SOTRAN, village one km north of Banga (31"11 N, 76"E) in Nawashahr district of the Punjab, claims a historical shrine called Gurdwara Gurplah Patshahi Chhevin, dedicated to Guru Hargobind who stayed here briefly under a plah tree (Butia fondosa) on his way from Kartarpur to Kiratpur early in 1635.

\'ABDULLA BHAI\', Abdul according to some Sikh chroniclers, was a Muslim minstrel who recited heroic balladry at Sikh congregations in the time of Guru Hargobind (1595-1644). Abdul was born in the village of Sursingh, now in Amritsar district of the Punjab. He first came to Amritsar in 1606 at the

BHIKHARl, BHAI. Bhabra by caste, was a devoted Sikh of the time of Guru Arjan. He lived in the town of Gujrat. Bhai Gurdas, Varan, XI. 30, lists him among prominent Sikhs of the time. He plied an honest trade, helped needy Sikhs and other holy men and recited

DORAHA (30° 48`N, 76° 2`E), an old village along the Grand Trunk Road 20 km east of Ludhiana, claims an historical shrine, Gurdwara Damdama Sahib Patshahi Chhevin, sacred to Guru Hargobind, Nanak VI. According to local tradition, Guru Hargobind encamped here for a night travelling back from the Gwalior

GURU KIAN SAKHIAN, containing stories from the lives of the Gurus, was written by Bhatt Sarup Singh Kaushish, of Bhadson, in Parganah Thanesar. As recorded by the author, the manuscript was completed in 1847 Bk/AD 1790 at Bhadson itself. The original manuscript was written in Bhattachchhari, a script used by

KALU NATH, son of Jaimal, also called Data, a Dhalival Jatt of the Malva region, became a Vaisnav sddhu while still very young and, according to his biographer, Balmukand Das, roamed the countryside accompanied by his mother, Mohini, and young brother, Chikha. Later, he settled down under a jand

MIHAN, BHAI, founder of the Mihanshahi or Mihansahibi sect of Udasi sadhus, was a Sikh contemporary of the eighth, ninth and the tenth Gurus. His real name was Ramdev. His father, Nand Lal Sohna, had been a disciple of two Muslim devotees of Guru Hargobind, Khwaja and Jani, and

RAJA RAM (d. 1644), a Rajput Sikh of the time of Guru Hargobind (1595-1644), was so deeply attached to the Guru that, according to Maubid Zulfiqar Ardastani, Dabistdni Mazdhib, he immolated himself on his funeral pyre. "Placing his [Guru Hargobind`s] body on firewood, as they," says Zulfiqar Ardastani, a

SRI GOBINDPUR. or SRI HARGOBINDPUR (30"41`N, 75°29`E), a small town in Gurdaspur district of the Punjab, located on the bank of the River Beas, was originally a ruined mound of a village called Ruhela, which formed part of the estates of Chandu Shah, diwan of the Mughal times. Guru

AKAL, BHAI, a carpenter resident of Vadda Ghar in present day Fandkot district of the Punjab and, according to Gurbilas Chhevin Patshahi, maternal grandfather of the celebrated Bhai Rup Chand, became a devotee of Guru Ram Das. He also served Guru Arjan and Guru Hargobind. He was a man

BIDHI CHAND, BHAI (d. 1640). warrior as well as religious preacher of the time of Guru Hargobind, was a Chhina Jatt of the village of Sursingh, 34 km south of Amritsar (31° 37`N, 74° 52`E). His father`s name was Vassan and his grandfather`s Bhikkhi. His mother was from Sirhali,

DUMELI, village 18 km north of Phagwara (31° 14`N. 75° 46`E) in the Punjab, is sacred to Guru Hargobind who, according to local tradition, visited here on 11 Chet 1695 Bk / 9 March 1638. The shrine raised in his honour is named Gurdwara Thamm Sahib Patshahi VI after