This battle was not directly related to Guru Gobind. It was merely a fall out of Bhangani battle. The hill kings had seen the power of Guru Gobind in that battle. Many of the kings appreciated his teachings as well. So, without striking any clear cut pact with Guru they assumed that they could use him against the Mogul empire of Delhi they were under dominance of so far. So, they had stopped paying protection tax to Delhi.
Meanwhile, Mogul Emperor Aurangzeb had been busy in his southern campaign trying to seize Golconda. When he returned to his capital from the campaign he learnt about the truant acts of the hill kings. He fumed. He at once despatched commanders Mian Khan, Alif Khan and Zulfikar Khan with armies to recover the tax arrears and to straighten out the hilly billies who were acting funny.
The ruler of Kangra Raja Kirpal and Bijharwal Raja, Dayal gave in without any resistance. They only said to the Moguls that if they made Raja Bheem Chand of Bilaspur yield all the other kings of the hill regions would fall in line.
Raja Bheem Chand sensed the danger and he ran to Guru Gobind to seek protection against the Moguls. Guru gave his consent and sent his army to challenge the Moguls. He too went to lead the battle.
The armies of the two opposing sides clashed at Nadaun, a place 20 miles south-east of Kangra on the left bank of the river Bias on 20 March, 1691. The forces of all the hill chieftains who wished end of the Mogul domination had joined the forces of Raja Bheem Chand.
Guru Gobind and his handpicked bands took position on a high ground overlooking the main battle field. They rained their deadly arrows at the Mogul ranks and played havoc. The two pronged attack proved too much for Moguls. They fell back and eventually retreated.
Thus, the hill kings won the battle with the help of Guru Gobind but the doubts persisted. Moguls were a mighty empire. They could send more armies, one army after another mightier army and then still mightier. So, inspite of victory at Nadaun the hill kings approached Delhi and made a deal for peace.
And then the hill kings could not reconcile with the fact that the Sikhs stood for the equality of all castes which they could never accept.
Guru Gobind stayed at Nadaun to enjoy the natural beauty for eight days before returning to his capital Anandpur Sahib. He did not react to the hill kings making peace with Moguls. Perhaps he understood their compulsions. And he had his own wars to fight.
The battle of hussaini
For helping the rebel hill kings Mogul court declared Guru Gobind an outlaw. The increasing power of Sikhs had infuriated Aurangzeb. He issued orders to his army commanders and governors not to allow Guru Gobind to organise Sikh congregations and stop him from calling himself ‘Sachchay Paatshah’ (The True Emperor). In case of defiance Guru was to be expelled from the land and his property destroyed.
The order was dated November, 1693.
Guru Sahib defied the order and celebrated 1684 Baisakhi festival with the usual pomp and show at Anandpur Sahib. The news further angered Aurangzeb. He declared an imperial drive against Guru Gobind Singh.
Under the drive, Rustam, the son of Mogul Commander Dilawar Khan was sent with an army to crush Guru Gobind. He arrived on the outskirts of Anandpur Sahib at Midnight. In response to his arrival the Ranjit Nagara drum beats boomed. It was an alarm signal to the Sikh soldiers.
Thousands of armed Sikh soldiers poured out of the fort and marched to meet the enemy. The sight of Sikh army frightened Rustam Khan. His army retreated without waging a battle.
It greatly hurt Dilawar Khan. He sent another lieutenant named Hussain Khan to deal with Guru Gobind Singh. In 1696, Hussain set out for Anandpur Sahib with a huge army. On his way he forced several hill kings to donate war contributions and to join the campaign. Raja Bheem Chand and Raja Kripal Chand paid and joined the Mogul force. Raja of Dudeval Madhukar Shah also fell in line.
But Raja Gopal of Guler refused to join the campaign. When threatened he ran to Guru Gobind seeking protection. Guru Sahib conceded to his request. Guru’s Sikh army and Guler army faced the challenge of Mogul combinations.
A battle was fought on 20 February, 1696.
In the battle Raja Kripal and Hussain Khan got killed and the Mogul army lost. The defeated Moguls retreated. Fighting Moguls in the hilly terrain of Guler proved advantageous for the Sikhs. It was infact a lucky coincidence. Facing Moguls in the openness of Anandpur Sahib could have proved tricky. Later, Guru Sahib admitted that Guler development was a help from God to protect the Sikhs.
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