DASAUNDHĀ SIṄGH (d. 1767), founder of the Nishānāvālī misl, was the son of Chaudharī Sāhib Rāi belonging to the village of Mansūr, in Fīrozpur district of the Punjab. He received pāhul, the Khālsā initiatory rites at the hands of Dīwān Darbārā Siṅgh, a prominent Sikh leader of the post-Bandā Siṅgh period. By 1734, Dasaundhā Siṅgh was a leading figure in the Taruṇā Dal. At the time of the formation of the Dal Khālsā in 1748, he was proclaimed the leader of the Nishānāvālī misl. The Nishānāvālī misl, kept as a reserve force at Amritsar, used to act as standard-bearers of the Khālsā army. Hence the name (nishān = flag or standard; vālī = owning or unfurling). In January 1764 after the conquest of Sirhind, Dasaundhā Siṅgh took possession of Siṅghāṅvālā in Fīrozpur district, Sāhnevāl, Sarāi Lashkarī Khān, Dorāhā, Amloh, Zīrā and Ambālā. At the last named station, he established his headquarters. He was killed in May 1767 at Meerut in a sudden attack by Jahān Khān and Zābitā Khān and was succeeded to the headship of the misl by his younger brother, Saṅgat Siṅgh.