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MADHU SUDAN


Pandit Madhu Suadan (? – 1863), son of Pandit Brij Raj, was the Raj Purohit (royal priest) of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. He was the incharge of the royal charities of the Maharaja. It was he who used to decide as to who will be given royal charities; hence he gave a lot of royal wealth to the Brahmins and the Hindu temples. It was he who asked Maharaja Ranjit Singh to give Tuladans (royal charities equivalent to the weight of the king) twice a month (on Massiya and Sangrand) to the Brahmins and he himself used to preside over the ceremony of distribution of all charities. Maharaja Ranjit Singh had granted him several Jagirs. He was a very rich person. After the annexation of the Punjab, the British too granted him an annual Jagir of 10000 rupees. He died at Lahore in 1863.

(Dr Harjinder Singh Dilgeer)