Babur’s Army attacked India while Pathan king Lodhi ruled the country. Lodhi did not send any troops to stop Babur at Jamrod, Peshawar, Attuck, Rohtas or Jehlum. So he moved absolutely unhindered. At Saidpur, located to the north of Lahore, there was a strong fort of the Pathans.
The Mughal forces of Babur, equipped with guns, easily broke through the walls of the fort, entered inside and established domination with intense brutality.
They brutally oppressed the civilians, sparing none who came their way, not even people of their own faith. Even women were treated with brutality. Their honour was at stake. There was mercy neither for the aged nor for infants and children.
Looting was rampant. Whatever came to the notice of the Mughal forces was plundered shamelessly. Several cartfuls of gold, silver, jewels and silk worth billions were readied to be moved. Surviving women were tethered to carts and whipped to make them pull them. So too any male survivors, who had to carry unbearable loads on their heads. They were driven to an ad hoc prisoner’s camp.
Guru Nanak and Mardana happened to be in Saidpur at that time and had also been taken prisoners. The Guru was given a heavy load to carry on his head and Mardana had been ordered to escort a rare Turkish horse. The Guru asked Mardana to let the horse go and to play his rebec instead. He did as the Guru said, and both of them started singing praises of the Lord.
After the crowd of prisoners had been huddled into the camp, everyone was assigned tasks. The Guru and Mardana were among those who had been assigned to grind corn in heavy grinding wheels. Guru Nanak again told Mardana to forget about the grinding wheel and sing jubilations of the Lord.
As they sang, their melodious outpouring captivated all — captives, officials and supervisors. As long as their song continued, there was pin drop silence. People heard the Guru in rapt attention. Mir Khan, the chief supervisor, looked at the face of the singing Guru and was wonderstruck when he saw resplendent lustre illuminating the Guru’s face.
He hurried away to Babur and reported what he had seen. Babur, amazed to hear this, went to the camp with his usual retinue. The Guru was still singing with his eyes closed. His song enthralled Babur as well as his courtiers. As the song ended, the Guru opened his eyes. Babur knelt before him and said, “O Man of God! Had I known that such a holy man as you was in Saidpur, I would have never invaded it.”
J.S. Neki was director of PGIMER, Chandigarh. Currently he is Professor of Eminence in Religious Studies at Punjabi University, Patiala.