Ruler of Gagaraun who gave up his throne; one hymn in Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji
Bhagat Pipa
A ruler of Gagaraun in Rajasthan who, in the accounts that survive, left his throne for a life of devotion. His one hymn in Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, in Raag Dhanasari at ang 695, teaches that the body itself is God's temple. The details of his life come from tradition.
Life, as tradition tells it
The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism and Macauliffe both give about 1425 as his birth year and make him the ruler of Gagaraun. The Encyclopaedia tells the story as tradition has it. He first worshipped the goddess Bhavani, who is said to have told him in a dream to seek out Ramanand at Varanasi. Ramanand would not see him in royal dress, so he changed into a mendicant's clothes and received initiation.
He later gave up the throne and left for Dwarka. All twelve of his wives wished to go with him, but he took only Sita, whose temperament suited the life. The account says that after an experience at Dwarka he abandoned image worship. The couple then travelled, sang their compositions and gave what they collected to the poor.[EoS][Macauliffe]
In Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji
BaniDB gives his one hymn in Raag Dhanasari at ang 695. It finds God, temple and pilgrim within the body. The Encyclopaedia reads this as a rejection of stone images, incense and lamps. Two collections of his sayings survive in manuscript, Shri Pipa Ji Bani and Sarab Gutaka, and a monastery at Dwarka, Pipa Math, honours his memory.[DB][EoS]