Samana

Samana at a distance of 17 miles south-west of Patiala is a place of considerable antiquity. It traces its history to the days of Raja Jaipal who ruled over, among others, the territories of Bhatinda, Samana. It fell into the hands of Shahab-ud-Din Muhammad Gauri after the conquest of Ajmer and Delhi and was entrusted to Qutb-ud-Din Aibek in 1192, along with the territories of Ghuram and Sunam. With the increasing importance of Sirhind under the Mughals, Samana received a little set-back.

While Samana is said to be a place of saints and scholars during the Mughal days, it is notorious also for its professional executioners, who served at Delhi and Sirhind. Sayyad Jala-ud-Din, who executed Guru Teg Bahadur at Delhi in 1675 was from Samana. Beg brothers, who mercilessly butchered the younger sons of Guru Gobind Singh also belonged to Samana. This hated town was therefore one of the first places to have been sacked by Banda Bahadur. But the Mughals were yet too strong for the rising power of Sikhs and Samana had to be given up by them towards the end of 1710 AD.It was retaken in about 1742 AD by Baba Ala Singh, the founder of the Patiala ruling family and was recognized as a part of his territories by Ahamd Shah Durani.