Bhagat Dhanna

Bhagat Dhanna
Gilded panel made by the craftsmen of Kucha Fakirkhana depicting bhagat Dhanna the Jat and his life-story (sakhi) from Gurdwara Baba Atal Rai, Amritsar, ca.1904
Born	20 April 1415 Chauru, Tehsil Phagi, Jaipur, Rajasthan
Died	Early 15th century Dhuan Kalan, Tonk District, Rajasthan
Other names	Dhanna Bairagi, Dhanna Jat
Occupation	Farmer
Known for	Founder of Dhannavanshi Bairagi Sect, contributor of 3 verse in Guru Granth Sahib.

Bhagat Dhanna, also known Dhanna Jat, Dhanna Jatt, Dhanna Bairagi or Sant Dhanna (born 1415[1]), was a mystic poet and a Vaishnav devotee whose three hymns are present in Guru Granth Sahib.[2][3]

Early life

Dhanna was born in Hindu Jat family in village Chauru of Tehsil Phagi, in the Jaipur district of Rajasthan,[4] and was a disciple of the Bhakti saint-poet Ramananda.[3]

Divine powers

There are a number of mystical stories about the divine powers of Dhanna Bhagat. One such states that once he was ploughing his fields, a large number of Sannyasins (Hindu religious mendicants) came to him hungry and sought food. Dhanna Bhagat gave them all the seeds he had kept for sowing his fields, and ploughed the fields without sowing seeds. The fields produced no food grains, but gourds. When his jagirdir (feudal lord) came to collect the levy, Dhanna Bhagat offered two gourds. Surprised and insulted, the Jagirdar broke the gourds in anger, only to find that they were full of pearls. Bhakti-saint Meera refers to this story in her poem, "sun lijo binati mori, main sharan gahi prabhu teri".[5]

Legacy

Early Sikh literature claims Dharam Singh, one of the inaugural Panj Piare quintet, was the reincarnation of Bhagat Dhanna.[6][7] The Dhaliwal gotra (clan) claims that Bhagat Dhanna was a Dhaliwal.[8]

Popular culture

Bhagat Dhanna Ji Temple and Gurudwara is present in Dhuan Kalan Village, Tonk District, Rajasthan

Indian filmmaker Kidar Nath Sharma made Dhanna Bhagat in 1945 which starred Kamal Zamindar in the title role. In 1974, Bhagat Dhanna Jatt, an Indian Punjabi-language film starring Dara Singh, was released.[9]

Gallery

• 
  Detail of Bhagat Dhanna from a fresco, circa mid-19th century.
• 
  Fresco depicting figures associated with the compilation of the Guru Granth Sahib and its contents, Dhanna is located on the extreme right-most on the very edge, from Gurdwara Baba Atal, Amritsar
• 
  Bhagat Dhanna Jat Temple in Dhuan Kalan Village, Tonk District, Rajasthan
• 
  Bhagat Dhanna Jat Gurudwara in Dhuan Kalan Village, Tonk District, Rajasthan

References

1. Datta, Amaresh (1987). Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: A-Devo, Volume 1. Sahitya Akademi. p. 79. ISBN 9788126018031.
2. Bhagat Dhanna. "Sri Guru Granth Sahib Raags Index". searchgurbani.com. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
3. Singha, H. S. (2000). The Encyclopedia of Sikhism (Over 1000 Entries). Hemkunt Press. p. 60. ISBN 9788170103011.
4. Darshan Singh, Guru Granth Sahib Among The Scriptures Of The World, Publication Bureau, Punjabi University, 1 January 2004, page 107.
5. "मीरा बाई के पद-1". Wikisource. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
6. Fenech, Louis E.; McLeod, W. H. (2014). Historical Dictionary of Sikhism (3rd ed.). Rowman & Littlefield. p. 99. ISBN 9781442236011.
7. Fenech, Louis E. (2021). The Cherished Five in Sikh History. Oxford University Press. pp. 53–54. ISBN 9780197532843.
8. Dogra, R. C.; Mansukhani, Gobind Singh. Encyclopaedia of Sikh Religion and Culture. Vikas Publishing House. p. 126. ISBN 9780706983685.
9. Rajadhyaksha, Ashish; Willemen, Paul (1999). Encyclopaedia of Indian cinema. British Film Institute.

Further reading

• Sahib Sirigh, Bhagat-BaniSati`k, vol. I. Amritsar, 1979

External links

• Bhagat Dhanna Gurudwara
• Bhagat Dhanna Temple