BALA JHINGAN, a learned Brahman who was known for his skill in debate and discourse. Accompanied by another learned Brahman, Kishna, of the same Jhirigan subcaste, he visited Guru Arjan. Both confessed to the Guru that despite their knowledge of the sacred texts and despite their ability to sway

CHAIYA, BHAI, son of Bulaki, who held charge of Dhaka as a masand, i.e. to the collector, was appointed to that office in Bihar province by Guru Tegh Bahadur. In the time of Guru Gobind Singh, he was found guilty of misappropriating devotees` offerings and suffered punishment.

DIAL, RAJA (d. 1691), of Bijharval who allied himself with Alif Khan, the Mughal commander, despatched by Miari Khan, the viceroy of Jammu, to exact tribute from the hill chieftains. The hill princes sought Guru Gobind Singh`s help and a battle took place on 20 March 1691 at Nadaun

GULAB RAI and his brother Shyam Singh, sons of Dip Chand, grandsons of Suraj Mall and great grandsons of Guru Hargobind, resided with Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708) at Anandpur. At the time of the evacuation of Anandpur in 1705, the Guru sent them with a letter of introduction to

JODHA RAM (d. 1845), a Brahman of Jammu hills, was the father in law of Pandit Jalla, adviser and confidant of Raja Hira Singh Dogra, who became in 1843 the prime minister of the Sikh kingdom of Lahore. It was Jodha Ram who captured Jawahar Singh, brother of Maharani

KIKKAR SINGH, PAHILVAN (1857-1914). wrestler of legendary fame, was born on 13 January 1857 to Javala Singh Sandhu and Sahib Kaur, a farming couple of moderate means living in the village of Ghameke, in Lahore district (now in Pakistan). Javala Singh, himself a wrestler, wished his only son to train

Nandram, one of the poets who kept Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708) company, was the son of a well-known Sufi 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, Emperor Aurangzib,

RAMDAS, BAVA, a nineteenth century Punjabi poet, was born at the village of Harganari, in Fatehgarh Sahib district of the Punjab. He belonged to the Divana sect, a mendicant order established during the seventeenth century by Haria and Bala, two Jatt disciples of Sodhi Miharban, the son of Guru

SHIV RAM (b. 1418), grandfather of Guru Nanak, was the son of Ram Narain, a Bedi Khatri. He and his wife, Banarasi, lived in a village called Patthevind, now the site of Gurdwara Dera Sahib, 10 km east of Naushahra Pannuan in present day Amritsar district of the Punjab. Two

TILOKA, BHAI, a Suhar Khatri officer in the Mughal army at Ghazni, once waited on Guru Arjan and said, "Soldiering being my profession, violence is my duty. How shall I be saved ?" The Guru spoke, "Remain firm in your duty as a soldier, but let not your mind

AKAL, BHAI, a carpenter resident of Vadda Ghar in present day Fandkot district of the Punjab and, according to Gurbilas Chhevin Patshahi, maternal grandfather of the celebrated Bhai Rup Chand, became a devotee of Guru Ram Das. He also served Guru Arjan and Guru Hargobind. He was a man