SAROVAR, a tank, pool or lake, especially at a sacred place or by a holy shrine used for sacramental ablutions and other religious ceremonies. Sanskrit synonyms are sar, sarvar, tarag and vapl. Another word is puskar or puskarini which usually means a pond full of lotus

ADDAN SHAH, BHAI (1688-1757), third in succession to Bhai Kanhaiya, founder of the Sevapanthi sect, was born in 1688 in the village of Lau in Jhang district, now in Pakistan. His parents were of a devout temperament and he inherited from them a deeply religious bent of mind. He

AKALI DAL, CENTRAL, a political organization of the Sikhs set up in March 1934 as a parallel body to the Shiromani Akali Dal. The latter was formed on 14 December 1920 to assist the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee in its campaign for the reformation of the management of the

ALLARD, JEAN FRANCOIS (1785-1839), Chevalier of the Legion of Honour, an order instituted in 1802 by Napoleon I, was born at Saint Tropez, France, on 8 March 1785. In 1803, he joined the French army and served in it fighting in the Imperial Cavalry in far flung fields in Italy,

ANAHATASABDA figures variously in the Guru Granth Sahib as anahadasabad, anahadatura, anahadajhunkara, anahadabain, anahatanada, anahadabani and anahadadhumand in the Dasam Granth as anahadabani and anahadabaja. The word anahata is from the Sanskrit language. It occurs in Pali and Prakrit texts as well. In the Sanskrit original, it implies unstruck; it

ARJAN DEV, GURU (1563-1606), fifth in the line of ten Gurus or prophet teachers of the Sikh faith, was born on Baisakh vadi 7, 1620 Bk/15 April 1563 at Goindval, in present day Amritsar district, to Bhai Jetha who later occupied the seat of Guruship as Guru Ram Das, fourth

AZAD PUNJAB scheme, signifying a major shift in the kinds of political strategies to be pursued by Sikh political leadership in their efforts to enhance the political influence of their community, was a crucial turning point in the development of modern Sikh politics. With the introduction of the Montagu Chelmsford

BAHR ULMAWWAJ (lit. stormy or tempestuous sea), also known as Akhbar us Salatin, is a comprehensive work on Muslim history divided into nine parts and 49 sections fancifully called bahr (sea) and waves (mauJ) respectively, and hence the title. Its last part divided into six sections deals with Indian Timurides

BARA SINGH, BHAI (1903-1921), one of the Nankana Sahib martyrs, was the son of Bhai Pala Singh and Mai Man Kaur of Bandala village in Amritsar district. Some time after his birth on 8 Kattak 1960 Bk/23 October 1903, the family migrated to Chakk No. 71 Bandala Bachan Singhvala

BHAGTA or Bhagta, Bhai Ka, village 20 km east to Jaito (30° 26`N, 74° 53`E) in Faridkot district of the Punjab, was founded during the latter lialf of the seventeenth century by Bhai Bhagta, grandson of Bhai Bahilo (1553-1643) a leading Sikh of the time of Guru Arjan. As

BIBEKBARDHI, (bibek= discrimination or discipline, bard/if = ocean; by implication, "guide to Sikh religious practice") is a collection of rahit namas or codes of conduct compiled in AD 1877 by Pandit Bhagvan Singh, a Brahman who converted to Sikhism under the influence of Baba Sumer Singh, celebrated high priest

BUDDHA SINGH, BHAI (d. 1774), a Brar Jatt who had seen the stirring days of Guru Gobind Singh, took part in January 1764 in the joint attack of Sikh sardars upon Sirhind. The town was seized from the Afghan governor, Zain Khan, who was killed in the action. Since