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Bhai Dharam Singh Ji | |
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ਧਰਮ ਸਿੰਘ | |
Panj Pyare | |
In office 1699–1708 | |
Personal life | |
Born | Dharam Das 1666 Near Ganges River, Hastinapur (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India) |
Died | 1708 (aged 42) Nanded, India |
Cause of death | Martyrdom |
Parents |
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Known for | Member of the original, inaugural Panj Pyare; was the fourth or second to answer the call by the Guru for a head |
Occupation | Agriculturalist |
Religious life | |
Religion | Sikhism |
Institute | Khalsa |
Panj Pyare |
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Dharam Singh (Punjabi : ਧਰਮ ਸਿੰਘ(Gurmukhi); 1666–1708), born as Dharam Das, was one of the original Panj Pyare or the Five Beloved, the forerunners of the Khalsa.
He was the son of Chaudhary Sant Ram and Mai Sabho of the village Hastinapur (modern-day Meerut District, Uttar Pradesh, India). He was born into the Jat caste. Originally said to be fourth position of the inaugural group of Panj Pyare according to older historical sources, he was upgraded to second in-position by later sources. [1]
Dharam Singh reunited with and accompanied the Guru in the Malwa region in the aftermath of the Second Battle of Chamkaur. [2] He, alongside Bhai Daya Singh, were the two Sikhs entrusted with delivering the Guru's Zafarnama letter to Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. [3] [4] They were dispatched from either Kangar village, Bathinda or Dina village, Moga, for this purpose. [3] [4]
He was seen as the reincarnation of Bhagat Dhanna in early Sikh literature. [5] [6]
Guru Gobind Singh was the tenth and last human Sikh Guru. He was a warrior, poet, and philosopher. In 1675, at the age of nine he was formally installed as the leader of the Sikhs after his father Guru Tegh Bahadur was executed by Emperor Aurangzeb. His father was the ninth Sikh Guru. His four biological sons died during his lifetime – two in battle and two executed by the Mughal governor Wazir Khan.
The term Khalsa refers to both a community that follows Sikhism as its religion, as well as a special group of initiated Sikhs. The Khalsa tradition was initiated in 1699 by the Tenth Guru of Sikhism, Guru Gobind Singh. Its formation was a key event in the history of Sikhism. The founding of Khalsa is celebrated by Sikhs during the festival of Vaisakhi.
The Zafarnāma was a spiritual victory letter sent by Guru Gobind Singh in 1705 to the Mughal Emperor of India, Aurangzeb, after the Battle of Chamkaur.
Bhagat Dhanna, also known Dhanna Jat, Dhanna Jatt, Dhanna Bairagi or Sant Dhanna, was a mystic poet and a Vaishnav devotee whose three hymns are present in Guru Granth Sahib.
Panj Pyare refers to a gathered ad hoc quintet of five baptised (Amritdhari) Khalsa Sikhs who act as institutionalized leaders for the wider Sikh community.
Mohkam Singh, born Mohkam Chand, was one of the inaugural group of Panj Pyare, or the first Five Beloved of honoured memory in the Sikh tradition.
Daya Singh was one of the Panj Pyare, the first five Sikhs to be initiated into the Khalsa order in 17th-century India. Among the inaugural panj piare quintet, he is traditionally the highest-regarded as he was the first to answer the call for a sacrifice from the guru. Daya Singh was an educated Sikh, with literature being attributed to his authorship.
Bhai Himmat Singh (1661–1705), born Himmat Rai, was one of the inaugural group of Panj Pyare, or the first group of the Five Beloved in Sikhism.
Sahib Singh was one of the Panj Pyare. He was formerly known as Sahib Chand and was born into the Nai caste before being baptized into the Khalsa tradition.
The Tat Khalsa, also romanised as Tatt Khalsa, known as the Akal Purkhias during the 18th century, was a Sikh faction that arose from the schism following the passing of Guru Gobind Singh in 1708, led by his widow Mata Sundari, opposed to the religious innovations of Banda Singh Bahadur and his followers. The roots of the Tat Khalsa lies in the official formalization and sanctification of the Khalsa order by the tenth Guru in 1699.
