The eastern journey
Assam and the peace with the Ahoms
Guru Ji travelled with Raja Ram Singh, and Sikh chronicles say Guru Ji brought the two sides to a truce.
According to Sikh chronicles, Raja Ram Singh's mother told him to seek Guru Ji's blessing before going to Assam, a region feared for its sorcery. He met Guru Ji in the east and asked for company on the expedition, and Guru Ji agreed.
The fighting with the Ahoms was hard and indecisive. The chronicles say Guru Ji then brought the two sides to terms. To mark the peace, soldiers each carried five shields of earth to build a high mound by the Brahmaputra at Dhubri. A gurdwara called Damdama Sahib stands on it today.
How do we know?
The sources conflict on this story, or scholars doubt it.
The sources differ on dates. The role in the peace is claimed only by Sikh chroniclers, and the Encyclopaedia's Ram Singh entry makes clear the fighting resumed.
- Later traditionSays they set out towards the close of 1668 and reached Dhubri, and credits the peace to the Sikh chronicles.[EoS]
- Later traditionSays they reached Rangamati in the second half of February 1669 and that the truce did not last, with stalemate for about six years.[EoS]
- Later traditionDates the visit to Dhubri to early March 1670 and describes soldiers raising a mound of earth by the shieldful.[EoS]
