Historical
Gurdwaras Of Pakistan
NANKANA SAHIB
(Gurdwara Birth Place of Sri Guru Nanak
Dev ji)
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Gurdwara
Sri Nankana Sahib Ji
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Nankana Sahib is a holy place where the founder of Sikh religion,
the dispeller of darkness, the most enlightened global Guru, Guru
Nanak Dev ji was born early in the morning to Mata Tripta Ji and Mehta
Kalu Ji on 15th April, 1469 (Baisakh sudi 3, Samwat 1526).
Bhai Gurdas in his Var (Var 1/27) has equated this event with the
sun that lights up the earth after a dark night :
Jeeu Kar suraj nikaleya, taare
chhipe andher paloa. (Var 1/27)
According to Puratan Janam Sakhi, the trees starting dripping
juice, many a pauper became rich, the diseased were blessed with health.
The earth heaved a sigh of relief.
According to Janam Sakhis,
when Daulta Dai, the maid nurse was offered money, she refused it
on the plea that she had already been rewarded by the very glimpse
of the holy baby. Guru Nanak gave his first message that he belong
to God and would exert the people to worship His Name. Bhai Nand lal
ji has well said that Guru Nanak was asked by the Almighty to turn
the face of humanity towards Him.
The township of Nankana
Sahib was earlier known as Raipur and later on as Rai-Bhoi-di-Talwandi
but after the birth of Guru Nanak, it began to be known as Nankian
Sahib/Nankana Sahib. It is situated at a distance 48 miles on the
west from Lahore.
Guru Nanak dev
ji passed his whole childhood and young age in Nankana Sahib. At the
age of nine, when Pandit Hardyal asked the boy Nanak to put on Janeo,
he refused to have the thread that discriminated amongst mankind.
The Janeo which was made of the silk for a brahmin, of cotton for
a khatri, of wool for a Vaish and which was strictly abondoned for
Shudara. And again which is three folds for brahmin, two folds for
Khatri and only one fold for Vaish. He asked the Pandit if he had
the thread made of compassion the cotton, contentment the yarn, continence
the knot and purity the twist, he was ready to wear it. The Pandit
was dumb-founded :
Daeya
kapah santokh soot jatu gandhi sat watt.
Eihu
janeo jeea ka hai ta pande ghatt. (p. 471)
When he joined a school at Nankana
Sahib, the Guru is said to have written fundamentals of education
on the wooden takhti provided to him. He enlightened the people when
he wrote simply the first alphabet of Persian script 'alaf' and conveyed
the message of unity of Godhood.
Guru Nanak Dev got married
on 21st , may 1487 to Bibi Sulakhani, Daghter of Mulchand Khatri of
Batala. It was at Nankana Sahib that he met Bhai Mardana, who was
his life long companion for 47 years, listening and singing Guru's
gospel. According to the Sikh history, Guru Nanak at the age of 22
years, in 1491 A.D. went into silence for days together. He did not
eat a single morsel and utter a single word.
His father Kalu ji sent for a
local physician / Vaid. The vaid found nothing wrong with the young
Nanak and found himself in a quandary as to what to tell his father
because Nanak was absolutely healthy. Guru Nanak said ," I have no
physical ailment. Thou, the simple physician, knows not the pangs
arising from the heart"
Bhola vaid na jaaneie karak
Kaleje maah. (P. 1279)
Guru Nanak Dev Ji stayed at his birthplace uptil 35 years of age and
hereafter went to Sultanpur.
