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Government was broken up into small principalities owing to
internecine quarrels and rivalry, Raja Jagdish, the ancestor of the
Sadana family to which Pandit Guru Datta belonged, had made a bold
stand against the tyranical excesses of the foreign conquerors and had,
in the serious complications that followed it, sacrified his all, even his
life for the protection of his subjects. The blood of such an intrepid
warrior coursed .through the veins of the Sadana family and most of
its successive members had given proof of their martial spirit by feats
of heroic character.
Lala Ram Kishen, the father of our hero, had however, no
chance of distinguishing himself in th field. He had given himself
up entirely to literary pursuits. He was a Persian scholar of great
repute and one of the much respected members of the Punjab
Educational Department. Constitutionally he was strong, quick
witted, possessing a keen and penetrating intellect and a very
tenacious memory. He retained the vigour of his intellect to the
very last. Commencing the study of Sanskrit late in life he acquired
such a mastery over that language that he could write and speak it
with ease and without any serious mistakes. He was married at an
early age, as was the custom among the Hindus, to a handsome
girl. She, though unlettered, possessed a remarkable sagacity and
shrewdness. Religious by nature, she was very noble minded and
bore up all trials and difficulties with passive resignation. Her spirit
quailed not under misfortunes. She bore him several children, but
few of them survived. Pandit Guru Datta was the last male child;
the deaths of a number of the boy's sisters had told terribly upon
his parents and they were considerably borne down by these
mishaps. The birth of Guru Datta, however, alleviated their sorrow
a good deal. The story runs that in their distressed condition they
had recourse to their family Guru whom they begged to pray to
the Almighty to bless them with a male child. Their wishes were
fulfilled by God's grace.
The child was a pet of his parents and they loved him
intensely being their only male child and "obtained" after a good
deal of prayer and supplication. He was at first named
Mula,
but
the name was soon changed by the family Guru who gave him the
name of
Vairagi
which was highly significant, in view of the future
career of the child. The natural expression on the child's face
converging towards
Vairag,
might have given him the idea, that he
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