BUṄGĀS, The word buṅgā is derived from the Persian buṅgah meaning a hospice, or a dwelling place. In the Sikh tradition, the word specifically refers to the dwelling places and mansions which grew up around the Harimandar at Amritsar and at other centres of Sikh pilgrimage. These were primarily the houses built by the conquering sardārs and chiefs in Sikh times or by Sikh schoolmen and sectaries. Amritsar housed the largest complex of such buildings. All of the Amritsar buṅgās have not survived, but a fairly comprehensive list of them can be compiled from references in old chronicles, including contemporary Persian sources. Ahmad Shāh Baṭālīā wrote in his Persian work Twārīkh-i-Hind AH 1233/AD 1817-18, that, around their place of worship amidst the sarovar at Amritsar, the Sikh sardārs had erected many mansions which they called buṅgās.

         The English adventurer Major H. M. L. Lawrence, who is said to have attained the rank of colonel in the service of Mahārājā Raṇjīt Siṅgh in May 1830, has recorded that there existed many buṅgās around the sacred tank at Amritsar. According to him, each misl had its own buṅgā, while some chiefs had built their personal buṅgās as well. The French scientist Victor Jacquemont and the British chronicler W. L. M' Gregor have also referred to these buildings though with out uising the word buṅgā.

         Houses and hutments had existed around the holy tank at Amritsar since the time of Gurū Rām Dās who had begun the excavation. But the premises remained deserted during periods of persecution in the eighteenth century. The Afghān invader, Ahmad Shāh Durrānī, demolished the holy Harimandar and its surroundings more than once during his inroads into India. The Sikhs returned each time to rebuild these and when they established their authority in the Punjab with the twelve misls or chiefships dividing the country among themselves, Amritsar became their political capital as well. The sardārs reconstructed the temple, cleansed the tank and fortifications for the security of the town. Some of them built their buṅgās on the periphery of the sacred pool. Special importance was attached to the Akāl Takht, also called Takht Akāl Buṅgā, established by Gurū Hargobind himself in 1606 as the seat of highest religious authority for the Sikhs. At the Akāl Buṅgā, the Sarbatt Khālsā, i. e. the general body of the Sikhs, met from time to time, especially on the occasions of Baisākhī and Dīvālī, formulated policy and passed gurmatās or resolutions. It was at the Takht Akāl Buṅgā that misls, lit. files, of the territorial acquisitions of each of the sardārs were maintained.

         The buṅgās could be broadly classified into three categories--(i) those belonging to the different ruling clans, (ii) those belonging to individual sardārs and chiefs, (iii) those belonging to different sects such as Udāsīs, Nirmalās, Sevāpanthīs and Akālīs. Some of these last named were centres of Sikh education and learning. There were buṅgās which became famous as seats of eminent poets and scholars. Bhāī Kāhn Siṅgh of Nābhā lists in his Guru Mahimā Ratnāvalī names of a few men of letters who flourished in the buṅgās. For instance, Sant Nihāl Siṅgh II, a reputed poet was the mahant, or custodian, of Sohalāṅvālā Buṅgā. He was a pupil of Giānī Rām Siṅgh, and was the author of scholarly work Kavīndra Prakāsh. His disciple Nihāl Siṅgh, who succeeded him as the mahant of Buṅgā Sohalāṅvālā was himself a well-known scholar.

         Bhāī Sant Siṅgh Giānī of Buṅgā Giānīāṅ was a renowned scholar and wrote a commentary in prose on Tulsī Dās's Rāmacharita-Mānasa. He enjoyed great esteem in the time of Mahārājā Raṇjīt Siṅgh and was appointed head priest of the Harimandar.

