guru

JIVAN SINGH, BHAI (1649-1705), Bhai Jaila before he had received the rites of initiation at the hands of Guru Gobind Singh in 1699, was a Sikh belonging to the scavenger caste who was given by Guru Gobind Singh the epithet of `Rarigharcta Guru Ka Beta` (the young man of the Rarighar caste is the Guru`s own son) when he brought the severed head of Guru Tcgh Bahadur from Delhi where he was executed under the orders of the emperor. Bhai Jaita was born on 30 November 1649 to mother Karmo and father Sada Chand. At the time of his birth, he was named Jag Chand, shortened to Jagu or Jola.

KAFI (Arabic Qafi), literally stands for the leader, the enlightener, one who fulfils the need. In poetics it denotes the refrain in a song or hymn, and is also the title given to a poetic form in Arabic as well as in Indian literature. Guru Nanak was the first to use this poetic form in Punjabi literature, and this he was followed by several Sufi poets and others. Kafi has also been called a ragim and a metre (tatank), though opinion differs on this count.In the Sikh Scripture, Guru Granth Sahib, Kafis have not been collected under any one raga; they occur under ragas Asa, Tilang, Suhi and Maru.

KALU, BHAI, named in Bhai Gurdas, Varan, XI. 13, among Guru Nanak`s leading Sikhs. He received instruction at the Guru`s hands and became a devoted disciple. He, as says Bhai Mani Singh, Sikhdn di Bhagal Maid, led several others into the holy path.

KANRE KI VAR, by Guru Ram Das, is one of the twenty-two compositions entered in the Guru Granth Sahib under the rubric of vdr. Like oilier vdrs it is assigned to a specific musical measure Kanra, in this instance. At the head of the Vdr is recorded by Guru Arjan, who prepared the first recension of the Holy Book, the direction as to the tune to which it should appropriately be sung, i.e. the tune of the folk ballad celebrating a popular hero, Musa, who attacked the chief to whom his fiancee had been married, capturing both the bridegroom and the bride, and then gallantly setting them free. The Vdr, in simple Punjabi with an occasional touch of Sadh Bhakha, consists of fifteen pauns, or stanzas, and thirty slokas, all of them of Guru Ram Das`s composition.

KARNI NAMAH, address on the importance of good conduct, is an apocryphal composition in verse attributed to Guru Nanak. In this work Guru Nanak is said to have predicted to one Qaxi Rukan Dm the advent of the rule of the Khalsa which will usher in the millennium.

KESHO GOPAL, PANDIT, a learned Brahman, became a devotee of Guru Amar Das. According to Sarup Das Bhalla, Mahimd Prakdsfi, he used to give discourses at the afternoon gatherings called by the Guru at Goindval. The words keso gopal pandit, appearing in the Guru Granth Sahib in the composition entitled Saddand taken by traditional commentators as alluding to an historical person, have been proved by modern scholars, on the basis of linguistic analysis and textual interpretation, as referring generally to holy men of God. However, according to an old manuscript, Mahima Prakash Sri Guru Amar Dev, one Kesho Pandit was head of a manji, appointed by Guru Amar Das. This Kcsho Pandit is most likely the same as Pandit Kesho Gopal.

KHEM KARAN (31°8`N, 74°3`E), a small border town in Ainritsar district of the Punjab, has two historical shrines dedicated one each to Guru Amar Das and Guru Tegh Bahadur. GURDWARA THAMM SAHIB, near the Kasur Gate, marks the site of a manjior preaching centre established by Guru Amar Das (1479-1574) through Bhai Kheda, a Brahman worshipper of goddess Durga converted to Sikhism. The Guru had given to Bhai Kheda a log pillar (thamm in Punjabi) which, preserved as a sacred relic, gave the shrine its name.

KIRPAL DAS, MAHANT, an Udasi prelate, was putting up with Guru Gobind Singh at Paonta Sahib at the time of the commencement of the battle of Bharigam, fought between the troops of hill chiefs and those of Guru Gobind Singh, in 1688. As his followers, not given to fighting ways, fled, Mahant Kirpal Das stayed back and joined action, flourishing his heavy mace or club. He was totally inexperienced in the art of war. Yet he engaged the Pathan chief, Hayat Khan, who dealt out a heavy blow with his sword. 

KUCHAJI, lit. an awkward, illmannered woman, is the title of one of Guru Nanak`s compositions, in measure Suhi in the Guru Granth Sahib. Antithetically it is followed by another of his compositions called Suchaji (lit. a woman of good manner and accomplishment). KuchaJi verses are said to have been addressed, by the Guru, to a sorceress named Nurshah, of Kamiup, who used to entice men by her magical powers. But the contents belie the conjecture. 

LAHILI KALAN, village 15 km southeast of Hoshiarpur (31°32`N, 75°55`E) in the Punjab, has an historical shrine, Gurudwara Jand Sahib Patshahl VII, raised in honour of Guru Har Rai, who visited the site during a journey from Kiratpur to Kartarpur. The Gurdwara is a high ceilinged hall, with a square sanctum in the centre. Above the sanctum is a domed room with a goldplated pinnacle and umbrella shaped final topped by a khanda. The jand (Prosopis specigera) tree believed to have existed since the time of Guru Har Rai`s visit and lending its name to the Gurdwara is about 30 metres west of the main building.