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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
(JUNE, 1926
have joined forces with Raja Tarachand and helped him to defeat the Nawab of Rupar in 1642.100 Mr. Rose makes this statement on the authority of Khazan Singh, but we have not beěn able to trace the information in any reliable authority.
It is again claimed by the Sikhs that Hargovind acquired a very great influence over the Hill Rajas, many of whom are said to have been converted to Sikhism. It is stated that in the days of Amar Das the Raja of Haripur had accepted Sikhism,101 and that the hill Rajas of Kulu, Suket, Haripur and Chamba visited Guru Arjan and became his followers, as the Raja of Mandi had previously done.102 Guru Hargovind is said to have converted the Rajas of Kangra and Philibit, 103 so that when he retired to Kiratpur, the hold of Sikhism over the hill tracts seems to have been clearly established. It appears that Mohsun Fani also says the same thing. In this connection he narrates a very interesting story. The inhabitants of the country of Raja Tarachand worshipped idols, and on the summit of a fortified mountain they raised an image of Narayana, whither Rajas and other eminent persons made pilgrimages. When Hargovind went to that place, a Sikh named Bhairo entered the temple and struck off the nose of the idol. The Rajas complained to the Guru, but Bhairo denied the deed. The servants of the Rajas, however, declared that they positively knew the man. Bhairo replied : "O Rajas, ask you the god ; if he tells my name, kill me." The Rajas said: "You blockhead! how shall the god speak ?" Bhairo laughed and answered: "Now it is clear who is the blockhead: if the god cannot defend his head nor point out the man who struck him, what benefit do you expect from him, and why do you venerate his strength ?" Bhairo's answer is said to have had tremendous influence, and Moshun Fani says that 'from this time the disciples of the Guru increased considerably, and in this mountainous country, as far as the frontiers of Thibet and Khota, the name of Musalman was not heard. 104' Subsequent events, however, clearly prove that Sikhism never succeeded in making any headway in the hills, and that the Hill Rajas remained to the last the most implacable enemies of Guru Govind and his cause. The Kangra Hills have always been the greatest stronghold of Hinduism, and throughout this tract the ascendency of a type of Rajput society is well-marked.106 Political privilege, social exclusiveness and tribal pride, all combined to induce the Hill Rajas to present a united front against Sikhism, and Govind's mission in the hills proved a conspi. cuous failure. It is thus evident that even if there had been a movement in favour of Sikhism during the days of Hargovind, it was only temporary. It seems, however, that Hargovind lived in friendly relations with the Hill Rajas; and that he had gained a considerable reputation, is proved by the fact that Perah Kaivan, Yazdanian, was moved by the name of the Guru and came to pay him a visit.106
We would now close the account of Hargovind by referring to a very notable affair connected with his death. Mohsun Fani says that when Hargovind's body was put upon the pyre and the fire rose up in high flames, a Rajput named Raja Ram precipitated himself into the fire and expired. Raja Ram was followed by a Jat, who was in the service of Hargovind's son-in-law. And many other Sikhs would have followed Raja Ram's example, if Har Rai had not forbidden it.107 This shows how very devotedly Hargovind's followers were attached to him, and explains, to some extent, his successes against heavy odds.
100 Khazan Singh, p. 139. 101 Ibid., vol. III, p. 70. 104 Dabistan, vol. II, p. 276. 106 Dabistan, vol. II, p. 280.
101 Macauliffe, ibid., vol. II, p. 62; Narang, ibid., p. 26. 103 Panth Prakash. 105 Glossary of Punjab Tribes and Oastes, vol. I, pp. 6, 6 107 Ibid.
