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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[OCTOBER, 1874.
persuasion, and the offer of worldly advantages. But the new converts rarely abandoned their Hindu customs, or comprehended fully the simple tenets of Muhammad. Among them the system of castes was partially introduced ; the Sayyid was considered as powerful as a Brâhman; Pirs and Shabids were as much venerated as Jogis and other Faqirs; pilgrimages to tombs and shrines were neld to be meritorious. The true meaning of the Qoran and Vedas was unknown to the multitude; wild stories of miracles and super- natural beings were believed ... Many abandon ed the duties of life in the hopes of obtaining purity by escaping from what they could not but admit to be deception, and in different parts of India different sects had been formed under Ramanand, Gorakhnath, Kabir, and the ascetic orders of Bairagis, Gosavis, and Jogis had come into existence.
It was at this period, and at the place above mentioned, that a son was born to one Kalu, a Khatri of the Bedi gót, a poor but respectable man who occupied the post of Dalwai, or village accountant. The father and mother of KAlu were named Sivaram and Bånasi; and he had one brother named LÂlu, and his wife came from near the village of Kanakacha, halfway betwixt LAhor and Feruzpur; her sister was the mother of Ram Tamon, a person of great celebrity at Kasur. Kalu had ono daughter, who was named Nanaki, and who was married to Jayaram, a corn-dealer at Sultanpur, now in the territory of the Raja of Kåpurthala, in the Jhalandar Doab. Kalu named his son Nanak, and when he afterwards became famous he was called by Muhammadans-Nanak Shah, and by Hindus-Guru Nanak, Baba Nának, and Nanak Nirankar.
Many wonderful stories are told about the birth, the infancy and childhood of Nanak... The nurse who assisted at the birth stated that she heard, at the moment of his entering the world, sounds as of a crowd welcoming with joy the arrival of a great man: the spot is shown, and a temple built over it, called N&nak å nå. Close by is another place where he used to play with other boys, called Balkvida, on the banks of a magnificent tank. Nának acquired a knowledge of Persian and accounts in a very short time, but he was disinclined to any worldly pursuit, and one day while in charge of cattle he fell asleep, and by his carelessness the crops were destroyed. He was one day found sleeping exposed to the rays of the sun, but a snake had spread its hood over his head to shade him. The place is called Kiara S&heb, and a handsome building has lately been
The wal story told of Buddha and other reformers.
erected there. K&lu then tried to employ him in mercantile pursuits, and sent him on a journey with BAIA, Jåt of the Sindhu tribe, and gave him forty rupees to trade with. On his road ho met a party of Faqirs, and entered into conversation with them. Surprised to find that they had neither home, clothes, nor food, he learnt from their mouths the vanity and uselessness of these things, and the danger of living in cities and being engaged in worldly matters. As they refused his offer of money, and asked for food only. he went to the neighbouring village, and invested all his money in flour, and fed the whole party. He returned home and was found by his father concealed under the wide-spreading boughs of a tree; he told him what had happened, and justified himself by stating that his father had directed him to do a good business, and he had done so by laying up treasures in heaven, the fruit of works of charity. His father was very angry, and was proceeding to beat and ill-use him, but Rai Bholar Bhati, the Muhammadan zamindar of the village, interfered; he had been struck by the wonderful stories current in the village with regard to Nanak, and by the purity of his character, and the nobility of this last action : he repaid Kálu the money, and forbade him ever to ill-use or constrain his son. The place where Nának fed the Faqirs is called Khara Saud & or "Real Profit," and the tree where he lay concealed is still shown-its branches sweep down to the ground on every side-and is known as MSI Saheb
As he would not settle down to any regular trade, to the great sorrow of his father, though his mother always took his part, Kalu sent him to visit his sister Nånaki at Sultanpur, on the Bain Nadi, in the Jhalandar Doab. This was a city of some note situated on the great imperial road from Láhor to Dehli, as can still be traced by the numerous Kos Minars and the Seräis at Sarai, Ameanat Khan, Naurangabad, and Dakhni. At that time the Governor of the province, Daulat Khân Lodhi, a relation of the Emperor of Dehli, resided there; he was at that time a person of great importance, but soon after, being defeated by the Emperor Båber, he lost his possessions, and died. Jayaram, the brother-in-law of Nanak, had sufficient interest with this Nawab to get him appointed to the charge of the supplies of the household. Nånak received a large advance, but he gave away so much to mendicants that he was accased to the Nawåb of having behaved dishonestly; when, however, accounts were taken, a large balance was found in his favour.t At this time Nának was married to the daughter
Compare the story of Brava, Jour. Bom. Br. R.As. Soc. vol. VIII. p. 77.-ED.
UD.
