PUSHKAR

PUSHKAR, a famous Hindu centre of pilgimage, 13 km from Ajmer (26°27`N, 74°42`E) in Rajasthan is also sacred to the Sikhs for the gurudwaras dedicated to the First and Tenth Gurus. Gurdwara Guru Singh Sabha, situated in the eastern part of Pushkar is dedicated to the first Guru and is also known locally as Guru Nanak Dharamsala. It is a double storeyed flatroof building consisting of a central room, surrounded by a verandah. There is no Sikh population at Pushkar.

The gurdward is managed by Sri Guru Singh Sabha, Ajmer, through a granthi who is a Banjara Sikh. The site dedicated to Guru Gobind Singh, who visited Pushkar in 1706 is Gobind Ghat. A stone slab bearing the name Gobind Ghat in Gurmukhi, Devanagari, Persian and Roman characters still exists at the base of a small cupola said to have been constructed during the brief Maratha rule over this region after the fall of the Mughals. The Guru Granth Sahib was recited daily by Nirmala priests in a room over the entrance gate of the Ghat.As the building subsequently changed hands, regular recitation of the Granth Sahib at the Ghat stopped.

But an old handwritten copy of the Guru Granth Sahib is still kept by a Brahman priest who dons a turban and claims to be a direct descendant of Purohit Chetan Das who had served Guru Gobind Singh at the time of his visit. The priest still possesses a hukamndmd written on bhoj patra believed to have been written by the Guru himself. It bears the date Kartik sued 15 Samvat 1762 Bk corresponding to AD 1705. He also has a hukamndmd issued in the name of five gurudwaras at Amritsar including Sri Akal Takht Sahib bearing the date 24 Assu, Nanak Shahi sammat 429 (AD 1898).

References :

1. Gian Singh, Giani, Twarikh Gurduarian. Amritsar, n.d.
2. Narotam, Tara Singh, Sri Guru Tirath Sangrahi. Kankhal, 1975
3. Johar, Surinder Singh, The Sikh Gurus and Their Shrines. Delhi, 1976