31. MAHARAJ SINGH. BHAI

MAHARAJ SINGH BHAI (d. 1856), a saintly person turned revolutionary who led an anti-British movement in the Punjab after the first Anglo-Sikh war, was born Nihal Singh at the village of Rabbon, in Ludhiana district. He had a religious bent of mind and came under the influence of Bhai Bir Singh of Naurangabad. After the latter's death in 1844, he succeeded him as head of the Naurangabad dera and was held in high esteem by a vast following, including most of the Sikh chiefs and courtiers. Maharaj Singh's revolutionary career started with the Prema conspiracy case involving him in a plot to murder the British resident, Henry Lawrence, and other pro-British officers of the Lahore Darbar.

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32. MAHARAJA RANJIT SINGH JIBAN VRITTANTA,

MAHARAJA RANJIT SINGH JIBAN VRITTANTA, by Brahmamohan Mallick, is a monograph in Bengali on the life of Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780-1839). Published in 1862, within a quarter of a century of the Maharaja's death, it is one of the earliest biographies of the Maharaja written in any language. The book is divided into eight chapters, the first one dealing with the social and political milieu in which Guru Nanak (1469-1539), founder of the Sikh faith, preached his message, and second with the ancestry and birth of Ranjit Singh.

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33. MAHARI CHAND

MAHARI CHAND, one of the five brave sons of Bibi Viro, daughter of Guru Hargobind, Nanak VI, who, along with his brothers, took part in the battle of Bhangani (18 September 1688). In his poetical work Bachitra Natak, Guru Gobind Singh reserves a verse for Mahari Chand, who, "flying into a rage becomes the very image of terror and disposes of many a towering hero."

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34. MAHER,JOHN,

MAHER JOHN, was a Eurasian musician who served as a drum-major in Maharaja Ranjit Singh's army.

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35. MAHESHA, BHAT

MAHESHA, BHAI, or Bhai Mahesa, a rich and influential Dhir Khatri of Sultanpur Lodhi, in present day Kapurthala district of the Punjab, once waited upon Guru Amar Das and begged to be initiated a Sikh, The Guru, says Sarup Das Bhalla, Mahima Prakash, pointed out to him that to be a true Sikh he would have to forsake his love of the riches. "For", added Guru Amar Das, "if the riches forsake you, you may be laughed at for being poorly rewarded for your change of faith." Mahesha was firm in his resolve and received the rites of initiation at the Guru's hands.

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36. MAHIMA PRAKASH

MAHIMA PRAKASH, by Sarup Das Bhalla, is a versified account, in Gurmukhi script, of the lives of the ten Gurus, completed according to inner evidence, in 1833 Bk/AD 1776. Three copies of the manuscript, are still extant: one (No. 176) in the Languages Department, Punjab, Patiala, the second (No. 792) in the Punjab State Archives, Patiala, and third (No. 3200) in the Khalsa College Library, Amritsar. A fourth copy of the manuscript existed in the Sikh Reference Library, Amritsar, until it perished in 1984. The work has since been published (1970) in two volumes by the Languages Department, Punjab, Patiala.

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37. MAHIMA PRAKASH,

MAHIMA PRAKASH, known as Mahima Prakash Vartak (prose) to distinguish it from another work, in verse, bearing the same title, Sarup Das Bhalla's Mahima Prakash, is an unpublished manuscript containing anecdotes from the lives of the Gurus. The manuscript, copies of which are now available in the Khalsa College at Amritsar, Languages Department of Punjab at Patiala and Bhai Vir Singh's collection at Dehra Dun, was first discovered by Akali Kaur Singh (1886-1953). None of the manuscripts bears the name of its author, nor the date of its compilation, though it is commonly believed to be the work of Bava Kripal Das (or Singh) Bhalla written in 1798 Bk/AD 1741.

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38. MAHIMA SHAHANVALA

MAHIMA SHAHANVALA, one of the three adjacent villages sharing the name Mahima, 8 km west of Goniana Mandi (30°18'N, 74°54'E) in Bathinda district of the Punjab, has a historical shrine, called Gurdwara Gurusar Patshahi X. The shrine marks the spot where, according to local tradition, Guru Gobind Singh made a brief halt during his journey, early in 1706, from Lakkhi Jangal to Dan Singhvala. The present building on a high base comprises an assembly hall in front of a semi-octagonal flat-roofed sanctum. The verandah enclosing the hall and the sanctum has a cubicle at each corner. Guru ka Langar is in a separate enclosure beside the sarover. The Gurdwara with a few acres of land around it is controlled by Nihangs of the Buddha Dal.

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39. MAHIMA, RHAI

MAHIMA, BHAI. Khahira Jatt of Khadur in Amritsar district, was a devoted Sikh contemporary of Guru Angad. According to Bhai Balevali Janam Sakhi, the Guru once stayed with him in his house. When the Guru desired someone to be sent for to transcribe in Gurmukhi characters Guru Nanak's horoscope written in Devanagari, Bhai Mahima proceeded to Sultanpur Lodhi and brought Bhai Paira Mokha who knew both Devanagari and Gurmukhi.

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40. MAHIMASHAHIAS

MAHIMASHAHIAS, followers of Mohar Singh (AD 1758-1815), a holy Sikh who earned the honoured nickname of Mahima Shah for his constant muttering of a phrase ('infinite is Thy praise') in God's mahima or adoration. Mahima Shah claimed spiritual descent from Bhai Daya Singh, one of the Panj Piare or Five Beloved who had offered their heads at the call of Guru Gobind Singh at the time of inauguration of the Khalsa in 1699. Bhai Daya Singh was succeeded by Sant Gurbakhsh Singh who was the mentor of Mahima Shah.

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