Guru Amar Das

Guru Amar Das (1479–1574) was the third Sikh guru. Born at Basarke, he followed the Vaishnava tradition and made repeated pilgrimages to Haridwar. About sixty when he heard Bibi Amro, daughter of Guru Angad, sing a Nanak hymn in 1539, he became Angad's disciple and succeeded him on 26 March 1552.

From Goindwal he organised the community through the Manji system, appointing representatives to spread the faith, and a Peerah system for women. He gathered its hymns into a pothi that fed into the Adi Granth, banned sati and permitted widow remarriage. He died on 1 September 1574, naming his son-in-law Jetha as Guru Ram Das.