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ON THE SIKHS.
his neighbours and countrymen; several of whom, no doubt, adopted his notions; becoming, as the term Sikh implies, his disciples; the word being the provincial articulation of the Sanskrit word Śishya, a scholar or disciple, the sibilant sh being invariably pronounced kh in the western provinces. From those disciples he organised a communion, the superintendence of which he bequeathed to one of his principal pupils, named ANGADA, establishing a sort of hierarchy, to which perhaps it was owing that his followers were kept together as a distinct body. The successor of ANGADA, AMARA Dás, became possessed of some temporal power, and built the fort of Kajarawal. It would appear, however, that secular aggrandisement was not regarded as altogether orthodox, and the Sikhs, who restricted their views to purely religious objects, separated from Amara Dás and attached themselves to DHARMCHAND, the grandson of Nának, as their 'Guru' or spiritual head. They then became known as Udásís, or persons estranged from worldly hopes or fears, or as 'Nirmalas', individuals free from soil or sin. It is chiefly from these classes of Sikhs, the Udásís, and Nirmalas, that teachers of the theism of Nának are to be found in almost every considerable city of Hindustan, sometimes singly or sometimes assembled in Sangats or convents. They have nothing of a political or military character, but devote their time to daily prayers and observances addressed chiefly to the memory of Nának and the perusal and adoration of the sacred volume which
