[2] Mahan Singh was born into a Punjabi Hindu family from the Bali clan of Mohyal Brahmins.

He was the son of Data Ram Bali, a confidential servant of Sultan Mukarab Khan, the Muslim Gakhar chief of the city of Gujrat.

[4] Impressed by his valor, the Maharaja had him inducted into the army under Hari Singh Nalwa.

[4] Mahan Singh served in the battles of Peshawar and Kashmir, and in the 1818 siege of Multan, where he was wounded two times.

[4] In April 1837, he was the main defender of the Jamrud Fort, holding out against an invasion by the Afghans.