AURAṄGĀBĀD, (19º-54'N, 75º-20'E) is a district town in Mahārāshṭra. It is a railway station on the Manmāḍ-Kāchīgudā section of the South Central Railway, 114 km from Manmāḍ towards Nāndeḍ. The site was once the capital of the Yādavas of Devgirī or Deogīr in the 12th and 13th centuries; Auraṅgzīb established his headquarters here when he was appointed governor of the four Deccan provinces in AD 1636. When as emperor he came to the Deccan in 1681 (never to return to the north again), he first stayed at Auraṅgābād, later shifting to Ahmadnagar.

        In 1706, Gurū Gobind Siṅgh had sent Bhāī Dayā Siṅgh and Bhāī Dharam Siṅgh as his emissaries to the Deccan with his letter, known as the Zafarnāmah, addressed to Emperor Auraṅgzīb. The Sikhs halted for a short while at Auraṅgābād, on their way to Ahmadnagar, where they found that it was almost impossible to see the emperor and deliver to him the letter personally as the Gurū had directed. Bhāī Dayā Siṅgh sent his colleague back to the Gurū with a letter seeking his advice. But before Bhāī Dharam Siṅgh could re-join him with further instructions from the Gurū, Bhāī Dayā Siṅgh had managed to have the letter delivered and had returned to Auraṅgābād. The two went back to the Gurū, then travelling in Rājasthan.

        At Auraṅgābād, Bhāī Dayā Siṅgh had stayed with a Sikh whose house became a meeting-place for the Gurū's disciples. The place, located in Dhāmī Mohallā in the interior of the town, is now known as Gurdwārā Bhāī Dayā Siṅgh. The present building was constructed by the local saṅgat in the 1960's.

        The gurdwārā is managed by a local committee. Sikh services are held morning and evening and important anniversaries and festivals are observed. The Gurdwārā granthī runs a class for young resident scholars in scripture-reading.

Major Gurmukh Siṅgh (Retd.)