behind.
Bibi Sahib Kaur awarded all this wealth and distributed it among the Sikh soldiers.
She capture the cannons and the ammunition and took them to Patiala. Upon reaching
Patiala, she was welcomed with huge celebration. celebrations unparalleled in Patiala
history. Why not? After all her courage and battle strategy had not only saved the
freedom and honor of Patiala but instilled such terror among the Marhatas that they
never thought of advancing towards Punjab again.
Bibi Sahib Kaur’s name is engraved in the fine pages of Sikh history. What are the
daughter’s of Khalsa capable of can be assessed from the above accounts. Who can
say that GurSikh women are weak compared to their male counterparts. Sahib Kaur’s
sword became an object of terror for the Marhatas.
Daughters of the Khalsa
translated by Baldev Singh from "Adarshak Singhnia" by Karam Singh
