SATHIALA

SATHIALA, a village 4 km northeast of Baba Bakala (SP`MN, 75″16`E) in Amritsar district of the Punjab, claims the honour of having been visited by three of the GurusGuru Nanak, Guru Hargobind and Guru Tegh Bahadur. Their visits are commemorated by three different gurdwaras. GURDWARA NANAKSAR PATSHAH! I marks the site where Guru Nanak sat by a small pond to preach. Most of his audience consisted of Muslim ladies.

They complained to him about the skin diseases and polio which were the bane of the village. The Guru advised them to have their children bathed regularly in the pond. The practice proved efficacious, and the villagers raised in Guru Nanak`s honour, a memorial. Gurdwara Nanaksarwas constructed recently on that site. The building comprises a rectangular hall, with a square sanctum topped by a lotus dome covered with white glazed tiles. The old pond has been converted into a small octagonal sarovar, and people still believe in the curative powers of its water.

The Gurdwara is maintained by the village sangat. GURDWARA BUNGA SAHIB, dedicated to Guru Hargobind, is a flat roofed rectangular room on the eastern outskirts of the village. It is managed by Nihang Sikhs. GURDWARA DERA SAHIB PATSHAH1 IX commemorates the visit of Guru Tegh Bahadur who came here from Baba Bakala and sat under a pipal tree which still stands behind the sanctum. The Gurdwara, constructed in 1939 inside the village, is entered through a two storeyed gateway. The square sanctum, inside a marble floored hall, is topped by a pinnacled dome. The shrine is looked after by a follower of the Bhindranvale sants.

References :

1. Fauja Singh, Guru Teg Bahadur : Yatra Asthan, Paramparavan te Yad Chinh. Patiala, 1976