MAGHI, Makara Sankranti, the first day of the month of Magh when, according to the Zodiac, the sun enters the house of Capricorn. It is observed in India as a winter solstice festival. The eve of Maghi is the common Indian festival of Lohri when bonfires are lit in Hindu homes to greet the birth of sons in the families and alms are distributed. In the morning, people go out for an earlyhour dip in nearby tanks. For Sikhs, Maghi means primarily the festival at Muktsar, a district town of the Punjab, in commemoration of the heroic fight of the Chali Mukte, lit.
NANAKIANA SAHIB, GURDWARA, near the village of Mangval, 4 km east of Sangrur (30° 14`N, 75° 50`E) in the Punjab, is sacred to Guru Nanak and Guru Hargobind. When Guru Nanak came here in the early sixteenth century, the village of Mangval was, according to local tradition, closer to the site of the present Gurdwara which stands near a deep pond. It was on the bank of this pond that the Guru had preached to the villagers. A century later, as Guru Hargobind visited the village in 1616, he reminded the inhabitants to maintain the sanctity of the pool consecrated by Guru Nanak and not to pollute its water with village waste. He also had a platform constructed in honour of Guru Nanak.
PANJOKHARA, a village about 10 km from Ambala city (30° 23`N, 76° 47`E), is sacred to Guru Har Krishan. Gurdwara Sri Guru Har Krishan Sahib Ji, about 150 metres east of the village and commonly called Gurdwara Parijokhara Sahib, commemorates his stay here in early 1664. Summoned by Emperor Aurarigzib, the Guru had left Kiratpur for Delhi on Basant Parichami (the fifth day of the light half of the lunar month of Magh) of Sam vat 1720 Bikrami, corresponding to 22 January 1664. A large number of Sikhs accompanied the Guru and many more joined them on the way.
POTHI, popular Punjabi form of the Sanskrit pustaka (book), derived from the root pust (to bind) via the Pali potlhaka and Prakrit puttha. Besides Punjabi, the word poihi meaning a book is current in Maithili, Bhojpuri and Marathi languages as well. Among the Sikhs, however, polhi signifies a sacred book, especially one containing gurbdm or scriptural texts and of a moderate size, generally larger than a gutkd but smaller than the Adi Granth, although the word is used even for the latter in the index of the original recension prepared by Guru Arjan and preserved at Kartarpur, near Jalandhar.
BILGA, village 14 km west of Phillaur(31°1`N, 75°47`E) in the Punjab, is sacred to Guru Arjan, who passed through it in June 1589 on his way to Mau where he got married. According to local tradition, Bilga was then a small settlement of only a few huts. The Guru changed his apparel here and gave away the discarded articles to the poor hutdwellers who, it is said, preserved them as sacred relics. These are now exhibited in Gurdwara Panjviri Patshahi located inside the village.
SADH, BHAI, devoted disciple of Guru Hargobind (1595-1644), who lived near the ancient city of Balkh in central Asia. Zulfiqar Ardastani, the author of DabistanI Mazahib, a contemporary work in Persian, records, two anecdotes which show that Bhai Sadh was a devoted Sikh who, unaffected by joys and sorrows of life, rejoiced in serving the will of the Guru. "Once he," says Zulfiqar Ardastani, "set out upon the Guru`s order from Balkh to Iraq to buy horses. He had a grownup son who fell sick." People said, "you are still in the city of Balkh, only a stage away from home. Go back and see your son."
BODAL, village 4 km south of Dasuya (31°49`N. 75°39`E) in Hoshiarpur district of the Punjab, is sacred to Guru Hargobind (1595-1644) who once visited here during a hunting expedition and rested under a garna tree (Capparis horrida) for some time. Bhai Chuhar, a Muslim bard of the village, entertained him by playing on his rebeck. The Guru advised him to learn to perform kirtan, i.e. the singing of sacred hymns. The tree about 200 metres southwest of the village under which Guru Hargobind had sat came to be known as Gama Sahib.