FOOTNOTES:
[67] A general estimate of the value of the country possessed by the Sikhs may be formed, when it is stated, that it contains, besides other countries, the whole of the province of Lahore; which, agreeable to Mr. Bernier, produced, in the reign of Aurungzéb, two hundred and forty-six lacks and ninety-five thousand rupees; or two millions, four hundred and sixty-nine thousand, five hundred pounds sterling.
[68] This province now forms almost the whole territory of Daulet Ráo Sindíá.
[69] With the chiefs of the Sikhs in the Jaléndra Dúáb we are little acquainted. Tárá Singh is the most considerable; but he and the others have been greatly weakened by their constant and increasing internal divisions.
[70] Fateh Singh is, like Ranjít Singh, of a Ját family.
[71] Jud'h Singh, of Ramgadiá, is of the carpenter cast.
[72] The term Gujarát Singh is sometimes given to the inhabitants of this Dúáb, of which the chiefs of Gujarát and Rotás are the principal rulers.
[73] The word Khálsá, which has before been explained to mean the state or commonwealth, is supposed, by the Sikhs, to have a mystical meaning, and to imply that superior government, under the protection of which "they live, and to the established rules and laws of which, as fixed by Gúrú Góvind, it is their civil and religious duty to conform."
[74] Acálí, derived from Acál, a compound term of cál, death, and the Sanscrit privative a, which means never-dying, or immortal. It is one of the names of the Divinity; and has, probably, been given to this remarkable class of devotees, from their always exclaiming Acál! Acál! in their devotions.
[75] All Singhs do not wear bracelets; but it is indispensable to have steel about their persons, which they generally have in the shape of a knife or dagger. In support of this ordinance they quote the following verses of Gúrú Góvind:
Sáheb beá ki rach'ha hamné,
Tuhi Srí Sáheb, churi, káti, katár—
Acál purukh ki rach'ha hamné,
Serv lóh di rach'ha hamné,
Servacál di rach'ha hamné,
Serv lohji di sada rach'ha hamné.
which may be translated: "The protection of the infinite Lord is over us: thou art the lord, the cutlass, the knife, and the dagger. The protection of the immortal Being is over us: the protection of ALL-STEEL is over us: the protection of ALL-TIME is over us: the protection of ALL-STEEL is constantly over us."
[76] The Shahíd and Nirmala, two other religious tribes among the Sikhs, have Bungás, or places, upon the great reservoir of Amritsar; but both these are peaceful orders of priests, whose duty is to address the Deity, and to read and explain the Adí-Grant'h to the Sikhs. They are, in general, men of some education. A Sikh, of any tribe, may be admitted into either of these classes, as among the Acálís, who admit all into their body who choose to conform to their rules.
[77] A custom of a similar nature, with regard to all tribes eating promiscuously, is observed among the Hindús, at the temple of Jagannáth, where men of all religions and casts, without distinction, eat of the Mahá Prasád, the great offering; i.e. food dressed by the cooks of the idols, and sold on the stairs of the temple.
[78] The Sikh priest, who gave an account of this custom, was of a high Hindú tribe; and, retaining some of his prejudices, he at first said, that Muhammedan Sikhs, and those who were converts from the sweeper cast, were obliged, even on this occasion, to eat a little apart from the other Sikhs: but, on being closely questioned, he admitted the fact as stated in the narrative; saying, however, it was only on this solemn occasion that these tribes are admitted to eat with the others.
[79] The army is called, when thus assembled, the Dal Khálsá, or the army of the state.
[80] The Muhammedans who have become Sikhs, and their descendants, are, in the Penjábi jargon, termed Mezhebi Singh, or Singhs of the faith; and they are subdivided into the four classes which are vulgarly, but erroneously, supposed to distinguish the followers of Muhammed, Sayyad Singh, Sheikh Singh, Moghul Singh, and Patán Singh; by which designations the names of the particular race or country of the Muhammedans have been affixed, by Hindús, as distinctions of cast.
[81] The Muhammedan inhabitants of the Penjáb used to flock to the British camp; where, they said, they enjoyed luxuries which no man could appreciate that had not suffered privation. They could pray aloud, and feast upon beef.
[82] Grain pays in kind; sugar-cane, melons, &c. pay in cash.
[83] This is called Penchayat, or a court of five; the general number of arbitrators chosen to adjust differences and disputes. It is usual to assemble a Panchayat, or a court of arbitration, in every part of India, under a native government; and, as they are always chosen from men of the best reputation in the place where they meet, this court has a high character for justice.
