Discover the legacy of Ganga Ram, a brave son of Bhai Sadhu and Bibi Viro, who fought valiantly in the 1688 Battle of Bhangani alongside Guru Gobind Singh.
GIRDHAR LAL or Girdhari Lal, a poet in Guru Gobind Singh`s retinue at Paonta, was the author of Pingal Sdr, a treatise in verse on Hindi prosody. According to its autobiographical stanzas 716, Girdhar Lal was the son of Gaj Mall, a Khatri of Gadiyal clan. The family came originally from Multan but after a stay at Sadhaura, now in Yamunanagar district of Haryana, had settled at Lahore. From there Dvarka Das, great great grandfather of Girdhar Lal, had shifted to Agra at the in stance of Muzaffar Khan, an Afghan noble.
Explore Paonta Sahib, a spiritual haven by the Yamuna in Himachal Pradesh, where Guru Gobind Singh created a treasure of literature and legacy.
BHANGANI, a small village on the right bank of the River Yamuna about 11 km from Paonta (30°25`N, 70°40`E) in Sirmur district of Himachal Pradesh was the scene of a battle between the hill rajas and Guru Gobind Singh. The chiefs taking exception to Guru Gobind Singh`s teaching equalizing all castes and feeling jealous of his growing influence, marched against him, led by Raja Fateh Chand of Srinagar (Garhval). Forestalling the attack on Paonta, Guru Gobind Singh advanced towards Bhangani with his Sikhs.
FATEH SHAH (d. 1716) was the ruler of the Himalayan state of Srinagar (Garhval) from 1684 to 1716. He had strained relations with Raja Medini Prakash of Sirmur. When Guru Gobind Singh made Paonta his headquarters in April 1685 at the invitation of the latter, he brought about reconciliation between Fateh Shah and the Sirmur chief. According to Sikh chroniclers, Guru Gobind Singh sent presents through his diwan, Nand Chand, to Raja Fateh Shah on the occasion of the marriage of his daughter to Ajmer Chand, son of Raja Bhim Chand of Kahlur. Bhim Chand, who resented the cordiality which existed between Guru Gobind Singh and Fateh Shah, urged the Srinagar ruler not to accept the presents sent by the Guru.
