GURŪSAR, a village in Baṭhiṇḍā district, 25 km east of Jaito (30º-26'N, 74º-53'E), is a new habitation named after a historical shrine, Gurdwārā Pātshāhī X Gurūsar, commemorating the visit of Gurū Gobind Siṅgh, who happended to come here following the chase from Dīnā in December 1705. Here Gurū Gobind Siṅgh stayed for a short while on the bank of a pool of water, which Bhāī Santokh Siṅgh, Srī Gur Pratāp Sūraj Granth, describes as Rukhālā, probably because of the thick growth of trees (rukkh, in Punjabi) around it. The place then formed part of the village of Jalāl, 2 km to the southeast of it. The habitation that originally grew up near the Gurdwārā was washed away in the floods of 1950, but the old shrine stood intact. In this domed shrine, marking the site where Gurū Gobind Siṅgh alighted for rest, is preserved a bedstead said to have been used by him. The Gurū Granth Sāhib is seated in one of the rooms constructed recently. The old pool, converted into a lined sarovar, is at the back of the shrine. The Gurdwārā is maintained by the village saṅgat.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

  1. Saṅtokh Siṅgh, Bhāī, Srī Gur Pratāp Sūraj Granth. Amritsar, 1927-33
  2. Mālvā Desh Raṭan dī Sākhī Pothī. Amritsar, 1968
  3. Tārā Siṅgh, Sri Gur Tīrath Saṅgrahi. Amritsar, n.d.

Major Gurmukh Siṅgh (Retd.)