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{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Short description|Sikh saint}}
{{Use Indian English|date=September 2019}}
{{no footnotes|date=May 2012}}
{{Panj Pyare}}
{{Other uses|Dharam Singh (disambiguation)}}
{{Other uses|Dharam Singh (disambiguation)}}
'''Bhai Dharam Singh''' (1666–1708), one of the [[Panj Pyare]] or the Five Beloved, the forerunners of [[Khalsa]].He was the son of Chaudhary Sant Ram and Mai Sabho a  [[Hindu]], [[Jat]] of the village Saifpur-Karamchandpur, [[Hastinapur]], [[Meerut District]].
{{more footnotes|date=May 2012}}


==Joins 10th Guru==
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
Dharam [[Singh (surname)|Singh]], as he was originally named, was born around 1666. As a young man, he fell into the company of a [[Sikh]] who introduced him to the teachings of the [[Guru]]s. He left home at the age of thirteen in quest of further instruction. At the Sikh shrine of Nanak Piau, dedicated to [[Guru Nanak]], he was advised to go to [[Guru Gobind Singh]] at [[Anandpur Sahib|Anandpur]], where he arrived in 1698.
{{Use Indian English|date=September 2019}}{{Infobox religious biography
| religion          = [[Sikhism]]
| name              = Dharam Singh
| honorific prefix  = Bhai / Pyare
| honorific suffix  = Ji
| image              = [[File:Dharam Singh (Panj Pyare).png|75px]]
| caption            = Dharam Singh, one of the inaugural/original Panj Pyare, depicted in an old Sikh fresco from inside an abandoned Sikh samadhi located in Kot Fateh Khan, Attock, Punjab, Pakistan
| known_for          = Member of the original, inaugural Panj Pyare; was the fourth or second to answer the call by the Guru for a head
| birth_date        = 1666
| birth_place        = Near Ganges River, Hastinapur (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India)
| birthname          = Dharam Das
| father            = Sant Ram
| mother            = Mai Sabho
| death_date        = 1708 (aged 42)
| death_place        = Nanded, India
| death_cause        = Martyrdom
| native_name        = ਧਰਮ ਸਿੰਘ
| native_name_lang  = pa
| institute          = Khalsa
| office1            = Panj Pyare
| term_start1        = 1699
| term_end1          = 1708
| occupation        = Agriculturalist
}}


==Offered his head==
{{Panj Pyare}}
A few months later came the historic [[Baisakhi]] congregation at which five Sikhs responding to five successive calls of [[Guru Gobind Singh]] offered one after the other to lay down their heads. Dharam Singh was one of those five. The Guru blessed them and called them [[Panj Pyare]], the five beloved of him. They were anointed as the first five members of the brotherhood of the [[Khalsa]] inaugurated on that day. [[Guru Gobind Singh]] then asked them to administer to him the vows of initiation.
'''Dharam Singh''' ({{Langx|pa|ਧਰਮ ਸਿੰਘ}} {{Small|([[Gurmukhi]])}}; 1666–1708), born as '''Dharam Das''', was one of the original [[Panj Pyare]] or the Five Beloved, the forerunners of the [[Khalsa]].


==Delivered Zafarnamah==
== Biography ==
Dharam Singh, took part in the battles of [[Anandpur Sahib|Anandpur]]. He was in [[Guru Gobind Singh]]'s train when [[Anandpur Sahib|Anandpur]] and thereafter [[Chamkaur]] were evacuated. He accompanied [[Bhai Daya Singh]] to the South to deliver [[Guru Gobind Singh]]'s letter, the [[Zafarnama (letter)|Zafarnamah]], to [[Emperor Aurangzeb]].
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 [[Jats|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.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fenech |first=Louis E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mPYTEAAAQBAJ&dq=bhai+dharam+singh+caste&pg=PA45 |title=The Cherished Five in Sikh History |date=2021 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-753284-3 |page=45 |language=en}}</ref>


==Support of Prince Mua'zzam==
Dharam Singh reunited with and accompanied the Guru in the [[Malwa (Punjab)|Malwa region]] in the aftermath of the [[Battle of Chamkaur|Second Battle of Chamkaur]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=Patwant |title=The Sikhs |publisher=Crown Publishing Group |year=2007 |isbn=9780307429339 |quote=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.<br>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.<br>They finally reached the village of Jatpura where the Guru was warmly received by the Muslim chief of the area, Rai Kalha.}}</ref> He, alongside Bhai Daya Singh, were the two Sikhs entrusted with delivering the Guru's ''[[Zafarnama (letter)|Zafarnama]]'' letter to Mughal emperor [[Aurangzeb]].<ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=Harbans |title=The Encyclopedia of Sikhism |publisher=Punjabi University, Patiala |volume=I: A-D |pages=484–485}}</ref><ref name=":12">{{Cite book |last=Fenech |first=Louis E. |title=The Sikh Zafar-namah of Guru Gobind Singh: A Discursive Blade in the Heart of the Mughal Empire |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2013 |isbn=9780199931439 |pages=24–25}}</ref> They were dispatched from either Kangar village, [[Bathinda district|Bathinda]] or Dina village, [[Moga district|Moga]], for this purpose.<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":12" />
During the war of succession following the death of Aurangzib on 20 February 1707, [[Guru Gobind Singh]] took the part of the rightful claimant to the imperial throne, Prince Mua'zzam, and sent for his help Bhai Dharam Singh who with his small band of [[Sikh]]s fought in the battle of Jajau (8 June 1707). He accompanied [[Guru Gobind Singh]] to [[Nanded]] and was with him at the time of his death on 7 October 1708.


