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 Rai grew up into a robust youngman, well versed in the sacred lore and in the use of arms. During the war of succession fought among the sons of Emperor Shah Jahan, Prince Dara Shukoh, defeated in battle and hotly pursued by the victor, Aurarigzib, met Guru Har Rai at Goindval in the last week of June 1658 and sought consolation in his blessing. Reports of the meeting between the Guru and the fugitive prince were carried to Aurangzib who, after he had established himself securely on the throne, summoned Guru Har Rai to meet him.
RANG DAS, BHAI. a Bhandari Khatri of Gharuan, an old village in Ropar district of the Punjab, was a prominent Sikh of the time of Guru Amar Das. He had been a follower of Bairagi sddhus until he met Bhai Paro, whose example led him to embrace the Sikh faith. Bhai Rang Das is also said to have held charge of a manji or preaching district.
ROHTA, village 4 km north east of Nabha (30° 22`N, 76° 9`E) in Patiala district, is sacred to Guru Tegh Bahadur, who visited it in the course of a journey through the Malva country. Sikhs belonging to the weaver community of the village established a platform to commemorate the event. The Manji Sahib later constructed was replaced by a modern building in 1920. The present complex consists of a square hall with the sanctum in the middle.
SADDHU, BHAI, resident of Lahore, was a devoted Sikh of the time of Guru Arjan. According to Bhai Santokh Singh, Sri Gur Pratap Suraj Granth, the Guru was putting up with him at his residence in Lahore when Chandu Shah, who had had a hand in the martyrdom of Guru Arjan, had him apprehended by the Mughal authority.
SAHERI, originally called Kheri, is a village about 2 km west of Morinda ( 30"47`N, 76"29`E) in Ropar district of the Punjab. The village was destroyed by Banda Singh Bahadur in 1710, and the habitation that reappeared upon its ruins dropped the old name because of its dismal associations and adopted the new name of Saheri. It was at Kheri that Mata Gujari and her two young grandsons, Zorawar Singh and Fateh Singh, aged 9 and 7 respectively, were betrayed to their captors.
SAISARU, BHAI, a devoted Sikh of the time of Guru Ram Das. His name occurs in Bhai Gurdas, Varan, XI. 17. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Mani Singh, Bhai, Sikhan di Bhagat Mala. Amritsar, 1955 2. Santokh Singh, Bhai, Sri Gur Pratap Suraj Granth. Amritsar, 1927-35 Gr.S. SAISARU, BHAI, a Talvar Khatri of Agra, was a devoted Sikh of the time of Guru Arjan. He once had the privilage of the Guru`s audience and of receiving blessing from him. His name occurs among Guru Arjan`s leading Sikhs in Bhai Gurdas, Varan, XI. 27. See ALAM CHAND HANDA
SAN GRAND, sankranti in Sanskrit, is the first day of each month of the Indian solar calendar, based on the shifting of the sun from one house (rasi) to another. From quite early in human history, the sun, and its satellites, the planets, came to be regarded as objects endowed with celestial mind, a definite personality and the capability of influencing the destinies of human beings. They became the deities whose favourable intervention was sought by men in their affairs.
SARANG Kl VAR, in the Guru Granth Sahib, is of the composition of Guru Ram Das. It is set to be sung in Sarang raga and hence the tide Sarang ki Var. Nine of the 22 vars included in the Guru Granth Sahib are composed in the musical mode of some of the current folk vars of those days, and Guru Arjan who compiled the Holy Book, recorded instructions as to the tune in which a particular varwas to be recited. Sarang ki Var is composed to the tune of the secular var of Rai Mahima and Hasna, which depicts the rivalry and combat of these two feudal chiefs. It consists of 36 pauns, 35 by Guru Ram Das and one 35th by Guru Arjan.
SAU SAKHI (lit. a book of one hundred anecdotes) is the popular name of Gur Ratan Mal (lit. a string of the Guru`s gems), a work esoteric and prophetic in nature : also problematic as regards the authenticity of its text. Its writer, one Sahib Singh, describes himself only as a scribe who wrote to the dictation of Bhai Gurbakhsh Singh, better known as Bhai Ram Kunvar (1672-1761) and a knowledgeable and honoured member of the retinue of Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708). The book is meant to be a narrative pertaining to the life of Guru Gobind Singh, supposedly based on the personal knowledge of Bhai Ram Kunvar, although later interpolations and corruption of the text are clearly decipherable.
SHER MUHAMMAD KHAN, NAWAB (d. 1710), an Afghan feudatory of the Mughals, was the chief of Malerkotia and held a high military position in the sarkar or division of Sirhind. He had participated in the batde of Chamkaur and was present in the court at Sirhind when Nawab Wazir Khan, the faujdar, pronounced death for Sahibzada Zorawar Singh and Sahibzada Fateh Singh, the younger sons of Guru Gobind Singh, who were 9 and 7 years of age, respectively. Sher Muhammad Khan pleaded against the death sentence on the ground that the boys were too young to be given such a harsh penalty and could not in any case be held responsible for the actions of their father. Wazir Khan, however, overruled the objection and the Sahibzadas were brutally executed.
