BASANT SINGH, PANDIT (1868-1941). eminent Nirmala scholar which status is betokened by the prefix Pandit (meaning a man of surpassing learning) added to his name, was born on 26 June 1868, the son of Bhai Kala Singh of a Jatt Sikh family of Dhingarian village, 3 km north of

BHAG SINGH, SANT (1766-1839), of Kuri. a holy man widely respected in his time, was born the son of Bhai Hans Rai in 1766 at Qadirabad, a village in Gujrat district (now in Pakistan), where his grandfather, Gurbakhsh Singh, said to have been in the retinue of Guru Gobind

DARGAHA SINGH, BHAI (1713-1823), a Nirmala saint, was born in 1713 the son of Bhai Nigahia Singh of the village of Laungoval, in present day Sangrur district of the Punjab. Nigahia Singh was known to be the elder brother of Bhai Mani Singh, the martyr. For the divali festival

LAL SINGH NAROTAM (1840-1926), also known as Sant Lal Singh Hare Ram, a Nirmala scholar, was born the son of Bhai Kirpal Singh and Raj Karni Devi on 14 September 1840 at Bhera,Jehlum district, now in Pakistan. The family claimed descent from Bhai Manna Singh, one of Guru Gobind

LANGAR SINGH, BABA, an eighteenth century Nirmala saint, was the son of Bhai Parshada Sihgh and Mai Valtohl, a devout Sikh couple contemporary with Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708) and living at Kot Kapura (30"35`N. 74°49`E) now in Faridkot district of the Punjab. The names Prasada (lit. bread or meal),

MAHITAB SINGH, MAHANT (1811-1871), founder Sri Mahant (head) of Sri Nirmal Panchaiti Akhara, at Patiala, was born in 1811 in a Jatt Sikh family of the village of Lehal Kalan, now in Sangrur district in the Punjab. He learnt to read Punjabi in his village and gained fluency in

NIHAL SINGH, SANT, also known as Pandit Nihal Singh, a Sanskrit scholar well versed in Vedanta as well as in gurbdm, lived in Sikh times in the village of Thoha Khalsa, in district Rawalpindi, now in Pakistan. Pandit Nihal Singh is famous for his Sanskrit commentary on Japu, {hefapugudhdrthadipakd

NIRMAL PANCHAITI AKHARA is a seminary of the Nirmala sect of the Sikhs established in 1862 at Patiala. Akhdrd, lit. arena, signifies a monastery or seminary with facilities for board, lodging and education of sadhus of a particular sect or cult. Sannyasi and Bairagi sadhus had their respective akhdrds, also

SADDA SINGH, PANDIT, was a Nirmala scholar, who read Sanskrit with Pandit Chet Singh of Kashi. He attained such mastery of Sanskrit learning that his teacher made over to him his school before he died. The Pandits of Kashi honored him with the highest scholarly rank of Dandipad, after

SADHU SINGH, PANDIT (1840-1907), a school man of the Nirmala order, was born in the village of Saraliari, in Amritsar district, in 1840. From his very childhood, he developed an inclination for the company of holy men. This was cause of concern for his father, Sobha Singh, and mother,

TARA SINGH NAROTAM, PANDIT (1822-1891), a renowned scholar of the Nirmala school, was born in the village of Kalma, near Qadian, in Gurdaspur district of the Punjab. Very little is known about his early life except that, under the influence of his father, who was a devout Sikh, he