GAṄGĀ RĀM was one of the five sons of Bhāī Sādhū and Bībī Vīro, the daughter of Gurū Hargobind, who formed part of Gurū Gobind Siṅgh's retinue at Pāoṇṭā, in present-day Himāchal Pradesh, when he was attacked by a combined force of some of the hill chiefs headed by Rājā Fateh Shāh of Gaṛhvāl. Gaṅgā Rām, along with his brothers, fought in the battle that took place at Bhaṅgāṇī, not far from Pāoṇṭā, on 18 September 1688. He survived the action in which two of the brothers, Saṅgrām Shāh and Jīt Mall, were killed.