Khusrau, Jahangir and the martyrdom
The fine: the Dabistan and the Jesuits against Jahangir's silence
The Dabistan and Guerreiro speak of a heavy fine and death under torture by those collecting it, but Jahangir mentions no fine.
In the Dabistan, Guru Ji was arrested and fined for praying for Khusrau, and could not pay the huge sum demanded. He was held in the sandy tract of Lahore, where the summer heat and the torments inflicted by the collectors killed him.
Guerreiro's account of Jesuit reports is similar in outline but adds a wealthy Hindu who stood surety for a hundred thousand crusados. When the money did not come, this man stripped Guru Ji of his goods and, in the Moosvi summary, subjected Guru Ji to torture until martyrdom.
Jerome Xavier wrote from Lahore on 25 September 1606, in a letter quoted by the Encyclopaedia, that their good Pope had been overcome by suffering, torment and dishonour.
How do we know?
The sources conflict on this story, or scholars doubt it.
Ganda Singh argues that the fine is a mistaken report, perhaps caused by the fine levied on Amba in the next lines of the Tuzuk. Moosvi instead treats the Jesuit and Dabistan reports as agreeing with each other against the Tuzuk. Macauliffe says Guru Ji refused to pay and forbade Sikhs to collect the money, which contradicts the Dabistan's statement that Guru Ji was unable to pay and matches the Sikh view that the penalty was illegitimate. The questions remain open.
- From the timeThe Dabistan names the fine, the desert heat and the bailiffs' tortures as the cause of death. (pp. 13-14)[Src]
- From the timeGuerreiro has a wealthy Hindu surety who takes all of Guru Ji's possessions and inflicts the suffering. (Appendix to Text 2)[(eds)]
- From the timeQuotes Father Xavier's letter of 25 September 1606 on the suffering of Guru Ji.[EoS]
- From the timeRecords confiscation and death with no mention of a fine; the next entry concerns a fine on someone else. (pp. 72-73)[Src]
