NANKANA SAHIB (31°28`N, 73035`E), named after Guru Nanak (1469-1539), who was born here on Baisakh sudi 3, 1526 Bk/ 15 April 1469, is a subdivisional town in Sheikhupura district in Pakistan. Its old name was Talvandi Rai Bhoe Ki or Talvandi of Rai Bhoe, a Muslim Rajput of Bhatti

PAHAFUE,, usually pronounced pahire, is the title shared by four of the Sikh hymns two by Guru Nanak and one each by Guru Ram Das and Guru Arjanrecorded consecutively in the Siri Rag portion of the Guru Granth Sahib. The term pahareis the plural of pahard, meaning a guard

PATNA (25° 37`N, 85°10`E), ancient Pataliputra, now capital of Bihar state, is one of the most sacred places of pilgrimage for Sikhs. It is the birthplace of their Tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, and one of their seats of high religious authority. For this reason it is designated a

Panj Sau Sakhi, a collection of five hundred anecdotes (panj=five; sau=hundred; sakhi = anecdote), attributed to Bhai Ram Kuir (1672-1761), a descendant of Bhai Buddha, renamed Bhai Gurbakhsh Singh as he received the rites of the Khalsa at the hands of Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708). It is said that

ROHTAK (28°56`N, 76°34`E), district town in Haryana, claims two historical shrines, both dedicated to Guru Tegh Bahadur. GURDWARA BANGLA SAHIB is on the northwestern outskirts of the city. Guru Tegh Bahadur stayed at this site, near a pond. A small shrine was later raised on the spot. The shrine

SAHIB SINGH, RAJA (1773-1813), born on 18 August 1773 to Raja Amar Singh and Rani Raj Kaur, ascended the throne of Patiala after his father`s death in February 1781. In 1787 he was married, at Amritsar, to Ratan Kaur, daughter of Ganda Singh, the Bhangi chief. Five years later,

SARBATT KHALSA (sarbatt from Sanskrit sarva/ sarvatas meaning the whole or entire) is a term with a dual connotation. It is a concept as well as an institution. In the conceptual sense, KhaJsa is the extension of sarig"at, holycongregation, an institution which has been eulogized in the Sikh Scripture as

SIRSA, pronounced Sarsa (29"33`N, 75°04 E), in Haryana, once famous as a seat of Muslim Sufis and anchorites has two historical Sikh shrines : GURDWARA CHILHA SAHIB PATSHAHI 1. Guru Nanak once visited Sirsa and held discourse with the holy men, stressing the futility of withdrawal from the world

SUNDAR, BABA, celebrated for his six stanza composition, the Ramkali Sadu, incorporated in the Guru Granth Sahib, was the great grand son of Guru Amar Das. His father, Anand Das son of Baba Mohri, was a man of a devout temperament. Sundar grew up in an environment of faith and

TEJA SINGH, BABU (1867-1933), leader of the Bhasaur school of fundamentalism, was born on 20 January 1867, the son of`Subadar Sudh Singh and Jion Kaur of the village of Bhasaur in present day Sangrur district of the Punjab. His original name was Narain Singh. Having received his preliminary education in

VAIROKE, village 3 km west of Lopoke, in Amritsar district of the Punjab, claims a historical shrine sacred to Guru Nanak, who once visited it during his travels through these parts. According to local tradition, the Guru, sitting here on a dead her tree trunk discoursed with a Muslim faqir,