ḌARAULĪ BHĀĪ, Bhāī kī Ḍaraulī, or simply Ḍaraulī, . village 14 km west of Mogā (30º-48'N, 75º-10'E), in Farīdkoṭ district is sacred to Gurū Hargobind who stayed here for fairly long periods on more than one occasion. His brother-in-law, Bhāī Sāīṅ Dās, the husband of Mātā Damodarī's elder sister, Māī Rāmoṅ, lived in Ḍaraulī. The couple were more than mere relations of the Gurū they were his devoted disciples and felt honoured in rendering service to him. Bhāī Sāīṅ Dās had built a new house, but would not occupy it until the Gurū had come and stayed in it. Their heart's desire was fulfilled when Gurū Hargobind and his family arrived at Ḍaraulī in 1613. The Gurū's eldest son, Bābā Gurdittā, was born here on 15 November 1613. The second long stay of the Gurū at Daraulī, in 1631, ended sadly. Mātā Damodari, Māī Rāmoṅ, Bhāī Sāīṅ Dās and the Gurū's parents-in-law, Bhāī Naraiṇ Dās and Mātā Dayā Kaur, died one after the other within a few days. After performing the obsequies, Gurū Hargobind sent his own family to Kartārpur with Bābā Gurdittā, and himself went towards Bhāī Rūpā. The memory of the holy family was perpetuated in Ḍaraulī through the establishment of several shrines, now being controlled by the Shiromaṇī Gurdwārā Parbandhak Committee.

        AṄGĪṬHĀ (SAMĀDH) MĀTĀ DAMODARĪ JĪ, a small shrine, marks the spot where Mātā Damodarī, her parents and her sister and her sister's husband were cremated.

        GURDWĀRĀ DAMDAMĀ SĀHIB PĀTSHĀHĪ CHHEVĪṄ marks the site where Gurū Hargobind had set up camp and where he used to call religious assemblies. The present building, constructed in 1963, consists of a large marble-floored hall, with a square sanctum in the middle. There are two storeys of square rooms and a lotus dome above the sanctum. There are decorative domes and domed pavilions at the corners of the hall. The sarovar, holy tank, on a flank and lined with old type bricks, is of much older construction.

        JANAM ASTHĀN BĀBĀ GURDITTĀ JĪ is inside the village, in the midst of an extensive compound that was once the havelī of Bhāī Sāīṅ Dās. Constructed in 1970, the central building, in which the Gurū Granth Sāhib is placed, is a circular hall on a high plinth, with four storeys of square rooms rising above it topped by a lotus dome and a golden pinnacle.

        GURŪ KĀ KHŪH is an old well believed to have been sunk under the orders of Gurū Hargobind himself.

         The relics, preserved in a private house near Janam Asthān Bābā Gurdittā Jī, include a rosary with eight glass beads, a small scrubber, a huge wooden box, three letters and four garments. A volume of the Gurū Granth Sāhib known as Bhāī Nand Chand Vālī Bīr, is also preserved here. Bhāī Nand Chand was the masand of Ḍaraulī during Gurū Gobind Siṅgh's time. He was a reputed warrior who had fought bravely in the battle of Bhaṅgāṇī.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

  1. Gurbilās Pātshāhī Chhevīṅ. Patiala, 1970
  2. Tārā Siṅgh, Srī Gur Tītath Saṅgrahi. Amritsar, n. d
  3. Ṭhākar Siṅgh, Giānī, Srī Gurduāre Darshan. Amritsar, 1923

Major Gurmukh Siṅgh (Retd.)