PHAGWARA

PHAGWARA (31°14`n, 75°46`E), an industrial town along the Sher Shah Suri Marg (Grand Trunk Road) in Kapurthala district of the Punjab, is sacred to Guru Hargobind, who passed through here on his way to Kiratpur after the battle of Kartarpur (M) 1635). Two historical gurdwaras within the limits of the town commemorate the Guru`s visit. GURDWARA CHHEVIN PATSHAHI is located in the interior of the town. The old building now forms a basement under a newly constructed high ccilingcd divan hall, with a square sanctum at the far end. Above the sanctum there are three storeys of rooms topped by a lotus dome.

The Guru Granth Sahib is also seated in the basement, in one of the cubicles which marks the site of the old gurudwara. A room across the compound is reserved for akhand paths, or uninterrupted recitals of the Guru Granth Sahib. The shrine is managed by a local committee under the auspices of the Shiromam Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee. One of the important annual festivals is the birth anniversary of Guru Hargobind which comes off in the month of June. GURDWARA SRI SUKHCHAINANA SAHIB, 3 km to the east of the town, is dedicated to Guru Hargobind and Guru Har Rai.

Guru Har Rai also stayed on this site during one of his journeys between Kiralpur and Kartarpur. The present building (cornerstone laid on 15 July 1950) is a spacious hall, with the sanctum at the far end. There is a domed it quare pavilion over the sanctum above the hall roof. The Guru ka Larigar, a row of residential rooms, an educational wing, which houses the local Khalsa College, and a sarovar in the vicinity, complete the complex. The shrine is administered by the same committee as manages the Gurdwara Chheviri Patshahi. Gatherings which take on new moon days attract large numbers of devotees. The major annual festival is Baisakhi which is observed is the birthday of the Khalsa.

References :

1. Kahn Singh, Gurushahabad Ratnakar Mahan Kosh, Patiala, 1974