CHOHLĀ, village 4. 5 km southeast of Sirhālī Kalāṅ (31º - 16'N, 74º - 56'E) in Amritsar district of the Punjab, is sacred to Gurū Arjan (1563-1606). The village was called Bhaiṇī when the Gurū visited here. A housewife served him a delicious dish of Chohlā, broken bread mixed with sugar and butter. Gurū Arjan was pleased and blessed her. He also uttered a hymn of thanks - giving with the refrain : "The Lord is our life and soul ; He cares for us everywhere in every respect. " Its last line was: "God is our wealth, His Name is our food; this, O Nānak, is our chohlā. " The village thereupon came to be called Chohlā - Chohlā Sāhib for the devotees. There are three historical shrines in the village which, according to local tradition, was also visited by Gurū Hargobind (1595-1644).

        GURDWĀRĀ CHOHLĀ SĀHIB at the western edge of the village marks the spot where Gurū Arjan sat and preached. The building comprises a marble-floored hall in front of the storeyed sanctum where Gurū Granth Sāhib is seated on a canopied seat of white marble. Two Nishān Sāhibs, holy flags, fly, one at each corner, in front of the hall. A small sarovar has been added in recent decades. A nearby old well is believed to have existed since the time of Gurū Arjan's visit.

        GURDWĀRĀ GURŪ KĪ KOṬHAṚĪ in the interior of the village marks the site of the house where Gurū Arjan and his wife, Mātā Gaṅgā, had stayed. It is also known as Mātā Gaṅgā Jī dā Asthān. The present building, raised during the 1980's, comprises a square hall in front of the domed sanctum topped by a gold-plated pinnacle. Here, too, is an old well that local tradition connects with Gurū Arjan's time.

        GURDWĀRĀ BĀBĀ ADALĪ, in the eastern part of the village, commemorates Bhāī Adalī, a pious Sikh contemporary of the fourth and the fifth Gurūs, Gurū Rām Dās and Gurū Arjan. It was he who brought the famous Bhāī Bidhī Chand (d. 1640) into the Sikh fold.

         All these three Gurdwārās are affiliated to the Shiromaṇī Gurdwārā Parbandhak Committee. The administration is run by a local committee. Almost the entire village land, about 500 acres, is owned by the Gurdwārās as free grant since Mughal times.