GURŪSAR PĀTSHĀHĪ X, GURDWĀRĀ, lending its name to the village that has grown in its neighbourhood, stands near Sarāvāṅ, a village 10 km south east of Koṭ Kapūrā (30º-35'N, 74º-49'E) in Farīdkoṭ district of the Punjab. It marks the site where Gurū Gobind Siṅgh put up on his way from Dīnā to Koṭ Kapūrā in December 1705. According to Sākhī Pothī, residents of Baihbal and Sarāvāṅ villages took some of the Sikhs accompaning Gurū Gobind Siṅgh to their homes for meals. As they returned to the camp, Gurū Gobind Siṅgh asked each one of them what he had been given to eat. One of them, Mailāgar Siṅgh by name, answered, "I have enjoyed the best feast of my life," but would not say more. The Gurū thereupon sent for the host who had entertained Mailāgar Siṅgh. He shyly confessed that he was so poor that he could offer to his guest nothing better than some dried pīlū, fruit of vaṇ tree (Quercus incana), soaked in warm water. The Gurū praised the host who had offered in hospitality all he had and the guest who was content with whatever he had been given.

         The Gurdwārā is an old two-storeyed building on the eastern edge of the village of Gurūsar. The sanctum, 5 metre square, is on the ground floor. Here on the walls are painted scenes from Hindu mythology while the walls of the room above are decorated with pictures of the Sikh Gurūs and some old mahants or custodians of the shrine. The Gurdwārā, endowed with 40 acres of land, is now controlled by Nihaṅgs of the Buḍḍhā Dal. Besides the daily prayers, special dīvāns are held on the first of every Bikramī month. Two annual festivals observed are Baisākhī which falls in the middle of April and Māghī which comes off in the middle of January.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

  1. Mālvā Desh Raṭan dī Sākhī Pothī. Amritsar, 1968
  2. Tārā Siṅgh, Srī Gur Tīrath Saṅgrahi. Amritsar, n.d.
  3. Ṭhākar Siṅgh, Giānī, Srī Gurduāre Darshan. Amritsar, 1923

Major Gurmukh Siṅgh (Retd.)