Discover the history of Vanjara Sikhs, their role as medieval traders, and their cultural integration within Sikhism across Central and South India.
Uncover the pivotal role of Guru Arjan Dev in Sikhism's evolution. His teachings, leadership, and contributions shaped Sikh tradition profoundly.
Discover Akal Bunga Sahib Gurudwara in Anandpur. Learn about its historical significance, related to Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib's legacy and Sikh faith.
Discover Bani Bhagatan Satix, an in-depth exegesis by Pandit Tara Singh Narotam on bhakta hymns in the Guru Granth Sahib, reflecting Vedantic insights.
BELA SINGH, BHAI (1865-1921), son of Bhai Mayya and Mai Raji, a Saini Sikh couple, was born at Kartarpur in Jalandhar district. The family originally belonged to Faridkot state, from where Bela Singh`s grandfather, Bhai Sobha, had migrated to Kartarpur where he served in Guru ka Larigar run by local mahants, who in recognition of his services had allotted some agricultural land to him. Bela Singh was the first in the family to receive the Khalsa paau. He engaged himself in agriculture but also continued to serve in Guru ka Langar.
BIDAR (17° 55`N, 77° 32`E) is a district town in Karnataka. It is a railway station on the VikarabadParliVaijnath section of the South Central Railway. It is also connected by road with Nanded. GURDWARA SRi NANAK JHiRA SAHIB at Bidar honours the memory of Guru Nanak. At the time of Guru Nanak`s visit, Bidar was the capital of the Bahmani kingdom. Since the establishment in the town of the great Madarsa by Mahmud Gawari in 1471-72, it had been a famous centre of Arabic learning in the Deccan.
BUR MAJRA, a small village about 8 km east of Chamkaur Sahib (30°53`N, 76°25`E) in Ropar district of the Punjab, claims a historical shrine, Gurdwara Patshahi 10 located near an old well. It is said that Guru Gobind Singh, while proceeding to Chamkaur on 6 December 1705 after evacuating Anandpur Sahib, halted here awhile. The well which has existed since then provided water for the trav ellers and their horses. The Gurdwara commemorating the visit, comprises a divan hall with the sanctum for the Guru Granth Sahib in the centre. The management is in the hands of the Nihangs.
CHABBA, a village 10 km south of Amritsar (31° 38`N, 74° 52`E) along AmritsarTarn Taran road, has a historical shrine called Gurdwara Sangrana Sahib. The Gurdwara itself is so named because, according to local tradition, one of the battles (sangram in Hindi and Punjabi) of Amritsar between Guru Hargobind (1595-1644) and the Mughal troops was fought here. Another tradition connected with the place is that Sulakkhani, a childless woman of the village, asked for and received a boon from Guru Hargobind as a result of which she subsequently became the mother of seven sons.
Gurudwara Chowbachcha Sahib at Dharampura, Lahore Chowbachcha Sahib bus stop lies between Mughalpura and Dharampura by the canal flowing through Lahore. Chowbachcha Sahib the shrine of Ram Rai Ji is situated in the locality north of this bus stop. It is a spacious building. The main door is very huge. About 200 steps inside the main enterance the passage splits into two lanes. There is a small round door. It is the door of Gurdwara Sahib. There are four similar doors.
DHANNA, BHAGAT (b. 1415?), one of the medieval saints whose bani has been incorporated in the Guru Granth Sahib, describes himself in a hymn, in Raga Asa, as an ignorant Jatt and explains how he was attracted to the worship of God by the examples of Namdev (a calicoprinter), Kabir (a weaver), Ravidas (a cobbler) and Sain (a barber). Nabhadas, Bhaktamal, includes Dhanna among the twelve disciples of Ramanand (1299-1410), though it has been questioned if all the twelve did indeed live at the same time. Max Arthur Macauliffe fixes AD 1415 as the year of Dhanna`s birth, but his name nowhere appears in the writings of Kabir (f7. 15th century) or Ravidas (fl. 15th century).
