Chapter 32

The Trailing of the Hill Chiefs and Province Leaders | The Martyrdom of Udai Singh Ji | Saga of Jeevan Singh

To protect the sangat leaving Anandpur Sahib, Baba Ajit Singh Ji and 50 Singhs protected the caravan(vaheer) of Sikhs—Baba Ajit Singh’s valiant fighting is similar to how the gates of a fortress hold back an advancing enemy or how a mountain stopping the force of a river. Furthermore, when using a bow or gun, Baba Ji makes it seem as if it’s raining bullets on the enemy and when he shoots his arrows, each shot pierces through the enemy soldiers with ease—the courageous son of the Guru can not be won over. Furthermore, towards the front of the vaheer, Maharaj rides slowly and keeps looking back at the magnificent battle and they can hear war cries, swords striking swords, guns and cannons going off in the distance. Maharaj blesses Bhai Uday Singh Ji with the task to go help and retrieve Baba Ajit Singh Ji, and help the Singhs make the enemy taste their own blood. Bhai Uday Singh Ji, along with 50 other Singhs, offers a prayer(ardas) to Maharaj and asks them to bless them with permission to enter the field of battle. They enter the battlefield, riding the wind with their horses, and tell Baba Ajit Singh Ji that Maharaj has commanded him to retreat back to the front of the vaheer, however, Baba Ajit Singh Ji cannot step away from the fight—they are engrossed by the spirit of the battle. Baba Ajit Singh Ji inevitably rides his horse, while being accompanied by Bhai Jeevan Singh Ji, however, even while he rides back, he provides Bhai Uday Singh Ji with coverage of deathly flying arrows. On the other side of the battlefield, Wazir Khan scolds his soldiers for not being able to win over a handful of Singhs in front of a million soldiers. As the enemy got closer, the Singhs exhausted their arrows and projectile weapons, the Singhs then took out their swords and were ready for close combat. In the end, hundreds and thousands of the enemy surrounded Bhai Uday Singh Ji and the rest of the Sikh warriors present, however, the enemy soldiers were not able to handle or subdue the radiance that illuminated the battlefield from such Singhs, especially the great Bhai Uday Singh Ji. With the hail of bullets and arrows from all four sides, Bhai Uday Singh Ji ultimately attained martyrdom after resiliently fighting off the enemy for four and a half hours. Upon leaving this world, they fell forward, showing the enemy no sign of retreat—Bhai Sahib died a warrior's death. However, the enemy began to regain its strength and continued their advances towards the remaining Singhs and the Guru.