JAUNPUR

JAUNPUR (25°47`N, 82°40`E), a district town in Uttar Pradesh, situated on the bank of the River Gomati, claims a historical gurudwara known as Gurdwara Tap Asthan Sri Guru Tegh BahadurJi (Bari Sarigat) or simply Gurdwara Ban Sarigat. A Sikh sangal was in existence inJaunpur when Guru Tegh Bahadur passed by travelling from the Punjab to the eastern parts in 1665. Bhai Gurbakhsh, a melodious singer of the divine hymns, called on the Guru, along with theJaunpur sangat, atVaranasi.

In appreciation of his enchanting kirtan, the Guru bestowed on him the gift of a mridang (a doublesided Indian drum). From that day the sangat at Jaunpur came to be called Mridarigvali Sarigat. While returning from Patna to the Punjab, Guru Tegh Bahadur stayed for a while with Bhai Gurbakhsh at Jaunpur. A platform was raised commemorating the Guru`s visit. A gurudwara was constructed over it later. The Guru Granth Sahib is seated in a commodious rectangular hall. A platform built inside a separate small room represents the Tap Asthan, the spot where Guru Tegh Bahadur sat in meditation.

Many persons, especially ladies, observe chdHsd here to have their wishes fulfilled. On top of a sandy mound on the river bank not far from the Gurdwara, there is a ruined hut by the side of a narrow well. This hut and about two acres of land around it in the revenue village of Chachakpur are still shown in the name of Gurdwara Bari Sarigat. According to local tradition, this was the spot where the Guru during his brief stay at Jaunpur used to bathe in the river early in the morning and then sit in meditation. There used to be another shrine in Jaunpur known as Chholi Sarigat.

It was located in a private house in Rao Mandal Mohalla. Till the death of the last Sikh occupant of this house, SardarJawahar Singh, in the mid1960`s, it was functioning as a sangat whh the Guru Granth Sahib installed in it. There used to be in this sangal an old handwritten copy of Guru Granth Sahib as well as a steel arrow handed down from Guru Tegh Bahadur. Both these are now kept in Gurdwara Bari Sarigat. There are, in fact, two handwritten birs, holy volumes, in that Gurdwara one of them transcribed in 1742 Bk/AD 1685 and the other in 1801 Bk/AU 1744.

References :

1. Tara Singh, Sn Cur Tirath Sangi`nhi. Anirilsar, n.d.
2. Thakar Singh, Giant, Sri Gurdwire Dnrshan. Amritsar, 1923
3. Gian Singh, Giani, Twankh Gurduaridn. Amritsar, n.d.