         Santokh Siṅgh, pen-name Tokh Harī, of Ghaṛiālvālā Buṅgā, was a famous poet of his time and composed Gurū Kabitva Māṇīkya Manjūshā. Buddh Siṅgh, who has been referred to as a celebrated contemporary poet of Braj Bhāshā by Gaṇesh Dās Baḍherā in his Persian work Chār-bagh-i-Pañjāb and who translated Pañch Tantra from the Sanskrit, was associated with Shahīd Buṅgā. Ratan Siṅgh Bhaṅgū, the author of the Prāchīn Panth Prakāsh, composed his poeticized history of the Sikhs in the Buṅgā of Shyām Siṅgh of Karoṛsiṅghīā misl. The buṅgās belonging to the Nirmalās, Udāsīs, Sevāpanthīs, Giānīs and Granthīs also served as educational institutions. The Udāsī buṅgās belonging to Bābā Prītam Dās and Bhāī Vastī Rām were famous centres of learning. Two Buṅgās were engaged in teaching Sanskrit. They were buṅgā Hukam Siṅgh and Buṅgā Māikvāl. Hukam Siṅgh Buṅgā was run by Āgyā Rām. The Māikvāl Buṅgā had a pāṭhshālā attached to it presided over by Braj Lāl. Both the buṅgās were under the Udāsīs. Besides Sanskrit, they taught their pupils to read and write Gurmukhī. Some of the buṅgās were institutions of advanced studies and provided instruction in Vedānta, grammar and logic. One such buṅgā was that of the Malvaīs, which was built with the beneficence of the Sikh chiefs and sardārs of the Mālvā region. The Kapūrthalā Buṅgā served by Sant Chandā Siṅgh and Sant Dayā Siṅgh specialized in the interpretation of the Gurū Granth Sāhib. Giānī Sant Siṅgh and Parduman Siṅgh were also originally attached to this Buṅgā which claimed Mahāṅ Kāvī Bhāī Santokh Siṅgh as its most distinguished alumnus. Another old pupil was Bhāī Rām Siṅgh, who ran a Gurmukhī pāṭhshālā and was for some time tutor to Khaṛak Siṅgh, the eldest son of Mahārājā Raṇjīt Siṅgh. The buṅgās of Rāgī Kāhn Siṅgh, Rāgi Chaṛhat Siṅgh and Rāgi Dhanpat Siṅgh trained pupils in Sikh music. The Āhlūvālīā Buṅgā was likewise an academy of music, with Rājā Fateh Siṅgh of Kapūrthalā as its chief patron. It excelled at instrumental music and was famous for its courses on Rabāb, Sāraṅgī, Mīrdaṅg and Kachcchavā which were normally played in the Harimandar. The Buṅgā Siṅghpurīāṅ imparted training in Gurmukhī calligraphy for transcribing copies of the Gurū Granth Sāhib. Two of its inmates, Bhāī Lahorā Siṅgh and Bhāī Harī Siṅgh, were especially known for their mastery of the art. The chief patron of the Buṅgā was Giānī Sant Siṅgh himself a fine calligraphist. Some of the ḍerās, especially those belonging to Udāsīs, concentrated on indigenous medicine. Among these the Jalliāṅvālā Buṅgā was known for the treatment of skin diseases. Ghaṛiālvālā Buṅgā was concerned with announcing the time of the day at regular intervals, principally for services in the Harimandar.

         Each buṅgā was managed by a supervisor called buṅgaī. He daily recited the Gurū Granth Sāhib and looked after the comfort of the pilgrims. For maintenance, the buṅgās depended on the sects or individual sardārs who had built them or who patronized them. Whenever Sikh chiefs visited the Harimandar to offer obeisance, they always left money and sweets to be distributed among the different buṅgās. The sarbarāh or manager of the Harimandar was in a position to issue instructions to the supervisors of the buṅgās about the management of their affairs, discipline, etc.

         On the enactment of the Sikh Gurdwara Act in 1925, the buṅgās and their properties were placed on the lists of the Shiromaṇī Committee. But the owners of the buṅgās challenged this in the Gurdwārā Tribunal. The Tribunal decided the case in their favour. An appeal against the decision of the Tribunal was lost in the Punjab High Court. In 1943, the Shiromaṇī Gurdwārā Parbandhak Committee decided to widen the parikramā, the circumambulatory terrace around the sarovar, for which many old buṅgās would have to be demolished. It therefore purchased the Buṅgās which were not already the property of Darbār Sāhib and demolished those which fell within the parikramā widening scheme. The actual work was, however, taken up and completed after the partition (Independence) of the country in 1947. Now all buildings adjoining the parikramā, with the exception of Buṅgā Akhārā Brahm Būtā, are Gurdwārā property.

         The names of the founders and owners of the buṅgās, the years of construction, details concerning the buildings, jāgīrs and properties attached and the names of the buṅgāis are recorded in Tarīkh-i-Amritsar ke Chand Mākhaz and Report Sri Darbar Sahib. The former lists 72 buṅgās and the latter 73. Below is given a list of 68 buṅgās and 12 akhāṛās as recorded by Giānī Giān Siṅgh in Twārīkh Srī Amritsar, written in 1946 Bk/AD 1889, first printed in AD 1923 and reprinted in 1977. Many of these buildings fell into disuse; most of the others were acquired by the Shiromaṇī Gurdwārā Parbandhak Committee and demolished to bring symmetry to the surroundings of the Harimandar.

        Buṅgās on the western side of the Harimandar Sāhib:

        Buṅgās on northern side :       

        Buṅgās on eastern side :

        Buṅgās on southern side :

        (This includes one Akhāṛā-Mahant Santokh Dās)

        Akhāṛās of Amritsar: