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

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

ARDAS (Prayer): Ardaas is a combination of two words: Araz and Daashat (literally: the petition of a slave). As a slave is to the Master, the Sikh is to the Almighty, but the root of a Sikhs slavery of the Almighty is not awe of the Almighty but love

BAGHEL SINGH (d. 1802), who succeeded in 1765 Karora Singh as leader of the Karor singhia misi or chief ship, is celebrated in Sikh history as the vanquisher of Mughal Delhi. A Dhalival Jatt, Baghel Singh arose from the village of Jhabal, in Amritsar district, to become a formidable

BAVAN AKHARI, a poem constructed upon 52 (bavan) letters (akhar) of the alphabet. In this form of poetry each verse begins serially with a letter of the alphabet. The origin of the genre is traced to ancient Sanskrit literature. Since the Devanagari alphabet, employed in Sanskrit, comprises fifty-two (bavan, in

BHIKHAN (1480-1573), a medieval Indian saint two of whose hymns are included in the Guru Granth Sahib. There are in fact two saints of that time sharing the same name Bhakta Bhikhan and Bhikhan the Sufi. Bhakta Bhikhan was a devotee in the tradition of Ravidas and Dhanna. His

BUDHMOR, commonly called Budhmar, is a village in Patiala district, 8 km southeast of Ghuram (30°7`N, 76°28`E). It is sacred to Guru Tegh Bahadur, who visited it during one of his journeys through this region. A Manji Sahib, constructed by Maharaja Karam Singh (1798-1845) of Patiala, was located east

BHISTA (BAHISHTA) He holds fasts, offers prayers and recites Kalimah, in this way Bhista (Bahishta) or heaven cannot be achieved..... Having comprehended himself, if one tries to know? others, then he can become a resident of Bhista..... (Asa Kabir, p. 480) You are impure and are not conscious about

CHUHARVAL, village 11 km west of Chamkaur Sahib (30° 53`N, 76° 25`E), has a gurdwara called Jhar Sahib, dedicated to Guru Gobind Singh, who quitting Chamkaur on the night of 7 December 1705, reached this spot. In a cluster of thorny bushes (Jhar) here, he relaxed for awhile before

DERA SAHIB, GURDWARA, commonly pronounced Dehra Sahib is located in the revenue limits of Lohar village, 10 km east of Naushahra Panvan (31° 20`N, 74° 57`E), in Amritsar district of the Punjab. It marks the site of a village called Patthevind where Guru Nanak`s ancestors had lived. Guru Nanak himself