Holy Places For The Sikhs

Unlike several places of special interest for the Hindus, Buddhists, or Jains which have crumbled, Sikh shrines are almost all active houses of worship. This is because Sikhim is comparatively a younger faith, it founder, Guru Nanak, having been born in 1469. The Adi Granth of the Sikhs, complied in 1604 by the Arjan Dev, contains hymns composed by the five Gurus plus compositions of 16 other Indian saints, Hindu as well as Muslim.

AMRITSAR, The Golden Temple has the pride of place among Sikh shrines. Mian Mir, a Muslim saint, laid the foundation stone of the shrine at the invitation of Guru Arjan and the temple was completed in 1601 and the Granth Sahib installed there in 1604. It is called the golden temple because many of the doors and domes of the temple were covered with gold-plated copper in the timer of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The Golden Temples has been the site of several battles and the temple has been difiled and destroyed and rebuilt. Among other shrines in the Golden Temple complex are the Akal Takht (one of five "thrones") and Baba Atal, built in memory of one of the sons of Guru Gobind Singh.

ANANDPUR (city of bliss) has a special place in Sikh history because it was here in 1699 that Guru Govind Singh administered "amrit" to the first batch of five sikhs, named them Singhs and founded the Khalsa brotherhood. At sis Ganj here was cremated the head of Guru Teg Bahadur after it was brought by a Sikh following the Guru's matrydom in Delhi.

BATALA - Kandh Sahib, where Guru Nanak was married.

BIDAR-NANAK JHIRA, Guru Nanak passed through Bidar, in Karnataka on his way to Sri Lanka. The Nanak Jhira is legend has it, gushed out of a mound at the behest of Nanak.

CALCUTTA, Gurudwara Bar Sangat was built to commemorate the stay there of Guru Nanak and Guru Teg Badadur.

DELHI, The capital city has several gurudwaras, the most famous being Sis Ganj in Chandni Chowk to commemorate the martyrdom of Guru Teg Bahadur, who was beheaded on Aurangazeb's order in 1675. Gurudwara Rakab Ganj is opposite Parliament House and it was here that Teg Bahadur's body was cremated. Bangla Sahib, near Connaught Place is dedicated to the eighth Guru, Har Krishan. Other gurudwaras in Delhi are Bala Sahib, Nanak Piao, Manju-ka-Tilla, Moti Bagh, Damdama Sahib and Mata Sundari.

DERA BABA NANAK, on the border with Pakistan , is reputed to enshrine the clock worn by Nanak during his visit by Guru NAnak as well as by Teg Bahadur.

GOINDWAL SAHIB, 25 kms from Tarn Taran, is the village where the third and fourth Gurus lieved and the fifth guru was born.

HEMKUND, at a height of more than 4,000 metres in the Garhwal Hills of Uttar Pradesh, is the site where Guru Gobind Singh was in deep meditation "in his previous incarnation." Although the Guru described the place it was located only in the early thirties of this century. A small shrine was built there in 1936. Hemkund is 300 kms of journey through the mountains from Rishikesh.

KHADUR SAHIB, close to Goindwal, is sacred in the sense that it was here that the second Guru finalised the Gurumukthi script.

KIRATPUR, on the banks of the Satluj, has several shrines associated with various Gurus.

MUKSTAR, 45 kms from Faridkot, is where Guru Gobind Singh fought his last and most fierce battle.

NANDED, in Maharashtram is where Guru Gobind Singh died on the banks of the Godavari, after having been stabbed. There are two major shrines at Nanded and several places associated with various deeds of this Guru.

PATIALA, Dukh, Niwaran, built in memory of Teg Bahadur, was constructed in the 1930's and has a pond which the believers think has water with curative powers.

PATNA, Harmandir Sahib was completed only in 1960 and is in memory of Gobind Singh who was born in Patna. The shrine is notable for a gallery of rare paintings dealing with Sikh history.

SIRHIND, is the site of one of the most heart-rending episodes in Sikh history. It is the place where Guru Gobind's two sons, nine and seven years of age, were executed. In memory of their sacrifice, three shrines have been built at sirhind.

TARN TARAN, 25 kms south of Amristar, houses a beautiful shrine resembling the Golden Temple.