THERI

THERI, pronounced Therhi or Thehri, village 9 km west of`Giddarbaha (30″12`N, 74″39`E) in Faridkot district of the Punjab, is sacred to Guru Gobind Singh who visited it on his way from Muktsar to Talvandi Sabo in 1706. Here he humbled the pride of a yogi, Hukam Nath, who claimed to possess occult powers. An old chronicle, Malva. Des Ratan di Sakhi Pothi, records an anecdote similar to the one associated with a place in Rajasthan, called Dadudvara. The Guru, it says, saluted the grave of Qasim Bhatti, a local Muslim, saint, near which sat Hukam Nath, by lowering his arrow to it.

The Sikhs accompanying him at once objected, for the Guru had himself forbidden his followers to bow before tombs and graves. They laid him under penalty, declaring him to be tankhahia or guilty of breach of the Sikh code. Guru Gobind Singhappreciated their vigilance, and willingly paid the fine imposed. Gurdwara Thehri Sahib, marking the spot where the Guru had halted close to a group of three Jand trees (Prosopis spicigera), was raised in 1913. It is affiliated to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee and has been temporarily handed over to the followers of Sant Gurmukh SinghSevavale for renovation.

References :

1. Malva Des Ratan di Sakhi Pothi. Amritsar, 1968
2. Narotam, Tara Singh, SriGuru Tirath Sahgrahi. Kankhal, 1975
3. Gian Singh, Giani, Twarikh Gurduarian. Amritsar, n.d