Bhai Vir Singh.pdf - Vidhia.com

Father of Modern Punjabi Literature / 57
owing to a serious wound he had received. He advised her
that after his death she marry the neighbouring chieftain of
Kahlur who had done him a good tum in that desperate state.
Itwasnotdifficult for RaniRaj Kaur to seethatsuchcouldnever
have been her husband's suggestion.
From Radha the maid, Raj Kaur learnt that the fairy
mansion atop the mountain about which many stories were
current and which lay across inaccessible ranges had been
visited by her husband the Rana. This was enough to start her
at once on the perilous ascent followed by the maid who had
tried to dissuade her from this rash course. "The solid rocks
barredthewayandstoodlike defiantsoldiers."Theydidreach
the summit andmetthe"fairy" who wasthe daughter of a yogi
and had been converted from her own ascetic practice to
SikhismbySuratSingh. Shelivedinthe ancienttemple, hewed
in rock, with a patio and a square pool in front, reminiscent of
the Buddhist times. It was a soothing experience for Raj Kaur
to be in the company of that holy woman. From her she had
receiveda rare giftintheform of a sheafofoldpaperswrittenin
the hand of her late husband. These sheets, preserved by the
holy womanwitha disciple's reverence, containedthe Rana's
musings ona wide range of topics like death, creation, the aim
of life, the nature of love and beauty, ethics, path of spiritual
attainment, and the like. There were also more personal and
mundane documents such as copies of the letters he had
written to Mai Karam Kaur on the heroic death in battle of her
son and to the sister of Bhai Tam Singh, the martyr, on the
passing away of her mother. When alone, Raj Kaur immersed
herself in this treasure and the thoughts of her husband.
Many yet were her vigils and trials. In seeking for Rana
SuratSingh, neverabsentfrom herremembrance, shescoured
hill and plain. As she said:
I seek not praise, nor the attainment of yoga,
I seek not salvation, nor paradise,
Ifear not the1fades, Iwish not to escape it.
This cycle of birth and death Idread not.
I may be assigned to live in the nether regions,
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