ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>MULT&#256N (30º-12'N, 71º-31'E)</TITLE> <style type="text/css"> .BODY { background-color: #EAF1F7; background-image: url('images/gtbh.jpg'); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; background-position: center; color: #0066CC;} .C1{text-align: justify;color: #0066CC;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .BIB{text-align: center;color: #000099;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .CONT{text-align: right;color: #FF0000;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} </style><META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="MULTN"> <META http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"></HEAD> <BODY class="BODY" oncontextmenu="return false" ondragstart="return false" onselectstart="return false"> <FONT ALIGN="JUSTIFY" FACE="Tahoma"> <p class="C1">&#65279MULT&#256N (30º-12'N, 71º-31'E), ancient city which had been a prominent centre of Muslim piety, was where according to Bh&#257&#299 Gurd&#257s, <i>V&#257r&#257&#7749</i> I. 44-45, Gur&#363 N&#257nak met with some local S&#363f&#299 saints. Travelling from Kart&#257rpur, on the River R&#257v&#299, Gur&#363 N&#257nak first went to Achal Ba&#7789&#257l&#257 and thence to Mult&#257n. As the Gur&#363 arrived at Mult&#257n, the <i>p&#299rs</i> of Mult&#257n brought to him a bowl overflowing to the brim with milk. By this gesture they meant to say that the place was already full of religious teachers. Gur&#363 N&#257nak laid upon the milk-bowl a jasmine petal indicating thereby that he would still find room for himself without displacing anyone. And the Gur&#363, says Bh&#257&#299 Gurd&#257s, mingled there as do the waters of the Ganges and the sea. The <i>Miharb&#257n Janam S&#257kh&#299</i>, a work contemporaneous with that of Bh&#257&#299 Gurd&#257s, says that many inhabitants of Mult&#257n turned out to listen to Gur&#363 N&#257nak, among them Shai<u>kh</u> Bah&#257udd&#299n Ma<u>kh</u>d&#363m, a descendant of the famous Muslim saint Bah&#257udd&#299n Zakar&#299&#257 (b. 1171 AD).</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Mult&#257n being a predominaitly Muslim city, no Sikh shrine commemorating Gur&#363 N&#257nak's visit was established there, although according to T&#257r&#257 Si&#7749gh Narotam, <i>Sr&#299 Gur&#363 T&#299rath Sa&#7749grahi</i>, a memorial did exist in the house of one of the <i>p&#299rs</i>. It was served by Muslim <i>muj&#257wirs</i> or officiants.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The city was the capital of a province under the Mu<u>gh</u>als. It was ceded to Ahmad Sh&#257h Durr&#257n&#299 in 1752. The Bha&#7749g&#299 clan of the Sikhs conquered it in December 1772, but lost it to Taim&#363r Sh&#257h, son and successor of Ahmad Sh&#257h, early in 1780. Later in 1818, it became part of the kingdom of Mah&#257r&#257j&#257 Ra&#7751j&#299t Si&#7749gh. In 1848, the Sikh governor of Mult&#257n, D&#299w&#257n M&#363l R&#257j, revolted against the British which led to the second Anglo-Sikh war, 1848-49.</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"> Narotam, T&#257r&#257 Si&#7749gh, <i> Sr&#299 Guru T&#299rath Sa&#7749grahi </i> [Reprint]. Kankhal, 1975<BR> <li class="C1"> Kirp&#257l Si&#7749gh, <i> Janam S&#257kh&#299 Parampar&#257 </i>. Patiala, 1969<BR> <li class="C1"> Beale, T.W., <i>Oriental Biographical Dictionary</i>, edited and revised by H. G. Keene. London, 1894<BR> <li class="C1"> Bhagat Singh, <i> Maharaja Ranjit Singh and his Times </i> . Delhi, 1990<BR> <li class="C1"> Harbans Singh, <i> Maharaja Ranjit Singh </i>. Delhi, 1980<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">Major Gurmukh Si&#7749gh (Retd.)<br></p><BR> </font><img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""></HTML></BODY>