Guru Hargobind’s wife Damodri was of the village of Dalla, the daughter of Narain Das, a grandson or Bhai Paro. In 1613, she gave birth to the Guru’s eldest son Gurditia. She also had a daughter by the name of Ving who was bom in 1622. Now it came to pass that a very devout and pious Sikh came to see Guru Har Gobind. The Guru was impressed with Dharma and his son Sadhu for their honesty and simplicity. They were very poor, but he saw a nobleness of spirit in them. The son was very intelligent and quick. The Guru offered his daughter in marriage. Both the father and son were stunned to be honored thus; but the Guru said, “Such is the custom of my house. The poor will be exalted, and if they remain humble and dedicated to the service of God and man, they will become renowned.”
As was the custom, the mother of the bride started making plans for an elaborate wedding. Damodri wished to invite all her relatives. Much to her distress, the Guru would not agree. These were stressful times. Mirbhan. Prithia’s son had poisoned Shah Jahan’s mind against the Gum, and he was quite hostile to the small Sikh community. His favorite general Painda Khan was creating mischief and havoc. They were on the verge of a major confrontation and it would not be wise to proceed with a large wedding. Damodri would not concedes to this and went ahead with large quantities of sweets and ladus made for the coming celebration. The Guru was busy with the threat of war and when a party of Sikhs from Amritsar came to see him, arriving after midnight, he gave orders that they be properly fed. The cooks were gone and he was told that no food was available. Damodri had baskets of sweets locked in another room. When asked by her husband to distribute these to his guests, she refused.
The Guru was quite upset and said that with the new information be just received, it was not likely that her wedding guests would lasted any more sweets than his present guests
Before dawn they heard the Moghuls advancing. Twenty-five brave Sikhs restrained the imperial host in the battle that ensued. Bhai Niwala, an elderly Sikh man, took the responsibility of taking the Guru’s wives and children to safety as well as the numerous wedding guests. The Sikhs had to flee for their lives. There was no time now to worry about gifts and ladus. Most valuables had to be left behind. Bhai Niwala removed his charges to a house near Ramsar, where they would be safe. When they arrived a Ramsar, to everyone’s horror, It was discovered that the Guru’s daughter Viro was missing. Damodri wept and wailed. In the chaos, the girl had been left behind in the upper story of the house. The Guru sent two trusted young men, Singha and Babak, to go behind enemy lines to search for her. He gave them his prayer beads. Should they find Viro, they would have to show them to her as proof that they were sent by her father, and that no treachery was contemplated. In the meantime, the twenty-five brave Sikhs who were left to stall the enemy and give time to the rest to make their escape, all died as martyrs. The Muhammedans took possession of the Guru’s house, and finding the sweets that had been stored for the marriage feast, gorged themselves. Viro remained hidden, afraid and silent. When Singha and Babak come looking for her, she saw them, but would not come out as she did not know them. They flashed her father’s rosary by the light of a lamp, and s only then did she Iet her presence be known Singha put her on horseback in front of him. The horse knew his way through the city, so Singha gave him free rein that he might make his way in the dark Babak was walking by the horse. They were at the point of passing when Mukhlis Khan stopped to question them. Someone in the dark shouted “seize them”. A soldier aimed his lance al them, but before he could throw it, Babak discharged his musket and killed him. Babak & Singha made a quick get away bringing Viro to safety.
The Guru deemed that his family was still not safe and decided to send them to Goindwal. He ordered that on the way they should halt at Jhabal, a town about seven miles to the south west of Amritsar. There they performed a simple marriage ceremony, before proceeding to Goindwal. The Guru dispatched a guard of soldiers to protect his people. Hc himself retumed to the place of the original battle. The enemy, exhausted from the forced march of the previous day. having eaten the Guru’s sweats, were sleeping on beds they had seized from the citizens. Catching them by surprise, the Guru and his men easily overcame them.
Viro and Sadhu went on to live a content and happy life. Viro’s half brother Teg Bahadur was the ninth Guru of the Sikhs. Viro and her husband were always very close to him. Eventually they raised five sons, who bravely fought alongside of their cousin, Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Guru of the Sikhs. (Biblogropby supplled upon request).
Article extracted from this publication >> January 13, 1995
