VAIROKE, village 3 km west of Lopoke, in Amritsar district of the Punjab, claims a historical shrine sacred to Gurū Nānak (1469-1539), who once visited it during his travels through these parts. According to local tradition, the Gurū, sitting here on a dead ber tree trunk discoursed wide a Muslim faqīr, Shāh Bakhtiar, whose tomb now stands on the eastern outskirts of the village. Gurdwārā Bābe dī Ber Sāhib, or simply Ber Sāhib, marking the site still has two ber trees which are believed to have sprouted from the log on which Gurū Nānak had sat. The present building, a square room with the sanctum in the middle, was constructed in 1920. Above the sanctum are two storeys of square rooms topped by a lotus dome with a gilded pinnacle. Dīvāns, accompanied by Gurū kā Laṅgar, mark the observance of every full moon day.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

  1. Kohli, Surindar Singh, Travels of Gurū Nānak. Chandigarh, 1969
  2. Gurmukh Siṅgh, Historical Sikh Shrines. Amritsar, 1995

Gurnek Siṅgh