AKAL BUNGA, lit. the abode of the Timeless One, is the building that houses the Akal Takht in the precincts of the Darbar Sahib at Amritsar. The term is also used sometimes synonymously with Akal Takht. Strictly speaking, while Akal Takht is the institution possessing and exercising

BHAGVAN SINGH, BHAI (1881-1921), one of the Nankana Sahib martyrs, was son of Bhai Lahina Singh and Mat Tabo of village Nizampur, in Amritsar district. He lost his mother at the age of three. On the opening of the Lower Chenab Canal Colony during the last decade of the

TANKHAH, from Persian tankhwah, generally meaning pay or salary, has an additional, ironical connotation in Sikh vocabulary. The word in this sense means expiatory penalty levied upon a Sikh from breach of rahit, i.e. the prescribed code of conduct or of a vow religiously made. This use of the

CHAUNKI or Chauki, lit. quarter, a four footed wooden platform upon which sat the holy choir to recite the sacred hymns in a gurdwara or at a gathering of the devotees. The term chaunki also refers to a session of kirtan or hymn singing, the number of singers at such

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

DAMDAMA SAHIB, also known as Talwand Sabo (29° 59`N, 75° 5`E), a small town 28 km southeast of Bathinda in the Punjab, is sacred to the Sikhs as the seat of one of their five takhts or centres of highest religious authority. Damdama Sahib, place of repose where the

VISAKHA SINGH, SANT (1905-1968), holy preacher of the Sikh faith, was born at the village of Janetpura, in Ludhiana district, on 13 April 1903, the son of Karam Singh and Kahn Kaur, though most of his adult life was spent at Kishanpura, in Firozpur district. He had his early

DAMDAMA SAHIB GURUDWARA, ANANDPUR It is known as Gurdwara Takht Sahib as well. Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib used to perform the functions of Akal Takht Sahib from this place. It was Diwane-i-Khas. It was also the court of Guru Sahib. Here, Guru Sahib used to receive representatives of different States

GUKBILAS CHHEVIN PATSHAHl, lit. the (life)play of the Sixth Guru, is a versified biography of Guru Hargobind in language more akin to Braj, written in the Gurmukhi script. The author is anonymous, though the colophon mentions 1775 Bk/AD 1718 as the year of the completion of the work. The task,

GURDITTA, BABA (1613-1638), the eldest son of Guru Hargobind (1595-1644), was born on 15 November 1613 to Mata Damodari at Darauli Bhai in present day Faridkot district of the Punjab. He had his training in religious lore and in the martial arts under the supervision of his father. He

HARNAM KAUR, BIBI (1882-1906), a pioneer in the field of women`s education, was born on 10 April 1882 in a Siddhu Jatt family of Chand Purana, a village in Firozpur district of the Punjab. Her father`s name was Bhagvan Das and mother`s Ram Dei. Her own original name was

HIRA SINGH, SANT (d. 1949). head priest of Takht Sachkhand Sri Hazur Sahib Abchal Nagar, Nandcd, in Maharashtra, was born the son of Bhai Karam Singh of Schna, in Sarigrur district of the Punjab. He received his early education and religious instruction in his village and this allowed him to