LUDHIĀṆĀ (30º-54'N, 75º-52'E), one of the major cities in the Punjab, claims a historical shrine, Gurdwārā Gaū Ghāṭ Pātshāhī I, situated on the bank of the stream Buḍḍhā Nālā. According to local tradition, Gurū Nānak visited the site in the course of his travels during the early sixteenth century. The local chief, Nawāb Jalāl ud-Dīn Lodhī, living in the fort near by, came to pay obeisance and besought the Gurū to save the town from erosion by the River Sutlej. Gurū Nānak told him to be sympāthetic and just towards his subjects and to leave the rest to God. Only a platform called Thaṛā Sāhib existed here to commemorate the Gurū's visit until a proper building was constructed in 1972-73. The present building is a small rectangular hall in front of a flat-roofed sanctum where two volumes of the Gurū Granth Sāhib are placed side by side. A sarovar has since been added by diverting the Buḍḍhā Nālā and reclaiming part of what used to be its bed once upon a time. The Gurdwārā is affiliated to the Shiromaṇī Gurdwārā Parbandhak Committee and is managed by a local committee.

Major Gurmukh Siṅgh (Retd.)