CHAUBIS AVTAR, a collection of twenty-four legendary tales of twenty-four incarnations of the god Visnu, forms a part of Bachitra Natak, in Guru Gobind Singh`s Dasam Granth. The complete work contains a total of 4,371 verseunits of which 3,356 are accounted for by Ramavtar and Krishnavtar. The shortest is

CHUNG TONG, a small village on the bank of the River Teesta in Sikkim, 168 km north of the nearest railhead, Siliguri, has recently been discovered to have a connection with early Sikh history. Local tradition there refers to the visit of Guru Nanak (1469-1539) to the place during his

DAMDAMA SAHIB, also known as Talwand Sabo (29° 59`N, 75° 5`E), a small town 28 km southeast of Bathinda in the Punjab, is sacred to the Sikhs as the seat of one of their five takhts or centres of highest religious authority. Damdama Sahib, place of repose where the

DHINGAR, BHAI, a carpenter, was a devoted Sikh of the time of Guru Hargobind (1595-1644). According to Bhai Mani Singh, Sikhan di Bhagat Mala, Bhai Dhirigar, along with Bhai Maddu, a fellow worker in the craft, came to serve at the Guru`s feet. During the day they hewed wood

DIVALI, festival of lights (from Sanskrit dipamala or dipavali meaning row of lamps or nocturnal illumination), is observed all over India on amavasya, the last day of the dark half of the lunar month of Kartika (October-November). Like other seasonal festivals, Divali has been celebrated since time immemorial. In its

DASVANDH or Dasaundh, lit. a tenth part, refers to the practice among Sikhs of contributing in the name of the Guru one-tenth of their earnings towards the common resources of the community. This is their religious obligation a form of seva or humble service so highly valued in the Sikh

DASRATH (JASRATH) (Guru Ramdas) was like Rama, the beautiful chief of the dan of Raghu and son of Dasrath..... (Swayye Mahle Chauthe Ke, p. 1401) My king Raja Ramchand, the son of Jasrath (Dasrath)—His Name, says Namdev, be drunk as the essence and ambrosia. (Ramkali Namdev, p. 973) Dasrath,

GAGGOBUA, village 27 km southwest of Amritsar (31°38\'N, 74°52\'E) along the Amritsar Khemkaran road, is sacred to Guru Hargobind (1595-1644), who came here once following the chase. Gurdwara Manji Sahib Chhevin Patshahi, constructed at the site of the old shrine, marks the spot where Guru Hargobind had halted. The

GARHI NAZIR, a village 3 km to the southeast of Samana (30°11`N, 76°11`E), is the site of an historical Sikh shrine called Gurdwara Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Patshahi 9. From Samana, Guru Tegh Bahadur, for whose arrest an imperial troop had been patrolling the countryside, was escorted by Muhammad

GIANI SAMPRADAI is one of three major schools of Sikhs theologians and expositors of the Sikh scripture, the other two being the Udasis and the Nirmalas. Giani, the Punjabi form of Sanskrit jndni from the rootjnd (to know), originally meant a scholar of high learning. In Sikh tradition, a gidmis