Bhagat Danna Ji was born in Rajasthan which was earlier called Rajputana in village Dhuan Kalan in District Tonk. This village is also known as village Dhuan and 'Dhooan', in a Jatt family.

Bhai Gurdas Ji has verified that he was born in a Jatt family. Dhanna Jatt udharia Sadhna Jatt Ajaat Kasai. (Vaar 12, Pauri 5)

Dhanna Jatt vakhaniae Sadhna e Jaat Ajaat kasai. (Vaar 25, Pauri 5)

Bhai Darbari Das in his book Parchian Bhagtan Kian (1991) has mentioned that the name of the king of the locality as Bheem Sain:

Dhanna aese hmra nau ll

Bhim Sain Raje ka nau ll

The village Dhuan Kalan is near Kasba Bharni and from the Kota-Jaipur Highway it is 128 km and is situated at a distance of 32 kms from Deoli. At the sacred place of his birth in the village Dhuan Kalan, District Tonk, Rajasthan stands a stately Gurdware Gurdwara Bhagat Dhanna Ji which also includes a soravar (a holy tank). Baba Lakha Singh Ji of Kot started re-construction of the old building and is currently incharge of its kar-seva. Baba Sher Singh Ji (Mob. 94143-48982) is doing supervision. S. Satnam Singh Ji is Head Granthi of this Gurdwara Sahib. In this Gurdwara Sahib Sri Guru Granth Sahib is placed and all the programmes are organised as per Sikh tradition and singing of hymns is a continuous process. It may be added that in all the Gurdwaras dedicated to Bhagat Dhanna Ji Sri Guru Granth Sahib is placed and in these Gurdwara Sahibs all the programmes are organized as per Sikh tradition.

There is some difference of opinion about the date of birth of Bhagat Dhanna Ji but the consensus is that he was born in Samrat 1479 i.e. year 1416 on 8th of Vaisakh, the second month of Desi Calendar. At village Dhuan Kalan as well as in all the Gurdwaras related to him his birthday is celebrated on April 20. In the village Dhuan Kalan only one day programme is organized on April 20 because the farmers at that time are busy in harvesting. A comprehensive birthday anniversary programme is held during March 1-3 during which a comprehensive nagar kirtan is started in the morning from Gurdwara Agamgarh Sahib in Kota which is at a distance of 120 kms from Dhuan Kalan and culminates in the evening at Dhuan Kalan. At Dhuan Kalan Sri Akhand Paath Sahib is organised during March 1-3.

The father of Bhagat Dhanna Ji was an ordinary farmer who earned just enough to run the household. But even then he would invite hermits to his house and served them. Therefore Bhagat Dhanna Ji got a chance to meet hermits in his early childhood and started serving the needy.

According to Bhai Darbari Das his father expired when he was a child. The family being a peasant family his parents had involved him in grazing the animals to earn livelihood wherein in addition to his own cow he would take other peoples' cows for grazing. The people saw that because of God's grace even during his absence the cattle continued grazing as if he was himself present.

During his early age he was a worshipper of idols. It is said that he became worshipper of idols at the initiation of a neighbouring Brahman. When he went to graze cattles, on his way fell a Thakurdware where this Brahman worshipped the idols everyday. One day the Brahman told him that by worshipping the idols all one's wishes are fulfilled and happiness is attained. On hearing this Bhagat Dhanna Ji insisted him to give a salgram to him. Considering him a naive and ignorant Jatt instead of an idol he gave him an unshapely stone from a potters kiln i.e. a theekra, a piece of broken pottery by wrapping it in a piece of cloth. The Brahman also explained to him the method of worshipping it. On reaching his home Bhagat Dhanna Ji washed it and placed it on a wooden chowki and put before him butter, for semi-churned curd and bread. For a long time he sat before it and prayed that if the idol does not eat these things he will not eat anything. He did not know that the Brahmnan took the whole food placed before the idol to his home and ate it himself. Thinking that this naive but dedicated Jatt will die of hunger God Almighty made himself manifest and ate away the whole food. Bhagat Dhanna Ji felt ecstatic. Bhai Gurdas Ji has explained this whole incident in his Vaar 10 Pauri 13. Sri Guru Arjan Dev Ji says that Bhagat Dhanna Ji attained God because of his innocence and naivety.

With passage of time Bhagat Dhanna Ji gave up idol worship and started believing in the all pervasive God Almighty and became His devotee.

