PHAGWĀṚĀ (31º-14'N, 75º-46'E), an industrial town along the Sher Shāh Sūrī Mārg (Grand Trunk Road) in Kapūrthalā district of the Punjab, is sacred to Gurū Hargobind, who passed through here on his way to Kīratpur after the battle of Kartārpur (AD 1635). Two historical gurdwārā within the limits of the town commemorate the Gurū's visit.

        GURDWĀRĀ CHHEVĪṄ PĀTSHĀHĪ is located in the interior of the town. The old building now forms a basement under a newly constructed high-ceilinged dīvān hall, with a square sanctum at the far end. Above the sanctum there are three storeys of rooms topped by a lotus dome. The Gurū Granth Sāhib is also seated in the basement, in one of the cubicles which marks the site of the old gurdwārā. A room across the compound is reserved for akhaṇḍ pāths, or uninterrupted recitals of the Gurū Granth Sāhib. The shrine is managed by a local committee under the auspices of the Shiromaṇī Gurdwārā Parbandhak Committee. One of the important annual festivals is the birth anniversary of Gurū Hargobind which comes off in the month of June.

        GURDWĀRĀ SRĪ SUKHCHAINĀṆĀ SĀHIB, 3 km to the east of the town, is dedicated to Gurū Hargobind and Gurū Har Rāi. Gurū Har Rāi also stayed on this site during one of his journeys between Kīratpur and Kartārpur. The present building (corner stone laid on 15 July 1950) is a spacious hall, with the sanctum at the far end. There is a domed square pavilion over the sanctum above the hall roof. The Gurū kā Laṅgar, a row of residential rooms, an educational wing, which houses the local Khālsā College, and a sarovar in the vicinity, complete the complex. The shrine is administered by the same committee as manages the Gurdwārā Chhevīṅ Pātshāhī. Gatherings which take on new moon days attract large numbers of devotees. The major annual festival is Baisākhī which is observed as the Birthday of the Khālsā.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

    Kāhn Siṅgh, Gurushabad Ratanākar Mahāṅ Kosh. Patiala, 1974

Major Gurmukh Siṅgh (Retd.)