NANŪĀ VAIRĀGĪ or Nānū Bairāgī, one of the many poets who enjoyed the patronage of Gurū Gobind Siṅgh (1666-1708), belonged to Wazīrābād, in present-day Gujrāṅwālā district of Pakistan. He lived for a time at Lahore and then went to Kīratpur where he received the rites of a disciple at the hands of Gurū Tegh Bahādur. After the Gurū was martyred in Delhi, he remained with Gurū Gobind Siṅgh at Anandpur. Being indifferent to worldly ties, he came to be known as a vairāgī or recluse. He is said to have inspired Bhāī Kanhaiyā, founder of the Sevāpanthī sect, to accept the Sikh faith. His surviving compositions, devotional songs in different classical measures and in chaste Punjabi, are popular among Sevāpanthī sādhūs.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

    Padam, Piārā Siṅgh, Srī Gurū Gobind Siṅgh Jī de Darbārī Ratan. Patiala, 1976

Piārā Siṅgh Padam