CHOHLA,

CHOHLA, village 4.5 km southeast of Sirhali Kalari (31° 16`N, 74° 56`E) in Amritsar district of the Punjab, is sacred to Guru Arjan (1563-1606). The village was called Bhaini when the Guru visited here. A housewife served him a delicious dish of chohia, broken bread mixed with sugar and butter. Guru Arjan was pleased and blessed her. He also uttered a hymn of thanks giving with the refrain: “The Lord is our life and soul ; He cares for us every where in every respect.” Its last line was: “God is our wealth, His Name is our food; this, 0 Nanak, is our chohia.”

The village thereupon came to be called Chohia Chohia Sahib for the devotees. There are three historical shrines in the village which, according to local tradition, was also visited by Guru Hargobind (1595-1644). GURDWARA CHOHLA SAHIB at the western edge of the village marks the spot where Guru Arjan sat and preached. The building comprises a marblefloored hall in front of the 3storeyed sanctum where Guru Granth Sahib is seated on a canopied seat of white marble.

Two Nishan Sahibs, holy flags, fly, one at each corner, in front of the hall. A small sarovarhas been added in recent decades. A nearby old well is believed to have existed since the time of Guru Arjan`s visit. GURDWARA GURU Ki KOTHARI in the interior of the village marks the site of the house where Guru Arjan and his wife, Mata Gariga, had stayed. It is also known as Mata GangaJi daAsthan. The present building, raised during the 1980`s, comprises a square hall in front of the domed sanctum topped by a goldplated pinnacle. Here, too, is an old well that local tradition connects with Guru Arjan`s time.

GURDWARA BABA ADALI, in the eastern part of the village, commemorates Bhai Adali, a pious Sikh contemporary of the fourth and the Fifth Gurus, Guru Ram Das and Guru Arjan. It was he who brought the famous Bhai Bidhi Chand (d. 1640) into the Sikh fold. All these three Gurdwaras are affiliated to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee. The administration is run by a local committee. Almost the entire village land, about 500 acres, is owned by the Gurdwaras as free grant since Mughal times.

References :

1. Tara Singh, Sri Gur Tirath Sangrabi. Amritsar, n.d.
2. Thakar Singh, Giani, Sri Gurduare Darshan. Amritsar, 1923