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Punjab government on Friday announced the birth anniversary of Guru Nabha Das, a 16th century saint, on April 8 (Monday) as a gazette holiday.
Schools, colleges and other educational institutes will remain closed on Monday, along with all other government offices.
Two years ago, the AAP-ruled Punjab removed April 8 from the restricted holiday list and made it a gazette holiday.
A restricted holiday is a type of government holiday list, additional to gazette ones, from which an employee can choose two festivals to observe each year.
Who is Guru Nabha Das?
Guru Nabha Das, originally named Narayan Das, was a revered Hindu saint, theologian, and the author of the Bhaktamal.
In this sacred scripture, he meticulously chronicled the life stories of saints spanning from the Satya Yuga to the Kali Yuga. His magnum opus, the Bhaktamal, penned in 1585, remains a treasure trove of spiritual narratives.
Born on April 8, 1537, in the village of Bhadrachalam along the Godavari River in present-day Telangana, Guru Nabha Das hailed from the Mahasha community.
The saint was orphaned at a tender age of five, and was then taken by the revered saints, Agar Dass and Keel Dass, to Ghalta Dham temple near Rajasthan’s Jaipur.
Nabha Das, renowned for his knowledge and wisdom, was entrusted with chronicling the lives of over 200 saints. His sacred work, The Bhaktamal, meticulously details the life histories of saints spanning from the Satyug to the Kalyug era.
Guru Nabha Das hailed from the Mahasha community, also known as the Doom or Dumna community—a Scheduled Caste group. The Mahasha people are skilled in crafting baskets and grain storage containers using bamboo.
In Punjab, approximately 30 lakh individuals belong to the Mahasha community, with around one lakh residing in Pathankot alone. The community boasts 41 temples, including 25 in Pathankot. Their presence extends to approximately 421 villages in the region, with significant communities also found in Gurdaspur and Amritsar
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Published: 05 Apr 2024, 09:20 PM IST
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