Page:The Sikh Religion, its gurus, sacred writings and authors Vol 2.djvu/267

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LIFE OF GURU RAM DAS, THE FOURTH GURU

CHAPTER I

GURU RAM DAS'S parentage and birth, his early life, his meeting with Guru Amar Das, his marriage with Guru Amar Das's daughter Bibi Bhani, and many other incidents in his life, have already been related in the Life of Guru Amar Das.

The manner in which the Emperor Akbar bestowed several villages on Bibi Bhani, Guru Amar Das's daughter, after they had been refused by her father, has also been narrated. She assigned them during her father's lifetime to her husband.

How the construction of the tank in Amritsar was entrusted to Jetha, and how he was appointed Guru Amar Das's successor under the name of Guru Ram Das, have also been related. It needs hardly be said that Guru Ram Das adopted the principles and tenets of Guru Amar Das.

The minstrel Satta dedicated to Guru Ram Das on his installation the seventh pauri of the composition, which is known in the Granth Sahib as the joint production of Balwand and Satta, previously called the Coronation Ode.

Hail! hail Guru Ram Das! God who created thee hath decorated thee.
Complete are the miracles which the Creator Himself performed.
The Sikhs and their congregation bowed to thee since God was with thee.
Thou art immovable, unfathomable, unequalled; thou hast no end or bounds.

Thou didst save those who worshipped thee with love;