DEV SAMAJ, a religious and social reform society, was founded on 16 February 1887 in Lahore by Pandit Shiv Narayan Agnihotri (1850-1929). The story of the Dev Samaj is in essence the story of its founder. Pandit Agnihotri was born in the village of Akbarpur, in Uttar Pradesh, on 20 December 1850. At sixteen he went to Thomson College of Engineering at Roorkee. In November 1873, he moved to Lahore taking a position as drawing master at the Government College.
Discover the legacy of Sadda Singh, a revered Nirmala scholar & master translator of Sanskrit classics. Explore his work on Advaita Siddhi & its impact.
DEVA SINGH NAROTAM, PANDIT (d. 1924), Nirmala scholar, was the son of Mahitab Singh of the village of Janetpura, 13 km north of Jagraori (30° 47`N, 75° 28`E), in Ludhiana district of the Punjab. He received his early lessons in the Sikh texts at the hands of Bhai Gurdit Singh and then left home to continue his studies under Sant Nattha Singh of Gurdwara Tapiana Sahib at Khadur Sahib, in Amritsar district, and later under Sant Mahna Singh (d. 1890) at the Nirmala dera or monastery at Khandur, near Mullaripur, in Ludhiana district. He accompanied Sant Mahna Singh to Bhai Rupa, a village 18 km north of Rampura Phul in Bathinda district, to join the Nirmala monastery called Dera Khuharivala. Here, Deva Singh, already reputed enough as a scholar to be known as pandit (lit. learned scholar), was put by his mentor through a course of comparative study of gurbani in the light of his knowledge of Sanskrit and Vedanta.
Discover the inspiring journey of Pandit Sadhu Singh, a distinguished Nirmala scholar and Shri Mahant of the Nirmal Pahchayati Akhara.
DINA NATH, PANDIT (b. 1888), active supporter of and participant in the Sikh Gurdwara reform movement 1920-25, was born in 1888, the son of Pandit Bal Krishan of Amritsar. In the wake of the agrarian protest in the Punjab in 1907, he joined the Indian National Congress. He was secretary of the Amritsar District Congress Committee when the Gurdwara reform or AkaIi movement got under way with the establishment in November 1920 of a representative Sikh body, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee. Pandit Dina Nath was in sympathy with the movement and joined the Akali agitation for the restoration of the keys of the to shakhana or treasury of the Darbar Sahib, which had been taken away by the British Deputy Commissioner on 7 November 1921.
Discover the Sat Sabha, a 19th-century reform society advocating Punjabi language, women's rights, and new theistic rituals in Lahore, Punjab.
DURGA, PANDIT, or Durgo Bhambi, a Sarsvat Brahman of Bhambi clan living in the village of Mihra or Mahera (location obscure), predicted great name and fame for (Guru) Amar Das when the latter even had not yet met Guru Ahgad. According to Sarup Das Bhalla, Mahima Prakash, Amar Das, at the time of one of his pilgrimages to Haridvar, halted at Mihra for rest in a house maintained by Durga Pandit for travellers. As he lay asleep, Durga, who was an astrologer as well as a palmist, observed in one of his feet a lotus mark which is believed to be the sign of sovereignty or exceptional spiritual eminence.
Explore the life of Pandit Tara Singh Narotam, a prominent Nirmala scholar known for his contributions to Sikh literature and Vedantic interpretation.
Discover the inspiring journey of Pandit Gulab Singh, a Jatt who overcame caste barriers to master Sanskrit and Braj Bhasa, leaving a scholarly legacy.
Explore Pandit Varyam Singh's legacy as a revered religious scholar and education advocate in Punjab. Discover his influence in Sikh reform.
