BHAI RAM KUNWAR, (1672-1761), also referred to as “Ram Kaur” in some Sikh chronicles, was a prominent Sikh of Guru Gobind Singh`s time. He was a direct descendant of famous Randhawa Jat Baba, Baba Buddha Ji of Kathu Nangal, blessed by Guru Nanak himself. He was only three years old when his father, Chaudhary Gurditta Of Kathu Nangal , died in Delhi in 1675, following the martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur. In conformity with the long established custom, he as the scion of Baba Buddha`s celebrated house, put the saffron mark on the forehead of the nine year old Gobind Rai anointing him Guru. He was married to Raj Devi of the village of Bhakna in Amritsar district. He was at Paonta at the time of the birth of Guru Gobind Singh`s eldest son Ajit Singh, who was given the name by him. He also fought in the battle of Nadaun in 1691. Ram Kunwar grew up to be a learned man, a musician of merit and an accomplished expounder of the sacred texts. Spending most of his time in the company of Guru Gobind Singh, he through his intelligent questions imbibed a vast knowledge of the history of the preceding Gurus and of the tenets of the Sikh faith. When the Khalsawas manifested by Guru Gobind Singh on the Baisakhi day of 1699, Ram Kurivar received the rites of initiation and was renamed Gurbakhsh Singh. Bhai Gurbakhsh Singh, formerly Ram Kunwar, survived Guru Gobind Singh for over half a century. During this period he, first at his ancestral village, JhandaRamdas, and later at Naine da Kot, preached the Sikh faith and made many converts. It is said that when Nadir Shah plundered the village of Ramdas, he was arrested along with his 500 companions, but was released as his captors recognized his miraculous powers.
References :-
- Padam, Piara Singh, ed., .SauSakhi. Patiala, 1986
- Griffin, Lepel, and C.F. Massy, Chiefs and Families of Note in the Punjab. Lahore, 1909
- Bhagat Singh, Maharaja Ranjit Singh and His Times. Delhi, 1990
- The Sikh Encyclopedia
- Smyth, G. Cai michael, A History of the Reigning Family of Lahore. Patiala, 1970