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 learnt Gurmukhi and got training in the exegesis of Sikh scriptural texts from Bhai Gurdas Dakkhani, a leading Sikh of Guru Tegh Bahadur`s time. He also remained in the company of Bhai Seva Ram, a disciple of and successor to Bhai Kanhaiya, for a long time and ultimately succeeded him as chief of the Sevapanthi sect.
ANANDGHANA, SVAMI, an Udasi sadhii known for the commentaries he wrote on some of the Sikh scriptural texts. Not much biographical detail is available about him, but references in his own works indicate that he was a disciple of Baba Ram Dayal, an Udasi ascetic; also, that he was born into the family of Guru Nanak, tenth in descent from him. Since his first tika, a commentary on the Japu, was completed in 1852 Bk/AD 1795, it may be presumed that he was born around the middle of the eighteenth century. He spent the early years of his life at Dera Baba Nanak where he was born.
BHANA, BHAI (1536-1644), the youngest son of Baba Buddha, was born in the village of Katthu Nangal, in Amritsar district of the Punjab. Baba Buddha, blessed by Guru Nanak himself, was the most revered Sikh of his day. In his lifetime, he had had the privilege of anointing with his hands five successive Gurus, Guru Angad to Guru Hargobind. Upon his death in 1631, Bhai Bhana succeeded him in that position of honour in Guru Hargobind`s household.
BUDHMOR, commonly called Budhmar, is a village in Patiala district, 8 km southeast of Ghuram (30°7`N, 76°28`E). It is sacred to Guru Tegh Bahadur, who visited it during one of his journeys through this region. A Manji Sahib, constructed by Maharaja Karam Singh (1798-1845) of Patiala, was located east of the village. It was replaced by a new building raised in 1980 by the followers of Sant BabaJivan Singh. It consists of a square divan hall with a domed sanctum, and other ancillary buildings. The shrine, known as Gurdwara Manji Sahib Patshahi Nauvin, is affiliated to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee and is administered by a local committee.
DEVA SINGH, SIR (1834-1890), a highranking Patiala state administrator, was born in 1834 into an Arora Sikh family, the son of Colonel Khushal Singh, a brave soldier who had once killed a tiger (sher, in Punjabi) near one of the city gates conferring upon it the name Sheranvala which lasts to this day. Deva Singh received the only formal education available at that time by attending a maktab or Persian school, and entered Patiala state service at a very early age in 1846. In 1853, he was appointed assistant judicial minister and in 1855, a Risaldar in a cavalry unit.