Gurudwara Manji Sahib (Alamgir)

Gurudwara Manji Sahib in Ludhiana District's Alamgir village reflects yet another landmark in the life of the 10th Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh. The Guru was pursued by the Mughal Army and it was at the site where this Gurudwara now stands, where he paused and rested, blessing it with his presence.

History

Following the siege of Anandpur Sahib, Guru Gobind Singh, after evading the Mughal and Rajput attackers at Chamkaur, came to Macchiwara. It was then that two Pathan brothers, Ghani Khan and Nabi Khan, even at the prospect of facing certain death, helped the Guru to escape from the pursuing Mughal army. Here Guru Gobind Singh donned the blue robes of a Sufi pretending to be the Pir of Uchch. He loosened his hair and accompanied by the Pathan brothers and three Sikhs, his fellow survivors of the Battle of Chamkaur, he was carried in a palanquin with the 5th man waving a chanwar over the Guru's head and taking turns to spell the others as they passed safely through enemy lines. He discarded his disguise at Alamgir and took a horse which was presented to him by Bhai Naudha, a resident of Alamgir.

On reaching Alamgir the Guru ordered his followers to fetch drinking water from a nearby well. But, the villagers told Guruji, "that the water of the well had become contaminated as the nearby wall had fallen into it." The guru, while seated then shot an arrow into the ground where a spring of drinking water bubled forth. Today this spring has been converted into a tank known as Tirsar', (Arrow Lake). "The Guru said that whoever visits the holy tank with full faith, all his pains and worries would be cured."

As a Manji or palanquin had been used to bring the disguised Guru to Alamgir, as the 'Peer of Ucch', the Gurudwara was called Manji Sahib. The original palanquin has been preserved here, in an underground cell, to this day. For devotees, Gurudwara Manji Sahib is a pilgrimage site as well as a tourist destination, both for its sanctity and the slice of Sikh history that it offers. It is one of the many shrines of the Sikhs, contributing its bit to the history of Sikhism.

The langar or community meal at Gurudwara Manji Sahib is said to be one of the biggest among all Sikh religious shrines, catering to hundreds of people, free of cost, every day in the spirit of service to mankind. Generations on, Gurudwara Manji Sahib is in itself a picture of Sikhism in its ideal glory.

References

• http://in.news.yahoo.com/061219/139/6afg2.html
• Kingi Singh, Granthi, Gurudwara Manji Sahib, Alamgir