ARATI, from Sanskrit aratrik, meaning the light or the vessel containing it which is waved before an idol, generally in the clockwise direction, accompanied by the chanting of mantras. This is also the name given the ceremony which for the Hindus is a mode of ritual worship to propitiate

ANCESTORS,In ancient Hindu scriptures, the honouring of human ancestors is commanded. Pitri or mass\'s to one\'s ancestors arc regarded as sacred funeral rights and Sradh (offerings of food) are considered obligatory for placating the spirits of the departed ancestors up to thee seventh generation. It is believed that the

GRANTHI, from the Sanskrit granthika (a relaier or narrator), is a person who reads the granih, Sanskrit grantha (composition, treatise, book, text). The terms are derived from the Sanskrit grath which means "to fasten, tie or string together, to compose (a literary work)." In Sikh usage, granih refers especially to

MIRZAPUR (25°10`N, 82°35`E), in Uttar Pradesh on the right bank of the River Gariga was visited by Guru Nanak, in the course of his travels across the country. When Guru Tegh Bahadur passed through the town in 1666 on his way from Allahabad to Varanasi, he met here a

MONGHYR. pronounced Mungher (25°22`N, 86°30`E), a district town in Bihar, 170 km east of Patna Sahib, has an historical shrine dedicated to Guru Tegh Bahadur, who stayed here during his tour of the eastern districts in 1666. It is called Gurdwara Pakki Sangat and is located in Bazar area