==Return home==
He was seen as the [[reincarnation]] of [[Bhagat Dhanna]] in early Sikh literature.<ref name="McLeod11">{{cite book |last1=McLeod |first1=W. H. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xajcAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA99 |title=Historical Dictionary of Sikhism |last2=Fenech |first2=Louis E. |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-4422-3600-4 |edition=3rd |page=99 |quote=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. |authorlink1=W. H. McLeod}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Fenech |first=Louis E. |title=The Cherished Five in Sikh History |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2021 |isbn=9780197532843 |pages=53–54}}</ref>
Dharam Singh died at [[Nanded]]. A [[Gurdwara]] there preserves the memory jointly of Bhai Dharam Singh and [[Bhai Daya Singh]].


== References ==
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
== Further reading ==
*Kuir Singh, Gurbilas Patshahi 10. Patiala, 1968
*Kuir Singh, Gurbilas Patshahi 10. Patiala, 1968
*Chhibbar, Kesar Singh, Bansavalinama Das Patshahian Ka. Chandigarh, 1972
*Chhibbar, Kesar Singh, Bansavalinama Das Patshahian Ka. Chandigarh, 1972
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Dharam}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Dharam}}
[[Category:Indian Sikhs]]
[[Category:Punjabi Sikhs]]
[[Category:1666 births]]
[[Category:1666 births]]
[[Category:1708 deaths]]
[[Category:1708 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Uttar Pradesh]]
[[Category:People from Uttar Pradesh]]
[[Category:18th-century Indian people]]
[[Category:Sikh martyrs]]
[[Category:Sikh saints]]

Latest revision as of 22:03, 4 December 2025


For other uses, see Dharam Singh (disambiguation).


Bhai / Pyare

Dharam Singh

Ji
ਧਰਮ ਸਿੰਘ
Dharam Singh, one of the inaugural/original Panj Pyare, depicted in an old Sikh fresco from inside an abandoned Sikh samadhi located in Kot Fateh Khan, Attock, Punjab, Pakistan
Panj Pyare
In office
1699–1708
Personal
Born
Dharam Das

1666
Near Ganges River, Hastinapur (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India)
Died1708 (aged 42)
Nanded, India
Cause of deathMartyrdom
ReligionSikhism
Parents
  • Sant Ram (father)
  • Mai Sabho (mother)
Known forMember of the original, inaugural Panj Pyare; was the fourth or second to answer the call by the Guru for a head
OccupationAgriculturalist
InstituteKhalsa
Panj Pyare

Dharam Singh (Script error: The function "langx" does not exist. (Gurmukhi); 1666–1708), born as Dharam Das, was one of the original Panj Pyare or the Five Beloved, the forerunners of the Khalsa.

Biography[edit | edit source]

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]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Fenech, Louis E. (2021). The Cherished Five in Sikh History. Oxford University Press. p. 45. ISBN 978-0-19-753284-3.
  2. ↑ Singh, Patwant (2007). The Sikhs. Crown Publishing Group. ISBN 9780307429339. 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.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Singh, Harbans. The Encyclopedia of Sikhism. Vol. I: A-D. Punjabi University, Patiala. pp. 484–485.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Fenech, Louis E. (2013). The Sikh Zafar-namah of Guru Gobind Singh: A Discursive Blade in the Heart of the Mughal Empire. Oxford University Press. pp. 24–25. ISBN 9780199931439.
  5. ↑ McLeod, W. H.; Fenech, Louis E. (2014). Historical Dictionary of Sikhism (3rd ed.). Rowman & Littlefield. p. 99. ISBN 978-1-4422-3600-4. 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.
  6. ↑ Fenech, Louis E. (2021). The Cherished Five in Sikh History. Oxford University Press. pp. 53–54. ISBN 9780197532843.

Further reading[edit | edit source]

  • Kuir Singh, Gurbilas Patshahi 10. Patiala, 1968
  • Chhibbar, Kesar Singh, Bansavalinama Das Patshahian Ka. Chandigarh, 1972
  • Santokh Singh, Bhai, Gur Pratap Suraj Granth. Amritsar 1926-37
  • Macauliffe, Max Arthur, The Sikh Religion. Oxford, 1909
  • Harbans Singh, Guru Gobind Singh. Chandigarh, 1966
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