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<p class="C1">&#65279BIDH&#298 CHAND, BH&#256&#298 (d. 1640), warrior as well as religious preacher of the time of Gur&#363 Hargobind, was a Chh&#299n&#257 Ja&#7789&#7789 of the village of Sursi&#7749gh, 34 km south of Amritsar (31º-37N, 74º-52'E). His father's name was Vassan and his grandfather's Bhikkh&#299. His mother was from Sirh&#257l&#299, another village in the same district. As a young man Bidh&#299 Chand had fallen into bad company and taken to banditry. One day, a pious Sikh, Bh&#257&#299 Adal&#299 of the village of Chohl&#257, led him into Gur&#363 Arjan's presence. Bidh&#299 Chand wished no longer to return home and decided to dedicate the rest of his life to the service of the Gur&#363. He was one of the five Sikhs chosen to accompany Gur&#363 Arjan on his journey to Lahore where he was martyred in 1606. Gur&#363 Hargobind chose him to be one of the commanders of the armed force he had raised and he displayed as a soldier great feats of valour in battles with the imperial troops. His best known exploit, however, was the recovery of two horses, Dilb&#257<u>gh</u> and Gulb&#257<u>gh</u>, from the stables of the governor of Lahore. The horses belonged to a Sikh who was bringing them from K&#257bul as an offering for Gur&#363 Hargobind, but they were seized on the way by the Mu<u>gh</u>al satrap. The first horse Bidh&#299 Chand recovered disguised as a hay seller, and the second disguised as an astrologer.</p>
<p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Besides being a brave warrior, Bidh&#299 Chand was well versed in Sikh lore and tenet. From K&#299ratpur, he was sent out by Gur&#363 Hargobind on a preaching mission to the eastern provinces where a Muslim saint, Sundar Sh&#257h of Devnagar, became so attached to him that, before he left for the Punjab, he secured his word that he would return and spend his last days with him. According to <i>Gurbil&#257s Chhev&#299&#7749 P&#257tsh&#257h&#299</i>, Bidh&#299 Chand remembered his promise and, as he saw his end drawing near, he took his leave of Gur&#363 Hargobind and went to Devnagar. The two friends spent three days reflecting together on the teaching of Gur&#363 N&#257nak, whereafter, continues the <i>Gurbil&#257s</i>, both died at the same time (14 August 1640). Sundar Sh&#257h's disciples buried the one in accordance with Muslim rites and cremated the other in accordance with Sikh rites, and raised shrines in their honour. Some time later, L&#257l Chand, a nephew of Bh&#257&#299 Bidh&#299 Chand, brought from the site of his shrine at Devnagar some earth over which he built a sam&#257dh in his ancestral village, Sursi&#7749gh.</p>
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BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"><i>Gurbil&#257s Chhev&#299&#7749 P&#257tsh&#257h&#299</i>. Patiala, 1970<BR>
<li class="C1"> Gi&#257n Si&#7749gh, Gi&#257n&#299, <i>Tw&#257r&#299<u>kh</u> Gur&#363 <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257</i>. Patiala, 1970<BR>
<li class="C1"> Macauliffe, Max Arthur, <i>The Sikh Religion</i>. Oxford, 1909<BR>
<li class="C1"> Banerjee, Indubhusan, <i>Evolution of the Khalsa</i>. Calcutta, 1980<BR>
</ol><p class="CONT">Bhagat Si&#7749gh<br></p><BR>
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