MAHALA, traditionally pronounced mahalla, appears in Sikh Scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib, as a special term to credit the authorship of the compositions of the Gurus recorded in it. Mahala here refers to the person of the Guru specified by a numeral following it which signifies his position in the

LALU, BHAI, headman of Khadur (Sahib), a village in Amritsar district of the Punjab, became a devout Sikh of Guru Angad. According to Bhai Mani Singh, Sikhan di Bhagat Mala, he along with Bhai Durga and Bhai Jivanda once begged the Guru to show them the way to liberation.

MAIA, BHAI, son of Bhai Khanu who, according to Bhai Gurdas, Varan, XI. 15, received instruction at the hands of Guru Angad.

PARO, BHAI, a Julka Khatri of the village of Dalla, in present day Kapurthala district of the Punjab, received initiation at the hands of Guru Angad and became known for his piety and dedication. An epithet commonly used for him was paramhans, swan perfect, i.e. one who has achieved

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,

SARAI NANGA, village 16 km northeast of Muktsar (30"29`N, 74°31`E) in Faridkot district of the Punjab, enjoys sanctity as the birthplace of Guru Angad, Nanak II. Guru Nanak himself is also believed to have visited it during his travels in these parts. Soon after Guru Angad`s birth in 1504,

AMAR DAS, GURU (1479-1574), the third of the ten Gurus of the Sikh faith, was born into a Bhalla Khatri family on Baisakh sudi 14, 1536 Bk, corresponding to 5 May 1479, at Basarke, a village in present day Amritsar district of the Punjab. His father\'s name was Tej Bhan

AMARO, BIBI, elder daughter of Guru Angad and Mata Khivi, is especially remembered in the Sikh tradition for introducing (Guru) Amar Das to Guru Angad whose disciple, and eventually successor in the holy office, he became. She was born in c. 1526 at Khadur Sahib, in present day Amritsar

ANGAD DEV, GURU, (1504-1552), the second of the ten Gurus or prophet teachers of the Sikh faith was born Lahina on Baisakh vadi 1, Sammat 1561 Bikrami, corresponding with 31 March 1504. His father, Bhai Pheru, was a Trehan Khatri and a trader of humble means, whose ancestral home was

BALA, BHAI (1466-1544), who, according to popular belief, was a lifelong companion of Guru Nanak, was the son of Chandar Bhan, a Sandhu Jatt of Talvandi Rai Bhoi, now Nankana Sahib in Pakistan. Three years senior in age to Guru Nanak, he was his childhood playmate in Talvandi. From

BASARKE GILLAN, village 12 km southwest of Amritsar (31° 38`N, 74° 52`E) on the ChhehartaJhabal link road, is sacred to Guru Amar Das, Nanak III, who was born here on 5 May 1479. There are three historical shrines in the village. GURDWARA JANAM ASTHAN, a small shrine privately managed,