GARHI NAZIR

GARHI NAZIR, a village 3 km to the southeast of Samana (30°11`N, 76°11`E), is the site of an historical Sikh shrine called Gurdwara Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Patshahi 9. From Samana, Guru Tegh Bahadur, for whose arrest an imperial troop had been patrolling the countryside, was escorted by Muhammad Bakhsh, a Muslim noble of liberal religious views, to the safety of his own house in Garhi Nazir. The pursuing soldiers, following the scent, also arrived at Garhi and made enquiries, but Muhammad Bakhsh denied the Guru`s presence in his house and sent them away.

A small shrine was later built in the village on the spot sacred to Guru Tegh Bahadur. Bhai Udc Singh, the ruler of Kaithal (d. 1843), made an endowment of 20 acres of land for its maintenance, and Maharaja Karam Singh of Patiala (1798-1845) had a new building constructed. The present building, comprising an assembly hall, with a canopied marble throne for the Guru Granth Sahib and the Guru ka Langar, was raised by the sants of Pehova during the late 1970`s. The Gurdwara is affiliated to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee.

References :

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