23. Bhai Muhkam Singh Ji

Bhai Muhkam Singh 1666-1705) was born Muhkam Chand, one of the Panj Piare or the Five Beloved of honoured memory in the Sikh tradition, was the son of Tirath Chand, a cloth-printer of Dwarka in Gujarat. About the year 1685, he came to Anandpur, then the seat of Guru Gobind Singh. He practised the manly arts and took part in Sikhs' battles with the surrounding hill chiefs and imperial troops. He was one of the five who offered their heads in response to Guru Gobind Singh's call on the Baisakhi day of 1699 and earned the appellation of Panj Piare. Initiated into the order of the Khalsa, Muhkam Chand received the common surname of Singh and became Muhkam Singh. Bhai Muhkam Singh attained martyrdom in the battle of Chamkaur on 7 December 1705.