DEVI DAS, PANDIT, one of the numerous poets and scholars who kept company with Guru Gobind Singh (See Bavanja Kavi), was born in a Chhibbar Brahman family who had been followers of the Gurus. His father, Hardayal, was the younger brother of Bhai Gavaldas who, according to the Bhatt

GOBINDJAS, RAI (d. 1846) served, like his father Rai Anand Singh, as a vakilor agent of the Sikh kingdom, first at Ludhiana and then at Delhi. His despatches from Ludhiana contain reports concerning various political matters such as the Indus navigation scheme, the Ropar meeting, Alexander Burncs` mission to

JALLA. PANDIT (d. 1844), a Brahman priest of Jammu, who, assigned tutor to Hira Singh Dogra when he was a small boy, remained his lifelong companion and became his adviser and deputy as he assumed the office of prime minister of the Sikh kingdom in September 1843. Jalla completely

KAURA MALL, DIWAN, MAHARAJA BAHADUR (d. 1752), a Sahajdhari Sikh and trusted officer under the Mughals in the eighteenth century Punjab, was the son of Valid Ram, an Arora of the Chuggh clan, originally from a village near Shorkot in Jhang district, now in Pakistan. Little is known about the

LAL KAUL, PANDIT (d. 1849), a Kashmiri Brahman, served the Amir of Afghanistan before entering Maharaja Ranjit Singh`s service. He look part in the Sikh expedition to Kashmir in 1819 under Misl Divan Chand. After this he was for three years employed as governor of Multan, and was subsequently appointed

NAND RAM, one of the poets who kept Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708) company, was the son of a well known Siift poet, Vali Ram. He had been in the service of Dara Shukoh, who, having lost the struggle for succession to his father`s throne, was executed by his brother,

RAM DIAL, RAI (d. 1863), news writer and vakil of the Sikh kingdom at FIrozpur, was the son of Rai Anand Singh, after whose death he was sent to Ludhiana as vakil in 1827. Shortly thereafter he was recalled to Lahore and, in 1832, was sent to Anandpur Sahib to

SHANKAR DAS (d. 1832) was introduced at the Sikh court by his father, Shiv Dial, himself an employee of Maharaja Ranjit Singh who had appointed him manager of the Dhanni country. Shankar Das was placed under Prince Kharak Singh, the heir apparent, to manage his Jagirs. When Diwan Moti

TAHIKAN, a seventeenth century poet, was the son of Rangil Das, a Chopra Khatri of Jalalpur, in present day Gujrat district of Pakistan. A soldier by profession, he rendered into Hindi verse AmarKosa and "Asvamedha Parva" of the Mahabharata. He tided the former work Ratan Dam. Several Sikh scholars

ADHARKA, according to Bhai Bala Janam Sakhi, visited Guru Nanak in the train of his master, Salas Rai, the jeweller. Both master and servant turned disciples and set up a Sikh sangat, fellowship or centre, in their native town, Bishambharpur.

BAHORA, BHAI, a goldsmith, who once came to Goindval to see Guru Arjan and seek his blessing. He confessed to the Guru that he cheated his customers skimping their gold, and asked what other calling he should turn to. The Guru said, "Do not cheat, do not steal and

BUDDH SINGH. BABA (1819-1906), to his followers `Guru` Hari Singh, was the younger brother of Baba Ram Singh, founder of the Namdhari or Kuka movement. He was born on Assu sud73,1876 Bk/22 September 1819, the son of Bhai Jassa Singh and Mai Sada Kaur of Rilpur Raian (now Bhaini