Bhagat Dhanna Ji is respected by the Sikhs because he is among the 15 Bhagats whose hymns Sri Guru Arjan Dev Ji included in Sri Adi Granth Sahib compiled by him. Sri Guru Arjan Dev Ji in addition to his own hymns and the hymns of his four predecessor Guru Sahibans included the hymns of 15 Bhagats, 11 Bhatts and four others closely associated with the Sikh Gurus. These 15 Bhagats include (i) Bhagat Jaidev Ji (ii) Sheikh Farid Ji (iii) Bhagat Trilochan Ji (iv) Bhagat Namdev Ji (v) Bhagat Sadhna Ji (vi) Bhagat Ramanand Ji (vii) Bhagat Ravidas Ji (viii) Bhagat Kabir Ji (ix) Bhagat Sain Ji (x) Bhagat Dhanna Ji (xi) Bhagat Pipa ji (xii) Bhagat Beni Ji (xiii) Bhagat Bhikhan Ji (xiv) Bhagat Surdas Ji and (xv) Bhagat Parmanand Ji.

Thus it is clear that this Holy Scripture includes the hymns of Hindu as well as Muslim Saints belonging to various religious, castes and creeds which includes Brahman, Jatt, Kasai, Calico-printer, Chamar, Weaver, Rajput, Barber and Musalman. In Sri Adi Granth Sahib Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji added the hymns of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib and this Holy Scripture now known as Sri Guru Granth Sahib and is the eternal Guru of the Sikhs.

The eleven Bhatts include (i) Bhatt Kalsahar Ji also known as Bhat Kalh Ji (ii) Bhatt Jalap Ji (iii) Bhatt Kirat Ji (iv) Bhatt Bhikha Ji (v) Bhatt Salh Ji (vi) Bhatt Nalh Ji (vii) Bhatt Gyand Ji (viii) Bhatt Mathura Ji (ix) Bhatt Bhalh Ji (x) Bhatt Balh Ji and (xi) Bhatt Harbans Ji.

The four holy men whose hymns Sri Guru Arjan Dev Ji included in Sri Adi Granth Sahib include (i) Bhai Mardana Ji (ii) Rai Balvand Ji (Doom Rababi) (iii) Bhai Satta Ji (Doom Rababi) and Baba Sunder Ji (Khatri). Sri Guru Granth Sahib is the only Holy Scripture in which hymns of holy men are included irrespective of their religion, caste, and creed.

The first reference about Bhagat Dhanna Ji is available in the songs of Miran Bai (1498-1546) who in one of her songs has written that in Bhagat Dhanna Ji's farms maize grew without putting any seed.

Next reference about Bhagat Dhanna Ji is available in the hymns of Sri Guru Arjan Dev Ji and the hymns of other Bhagats. In a folk Punjabi song Bhagat Dhanna Ji's praise is sung in the following words:

'I love and worship those to whom God listens.'

God himself walks on the ridge dividing the fields of Bhagat Dhanna Ji. Bhagat Dhanna is praised as follows: The God Almighty gives heed to every one's prayers. Howsoever we praise God it is less than what He deserves because he is graceful, whenever Dhanna calls him from the core of his heart He comes and grazes his cattle and sucks from the sugar cane in Bhagat Dhanna Ji's field. This song (i) highlights God's nearness to Bhagat Dhanna Ji and (ii) God's supernatural power and grace and (iii) God's benevolence on Bhagats.

No one can pen down the inaccessible power of God Almighty because his power and knowledge  are beyond the sense organs of human beings and beyond their thinking power.

Three hymns of Bhagat Dhanna Ji two in Raag Assa (SGGS, P487, P488) and one in Raag Dhanasri (SGGS, P695) are included in Sri Guru Granth Sahib.

The hymn in Raag Assa (SGGS, P487) is as follows:

aasaa banee bhagat Dhannay jee kee ik-oankaar satgur parsaad. bharmat firat baho janam bilaanay tan man Dhan nahee Dheeray. laalach bikh kaam lubadh raataa man bisray parabh heeray. ||੧|| rahaa-o.bikh fal meeth lagay man ba-uray chaar bichaar na jaani-aa. gun tay pareet badhee an bhaantee janam maran fir taani-aa. ||੧|| jugat jaan nahee ridai nivaasee jalat jaal jam fanDh paray. bikh fal sanch bharay man aisay param purakh parabh man bisray. ||੨|| gi-aan parvays gureh Dhan dee-aa Dhi-aan maan man ayk ma-ay. paraym bhagat maanee sukh jaani-aa taripat aghaanay mukat bha-ay. ||੩|| jot samaa-ay samaanee jaa kai achhlee parabh pehchaani-aa. Dhannai Dhan paa-i-aa DharneeDhar mil jan sant samaani-aa. ||੪||੧||

