ONKAR, generally written down as Oankar in Sikh Scriptural writings, is derived from the Upanisadic word Oankara (om+kara) originally signifying pronouncing or rendering into writing the syllable Om. Known as synonym of Om it has been used in the Vedic literature and, in particular in its religio philosophical texts known

PIPA, one of whose hymns is incorporated in the Guru Granth Sahib, was a prince who renounced his throne in search of spiritual solace. He was born at Gagaraun, in present day Jhalawar district of Rajasthan, about AD 1425. He was a devotee of the goddess Bhavani whose idol

RAM RAI (1646-1687), the elder son of Guru Har Rai, Nanak VII, was born to Mata Sulakkhani at Kiratpur on 11 March 1646. Brought up under the loving care of his parents amid an atmosphere of peace and tranquillity that reigned over Kiratpur, their resort in the Sivaliks, Ram

SADDU and his brother Maddu were rebeck players in attendance on Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708) at Anandpur. They performed kirtan for the Guru.

SALOX VARAN TE VADHIK is the title given to a miscellany comprising 152 slokas or couplets appearing in the concluding portion of the Guru Granth Sahib. Guru Arjan, when compiling the Holy Volume introduced slokas by the Gurus he had collected into the texts of vars, another favored form

SHABAD HAJARE PATSHAHI 10 is the title by which a complement of 10 of Guru Gobind Singh`s sabdas in the Dasam Granth is known. In the text these sabdas appear under the individual rag"as in which they have been composed, carrying no specific title as such. Shabad Hajare is

SUNDAR SINGH, SANT GIANI (1883-1930), teacher of the sacred texts and exegete from whose seat in his native village the Bhindrarivala school of Sikh learning derived its name, was born on 18 August 1883, the son of Khazan Singh and Mahitab Kaur alias Tab Kaur, a devoted couple of

TILOKA, BHAI, a Suhar Khatri officer in the Mughal army at Ghazni, once waited on Guru Arjan and said, "Soldiering being my profession, violence is my duty. How shall I be saved ?" The Guru spoke, "Remain firm in your duty as a soldier, but let not your mind

VAR SAT ("Seven Days of the Week"), title shared by two of the compositions in the Guru Granth SahibKabir`s in measure Gauri and Guru Amar Das` in measure Bilaval. The one by Guru Amar Das is entitled Var Sat, while that by Kabir has a variation in the form

AMRIK SINGH, a Jambar Jatt of Maghiana in Lahore district, was a devoted Sikh of the time of Guru Gobind Singh. Bhai Santokh Singh, 5n GurPratap Suraj Granth, lists him among those who received baptismal rites on the day the Khalsawas initiated (30 March 1699). Amrik Singh, according to

AKAL BUNGA SAHIB GURUDWARA, ANANDPUR This Gurdwara is situated exact opposite to Gurdwara Sis Ganj. Here, Guru Sahib addressed the Sikhs after the cremation of the head of Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib. Guru Sahib asked the Sikhs to bow before the Will of the Almighty. He told them to be

BASANT KIVAR, by Guru Arjan, is the shortest of the twenty-two vars, i.e. holy poems composed in the style or tone of odes (vars, in Punjabi) or heroic ballads included in the Guru Granth Sahib. Basant, Punjabi for spring, from which musical measure the Var derives its title is,