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About Paonta Sahib Gurudwara
Located in the north Indian state of Himachal Pradesh in the Sirmour district, Paonta Sahib is fundamentally a small industrial town, which is also quite famous for its religious elements, especially among the Sikhs, as this is the place where the popular holy structure of the Sikhs—the Gurudwara Paonta Sahib is situated.
The holy river Yamuna flows through this place, and mainly connects the state of Himachal Pradesh with the other north Indian state of Uttarakhand. The gurudwara too is situated on the banks of this river.
This small town was founded by popular Sikh guru, Guru Gobind Sigh and the Paonta Sahib gurudwara located here also has ancient ties with other famous Sikh gurus like the significant Sikh leader Banda Bahadur.
Guru Gobind Singh wrote a list of Sikh religious books, including the popular Dasam Granth, and this aspect has made the gurudwara all the more famous when it comes its historic importance and essence.
Many devotees visit the gurudwara throughout the year and offer prayers, donations, and tribute to the almighty. The place also has a museum where many weapons and antiques used by Guru Gobind Singh are stored and showcased to the tourists.
Why you should visit Paonta Sahib Gurudwara
You may be thinking to yourself, “Well, all of this was nice reading, but why even bother visiting Paonta Sahib Gurudwara?” Well, one great reason for visiting this Sikh temple is to see where the tenth great Sikh spiritual leader was buried.
But there are other reasons. One of them is the grandeur and splendor of this temple. You’ll be blown away by the intricate architecture and carvings and majestic splendor of the interior even if you’re not Sikh!
Guru Gobind Singh was inspired…
So what’s so great about this feisty 16-year-old being inspired by something? Well, this wasn’t just anything that inspired Guru Gobind Singh.
He came to Sirmour kingdom because king Raja Medini Prakash had invited him to come for a diplomatic visit. The king was very keen on allying with the then strategic and powerful Guru of the Sikhs.
What better way to do this than by inviting the very guru himself to the kingdom?
But it wasn’t just Guru Gobind Singh who came to Sirmour. He brought many powerful and strategic merchants to strike strategic trade deals as well.
Well, to make a long story short, Singh ‘fell in love’ with Kashmir and decided to make it his permanent home. He had to have a place to worship and practice his Sikh religion and this is why he commissioned the Paonta Sahib Gurudwara to be built.
Back when Singh was alive, the gurudwara literally hummed with activity, vivaciousness, and life. After all, this was the place where he trained many aspirants to become great Sikh warriors.
These were people who were loyal to Sikhism and who would stop at nothing to protect both the great religion and its growing army of fervent followers.
But since Singh was a literary genius, the Gurudwara became a haven for the learned to spend some time in learning more about the Sikh religion.
One part of literature that fascinated Singh was poetry. Therefore, he spent a lot of his time creating riveting pieces of poetry. This is part of what put the gurudwara on India’s map. It also put the gurudwara on the global map (to a limited extent.)
Well, the gurudwara eventually rose in profile and importance. So much so that the great Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb decided to visit the valley and the gurudwara in 1638 with a famous French doctor.
You don’t know what you’re missing
If you visit Paonta Sahib Gurudwara you’ll see a real piece of Indian history and culture in action. Part of this lies in its ornate and brilliant architecture and design. But part of it lies in its great and rich literary and religious traditions of Sikhism!