PHAGWARA (31°14`n, 75°46`E), an industrial town along the Sher Shah Suri Marg (Grand Trunk Road) in Kapurthala district of the Punjab, is sacred to Guru Hargobind, who passed through here on his way to Kiratpur after the battle of Kartarpur (M) 1635). Two historical gurdwaras within the limits of

RAHRASI is the name given to the main evening prayer of the Sikhs. The word itself implies supplication, though some traditionalist scholars have interpreted it as rahirdst which, in Persian, means the straight path, the path of faith and devotion as against that. of mere ritual practices or yogic

RORI SAHIB GURUDWARA, EMINABAD Eminabad, an old town 15 kilometres south of Gujrariwala, is linked to Grand Trunk Road and Eminabad railway station by four-kilometres stretch of metalled road. It has three historical shrines Gurudwara Rori Sahib, half-a-kilometre northwest of the town, marks the place where once Guru Nanak Dev,

SAKA PANJA SAHIB, the heroic event which took place at Hasan Abdal railway station, close to the sacred shrine of Pahja Sahib on the morning of 30 October 1922 and which has since passed into folklore as an instance of Sikh courage and resolution. A nonviolent morcha or agitation to

SARTHALI, a village 10 km south of Nurpur Bedi on Ropar Nurpur Bedi road in Ropar district of the Punjab, is sacred to Guru Gobind Sihgh, who arrived here from Anandpur on a brief visit. Gurdwara Ranthamba Sahib Patshahi Dasvin on the southern periphery of the village marks the spot

SODARU or SO DARU, lit. That Door, implying the entrance to the Lord`s presence, is a hymn by Guru Nanak figuring with slight orthographical variations, at three different places in the Guru Granth Sahib ; it forms part of the Japu (paun27), the morning prayer, and of the Rahrasi,

SURDAS, one of the medieval Indian bhakta poets whose verses have been incorporated in the Guru Granth Sahib. Surdas, whose original name was Madan Mohan, is said to have been born in 1529, in a high-ranking Brahman family. As he grew up, he gained proficiency in the arts of

THAKAR SINGH, GIANI (1838-1943). learned in Sikh sacred texts which he expounded with exceptional virtuosity, was born on 10 November 1838 at the village of`Jandiala in Hoshiarpur district of the Punjab, the son of Bhai Mahan Singh, a soldier in Maharaja Ranjit Singh`s army. Mahan Singh was a follower

VALLA, village 7 km east of Amritsar (31°38`N, 74°53`E) along the Amritsar Sri Hargobindpur road, is sacred to Guru Tegh Bahadur, who visited here in November 1664. According to Bhai Santokh Singh, Sri Gur Pratap Sura/` Granth, the Guru had come on a visit to the Harimandar, Amritsar, but

AGAUL, village 10 km from Nabha (30°22\'N, 76°9\'E) in Patiala district, has a historical shrine called Gurudwara Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib. In the course of a journey through this area, Guru Tegh Bahadur came and sat here under a pipal tree on the bank of a pond. The

The Gurdwara Aaduporh is a historical shrine commemorating the visit of Guru Hargobind Ji. Guru Ji came to the site while riding his horse, where now the present Gurdwara Sahib stands. At this place Guru Ji met a holyman whose name was Aadu and asked him about the well being

BAISAKHI, a seasonal festival popular in the Punjab which takes place on the First day of the solar month of Baisakh (Sanskrit Vaisakha, so called because according to astrological calculations, the moon at this time passes through visakha naksatra or constellation) of the Indian calendar. Traditionally, the festival was celebrated