JATHA, from Sanskrit yutha meaning a herd, flock, multitude, troop, band or host, signifies in the Sikh tradition a band of volunteers coming forth to carry out a specific task, be it armed combat or a peaceful and nonviolent agitation. It is not clear when the term jathd first gained currency, but it was in common use by the first half of the eighteenth century. After the arrest and execution of Banda Singh Bahadur in 1716, the terror let loose by the Mughal government upon the Sikhs forced them to leave their homes and hearths and move about in small bands or jathds, each grouped around ajatheddror leader who came to occupy this position on account of his daring spirit and capacity to win the confidence of his comrades.
MAHANT, originally the superior of a math or any other similar religious establishment. In the Punjab of early Sikhism, its characteristic usage referred to the leaders of Nath deras. The term acquired a distinctive Sikh application during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, period during which many Sikh gurdwaras passed into the, hands of hereditary controllers. These men, who became virtual owners of their gurdwaras, were known as mahants. Many of them were not initiated Sikhs and as a class they incurred considerable odium as self-seekers who exploited popular devotion for personal gain.
PARAS BHAG is an adaptation into Sadh Bhakha, in Gurmukhi script, of Abu Hamid Muhammad al Ghazzali`s Kimid iSa`ddat, an abridged edition in Urdu of his Ihyd ul Ulum, in Arabic. The work was first published in 1876. Several of the manuscript copies prior to that date are still in circulation. An edition in Devanagari script was brought out in 1929. The question as to who adapted the work into Bhakha and when has not been fully resolved. According to one tradition, the version in Gurmukhi characters was prepared towards the close of the seventeenth century at Anandpur by Sayyid Badr ud Din of Sadhaura at the instance of Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708).
SANTMAL, by Bhai Sobha Ram, is an account in Punjabi verse, of the Sevapanthi sect. The work, still unpublished, was completed in Bk 1923/AD 1866. A copy of the manuscript is preserved in Dera Bhai Ram Kishan, Patiala. This manuscript copied in Bk 1927/AD 1870 comprises 255 folios, each folio, 12/1/2" X 6/ 1/2", containing 16 lines. The work falls in the category of hagiographical writing and follows the Puranic style of narration.
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