For a long time, this place remained
in normal form. In A.D. 1613 (Samwat 1670), Guru Hargobind visited
the birth place of Guru Nanak and entrusted the responsibility of
looking after this place to Alamst, an ardent disciple of Baba Sri
Chand. Since then Udasis, (the followers of Guru Nanak's Son) looked
after this place for a long time.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh got
a magnificent building built there and at the behest of Baba Sahib
Singh, the Maharaja gave 700 acres land as religious endowment to
his holy shrine but the Udasis continued to maintain the place. They
had the charge of this place during the times full of stress and strife
for the Sikhs But with the passage of time, in early 20th century,
these Udasis Mahants began to treat this revenue free jagir as their
personal property and indulged in erotic and luxorious life. To get
these historical Gurdwaras from the hands of these apostates the Gurdwara
Prabandh Sudhar Movement was started. One peaceful Jatha that entered
Gurdwara Janam Asthan was mercilessly hacked by the mercenaries of
Mahant Narain Dass. Even the holy Sri Guru Granth Sahib was made target
of thier bullets. Many a people belonging to this jatha were tied
to a Jand and burnt alive. The Martyred half-burnt bodies were thrown
into the well.
This incident gave
such an impetus to the Gurdwara Reform Movement that the Mahants had
to handover the shrines to the Sikh Sangats. The magnificent building
of this gurdwara alongwith the beautiful gardens, enthrals the onlookers
and devotees. There is a big sarovar and a spacious inn which provides
accomodation to the pilgrims. The historical Jand and the well are
still existing, telling the tale of atrocities perpetuated by Mahant
Narain Dass on simple-hearted and peace-loving Sikhs. According to
Bhai Kahn Singh Nabha, the auther of Gurshabd Ratnakar Mahan Kosh,
this shrine had 18 thousand acres of land attached to it and a cash
endowment of Rs. nine thousand eight hundred and ninety two also.
By the partition of the Indian
sub-continent, the Sikhs not only lost many lives, wealth etc. but
also thier most loved and revered shrines which went to the other
side of the border. After this partition, a mention of Nankana Sahib
Gurdwara in the daily ardasa or prayer has become a reguler feature.
These Sikh shrines in Pakistan are managed by a Waqf Board and every
year, Sikh Jathas visit these shrines on four different occasions.
At present there are
25-30 Sikh families residing in Nankana Sahib and as a result of this,
daily service is performed and bani is recited. Bhai Partap Singh
is functioning as the Granthi. At the occassion of Guru Nanak's anniversary,
about three thousand Sikh devotees from India visit Nankana Sahib.
Sikhs from all over the world come there too.
GURDWARA BAL LILAH NANKANA SAHIB
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GURDWARA
BAL LILAH NANKANA SAHIB
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Gurdwara Bal Lilah is situated 400 yards away from the holy shrine
of Janam Asthan. The holy pond Nanaksar with this Gurdwara was got
built by Rai Bular, the ruler of Talwandi. As is apparent from the
name, this site is related with the wonderful adventure of the early
childhood of the Guru. The Guru in his infancy, used to transport
the enlightment of the Nama in the minds of his mates, while playing
with them. The Gurdwara had formerly 120 acres of land and a little
cash endowment also. Before the Saka of 1921, the arrangement of this
Gurdwara was in the hands of the Nirmala Singhs. Besides Tirath Singh,
the Mahant there were also 37 other patidaars. The Gurdwara came under
the panthic management at the time of the Gurdwara Sudhar Movement.
This Gurdwara remained in the panthic hands up to 1947, but after
the partition, the Pakistan Waqf Board has been serving the Gurdwara.
The sarovar adjacent to the Gurdwara is lying dried up and the Gurdwara
is opened only at the time of visiting to it by the Sikhs. There is
no arrangement of Parkasha of Guru Granth Sahib. It is only the building
which is safe and sound.
