Maharaja Ranjit Singh funeral

[puzzled]

Think his death anniversary is coming up according to the calendar. Here are some eyewitness accounts of his funeral, i read them years ago and the sati part left me thinking about it for several days! just horrifying! But as the historical accounts state the queens and slave girls actually decided to become sati! they were even discouraged but they insisted on becoming sati. The queens that became sati were Rajput women so its no surprise that they became sati as it was considered a very honorable thing in that community, In fact when the news reached one of the Rajput queens fathers kingdom that she became sati, her father was so proud of her heroic act that he ordered a celebration in honor of her bravery! her father even ordered a painting to be done depicting his daughter becoming sati! Maharani Jind Kaur famously said that she won't become sati.  This sati incident is often used as a criticism and as hypocrisy because Sikhi is against this act, but the women that became sati were Rajput women! and it was part if their culture, Rajput women actually chose to become sati as it was considered very heroic in their culture . The 7 dancing girls that committed sati were Kashmiri. 

The Ranis that became sati were 

• Mehtab Devi, daughter of Raja Sansad Chand of Kangr.
• Rani Har Devi, the daughter of Chaudhri Ram, a Saleria Rajput.
• Rani Raj Devi
• Rani Rajno Devi

 

"Early in the morning subsequent to that on which the death of the maharajah happened, I went down the Tukht (coronation-square), accompanied by Col. Henry Steinbach (lately in the service of the maharajah, Gholab Sing, in Cashmere, now in Europe), and we directed our steps towards the large yard, which we had to cross, in order to get betimes to a convenient place close to the funeral pile. This was erected between the walls and the fortress, in a small garden, the conflux of the people having been so enormous in the fortress.

 

In the large yard, we observed one of the four ranees (queens) coming out of the harem on foot and unveiled, for the first time in her life. She was slowly proceeding towards the place where the royal body was lying, and she was surrounded by about one hundred persons, who kept themselves at some distance, while accompanying her. Close to her side there was a man carrying a small box, containing the remainder of her jewels (as she had already distributed some ), which she made presents of, handing them one by one to the people on her right and left. Two or three steps in front of her, there was a man moving in a backward direction, his face turned towards her, and holding a looking-glass, that she might convince herself that her features were unaltered, and no fear visible on them. At the distribution of the jewels, Col. Steinbach made the observation that, had we stretched out our hands to receive a present, it certainly would not have been denied; but we thought proper to leave it to the poorer people, because we occupied lucrative posts.

 

 It is curious, indeed, that this was the very ranee whom Runjeet Sing married in the first year of my residence in that country, ten years having passed since I witnessed the nuptials at Nadoun. She was, as I mentioned before, a daughter of Sunsarchund, and she had a younger sister, whom the maharajah at the same time took also for a wife, and conveyed them both to Lahore; the latter, I am told, had died of consumption during my absence. As for the former, although I was present at her wedding, I nevertheless had never seen her before, and it was only on her last fatal walk, which she took to her funeral pile, that I could behold her.

 

The funeral train, accompanied by many thousands of spectators, was now proceeding; all were on foot, their abode in the fortress not being far distant from the place of the ceremony. The four ranees only were carried, in open palanquins, behind the deceased, after them followed the seven female slaves, barefooted; some of them appeared to be not more than fourteen or fifteen years of age. The ranees, too, were barefooted, their silk dresses were simple, and without any ornaments, and they appeared to be indifferent to the awful though voluntary fate which awaited them. Perhaps our hearts throbbed more at the view of this dismal train than those of the poor victims themselves.

 

 The body of Runjeet Sing was placed on a board, to which it was probably fastened, and was carried on a light and decorated bier constructed in the shape of a ship; the sails and flags of the vessel were made of rich golden and silk stuff (kimkab), and of Cashmere shawls. A number of people carried the bier from the interior of the fortress up to the funeral-pile, there the board with the body was taken out of it and deposited on the ground, where, on what was a small garden, now stands a summood, i.e., a tomb of the royal family Runjeet Sing, Kurruck Sing and No-Nehal Sing, i.e., the father, son, and grand-child, together with their wives and slaves. The costly ornaments of the richly decorated bier were given to the mob; the Brahmins performed their prayers from the Shaater, a book written in the Indian or Sanscrit language; the Gooroos, or priests of the Sikhs, did the same, from their holy scripture called Grunthsaheb, and the Musselmen accompanied them with their “Ya, Allah! Ya, Allah!”

 

A slow, but not displeasing rumbling of the drums, and the murmuring of the people, gave to the whole scene a melancholy aspect, and was peculiar to the country. The funeral pile which displayed itself before the eyes of the spectators, was constructed of dry woods, amongst which there were pieces of aloe; it was about six feet high and square. After the prayers of the Brahmins and Gooroos, which lasted nearly an hour, the minister and other sirdars ascended by a ladder the funeral-pile, upon which ignitible matters and substances, as cotton seeds, &c., were strewn, and the royal body was respectfully placed in the middle of the pile, together with the board.

