It declares that "the Allah of the
prophet Muhammad Akbar[674] is the God of Gods" and identifies him
with Mitra, Varuna, the sun, moon, water, Indra, etc. Akbar's
religion did not long survive his death and never flourished far from
the imperial court, but somewhat later (1656) Muhammad Dara Shukoh,
the son of Shah Jehan, caused a Persian translation of about fifty
Upanishads, known as the Oupnekhat,[675] to be prepared. The general
temper of the period was propitious to the growth and immunity of
mixed forms of belief, but the warlike and semi-political character of
the Sikh community brought trouble on it.

Arjun attracted the unfavourable attention of Akbar's successor,
Jehangir,[676] and was cast into prison where he died. The Sikhs took
up arms and henceforth regarded themselves as the enemies of the
government, but their strength was wasted by internal dissensions. The
ninth Guru, Teg-Bahadur, was executed by Aurungzeb. Desire to avenge
this martyrdom and the strenuous character of the tenth Guru, Govind
Singh (1675-1708), completed the transformation of the Sikhs into a
church militant devoted to a holy war.

Though the most aggressive and uncompromising features of Sikhism are
due to the innovations of Govind, he was so far from being a
theological bigot that he worshipped Durga and was even said to have
offered human sacrifices. But the aim of all his ordinances was to
make his followers an independent body of fighting men. They were to
return the salutation of no Hindu and to put to death every
Mohammedan. The community was called Khalsa:[677] within it there was
perfect equality: every man was to carry a sword and wear long hair
but short trousers. Converts, or recruits, came chiefly from the
fighting tribes of the Jats, but in theory admission was free. The
initiatory ceremony, which resembled baptism, was performed with sugar
and water stirred with a sword, and the neophyte vowed not to worship
idols, to bow to none except a Sikh Guru, and never to turn his back
on the enemy. To give these institutions better religious sanction,
Govind composed a supplement to the Granth, called Dasama Padshah ka
Granth or book of the tenth prince. It consists of four parts, all in
verse, and is said to inculcate war as persistently as Nanak had
inculcated meekness and peace. To give his institutions greater
permanence and prevent future alterations Govind refused to appoint
any human successor and bade the Sikhs conside