GURDWARA
PATTI SAHIB (NANKANA SAHIB)
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GURDWARA
PATTI SAHIB (NANKANA SAHIB)
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This Gurdwara is close to the gurdwara Bal Lilah. At this site, Guru
Nanak Dev Ji used to learn Devnagri. Later on, he was sent to Pandit
Brij Lal for learning Sanskrit. At the age of 13, the Guru was sent
to Maulvi Kutab-Ud-Din of Talwandi to learn Persian. But the wisdom
and the spiritual enlightment of the Guru Nanak Dev urged all three
of them to make obeiance before the Guru's clear expressions of truth
and wisdom. Guru Nanak while criticising the prevalent education system,
enlightened them with the actual pupose of learning. He gave new meaning
to each and every word. The Maulvis and the Pandits were quite ignorent
about the mode of education. Guru Nanak was endowded with the wisdom
from the very childhood. His composition in Sri Guru Granth Sahib
known as Patti was written especially to remove the suspicious and
doubts in the minds of the Pandits. The very first stanza of Patti
hymn says: He who created all existence is the sole lord of all. Those
who serve Him are his devotees; Fruitful is their coming into the
world:
Sasei
soi srisht jin saaji Sabhana sahib ek bhaeya ...
Sevat
rahe chit jin ka laagaa, Aaaya tin ka safal bhaeya. (p. 432)
The place where education
was imparted to Guru Nanak is known as Gurdwara Patti sahib. This
place is also called Gurdwara Maulvi Patti Sahib as the Guru learnt
persian from one Maulvi Kutub-Ud-Din at this place. The Sikh residents
of Nankana Sahib have been organising a regular citation of Sri Guru
Granth Sahib at this place for the last few years. The building of
this Gurdwara is vast and maintained well.
GURDWARA
MALL JI SAHIB NANKANA SAHIB
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GURDWARA
MALL JI SAHIB NANKANA SAHIB
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This
holy place is associated with the childhood activities
of Guru Nanak Dev ji. One day while grazing the cattle, the Guru was
taking rest under a shady tree. He went into trance. When the shadows
were falling down, his divinely face happened to be covered with the
sunshine. A big cobra spread its hood on the very face of the Guru
for relieving him from the scorching heat. Rai Bular, the hakam of
Talwandi saw this from a far off place. He got the impression that
the child Guru Nanak was bitten by the snake. On approaching the the
place, where the Guru Nanak was lying, the snake snailed to its pit.
The Guru was awakened by the Rai Bular and he found him quite safe
and sound. The Rai Bular, thus came to realise the divine personality
of the Guru and became his disciple from that very day. He made it
clear to Mehta Kalu that he should not take the former as merely his
son but a revered holy prophet. A grant building stands erected to
day at this historical site.
This place is presently
situated amidst the thick population of Nankana Sahib. After partition,
unfortunately, Sri Guru Granth Sahib has not been ceremoniously opened
anyhow a portrait of the Guru is placed at the sanctorum, where the
pilgrims pay a visit. A vana tree immortalises the historical place.
GURDWARA
KIARA SAHIB NANKANA SAHIB.
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GURDWARA
KIARA SAHIB NANKANA SAHIB
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This Gurdwara is situated at a
distance of one and a half kilometres from Gurdwara Janam Asthan.
According to Janam Sakhi, when Guru Nanak was yet a young man, he
was to graze cattle. While resting underneath
a shady tree, Guru was immersed in thoughts and the cattle went astray
in the feilds of a farmer. On having seen this, the peasant got red
with rage. The clamouring made by the peasent disturbed the Guru from
his trnace. On beholding the Guru, he got embarrassed and made a complaint
to Rai Bular. The Guru drove the cattle towards his house. On his
return, the Guru just had a kind look at the fields which turned green.
By watching this miracle, the Hindus and the Muslims revered the Guru.
This Gurdwara is situated in that historical field. The building is
large.
A boundry wall and
a sarovar has been got built around the whole field. Before obtaining
the management of this Gurdwara by the panth in February 1921, a trio
consisting of Mahant Fauja Singh, Mahant Ujjagar Singh and Mahantani
Inder Kaur, was managing the affairs of this Gurdwara. After the partition
of 1947, This Gurdwara came under the Pakistan Waqf Board and is continueing
as such. The holy tank stands dry and Sri Guru Granth Sahib is not
opened ceremoniously.
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