 

After this, the ranees ascended the fatal ladder, one by one, according to their rank, the slaves followed, and the minister showed himself very officious in affording them assistance. The ranees placed themselves at the head of the royal body, and the slaves close at its feet. There they cowered, remaining in silent expectation for the fatal moment, when a strong thick mat of reeds being brought, with which the whole were covered, oil was then poured over the mat, the minister and sirdars descended, and the pile was lighted at each corner. In a few moments, the deplorable victims of an abominable and fanatic ceremony had ceased to exist"

.....................................................................................................................

“The funeral obsequies of this extraordinary man were too remarkable not to be mentioned here. Upon his death being made public, the whole of the Sikh Sirdars at Lahore assembled to do honour  to his suttee, and four of his favourite queens, together with seven female slaves, having, in conformity with the horrible practice of the country, expressed their intention of burning themselves upon the funeral pyre, preparations were immediately made for the solemnity. It is said that much dissuasion is exercised in cases of suttee; ostensibly such may be the case; but in private every argument to the contrary is made use of by the relatives of the wretched victim, and the promise once given cannot be retracted. A street of a double line of infantry having been formed, the procession proceeded at a slow pace to its destination, only a quarter of a mile distant, and within the precincts of the palace. The corpse of the late Maharaja, placed upon a splendidly gilt car, constructed in the form of a ship, with sails of gilt cloth to waft him (according to native superstition) into paradise, was borne upon the shoulders of soldiers, preceded by a body of native musicians, playing their wild and melancholy airs. His four queens, dressed in their most sumptuous apparel, then followed, each in a separate  gilt chair, borne upon the shoulders of their attendants; the female slaves following on foot. Before each of the queens was carried a large mirror, and gilt parasol, the emblems of their rank. After them came the successor to the throne, the Maharaja Kurruck Singh, attended by the whole of the Sikh Sirdara, barefooted, and clothed in white; none but persons of noble rank permitted to join the procession. To the last moment of this terrible sacrifice, the queens exhibited the most perfect equanimity; far from evincing any dread of the terrible death which awaited them, they appeared in a high state of excitement, and ascended the funeral pile with alacrity. The slaves also appeared perfectly resigned, but less enthusiastic. The body of the Maharaja having been placed upon the pile, his queens seated themselves around it, when the whole were covered over a canopy of the most costly Kashmiri shawls. The Maharaja Kurruck Singh then taking a lighted torch in hand pronounced a short prayer, set fire to the pile, and in an instant the whole mass, being composed of very ignitable material, was in flames. The noise from the drums and shouts of the spectators immediately drowned any exclamation from the wretched victims.”

.....................................................................

The painting that Rani Mehtab Devi's father, Maharaja of Kangra proudly ordered an artist to do!  

 

[MisterrSingh]

Another instance when a cultural practice that was unequivocally forbidden by the Gurus was perpetuated without remorse by the very people who should have shunned it. What exactly was "Sikh" about this kingdom aside from superficial surface traits and adornments? The more I read about it, the more it pi55es me off. 

[dharamyudh]

Vaheguru. 

[MisterrSingh]

20 minutes ago, dharamyudh said:

I honestly believe this was a reason why it fell in the manner it did. They began to stray away from Sikhi. 

I agree. Historians and rationalists will point to other more sobre reasons for its fall, but I think, on a metaphysical level, the decline came about because it wasn't a Sikh empire at all. I think blessings were withdrawn; this phenomenon is not unique or unheard of in Sikhi. Sikhs aren't permanently endowed with God's grace even when the Sikh crosses over into doing wrong. God's grace remains for as long as the individual or the group lives according to His spiritual decrees. Once the deviation occurs, it's game over.

The Sikh empire was, to my mind, nothing more than a secular, multi-religious Punjabi Empire with an obviously perfunctory Sikh front. Sikh population numbers are largely irrelevant. If it's being lauded as a Sikh empire, then its priority should be to bring non-Sikhs into the fold. If only Hari Singh Nalwa possessed a little less honour, maybe he'd have been more of what SIKHS needed as a king.

[Ranjeet01]

2 hours ago, MisterrSingh said:

Another instance when a cultural practice that was unequivocally forbidden by the Gurus was perpetuated without remorse by the very people who should have shunned it. What exactly was "Sikh" about this kingdom aside from superficial surface traits and adornments? The more I read about it, the more it pi55es me off. 

A lot of people are going to do what they feel like regardless of what Guru hold them not to.

Feelz before realz. 

