The incident had, however, caused an upheaval at Wali Qandhari’s house. His reservoir began emptying rapidly, making his followers panic. Scared of the consequences and fearing the wrath of their master, they ran around like headless chickens. Before Wali could act, the large, deep pool filled to the brim with fresh, cold water emptied out. He was stunned. He carefully scanned the reservoir from one corner to the other. All the outlets were tightly shut. There were no signs of leakages either. And yet the water had disappeared. ‘How did this happen?’ he screamed in rage.

His ego was crushed, and he stood shamefaced in front of his own followers. Seething with anger, he mustered all the magical powers he possessed and rolled a massive rock down the mountain slope. The boulder went crashing down at breakneck speed. Like a homing missile, it rushed towards Nanak who was sitting not too far from the newly created pond below the mountain. He was unperturbed by the commotion around him. His eyes were closed. He was meditating and singing the name of God, blissfully unaware of the rock coming towards him.

The villagers saw the boulder coming towards them and ran to safety. But Mardana rushed towards his guru, shouting out loud to warn Nanak. Unperturbed, Guru Nanak waited till the black granite rock reached arm’s length, and when it did, he simply extended his right hand and placed his palm on the surface of the rock. The large boulder stopped in its tracks and came to a grinding halt. Nanak removed his palm, stood up and walked away. But the impression of his hand got embedded on it as if it were not granite but a piece of soft wax.

Shocked and dismayed by what he had witnessed, Wali Qandhari threw aside his staff. He had realized the power of Guru Nanak. He rushed down from the hill and fell at Nanak’s feet. ‘Forgive me, O holy man. I seek forgiveness. Please pardon me. I stand defeated,’ he pleaded. Nanak, the merciful, blessed him too and directed him to use his gifted powers for the welfare of the people instead of abusing them for his personal gain. For many centuries thereafter, the Moguls, the Britishers, the fundamentalists, the radicals and scores of others tried their best but failed to destroy the hand imprint on the black stone. The site soon acquired a holy status. With each passing decade, millions began pouring in for prayers. As a result, the gurdwara boundaries had to be expanded to accommodate the pilgrims. They all believed, and continue to do so, that whoever visits Punja Sahib and prays, his or her wishes come true.