Zorawar Singh, alternatively spelt as Jorawar Singh, was a son of Guru Gobind Singh who was executed in the court of Wazir Khan, the Mughal Governor of Sirhind.
Rehat refers to the rules and traditions which govern the unique Sikh lifestyle and determines correct Sikh orthodoxy and orthopraxy. The Sikh Rehit Maryada is a code of conduct and conventions for Sikhism. The final version of the Rehat Maryada was controversially approved by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Amritsar in 1945. The Rehat Maryada was created to provide guidance to Sikhs on practical and functional aspects of daily life, including the operations of Sikh Gurdwaras, and religious practices to foster cohesion throughout the community. Rehitnāma is a Punjabi term that refers to a genre of Sikh religious literature which expounds upon specifying an approved way of life for a Sikh.
Mai Bhago also known as Mata Bhag Kaur, was a Sikh woman who led Sikh soldiers against the Mughals in 1705. She was an exceptionally skilled warrior on the battlefield and is revered as a warrior saint in Sikhism. She was known for rallying the 40 Sikhs who abandoned Guru Gobind Singh at the siege of Anandpur Sahib and bringing them back to fight.
The Battle of Chamkaur, also known as Battle of Chamkaur Sahib or the Second battle of Chamkaur, was fought between the Khalsa, led by Guru Gobind Singh, and the coalition forces of the Mughals led by Wazir Khan and Hindu hill chiefs. Guru Gobind Singh makes a reference to this battle in his letter Zafarnama.
Martyrdom is a fundamental institution of Sikhism. Sikh festivals are largely focused on the lives of the Sikh gurus and Sikh martyrs. Their martyrdoms are regarded as instructional ideals for Sikhs, and have greatly influenced Sikh culture and practices.
Amrit Sanskar is one of the four Sikh Sanskaars. The Amrit Sanskar is the initiation rite introduced by Guru Gobind Singh when he founded the Khalsa in 1699.
Binod Singh, a Trehan Khatri and a descendant of Guru Angad, was an army man and disciple of Guru Gobind Singh and was among few Sikhs who accompanied him to Nanded in 1706. In Budha Dal Chronicles, Guru Gobind Singh made Baba Binod Singh the head of the Khalsa.
Bhai Sangat Singh was a Sikh warrior and martyr of Battle of Chamkaur.
Kavi Darbar is a term that refers to historical Sikh durbars (courts) composed of congregations of poets, litterateurs, artists, and scholars that were established and had flourished during the guruship period of Guru Gobind Singh in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. These establishments served as Sikh centres of learning and scholarship. They played a pivotal role in the history of Sikh literature.
Both Ajit Singh and Jujhar Singh, along with Mohkam Singh and Himmat Singh, two of the original five panjpiyare, were killed in hand-to-hand combat. The Sikhs, by then reduced to the Guru and three others, Daya Singh, Dharam Singh and Man Singh, managed to evade the enemy and head for territory favourable to the regrouping of a resurgent Khalsa.
But this tragic phase was still to reach its nadir. With the break of dawn-after leaving Chamkaur at the dead of night-the Guru found himself separated from his companions and alone in the heart of the Machhiwara forest. He was without food, shelter or his trusted mount, his mind filled with thoughts of Mughal betrayal and the loss of his men and sons; only his iron will sustained him in that bleak hour. As luck would have it his three companions, following the route they had agreed upon, were eventually reunited with him. The four, with the help of loyal Sikhs and at least three friendly Muslims, made their way through the enemy patrols who were searching for them.
They finally reached the village of Jatpura where the Guru was warmly received by the Muslim chief of the area, Rai Kalha.
DHARAM SINGH (1666–1708). One of the Panj Piare. A Jat Sikh who, based on 18th-century Sikh manuscripts, was at least at this time considered to be an avatar of the Jat Bhagat Dhanna.