4. Banda on his Journey, 1708-1709

While Banda was on his journey to Punjab, the guru was severely wounded by a Pathan sent after the Guru by Wazir Khan with the connivance of the court nobles. The dispatch of Banda to Punjab had infuriated Emperor Bahadur Shah. As an indirect result of the wound of this attack, the Guru passed away on October 7, 1708. Banda had not gone far when he heard the sad news. This did not discourage him. On the contrary it doubled his zeal and set the fire of vengeance ablaze in his heart. Distance between Nanded and Hissar in current day Haryana is 1600 Kms. At the rate of 10-16 kms per day Banda should not have taken more than 100 to 150 days during his journey, but he actually took about a year. It means that he might have been frequently in hiding. The emperor would have instructed his officers to make short work of Banda and his party.