 

[puzzled]

9 hours ago, MisterrSingh said:

Another instance when a cultural practice that was unequivocally forbidden by the Gurus was perpetuated without remorse by the very people who should have shunned it. What exactly was "Sikh" about this kingdom aside from superficial surface traits and adornments? The more I read about it, the more it pi55es me off. 

Yh but to be fair the women that became sati were hindus and they chose to do it! They were even discouraged from doing it but they insisted! His Sikh wives like Jind Kaur refused to become sati ... 

Same thing happened with Sardar Sham Singh Attariwala who fought in the anglo sikh wars, his hindu wife mai desa became sati when he died. His daughter was married to Ranjit singhs grandson prince nau nihal singh, when nau nihal singh died she didnt become sati while his hindu wives did. 

[dharamyudh]

Vaheguru. 

[MisterrSingh]

28 minutes ago, puzzled said:

Yh but to be fair the women that became sati were hindus and they chose to do it! They were even discouraged from doing it but they insisted! His Sikh wives like Jind Kaur refused to become sati ... 

Same thing happened with Sardar Sham Singh Attariwala who fought in the anglo sikh wars, his hindu wife mai desa became sati when he died. His daughter was married to Ranjit singhs grandson prince nau nihal singh, when nau nihal singh died she didnt become sati while his hindu wives did. 

That's fair, but being married to a supposed Sikh in Ranjit Singh, one would imagine his non-Sikh wives adhering to their husband's belief system in something as fundamental as the life or death of the wife. He could've forbade these acts as a final command. Seems like it was a multicultural hellhole!

This act of sati is something modern British Empire defenders have latched onto, and they've started to make it known that, when the British took control of India, they outlawed sati as part of a progressive social agenda for the population. I have no doubt as the aggression towards historical white imperialism and colonialism increases, these defenders will turn their attention to specific instances in that period where they actually did do some good for the people in those countries. 

[MisterrSingh]

Also, don't get me wrong, I'm not being an armchair general after the fact. I can only imagine the mental toil and physical exertion of fighting for a kingdom and ruling over it for a while. It takes an extraordinary personality to even get that far. In matters of war, statesmanship, etc., I can express regret at missed opportunities and other issues, but again I don't envy anyone who had to deal with those myriad situations on a daily basis. 

But when it comes to leading by example in religious matters, there's no excuse for not at least making more of an effort to push Sikhi in a Sikh kingdom, numbers or not, and that comes from the top. I'm sure the Mughal emperor's weren't model Muslims in some of the more subtle and less noticeable matters of their faith, but by heck they enforced the edicts of their religion in the areas that it mattered. We seem more concerned with keeping others happy and contented, only to be betrayed at a later date, or at best be treated with a mild contempt at our gullibility.

[puzzled]

3 hours ago, MisterrSingh said:

This act of sati is something modern British Empire defenders have latched onto, and they've started to make it known that, when the British took control of India, they outlawed sati as part of a progressive social agenda for the population. I have no doubt as the aggression towards historical white imperialism and colonialism increases, these defenders will turn their attention to specific instances in that period where they actually did do some good for the people in those countries. 

They already are, years ago i was watching that program the big question i think its called on the BBC and if i remember correctly Jagraj Singh was on it and some old colonized Singh sitting with the goreh. I think they were discussing the British Empire and started talking about how the British abolished sati, if i remember correctly Jagraj Singh mentioned how the Sikh guru had already abolished sati and then one gora dragged M.Ranjit Singh into it and how his queens became sati. Bhai Jagraj Singh then said something like M.Ranjit Singh is not a model for Sikhs and that he was not a religious leader. A lot of these goreh historians that look into the British Raj are very well aware about this sati incident! 

Thing is, Akal Takht and the empire were 2 separate things, Ranjit Singhs darbar never had a say in Sikh religious affairs or matters, anything to do with Sikhi had to be approved by the Akal Takht, so it really wasn't a religious empire, but the Akal Takt did have a influence in his darbar.  So it really wasn't a religious empire, you can say church and state were separate. 

This clash between Ranjit Singhs darbar and people loyal to Akal Thakt was very evident even back then. The Akali Nihangs were loyal to Akal Takht and disliked Ranjit Singh, but when it came to war they very always involved in defending Punjab and the Empire. There are historical accounts of the Akali Singhs openly hurling abuse at Ranjit Singh while riding on his elephant through Lahore/Amritsar! Akali Phoola Singh and Ranjit Singh clashed a lot, Akali Phoola Singh was very loud and clear about it, while Ranjit Singh was not. 

So he never really governed over any Sikh matters. The empire was basically an empire ruled over by Sikhs.

 

But its amazing what he was able to create in such a short period of time at such a young age, taking into account he basically came from a family of peasants just like most the other Sikh Misl leaders. I wonder why the years of the Sikh misl period are never counted into Sikh Raj? by the 1770s or even earlier Punjab was mainly ruled by Sikh Misls