PURIS (Shiva Puri, Brahama Puri, Vishnu Puri and Indra Puri) Death will ultimately come in Indra Puri (heaven of Indra), Brahma Puri (heaven of Brahma) will not be there for ever;Shiva Puri (heaven of Shiva) will also come to an end..... (Gauri M. 5, p. 237) All the Puris,

RAM SINGH CHHAPEVALA (d. 1840) was a man of note who fought in the battles of Ramnagar, Cheliarivala and Gujrat during the second AngloSikh war of 1848-49. His father. Dial Singh, was born in a poor peasant family of the village of Dadumajra, in Sialkot district of the Punjab.

ATAR SINGH KALIANVALA (d. 1851), soldier and feudatory chief in Sikh times, was son of Dal Singh Naherna, a military commander under Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Atar Singh`s ancestors belonged to the village of Karial, in Sheikhupura district, now in Pakistan. His great great grandfather, Sahib Singh, had been given

STEINBACH, HENRY, a Prussian, was one of the many European adventurers who secured employment in the Punjab under Maharaja Ranjit Singh and his successors. Steinbach joined the Sikh infantry in 1836 as a battalion commander on a starting salary of Rs 600 per month, increased to Rs 800 by 1841.

BAGH SINGH VIRK (d. 1806), a feudatory chief under Maharaja Ranjit Singh. His father Lal Singh, who had migrated from Jammu, held sway in the tract between Sheikhupura and Miralivala as the Sikh sardars started acquiring territory in the Punjab in the latter half of the eighteenth century. He

SUCHAJl (SUCHAJJI), literally, a woman of good manner and accomplishment, is the title of one of Guru Nanak`s compositions, in measure Suhi, in the Guru Granth Sahib. Antithetically, it follows another of his compositions called Kuchaji (literally, an awkward, illmannered woman). Suchaji (`sn`, meaning good or appropriate; `chaf meaning

BUDDH SINGH MAN (d. 1856), son of Mana Singh, entered the service of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1816 as a khidmatgar (attendant). He rose to the command of 30 horse, and was given a.jagir worth 17,000 rupees. Later, he was promoted a colonel in General Court`s brigade. According to

SULTAN MAHMUD KHAN (d. 1859) , son of General Ghaus Khan, was a commander of a section of heavy artillery during the regime of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. His derah of artillery was designated as Topkhanai Sultan Mahmud. After the death of General Ghaus Khan in 1814, although the chief command

BUDDH SINGH SANDHANVALIA (d. 1827), soldier wdjagirdar in the time of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, was son of Amir Singh Sandhanvalia, his two brothers being the more famous Lahina Singh Sandhanvalia and Atar Singh Sandhanvalia. Buddh Singh entered the Maharaja`s service in 1811. The first independent command he held was

THACKWELL, SIR EDWARD JOSEPH (1781-1859), commander of cavalry division of the army of the Sutlej under Lord Hugh Gough in the first Anglo Sikh war was born on 1 February 1781, the son of John Thackwell. A veteran of Peninsula and Waterloo, he assumed command of the army of the

DE MEVIUS, BARON, also known as Frank Ernest Mevins, was a Prussian who came to the Punjab in March 1827 and was employed in the Sikh army in the rank of colonel. According to the Khalsa Darbar records, Mevius had to sign a pledge that he would, "during his period

VAK, from Sanskrit vaka (sounding, speaking ; a text, recitation or formula) or vakya (speech, saying, statement, declaration, a sentence or period), has a special connotation in the Sikh system. In Sikh terminology, Vak means the command or lesson read from the Guru Granth Sahib. Vak laina or hukam laina