Aasaa, The Word Of Devotee Dhanna Jee: One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru: I wandered through countless incarnations, but mind, body and wealth never remain stable. Attached to, and stained by the poisons of sexual desire and greed, the mind has forgotten the jewel of the Lord. The poisonous fruit seems sweet to the demented mind, which does not know the difference between good and evil. Turning away from virtue, his love for other things increases, and he weaves again the web of birth and death. He does not know the way to the Lord, who dwells within his heart; burning in the trap, he is caught by the noose of death. Gathering the poisonous fruits, he fills his mind with them, and he forgets God, the Supreme Being, from his mind. The Guru has given the wealth of spiritual wisdom; practicing meditation, the mind becomes one with Him. Embracing loving devotional worship for the Lord, I have come to know peace; satisfied and satiated, I have been liberated. One who is filled with the Divine Light, recognizes the undeceivable Lord God. Dhanna has obtained the Lord, the Sustainer of the World, as his wealth; meeting the humble Saints, he merges in the Lord.

The second hymn of Bhagat Dhanna Ji in Raag Assa in SGGS (P488) is as follows: ray chit chaytas kee na da-yaal damodar bibahi na jaanas ko-ee. jay Dhaaveh barahmand khand ka-o kartaa karai so ho-ee. ||੧|| rahaa-o. jannee kayray udar udak meh pind kee-aa das du-aaraa. day-ay ahaar agan meh raakhai aisaa khasam hamaaraa. ||੧|| kummee jal maahi tan tis baahar pankh kheer tin naahee. pooran parmaanand manohar samajh daykh man maahee. ||੨|| paakhan keet gupat ho-ay rahtaa taa cho maarag naahee. kahai Dhannaa pooran taahoo ko mat ray jee-a daraanhee. ||੩||੩||

O my consciousness, why don't you remain conscious of the Merciful Lord? How can you recognize any other? You may run around the whole universe, but that alone happens which the Creator Lord does. In the water of the mother's womb, He fashioned the body with ten gates. He gives it sustenance, and preserves it in fire - such is my Lord and Master. The mother turtle is in the water, and her babies are out of the water. She has no wings to protect them, and no milk to feed them. The Perfect Lord, the embodiment of supreme bliss, the Fascinating Lord takes care of them. See this, and understand it in your mind. The worm lies hidden under the stone - there is no way for him to escape. Says Dhanna, the Perfect Lord takes care of him. Fear not, O my soul.

The hymn in Raag Dhanasri of Bhagat Dhanna Ji on SGGS (P695) is as follows:-

Dhannaa. gopaal tayraa aartaa. jo jan tumree bhagat karantay tin kay kaaj savaarataa. ||੧|| rahaa-o. daal seeDhaa maaga-o ghee-o. hamraa khusee karai nit jee-o. panHee-aa chhaadan neekaa. anaaj maga-o sat see kaa. ||੧|| ga-oo bhais maga-o laavayree. ik taajan turee changayree. ghar kee geehan changee. jan Dhannaa layvai mangee. ||੨||੪||

Dhannaa: O Lord of the world, this is your lamp-lit worship service. You are the Arranger of the affairs of those humble beings who perform your devotional worship service. Lentils, flour and ghee - these things, I beg of You. My mind shall ever be pleased. Shoes, fine clothes, and grain of seven kinds - I beg of You. A milk cow, and a water buffalo, I beg of You, and a fine Turkestani horse. A good wife to care for my home - Your humble servant Dhanna begs for these things, Lord.

He tells us the method of evading wandering and advises us to evade the wandering and to evade the cycle of transmigration of soul.

In his hymns Bhagat Dhanna Ji has expressed his views about allpowerfulness of God Almighty, soul, Guru, Sadh-sangat, human life, needs of human beings and the aims of maya and exmancipation.

In his hymn on SGGS (Page 487) Bhagat Dhanna Ji has explained that a person spends several lives in running fruitlessly in the craze of maya. But he does not attain any peace. He is engrossed in sexual desires and greed. His mind keeps running after maya. The attainment of money is not permanent. The greedy person keeps absorbed in greed for poison-roopi objects and several desires. He forgets the priceless God Almighty. O Foolish Mind! these poison-roopi fruits seem sweet to you. You do not have beautiful thoughts, you stay away from good deeds, you are absorbed in love for strange things and because of this you keep going through the cycle of transmigration of soul. Burning in the web of avarice you are engrossed in the web of jamdoots and strangulation by jamdoots. O Mind! you continued gathering and sustaining evil deeds and thereby forgetting the Supreme Purakh i.e. God Almighty. The person whom God graces with dhan of attainment of knowledge, his mind is absorbed in God Almighty He likes bhagti of God, he attains happiness and he becomes satisfied with maya and becomes free of all bonds. The person is whom God Almighty's all pervasive light becomes stable he recognises the God who is above knavery. I i.e. Dhanna by meetings the saints has found the naam-roopi dhan from the one who is the protector and sustain of the whole world and I Dhanna has become one with the God Almighty.

