DHARAM SINGH, BHAI (1666-1708),was one of the Panj Piare or the Five Beloved, the forerunners of Khalsa, came of farming stock. He was the son of Bhai Sant Ram and Mai Sabho, of Hastinapur, an ancient town on the right bank of the Ganges, 35 km northeast of Meerut (29 N, 77 – 45’E).
Dharam Das, 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 Gurus. He left home at the age of thirty in quest of further instruction. At the Sikh shrine of Nanak Piao , dedicated to Guru Nanak, he was advised to go to Guru Gobind Singh at Anandpur, where he arrived in 1698. 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 Das was one of those five. The Guru blessed them and called them Panj Piare, 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 begged them to administer to him the vows of initiation. Dharam Das, who, after initiation, became Dharam Singh, took part in the battles of Anandpur. He was in Guru Gobind Singh’s train when Anandpur and thereafter Chamkaur were evacuated. He accompanied Bhai Daya Singh to the South to deliver Guru Gobind Singh’s letter, the Zafarnama, to Emperor Aurangzab.
During the war of succession following the death of Aurangzeb on 20 February 1707, Guru Gobind Singh took the part of the rightful claimant to the imperial throne, Prince Muazzam and sent for his help Bhai Dharam Singh who with his small band of Sikhs 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 heavenly abode on 7 October 1708. A Gurdwara there preserves the memory of jointly Bhai Dharam Singh and Bhai Daya Singh.
Excerpts taken from Encyclopedia of Sikhism
by Harbans Singh .
Published by Punjabi University, Patiala
Dharam Singh (1666-1708) alikuwa mmoja wa Panj Piyara, au Wapendwa Watano, waanzilishi wa Khalsa. Baba yake alikuwa Bhai Sant Ram na mama yake Mai Sabho, wa Hastinapur, mji wa kale kwenye ukingo wa kulia wa Mto Ganges, kilomita 35 kaskazini mashariki mwa Meerut. Dharam Das, kama alivyokuwa akiitwa mwanzoni, alizaliwa karibu 1666. Alipokuwa kijana, alishirikiana na Msikhi mmoja ambaye alimjulisha mafundisho ya Guru. Aliondoka nyumbani akiwa na umri wa miaka thelathini ili kutafuta elimu zaidi. Katika hekalu la Sikh la Nanak Pyau, aliyejitolea kwa Guru Nanak, alishauriwa kwenda kwa Guru Gobind Singh huko Anandpur, ambapo alifika mnamo 1698. Katika mkutano wa Baisakhi wa mwaka wa 1950, Shikhi wa India walipiga kelele kwa Guru Gobind Singh na kuahidi kuachia dhamira zao. Guru aliwabariki na kuwaita Panj Piare, wapenzi watano wa Mungu. Walikuwa wamepakwa mafuta kama wanachama watano wa kwanza wa udugu wa Khalsa ulioanzishwa siku hiyo. Kisha Guru Gobind Singh akawasihi wampe nadhiri za kuanzishwa. Dharam Das, ambaye, baada ya kuanzishwa, akawa Dharam Singh, alishiriki katika vita vya Anandpur. Alikuwa katika treni ya Guru Gobind Singh wakati Anandpur na baadaye Chamkaur zilipohamishwa. Aliandamana na Bhai Daya Singh kusini ili kupeleka barua ya Guru Gobind Singh, Zafarnama, kwa Maliki Aurangzab. Wakati wa vita vya urithi baada ya kifo cha Aurangzeb mnamo Februari 20, 1707, Guru Gobind Singh alichukua upande wa mrithi halali wa kiti cha enzi cha kifalme, Prince Muazzam na kumtuma Bhai Dharam Singh kwa msaada wake ambaye pamoja na kundi lake dogo la Sikhs walipigana katika vita vya Jaipur (8 Juni 1707). Aliandamana na Guru Gobind Singh hadi Nanded na alikuwa pamoja naye wakati wa makao yake ya mbinguni Oktoba 7, 1708. Gurdwara huko huhifadhi kumbukumbu ya pamoja ya Bhai Dharam Singh na Bhai Daya Singh. Sehemu zilizochukuliwa kutoka Encyclopedia of Sikhism na Harbans Singh. Ilichapishwa na Chuo Kikuu cha Punjabi, Patiala