NAINA SINGH, AKALI, eighteenth century Nihang warrior esteemed as much for his piety as for his valour. His special title to fame rests on the fact that he was the guardian of the celebrated Akali Phula Singh (1761-1823) whom he trained in the martial arts. Little is known about his

AMAR DAS, GURU (1479-1574), the third of the ten Gurus of the Sikh faith, was born into a Bhalla Khatri family on Baisakh sudi 14, 1536 Bk, corresponding to 5 May 1479, at Basarke, a village in present day Amritsar district of the Punjab. His father\'s name was Tej Bhan

CHARAN SINGH, DR (1853-1908), poet and musicologist, was born at Amritsar in 1853 (father: Kahn Singh ; mother Rup Kaur) and was seventh in descent from Diwan Kaura Mail, an influential eighteenth century Sahajdhari Sikh. Kahn Singh (1788-1878) who was of a retiring disposition had spent some years in the

Guru Nanak (1469-1539) represents the highest point of Punjabi literature, it has reached so far. Not because he is the first preceptor of the; religion of the Sikhs who are to this day staunch champions of Punjabi literature, the excellence in its own right, though it is available to us

MANI SINGH JANAM SAKHI, also known as CYAN RATNAVALI and traditionally attributed to Bhai Mani Singh, a famous Sikh of the early eighteenth century martyred by the Mughal governor of Lahore, Zakariya Khan, in 1737, is a collection of 225 anecdotes related to the life of Guru Nanak and some

PUNN, a concept in the Indian tradition carrying simultaneously ethical, spiritual and philosophical connotations. As an ethical concept it implies voluntary obedience to the moral rules of conduct which have the sanction of a system of reward and punishment. As spiritual attitude, it is the inclination of the self towards

Satbir Singh, eminent scholar, was born on 1st March 1932 at Jehlum (now in Pakistan), Father: Bhai Hamam Singh, mother: Ranjit Kaur. Professor Satbir Singh\'s tally of more than 70 titles covering a life span of 62 years makes a formidable catalogue. Among it are works of minute research,

ASCETICISM, derived from the Greek word askesis, connotes the `training` or `exercise` of the body and the mind. Asceticism or ascetic practices belong to the domain of religious culture, and fasts, pilgrimages, ablutions, purificatory rituals, vigils, abstinence from certain foods and drinks, primitive and strange dress, nudity, uncut hair, tonsure.

COURT, CAROLINE FEZLI AZAMJOO (1821-1869), born as Fezli Azamjoo in Kashmir on 13 June 1821, married Claude Auguste Court, a general in the Sikh army, by 1836. They had three children by the time they left the Punjab in 1843. On 25 June 1844, Fezli and her children were baptized

GODAVARI Going to Ganga, Gaya and Goda van are mere worldly rituals. (Basant Namdev, p. 1196) Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari and Sarasvati all long for the dust of the feet of the saint. (Malar M. 4, p. 1263) Godavari is a river, originating from the hills of! Nasik, Bombay. Though

MARTYRDOM or voluntarily laying down of one`s life for one`s faith or principles, considered a noble death in any society, is especially prized in Sikhism which has a long and continuous tradition of such adherence to religious belief and sacrifice for it. Etymologically, "martyr" is derived from the Greek

RAJINDER SINGH. MAHARAJA (1872-1900), son of Maharaja Mohinder Singh, was born at Patiala on 25 May 1872. After the death of his father, he ascended the throne of Patiala on 6 January 1877. During his regency the Sirhind canal was completed, and a broadguage railway line from Rajpura to