The governor of Sirhind, Vazir Khan had received information on the resurrection of Khalsa army. It worried him. He was afraid of Guru’s revenge for causing the death of his mother and the sons.
He put his army on the tail of Guru Sahib. In 1705 his Mogul army attacked Guru army at Khidrana. That area was in the arid zone with almost desert like conditions. There was only one pond with little water and no water for miles around. The soldiers had hung their sheets over bushes and trees to shade the pond to prevent the drying up of whatever little water there was. From a distance the scene gave the impression of its being an army camp. Under that impression the Moguls had attacked and they luckily proved right.
The two armies clashed. The soldiers of both the sides died. The casualties were aggravated due to the unavailability of water. Many died of thirst. The situation became so worse that the surviving Moguls retreated leaving their wounded to die. Guru Sahib surveyed the field and found that almost all his soldiers were dead. There was only one who was dying.
Guru Sahib rushed to his aid. The soldier looked at him with tearful eyes. Guru put his hand on his head and asked for his dying wish. The soldier said that the letter signed by the 40 soldiers at the Anandpur fort severing the relationship with Khalsa Panth be destroyed. Guru Sahib told him that the pledge should be considered revoked. He blessed the soldier the liberation from the bondage of that pledge. The soldier, Mohan Singh died peacefully.
In fact all the forty ex-soldiers had come to seek the forgiveness of Guru Sahib for their act of betrayal. They got caught in the battle and died for the cause of Guru Sahib as an act of true penance.
Khidrana is today called ‘Muktsar’ to commemorate that event. ‘Mukti’ in vernacular language stands for ‘liberty’. Guru Sahib had liberated those soldiers from the bondage of their pledge.
In that battle only a woman warrior survived. The forty truant soldiers had come to Guru Sahib under her guidance and leadership. The woman, Mai Bhago had also taken part in the battle.
In Damdama
After the destruction of his Khalsa army Guru Sahib turned to spiritualism. He began preaching the spiritual messages of Gurus. At a place called Lakkhi Jungle near the desert, he made many Sikh disciples.
On 20 December, 1706 Guru Sahib reached Talwandi Sabo which is today known as Damdama Sahib. There he stayed for 9 months. He got a sand hillock levelled for the benefit of the congregations. Guru Sahib influenced thousands of people to join the Khalsa fold. Several royal families of that area got initiated into Khalsa Panth. Even before becoming initiated Khalsas they were faithfuls of Guru Gobind. Among them was Tiloma of Patiala and Rama of Nabha.
Besides them a Muslim Fakir Ibrahim and Zamindar Dalla Khan also became Khalsas.
The governor of Sirhind, Vazir Khan was furious when he learnt that his man Dalla has converted into a Khalsa and was hosting Guru Gobind Singh. He sent an immediate order to Dalla asking him to hand over Guru Gobind to the Mogul army or face the dire consequences. Dalla Singh refused to comply with the order. He even challenged Vazir Khan to move against him and meet the same fate as his army had did in Khidrana battle.
Guru Sahib was amused and he patted Dalla Singh.
Meanwhile, Sundri and Deewan Sahib returned to him from Delhi. The family got reunited. With a heavy heart Guru Sahib gave them the news of the martyrdom of all their four sons. The woman wept overcome with grief. Guru Sahib advised them to find solace in taking Khalsa Panth to be their fifth living son.
At Damdama they used to sing Sikh prayers and some martial songs. With the wives Mani Singh had also returned. He was a man of literature. Guru’s court had again become a centre of literary creation. He got Granth Sahib written and edited by Mani Singh. Guru Sahib would dictate and Mani Singh wrote.
The first copy of the Granth Sahib was written by Bhai Gurudas and was dictated by Guru Arjun.
The original Granth contained the creations of the first five Gurus besides verses, couplets, quartets, prayers of other saints. The book created by Guru Gobind contained his father’s works and preachings as well. He had not included his own creations.
Later, Bhai Mani Singh compiled all the creations of Guru Gobind in ‘Dasham Granth’ and edited it. After the completion of the book Guru Sahib threw all the writing material in a pond. ‘Dasham Granth’ also includes ‘Zafarnama’, the letter he had written to Aurangzeb in Persian.
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