Gurdwara Mai Than Sahib: Difference between revisions

Gurdwara Mai Than

The ninth Guru Sri Tegh Bahadur on his way to Patna visited Agra. Earlier this city had also been graced by the visit of Guru Nanak Dev. According to some old records the fourth Guru Sri Ram Das along with'Bhai Gurdas had also stayed in Agra when they were assigned an important mission by Sri Guru Amar Das to represent Sikhism in Akbar's Court. A devout Sikh disciple lady invited Guru Tegh Bahadur to her house where he stayed for a day or two. Her name was Mai Jassi. The site of house has become a shrine and is known as Gurdwara Mai Than.

Agra attained fame during the Mughal period as it became their capital city. The glory of the city's Mughal architecture, epitomised by the world famous Taj Mahal, has led to Agra's being one of the world's foremost tourist destinations. The massive grandeur of its red limestone fort (the Laal Kila) also impresses the visitors as well as the gaint Hauz of Jahangir and the first use of white marble over the fort's red limestone in some early remodeling by Shah Jahan.

The Gurdwara is located in a narrow street near Ghatia Chowk in a ward which is also named Mai Than Mohalla after the Gurdwara. This was the house of Mai Jassi, who had long cherished a desire to see the Guru and present him with a length of cloth made from cotton yarn she had handspun and dyed. Guru Tegh Bahadur visited her at her house shortly before his arrest in 1675 and accepted her offering. It is a three-storey building with the sanctum in a spacious hall on the ground floor, where Guru Granth Sahib rests in a canopy covered seat of white marble. Rooms on the upper floors are available to staff and pilgrims for administrative and residential purposes. The Gurdwara is registered as Sri Guru Singh Sabha and is administered by Sri Guru Tegh bahadur Central Board, a registered body.