In his second hymn in Raag Assa Bhagat Dhanna Ji says O my mind! Why do not you worship God the giver of mercy. You should not seek the protection of any other person. Even if you roam about in your country as well as in other countries even then what God Almighty wishes and does will happen. Our protector is so graceful that in the fire of the womb of the mother He creates a body with ten doors and by providing food he protects us in the fire of mother's womb. The female turtle lives in water and her children live on the sand outside. These children do not have wings with which they could fly and search for food and neither the mother turtle has teats to feed her children. But O my soul! Try to think in your mind. The charming God i.e. the beautiful God Almighty upbring these children. The insect which is inside a stone and there is no way in the stone for him to come out, the God Almighty nourishes him also. Dhanna Ji says O Being! Therefore you should not be afraid.

Bhagat Dhanna Ji in his hymn is Raag Dhanasri (SGGS, P695) tells us about the needs of human beings. Addressing God Almighty he says O Nurturer of the world! I am a beggar at thy door. Please fulfil my needs, fulfil the needs of those who worship you. I beg for pusle, ground floor and ghee so that I can lead a peaceful life. Everyday, I also beg for shoes and beautiful clothes and I beg for grain grown in a field which is ploughed seven times. I beg for a milch cow, a buffalo and a mare. Myself your slave also asks for a good woman.

The main theme of his hymns is spiritual. The vocabulary used by him has deep spiritual meanings. He has used the words of Sanskrit and Arabic languages which shows that he was well versed in both these languages. Bhagat Dhanna Ji's hymns reveal that he had deep spiritual inclinations.

Talking about Bhagat Dhanna Ji Sri Guru Arjan Dev Ji (SGGS, 487-88) says that by listening to the stories of Bhagat Namdev Ji, Bhagat Kabir Ji, Bhagat Ravidas Ji and Bhagat Sain Ji as to how they rose to the position of Bhagats, the Jatt, Bhagat Dhanna Ji started worshipping God Almighty and he was blessed with a holy glimpse of God Almighty & became very honorable.

Sir Guru Ram Das Ji (SGGS, P835) while praising, Bhagat Dhanna Ji, says that a person of any creed - Brahman, Khatri, Vaish and Shudra by worshipping God can cross over the worldly ocean.

It may be concluded that Bhagat Dhanna Ji in his early years was an idol worshipper but later on he started believing in the All Pervasive God Almighty. In his hymns he has said that now I am lost in the worship of God which has given me peace. He has also emphasized that every human being has worldly desires. By worshipping the All Pervasive God Almighty he attained the position of 'Paramhans' a saint of highest rank. His hymns show that he was hardworking because he was a peasant and tilled of his own land.

In several places the Gurdwara Sahibs dedicated to his sacred memory have been established. S. Surinder Singh ji is serving Gurdwara Bhagat Dhanna in Phase X of Mohali, District Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar, Punjab (Mobile No. 98148-24392) who has provided valuable information for this write-up.

This year i.e in 2023 Bhagat Dhanna Ji's 607th Birth Anniversary was celebrated on April 21st by the Sikh sangat all over the world.

The references used in this write-up include:- (i) The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism published by Punjabi University Patiala, Part I, II, III IV (1995, 1996, 1997, 1998) (ii) Bhai Kahan Singh Nabha's book Mahan Kosh (iii) Sukhdev Singh Shant's Book Pandran Bhagat Sahiban (2018) (iv) Sarbjinder Singh's book Dhur Ki Bani (2004) (v) Guru Granth Sanket Kosh by Piara Singh Padam and others (1997) (vi) Dharbari Das (Bhai) Editor Dr. Gurcharan Singh Sek, book Parchian Bhagtan Kian 7 Bhai Darbar Dass (1991) and (vii) Bhagat Dhanna Ji in Gobind Times by Bhai Trilochan Singh (Vir Ji) April-June, 2018 although reference has not been given at each place.

DHAN DHAN BHAGAT DHANNA JI!

Dr. Amrit Kaur Retd. Professor Punjabi University Patiala, Punjab