SIĀṚH, village 14 km southeast of Maṇḍī Ahmadgaṛh (30º-42'N, 75º-51'E), in Ludhiāṇā district of the Punjab, has a historical shrine, Gurdwārā Gurūsar Pātshāhī Chhevīṅ. It is said that as Gurū Hargobind was moving from Rāṛā towards Jageṛā, his horse suddenly became so sick that the Gurū had to break his journey in a thicket near this village. The horse soon died. The Gurū had the animal covered with a costly shroud and buried. According to local tradition, two greedy residents of Siāṛh, who had witnessed the burial, dug up the grave after the Gurū's departure, removed the shroud, and sold it. Misfortune befell the miscreants. The villagers began to treat the spot as a holy place. They built a samādh over the horse's grave and a platform where Gurū Hargobiṅd had sat. In course of time, this platform gave place to a simple hut attended by stray sādhūs. In 1975 Bk/AD 1918, one Bhāī Ṭahil Siṅgh established a gurdwārā. To the square domed sanctum have recently been added a hall and a small sarovar. The shrine though affiliated to the Shiromaṇī Gurdwārā Parbandhak Committee as one unscheduled gurdwārā, is managed by a village committee. Besides the principal Sikh anniversaries, the birthday of Gurū Hargobind is celebrated with special eclat.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

    Gurmukh Singh, Historical Sikh Shrines. Amritsar, 1995

Major Gurmukh Siṅgh (Retd.)