The people of nearby villages all heard about Guru Hargobind Sahib ji’s Avatar. Everyone came to congratulate Guru Arjan Dev ji. The Hijras came to sing and dance. They added to the joyous atmosphere with their plays. They played dholaks and bells. They wore kungroos and clapped their hands as they danced. Guru Arjan Dev ji saw this celebration and was happy. He gave everyone a lot of money. The celebration went on for many days and the Sikhs enjoyed themselves. Some would sing Gurbani Shabads in various Raags to impress Guru ji, as Guru ji’s favourite task was Keertan. Men and women came wearing beautiful clothes and jewellery to Vadaali.
The village was small but the joy was great. There was joy in every direction. The Sikhs came to Vadaali and came to celebrate. Prithi Chand’s maid heard about the news as well. She went to Karmo and said to her: “Guru Arjan Dev ji had a son. There are celebrations everywhere and everyone is praising him. The people who went to Vadaali from Amritsar told me that the boy is beautiful. They can’t stop looking at the child’s face. They are all praising the child and don’t want to leave the child’s company. There is a celebration in Vadaali. There are a lot of donations distributed in Vadaali. A lot of Sangat is eagerly going to the home of Guru Arjan Dev ji to give them their well wishes. Your brother-in-law’s and his wife’s praises are growing by the day. A lot of money is coming to them. Since they left Amritsar, their wealth and glory grew even more. You only have a few people coming to you to bow. A lot of gifts and money comes to Guru Arjan Dev ji.” When Karmo heard this, she was in pain. She felt like a snake bit her. She was burning with jealousy. She went pale. She lost her patience and began to fear that the relatives were prosperous. She didn’t eat properly and was worried. Her whole body was burning with jealousy. She took deep breaths. At night, Prithi Chand came home and Karmo began to cry to him: “you are the son of the Guru, you said that Guru Arjan Dev ji will not have a child. You cursed him, but he just had a child. The child is beautiful. The women of the city have gone to see the child. The child is like the moon and everyone is praising him. The people are bringing them money and gifts. There is a great celebration with dance and music. A lot of beggars and artists are getting money from there. Your brother and your sister-in-law are being praised. People are saying that when they see the child, their lives are blessed. How are they blessed? You live in the city of your father but nobody comes here. Your brother is in a small village and is prosperous. You can’t compare to your brother still. Your cursed words did not come out to be true. Look at my painful state.” Prithi Chand said to his wife in anger: “I already know what happened. She went to Baba Bhudda ji without shoes. She did his Seva and he gave her a boon. That’s why they had a son. Otherwise they weren’t going to have one. My curse did not go empty but it was Baba Bhudda ji’s blessing that did it. I can’t compare to Baba Bhudda ji. He served Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji. His words are irreversible. These saints are easily impressed by Seva. They are generous and give everything the servants want. She was the daughter-in-law of Guru Ramdas ji and on top of that she walked bare-feet. She carried food on her head and walked to his home. She did the Seva herself. She endured a lot of pain and therefore Baba Bhudda ji gave her the boon. My curse was still good though. Don’t worry. Even if they have a son, I won’t let the son live. He is like an arrow in our heart. Till I don’t kill the child, the pain in my heart will remain. I can’t sleep at night either. I am in pain too. I am worried too. I don’t want my brother to prosper. I think of ways to destroy them. You should find a woman who will take money and kill the child. I will look for such a person too. We will take the Gurta Ghaddi in any way we can. Our son will be the Guru. We need to do what we can for this. Till the child is in his mother’s lap, the child can be killed by a woman. We need to be smart about this. We need to find an opportunity and kill the child. Go and find such a woman that you can trust. Give her money. If she’s from here, we will send her to Vadaali. She can live with the Guru and be a servant in their home. She can give the child poison when she gets a chance. If there is such a woman in Vadaali, then hire her. Tempt her with a lot of money. If there is a maid that stays close, that will make the task easy. Go and find such a woman that can kill the child.” Karmo heard this and was happy. There was corruption in her heart. She was ready to kill a child for greed. They both ate and went to sleep. They kept planning on how they could kill the child. They kept scheming all night. They were thinking about all the women they knew that would be able to do their task.
In the morning, Karmo called her favourite maid. She told her about what she was thinking: “go and find a woman that will give poison to Mata Ganga ji’s son. I will pay money. The child of Guru Arjan Dev ji needs to die. I will pay for the woman’s expenses for her whole life. She will get a home and food. Go and find such a woman. Nobody can find out about our plan. This is a big task for me.” The maid heard the words and began to look for a woman that could do the murderous task.
Guru Arjan Dev ji was giving donations to the poor. The beggars came from far away places. They got money and clothes from Guru ji. They praised Guru ji: “the son is radiant and fortunate.” There were praises everywhere. Guru ji and Mata ji looked towards their son and were happy. They regarded the boon of Baba Bhudda ji with great reverence. Karah Prashaad was made on the celebration of Chatti. There were musical instruments playing everywhere.
After 10 days of the child being born, there were more celebrations. The traditions of the Sodhi family were carried out. Langar, Keertan and other traditions were carried out. The Dhundhabs played which made people rejoice. The napheeryas played, the Shabads were sung. People stood up and shouted out Jaikaras. The Rababis sung joyous Raags like Bilawal, with love. The Sikhs heard the Keertan and rejoiced. Their minds were attracted to the Keertan. Guru Arjan Dev ji gave money to the Rababis. The Sikhs didn’t want to get up when they heard the Keertan. The Sangat was praising the child and Guru ji. The child’s radiance grew like the moon growing towards the full moon.
After 1 month, Mata Ganga ji would carry Guru Hargobind Sahib ji in her lap. She would look at his face all day and all night. Her eyes could not get enough. When Mata ji would get sleepy, the child would wake her up again. Her attention would be fixed in her child like a snake keeps its attention to its mani. As soon as her eyes would open from sleep, she would look for her child first. She would take care of him, feeding him, changing him and playing with him with great effort. She would put surma in his eyes. His clothes were made of a fine cotton. Two golden bracelets with one diamond in each were placed in the child’s wrists. Bells were tied to his feet which would ring when he would move. Other jewellery was put on the child everyday. His eyebrows looked like two bows. There was a black mole in the middle of his forehead which looked great with his black hair. It looked like a bee left its family and got stuck in Amrit. Mata Ganga ji was always afraid of evil eyes. She would throw rye and salt over his head. She would break pieces of grass and spin it around his head. Mata ji would always pray to Guru Nanak Dev ji to protect her son. The jewellery with gems looked great on him. The jewellery was unique and rare. His skin was golden and so the gold just blended into his skin. If you were to run your finger on top of the jewellery, it would feel rough. The praise could not be said.
Sri Guru Hargobind ji’s body grew by the day. He was very handsome and full of patience. His arms and legs were large.