Guru Nanak continued to look after the cattle. Usually he would sit and meditate, but one day in the Indian month of Vaisakh (vYswK), Guru Nanak lay down on the ground and went to sleep near a tree. Guru Nanak slept for some time and the sun had shifted and it was shining right on Guru Nanak’s face. With the heat, Guru Nanak’s face started to sweat.   A large black cobra snake came out of its hole and started to come towards Guru Nanak while he was still sleeping. Cobras are very dangerous snakes that can kill a person with its bite. The cobra came right up to Guru Nanak’s head, but it did not bite him. Instead, the cobra stretched upwards and blocked the sun’s rays from hitting Guru Nanak’s face. Guru Nanak continued to stay asleep and now he did not feel the heat of the sun.   

     At this same time, Rai Bular (rwie bulwr) was riding his horse towards where Guru Nanak lay. He saw the cobra and thought maybe the snake had bitten Guru Nanak. He sent a servant to check on Guru Nanak, as the servant got closer, the snake slowly left. When he got near Guru Nanak, he was surprised to see that the snake had not bitten him, but instead was helping him by blocking the sun.   

     Rai Bular said to his servants that were with him, “Look even the creatures of the forest love Nanak.”   This event is described as follows: 

Gtkw Kt bIq geI jb hI bdlI qru Cwie lgI muK Gwmw[ 
sÍyd ky ibMd mno AribMd mwn kml auqy pY hY mkrMd knI AiBrwmw[ 
sMUdr SySnwg jU Awn krI AiBbMdn sÍyq srUp mhW Cib Dwmw[ 
qIn pRd`Cn dY pRBu ko Pn CwiekrI muK pY iqh Twmw[ 
                                                     (Guru Nanak Soor Yoda) 
Translation: 
  As the day went by, the sun moved to the other side. The Guru’s face started to sweat from the heat. An old cobra snake came and blocked the sun’s ray. With this service of the snake, the Guru’s face cooled down.   

     As Guru Nanak woke up. Rai Bular touched Guru Nanak’s feet and bowed to him. After this, Rai Bular went home and called Guru Nanak’s father. He told Mehta Kalu:   

“kwlU, mq ies puq nUM iPtkwr dyNdw hovih[ ieh mhW purK hY”                                                    (pratan Junam Sakhi) 
  Translation: 
“Mehta Kalu, from now on, do not yell at your son. He is a saint.”   
Today there is a Temple built where the snake served Guru Nanak. This temple is called Maal Ji Saheb Gurdwara (mwl jI swihb).