1394.] 
121 
W. Irvine— Guru Gohind Siygh and Bandah. 
Bandah , the False Guru. 
On tlie death of Gobind, his family and followers brought forward 
a man, who exactly resembled the deceased. 1 It is not very clear 
who this man was ; he is generally spoken of either as Bandah (the 
slave), or as the False Guru. Two contemporaries 2 call him Fath 
Shah, and if this be correct, it points perhaps to his passing as Fath 
Sii)gh, the son of Gobind. Some say he was a Bairagi faqir, a native 
of a village, Pandor, in the Baith Jalandhar dudbah , who for many 
years had been the intimate friend of Guru Gobind. 3 A more recent 
account calls him Madhu Das, alias Narayan Das, and tells us he was 
born on Katik, Sudi 13th, 1727 S. (October 1670) being the son of 
Ram Deo, Rajput, of Rajaurl-garh in Punclili. 4 The name given to him 
at birth was Lachmi Deo. He formed a friendship with Jankl Par- 
shad, Bairagi, with whom he went to the monastery (math) of Baba Ram 
Thamman. This math is in a place not far from Qasur, which is itself a 
little way south of Labor. Authority was at that time exercised there by 
the Baba’s grandson, of whom Lachmi Deo became a celd , or disciple, 
receiving the name of Lachman Bala, alias Narayan Das. In the end, 
he found his way as a pilgrim to the Dakhin, there met Grobind Siijgh, 
and became his disciple. 5 
Whatever may be the truth as to his origin and antecedents, this 
man was now sent oif secretly from the Dakhin to Hindustan. At the 
same time letters were written to the Panjab, informing the disciples 
that their Guru had been slain in the Emperor’s camp by the dagger of 
an Afghan. But just before his death, their leader had announced that in 
a short time, through the power of transmigration, he would appear again 
clothed with sovereignty, and whenever he should raise the standard of 
independence, they would by joining him secure prosperity in this world 
and salvation in the next. Immediate collections of cash and goods 
must be made. Expectation was thus aroused, and the new mani¬ 
festation awaited. 
Suddenly there appeared in the town of Kharkhoda, thirty-five 
miles west of Dihll, a man who ‘gave himself out to be Guru Gobind 
Sirjgh. 6 According to some accounts, he asserted that he had recovered 
from his wounds and returned to the Panjab ; others believed that he 
1 Warid, fo. 117 a. 
2 Kamwar Khan and Yahya Khan, TazHratu-l-Muluk (1149 H.) 
3 Browne, 9. 
4 Puuchh, a district in the west of Kashmir (Thornton. 788). Rajanri lies 
between Naushahrah and Punclih. 
6 Shawsher-i-Khiilsah, 183. 
6 Warid, fol. 117 a, Qasim fol. 24. 