[84] A Sikh priest, who has been several years in Calcutta, gave this outline of the administration of justice among his countrymen. He spoke of it with rapture; and insisted, with true patriotic prejudice, on its great superiority over the vexatious system of the English government; which was, he said, tedious, vexatious, and expensive, and advantageous only to clever rogues.
[85] Talking aloud is so habitual to a Sikh, that he bawls a secret in your ear. It has often occurred to me, that they have acquired it from living in a country where internal disputes have so completely destroyed confidence, that they can only carry on conversation with each other at a distance: but it is fairer, perhaps, to impute this boisterous and rude habit to their living almost constantly in a camp, in which the voice certainly loses that nice modulated tone which distinguishes the more polished inhabitants of cities.
[86] The old Sikh soldier generally returns to his native village, where his wealth, courage, or experience, always obtains him respect, and sometimes station and consequence. The second march which the British army made into the country of the Sikhs, the headquarters were near a small village, the chief of which, who was upwards of a hundred years of age, had been a soldier, and retained all the look and manner of his former occupation. He came to me, and expressed his anxiety to see Lord Lake. I showed him the general, who was sitting alone, in his tent, writing. He smiled, and said he knew better: "The hero who had overthrown Sindiá and Holkár, and had conquered Hindústan, must be surrounded with attendants, and have plenty of persons to write for him." I assured him that it was Lord Lake; and, on his lordship coming to breakfast, I introduced the old Singh, who seeing a number of officers collect round him, was at last satisfied of the truth of what I said; and, pleased with the great kindness and condescension with which he was treated by one whom he justly thought so great a man, sat down on the carpet, became quite talkative, and related all he had seen, from the invasion of Nádir Sháh to that moment. Lord Lake, pleased with the bold manliness of his address, and the independence of his sentiments, told him he would grant him any favour he wished. "I am glad of it," said the old man; "then march away with your army from my village, which will otherwise be destroyed." Lord Lake, struck with the noble spirit of the request, assured him he would march next morning, and that, in the mean-time, he should have guards, who would protect his village from injury. Satisfied with this assurance, the old Singh was retiring, apparently full of admiration and gratitude at Lord Lake's goodness, and of wonder at the scene he had witnessed, when, meeting two officers at the door of the tent, he put a hand upon the breast of each, exclaiming at the same time, "Brothers! where were you born, and where are you at this moment?" and, without waiting for an answer, proceeded to his village.
[87] When Lord Lake entered the Penjáb, in 1805, a general protection was requested, by several principal chiefs, for the Nánac Pautra, on the ground of the veneration in which they were held, which enabled them, it was stated, to travel all over the country without molestation, even when the most violent wars existed. It was, of course, granted.
[88] The Játs are Hindús of a low tribe, who, taking advantage of the decline of the Moghul empire, have, by their courage and enterprise, raised themselves into some consequence on the north-western parts of Hindústan, and many of the strongest forts of that part of India are still in their possession.
[89] The Gujars, who are also Hindús, have raised themselves to power by means not dissimilar to those used by the Játs. Almost all the thieves in Hindústan are of this tribe.
[90] A marriage took place very lately between the Sikh chief of Patiálá, and that of the Ját Rájá, of B'haratpúr.
[91] Their prejudice regarding the killing of cows is stronger, if possible, than that of the Hindús.
[92] The Khalása Sikhs, who follow Nánac, and reject Gúrú Góvind's institutions, make use of it.
[93] Spirituous liquors, they say, are allowed by that verse in the Adí-Grant'h, which states, "Eat, and give unto others to eat. Drink, and give unto others to drink. Be glad, and make others glad." There is also an authority, quoted by the Sikhs, from the Hindú Sástras, in favour of this drinking to excess. Durgá, agreeably to the Sikh quotations, used to drink, because liquor inspires courage; and this goddess, they say, was drunk when she slew Mahíshásur.
[94] When Fateh Singh, of Aluwál, who was quite a young man, was with the British army, Lord Lake gratified him by a field review. He was upon an elephant, and I attended him upon another. A little before sunset he became low and uneasy. I observed it; and B'hág Singh, an old chief, of frank, rough manners, at once said, "Fateh Singh wants his dram, but is ashamed to drink before you." I requested he would follow his custom, which he did, by drinking a large cup of spirits.
[95] Cannabis sativa.