Introduction
Every religion has its place of worship like Temples in Hinduism, churches in Christianism. Similarly, Sikhism has “GURUDWARAS” as their place of worship & other religious activities.
There are 2 kinds of Gurudwaras:
- In the first kind, the building of Gurudwara is erected anywhere by the local Sikh population as a place to practise their religion. These type of Gurudwaras have no historical significance.
- In the Second kind, Historical Gurudwaras are there which have some histoical significance related to the Sikh Gurus.
In this article, I am going to share complete details about famous historical gurudwaras in Ludhiana city of Punjab state which you should visit to know more about Sikhi.
To make things navigable & easily understandable, I have designed this article in FAQ format.
Famous Historical Gurudwaras in Ludhiana
There are basically 10 famous Historical Gurudwaras in Ludhiana district which are visited by people in large numbers. Out of these 10 gurudwaras, I will discuss 5 Gurudwaras in this article & the rest 5 gurudwaras which are in Machiwara (Sub-division of Ludhiana district) in another article which you can read by clicking here.
- Gurudwara Manji Sahib, Alamgir
- Gurudwara Dukh-Niwarn Sahib, Ludhiana
- Gurudwara Nanaksar, Jagraon
- Gurudwara Mehdiana Sahib, Village Mehdiana
- Gurudwara Degsar Sahib, Village Katana
GURUDWARA MANJI SAHIB, ALAMGIR
Location: Gurudwara Manji Sahib, Alamgir is situated at a distance of 12 KM on Ludhiana-Malerkotla Road from Ludhiana Bus terminal and is around a half an hour journey.
History: This Gurudwara is related to the 10th Sikh Guru Gobind Singh who visited this place in the year 1703. After abandoning Anandpur Fort, Guru Gobind Singh & his family members were separated a few miles away from Anandpur fort on the Sirsa river.
Mughal army attacked the Sikhs and a fierce battle was fought at Chamkaur Sahib. Guru ji escaped successfully from Chamkaur Garhi & reached Machiwara where he spent some time. After that, Guru Ji reached this place; Alamgir.
Gurudwara Manji Sahib was constructed at the place where the Guru stayed. At this place, Bhai Naghyia Singh Ji presented a horse to Guru Gobind Singh.
On reaching Alamgir and unable to find any drinking water, Guru Ji ordered his followers to fetch drinking water from a nearby well. But they could not, as the boundary wall had fallen into the well and the water was contaminated.
Guru Ji then shot an arrow into the ground and a spring of water gushed out.
This spring has been converted into a holy water tank (Sarovar) known as ‘Tirsar’, or Arrow Lake. As per Sikh belief, whosoever visits the holy tank with full faith, all his pains and worries would be cured.
Due to the Manji or palanquin that brought the disguised Guru to Alamgir, the Peer of Ucch bestowed this Gurudwara its name, the Manji Sahib.
That original Manji has been preserved here which you can see.
Facilities that are available at Gurudwara Manji Sahib:
- Langar Hall (Common free public Kitchen) : Gurudwara Manji Sahib has biggest hall for Langar.
- Sarai (Place to stay): Rooms are available for devotees for stay.
GURUDWARA DUKH-NIWARAN SAHIB, LUDHIANA
Location: This Gurudwara is situated at a distance of only 3 KM from Ludhiana Bus Terminal on National Highway 1.
History: According to local tradition, supported by an old handwritten document preserved in the Gurdwara, one Bhag Ram, a jhivar of Lehal, waited upon the ninth guru of Sikhs Guru Tegh Bahadur during his journey at Saifabad (now Bahadurgarh near Patiala), and made the request that he might be pleased to visit and bless his village so that its inhabitants could be rid of a serious and mysterious sickness which had been their bane for a long time.
The sickness in the village subsided. The site where Guru Tegh Bahadur had sat came to be known as Dukh Nivaran, literally meaning eradicator of suffering.
GURUDWARA NANAKSAR SAHIB, JAGRAON
Location: It is a famous gurudwara located just at 35 Km distance from Ludhiana city on National Highway 95.
History: This gurudwara is related to Baba Nand Singh who spread the message of Guru Nanak Dev Ji (1st Sikh guru) to the masses.
