PUSHKAR, a famous Hindu centre of pilgrimage, 13 km from Ajmer (26º-27’N, 74º-42'E) in Rājasthān is also sacred to the Sikhs for the gurdwārās dedicated to the First and Tenth Gurūs. Gurdwārā Gurū Siṅgh Sabhā, situated in the eastern part of Pushkar is dedicated to the first Gurū and is also known locally as Gurū Nānak ḍharamsālā. It is a double-storeyed flat-roof building consisting of a central room, surrounded by a verandah. There is no Sikh population at Pushkar. The gurdwārā is managed by Srī Gurū Siṅgh Sabhā, Ajmer, through a granthī who is a Bañjārā Sikh.

         The site dedicated to Gurū Gobind Siṅgh, who visited Pushkar in 1706 is Gobind Ghāṭ. A stone slab bearing the name Gobind Ghāṭ in Gurmukhī, Devanāgarī, Persian and Roman characters still exists at the base of a small cupola said to have been constructed during the brief Marāṭhā rule over this region after the fall of the Mughals. The Gurū Granth Sahīb was recited daily by Nirmalā priests in a room over the entrance gate of the Ghāṭ. As the building subsequently changed hands, regular recitation of the Granth Sāhib at the Ghāṭ stopped. But an old hand written copy of the Gurū Granth Sāhib is still kept by a Brāhmaṇ priest who dons a turban and claims to be a direct descendant of Purohit Chetan Dās who had served Gurū Gobind Siṅgh at the time of his visit. The priest still possesses a hukamnāmā written on bhoj patra believed to have been written by the Gurū himself. It bears the date Kārtik sudī 15 Samvat 1762 Bk corresponding to AD 1705. He also has a hukamnāmā issued in the name of five gurdwārās at Amritsar including Srī Akāl Takht Sāhib bearing the date 24 Assū, Nānak Shāhī sammat 429 (AD 1898).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

  1. Giān Siṅgh, Giānī, Twārī kh Gurduāriāṅ. Amritsar, n.d.
  2. Narotam, Tārā Siṅgh, Srī Gurū Tīrath Saṅgrahi . Kankhal, 1975
  3. Johar, Surinder Singh, The Sikh Gurus and Their Shrines . Delhi, 1976

Major Gurmukh Siṅgh (Retd.)