There was hardly anyone in the city who had not come out to see the tamasha or to enjoy the show of the extirpation of the accused ones. Such a crowd in the bazaars and lanes had been rarely seen. And the Mussalmans could not contain themselves for joy. But those unfortunate Sikhs, who had been reduced to this last extremity, were quite happy and contented with their fate; not the slightest sign of dejection or humility was to be seen on their faces. In fact, most of them, as they passed along on their camels, seemed happy and cheerful, joyfully singing the sacred hymns of their Scripture. And, if any one from amongst those in the lanes and bazaars called out to them that their own excesses had reduced them to that condition, they quickly retorted saying that it had been so willed by the Almighty and that their capture and misfortune was in accordance with His Will. And if anyone said: ‘Now you will be killed,’ they shouted: ‘Kill us, when were we afraid of death? Had we been afraid of it, how could we have fought so many battles with you? It was merely through starvation and want of food that we fell into your hands, otherwise you know already what deeds we are capable of.’" - Meaning and context.">
QuotesCosmos
Harisi, Ibrat Namah, 52b–53a, quoted in Ganda Singh, Life of Banda Singh Bahadur, pp. 220–21. quoted from Sampath V. (2022). Bravehearts of bharat : vignettes from indian history. Penguin Random House India
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The road from Agharabad to the Lahori gate was filled on both sides with troops and exultant crowds who mocked Banda Singh and his followers for their ludicrous appearance. Mirza Muhammada Harisi, one of the eyewitnesses, who went to see this ‘tamasha’ notes in his Ibrat Namah:
There was hardly anyone in the city who had not come out to see the tamasha or to enjoy the show of the extirpation of the accused ones. Such a crowd in the bazaars and lanes had been rarely seen. And the Mussalmans could not contain themselves for joy. But those unfortunate Sikhs, who had been reduced to this last extremity, were quite happy and contented with their fate; not the slightest sign of dejection or humility was to be seen on their faces. In fact, most of them, as they passed along on their camels, seemed happy and cheerful, joyfully singing the sacred hymns of their Scripture. And, if any one from amongst those in the lanes and bazaars called out to them that their own excesses had reduced them to that condition, they quickly retorted saying that it had been so willed by the Almighty and that their capture and misfortune was in accordance with His Will. And if anyone said: ‘Now you will be killed,’ they shouted: ‘Kill us, when were we afraid of death? Had we been afraid of it, how could we have fought so many battles with you? It was merely through starvation and want of food that we fell into your hands, otherwise you know already what deeds we are capable of.’

— Banda Singh Bahadur

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "The road from Agharabad to the Lahori gate was filled on both sides with troops and exultant crowds who mocked Banda Singh and his followers for their ludicrous appearance. Mirza Muhammada Harisi, one of the eyewitnesses, who went to see this ‘tamasha’ notes in his Ibrat Namah:
There was hardly anyone in the city who had not come out to see the tamasha or to enjoy the show of the extirpation of the accused ones. Such a crowd in the bazaars and lanes had been rarely seen. And the Mussalmans could not contain themselves for joy. But those unfortunate Sikhs, who had been reduced to this last extremity, were quite happy and contented with their fate; not the slightest sign of dejection or humility was to be seen on their faces. In fact, most of them, as they passed along on their camels, seemed happy and cheerful, joyfully singing the sacred hymns of their Scripture. And, if any one from amongst those in the lanes and bazaars called out to them that their own excesses had reduced them to that condition, they quickly retorted saying that it had been so willed by the Almighty and that their capture and misfortune was in accordance with His Will. And if anyone said: ‘Now you will be killed,’ they shouted: ‘Kill us, when were we afraid of death? Had we been afraid of it, how could we have fought so many battles with you? It was merely through starvation and want of food that we fell into your hands, otherwise you know already what deeds we are capable of.’" in the context of "Harisi, Ibrat Namah, 52b–53a, quoted in Ganda Singh, Life of Banda Singh Bahadur, pp. 220–21. quoted from Sampath V. (2022). Bravehearts of bharat : vignettes from indian history. Penguin Random House India" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Banda Singh Bahadur" (Quotes) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app

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Banda Singh Bahadur

About Banda Singh Bahadur

Banda Singh Bahadur (27 October 1670 – 9 June 1716), born Lachman Dev and also popularly known as Veer Banda Bairagi, was a Sikh military commander who established a Sikh state with capital at Lohgarh (Haryana). At age 15 he left home to become an ascetic. He established a monastery at Nānded, on the bank of the river Godāvarī, where in September 1708 he was visited by, and became a disciple of, Guru Gobind Singh, who gave him the new name of Banda Bahadur after baptism as a Sikh. Armed with the blessing and authority of Guru Gobind Singh, he assembled a fighting force and led the struggle against the Mughal Empire. His first major action was the sack of the Mughal provincial capital, Samana, in November 1709. After establishing his authority in Punjab, Banda Singh Bahadur abolished the zamindari system, and granted property rights to the tillers of the land. He was captured by the Mughals and tortured to death in 1715-1716.