The sacred beginnings of Nanaksar began over a hundred years ago as a simple hut; humbled by its natural surroundings amongst the thick of the jungle. This location was specifically chosen by the Holy Saint, Baba Nand Singh Ji as it personified a spiritual retreat where one could move to escape the misguidance of the world, and concentrate on the sole treasure of Naam Simran.
This gurudwara is beautifully built and has a huge Sarovar (Water pond). This place is visited by a number of people on daily basis.
Guru ka Langar (Free food) is served to the visitors 24 hours a day.
Gurudwara complex is huge and maintained by the organization which does not accept any cash/offerings at this holy place.
It is well connected with the Rail and Road network. One can easily reach here by Bus or train from Ludhiana or Moga. The cab is also available at a reasonable price.
GURUDWARA MEHDIANA SAHIB
Location: This Sikh shrine is also known by name of “School of Sikh History”. It is situated in the village Mehdiana near Jagraon, Ludhiana. It is just at the distance of 10 km from Gurudwara Nanaksar and is well connected with roads.
History: As per Sikh history, it is the site where Guru Gobind Singh (10th Sikh guru) and his army halted after the battle of Chamkaur against the Mughal armies of Emperor Aurangzeb.
This gurudwara has various handmade sculptures showing the important events of Sikh history.
These statutes depict not only the Sikh history but also educate people about the fact that religion and Guru is more important than the life of a Sikh.
Each sculpture is captioned with full details of the related event and you can have in-depth knowledge about the Sikh religion. The language used to mention these details is the Punjabi language.
This gurudwara is a fine specimen of Sikh architecture and one must visit this place to have a glimpse of the wonderful Sikh history.
GURUDWARA DEGSAR SAHIB, KATANA
Location: Gurdwara Degsar Sahib, also known as Gurdwara Katana Sahib, is situated along the Sirhind Canal near National Highway 44 in Katana village of Ludhiana District.
Gurdwara Degsar Sahib is 25 km from Ludhiana and 5 km from Doraha.
History: Shri Guru Har Gobind visited this site with his army. He rested here for a night and tied his horse to a “Ber” tree. This place is known as Damdama Sahib.
Guru Gobind Singh Ji also visited the place while on his way to Dinanagar in 1705 from Machiwara. Disguised as the “Uchh Da Pir”, He was accompanied by Bhai Daya Singh, Bhai Dharam Singh, Bhai Maan Singh and the two Muslim brothers Bhai Nabi Khan and Bhai Gani Khan who were serving as his palki bearers.
His bed was placed under the “Ber Sahib” where he rested for the night. It is believed that Guruji had his first meal since leaving Machiwara and that he distributed the “Deg” with his holy hands & named this place “Degsar Sahib”. So whoever offers Deg with a promise, his desire is fulfilled by Guru Sahib.
How to reach Ludhiana?
Ludhiana is well connected with all means of transport and you can reach here by adopting anyone out of the following ways:
By Road: Ludhiana has a very good network of roads and these roads are wide & 6/4- laned Highways. Ludhiana city is situated at National Highway 44 (Amritsar to Delhi) so it can be easily accessed by car/bus/cab. Ludhiana is at a distance of 350 KM from New Delhi, the National Capital of India. You can book your bus tickets through the Redbus app/website.
By Train: Ludhiana Junction Railway Station is a busy station & is connected to major cities of India. You can book a direct train from New Delhi Railway station to Ludhiana. The railway is the most economical way to travel to Ludhiana. For more information and booking the train, you can visit the official website of IRCTC or download the app IXIGO.
By Air: Two International Airports are nearby: 1. Sri Guru Ramdas International Airport, Amritsar (Approx 100 KM away) 2. Chandigarh International Airport (Approx 120 KM away).
Direct flights from different countries and major cities of India run on a regular basis. You can book your tickets through Makemytrip.com or IXIGO app which I personally use.
Final Words
I hope you enjoyed reading this blog about the famous historical gurudwaras in Ludhiana. If you have any other questions or concerns about visiting Ludhiana city( or famous historical gurudwaras in Ludhiana), please comment in the comment box. I will be glad to answer your queries. Thank you for reading, I am always excited when one of my posts is able to provide useful information on a topic like this!
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