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

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,

BHAROVAL, village 15 km east of Tarn Taran (31°27`N, 74°56`E) along the Tarn TaranGoindval road, is sacred to Guru Angad (1504-52), who stayed here awhile on his way back from Khan Chhapri to Khadur Sahib. The commemorative shrine formerly known as Guruana is now called Gurdwara Guru Angad Sahib.

KHANU, BHAI, one of the prominent Sikhs mentioned by Bhai Gurdas, Varan, XI. 15. He received the rites of initiation at the hands of Guru Angad and lived up to the time of Guru Amar Das. As says Bhai Mani Singh, Sikhdn di Bhagat Maid, he, accompanied by his

LALA, a Pannu Jatt, was, according to Bhai Santokh Singh, Sri Gur Pratap Suraj Granth, a devoted Sikh contemporary of Guru Angad. He is said to have accompanied Bhai Bala sent out by Guru Angad in search of the horoscope of Guru Nanak so that he might have a

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,