Page 59 - Lohgarh

Banda Singh Bahadur’s Journey from Nanded to Lohgarh w 59

too to accompany him so that during the journey they may discuss
something.
During their journey towards the South, the Guru had a couple of
sittings with Bahadur Shah and discussed the line of action; both the
camps reached Burhanpur in May 1708; during those days there was a
great flood in the Narmada river so they had to stay back in Burhanpur. 2
By this time, Wazir Khan, the Governor of Sarhind, had come to
know about Guru’s meeting with the Emperor; and he knew that
Bahadur Shah was already friendly to the Guru and some action on him
(Wazir Khan) was a must. So, it seems that he planned to create
differences between the Guru and Bahadur Shah; and, as a part of this
strategy, he sent a big amount (rupees 8 lakh) to Bahadur Shah as his
contribution to war expenses. He also sent some Pathans to infiltrate
the Guru’s camp and to eliminate him (Guru) at the first opportunity.
Bahadur Shah and the Guru crossed Narmada in the second half of
May 1708 (Bahadur Shah crossed it on 17 May); by this time, Bahadur
Shah had received rupees 8 lakh from Wazir Khan; hence there was no
question of taking any action against him; as a result Bahadur Shah
began avoiding meeting with the Guru; however, after crossing Tapti
river, on 25 June 1708, a meeting between the Guru and Bahadur Shah
took place at or near Balapur (sometimes in July 1708); and it seems
that in this meeting Bahadur Shah gave an indication of his soft stand
regarding Wazir Khan. Having smelt Bahadur Shah’s intentions, the Guru,
now, decided to forget about him (Bahadur Shah) and to himself take
action against Wazir Khan; so, the Guru left the caravan of Bahadur
Shah and decided to return to the Punjab; but, before leaving for the
Punjab, he decided to visit Madho Das Bairagi, who had established his
dera at Nander (Madho Das had met the Guru in 1694 at Rishikesh).
On the other hand, Bahadur Shah crossed the river Ban Ganga, on
24 August, 1708, and went towards his brother’s capital.
Banda Singh Joins Sikh Faith

Guru Gobind Singh visited the dera (camp) of Madho Das on 3
3
September 1708. Before Madho Das could speak any word, the Guru