Gurdwara Janam Asthan- Pakistan

Address

Gurdwara Janam Asthan- Buchey Ki Road, Nankana Sahib, Punjab, Pakistan

Diety

Guru Nanak

Introduction

Gurdwara Janam Asthan also referred to as Gurdwara Nankana Sahib, is a highly revered gurdwara that is situated at the site where the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, was born. The shrine is located in the city of Nankana Sahib, near the city of Lahore in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The shrine is located in the town of Nankana Sahib, approximately 65 kilometres from Lahore. Nankana Sahib had previously been known as Rāi Bhoi Kī Talvaṇḍī, but was eventually renamed in honour of Guru Nanak.

Puranic Significance

A room was first built here by Guru Nanak’s son, Baba Lakhmi Das, but it was more probably constructed by his grandson, Baba Dharam Chand. The one room structure was known as “Kalu ka Kotha”, literally “house of (Mahita) Kalu”, and father of Guru Nanak. Later it came to be known as “Nanakayan”, literally “home of (Guru) Nanak”. Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780-1839), at the insistence of Akali Phula Singh and Baba Sahib Singh Bedi, constructed the present building, a domed square sanctum with a pavilion in front standing on a spacious, raised platform, and made an endowment of about 20,000 acres of land for the maintenance of the Guru ka Langar. The management remained with Udasi priests until the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee took it over after the gruesome events of 20 February 1921. With the partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947 and the migration of Sikh population from the Western part of the Punjab, now part of Pakistan, the management of all Sikh gurdwaras in the newly created State, including those at Nankana Sahib, passed to the Waqf Board. The Government of Pakistan later allowed 15 Sikhs to stay in Nankana Sahib to perform the daily services in the shrines. In 1968 the number was reduced to 5. In 1980’s only a granthi (a scripture reader) and a few Sindhi Sikhs stayed at Gurdwara Janam Asthan. Batches of pilgrims from India were occasionally allowed to visit with special permission from the Pakistan Government. 1921 Massacre: 86 Sikhs were killed during the 20 February 1921 Nankana massacre, the gurdwara complex is listed on the Protected Heritage Monuments of the Archaeology Department of Punjab.

Special Features

Gurdwara Janam Asthan is believed to be located at the site where Guru Nanak was born to Mehta Kalu and Mata Tripta. The gurdwara forms part of an ensemble of nine important gurdwaras in Nankana Sahib. The shrine is frequently visited by Sikh yatris as part of a pilgrimage route in Pakistan.