LAL SINGH NAROTAM (1840-1926), also known as Sant Lal Singh Hare Ram, a Nirmala scholar, was born the son of Bhai Kirpal Singh and Raj Karni Devi on 14 September 1840 at Bhera,Jehlum district, now in Pakistan. The family claimed descent from Bhai Manna Singh, one of Guru Gobind

MUKTSAR (30°29`N, 74°31`E), a district town in the Punjab, commemorating the martyrdom of Forty Muktas, i.e. the Liberated Ones, is a famous pilgrimage centre for the Sikhs. The sacred pool which lends its name to the town was formerly known as Khidrana Dhab, a natural depression which fed by

Nandram, one of the poets who kept Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708) company, was the son of a well-known Sufi poet, Vali Ram. He had been in the service of Dara Shukoh, who, having lost the struggle for succession to his father\'s throne, was executed by his brother, Emperor Aurangzib,

PRITHI CHAND DADHVAL (d.1696) was one of the hill chieftains who sided with Bhim Chand, the ruler of Kahlur, in the battle of Nadaun fought on 20 March 1691 against Alif Khan, the deputy of Mian Khan. governor of Jammu. Guru Gobind Singh helped Bhim Chand and his allies

SAHIB DEVAN, by tradition mother of the Khalsa, was the daughter of Bhai Har Bhagvan alias Ramu, a Bassi Khatri, and his wife, Jas Devi, a devout Sikh couple of Rohtas, in Jehlum district (now in Pakistan). Her parents had from the beginning dedicated her to the service of

SILOANI, village 9 km from Raikot town (30139`N, 75"37`E), is sacred to the memory of Guru Gobind Singh, who visited the place travelling through the Malva after the battle of Chamkaur in December 1705. Gurdwara Beri Sahib Patshahi Dasvin commemorates the spot where Guru Gobind Singh alighted for rest

TARAPUR, a village 5 km east of Anandpur (310 14N, 760 31`E) in Ropar district of the Punjab, is sacred to Guru Gobind Singh, who constructed a fortress here after his return from Paonta in 1688. He also had a baoli (open well with steps leading down to water

VIDIA SAGAR GRANTH, lit. the book (granth) of the ocean (sagar) of wisdom {vidia), is the title given to a legendary literary corpus created at Anandpur under the patronage of Guru Gobind Singh. The volume, also known as Vidiasar Granth, Vidiadhar Granth and Samund Sagar Granth, was supposed to comprise

AMARNAMA, a Persian work comprising 146 verses composed in AD 1708 by Bhai Natth Mall, a dhadi or balladeer who lived from the time of Guru Hargobind to that of Guru Gobind Singh, Nanak X. The manuscript of the work in Gurmukhi script obtained from Bhai Fatta, ninth in descent

BANDAI, name given to the followers of the Sikh hero, Banda Singh Bahadur (1670-1716), who regarded him not only as a military leader but also as Guru next to Guru Gobind Singh in spiritual succession. They were opposed and ultimately expelled in 1721 by the mainstream of the Sikhs,

BHERA SRI GOBIND SINGH JI KA, also known as Var Bhere ki Patshahi Das, is an anonymous account, in Punjabi verse, of the battles of Anandgarh, Nirmohgarh and Chamkaur (1762 Bk/AD 1705). BAera from bher in Punjabi means a headon clash between two rival forces. A manuscript of this work

CHALITARJOTlJOTI SAMAVANE KE, one of a collection of seven unpublished Punjabi manuscripts held in the Khalsa College at Amritsar under catalogue No. 1579E. Comprising a bare three folios (3063-08), it is divided into two sections. The first part (ft. 3063-07) entitled "Verva Guriai ka Likhia," lit. details recorded of the