Gurdwara Rawalsar Sahib: Difference between revisions

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[[Image:Rawalsargurdara.jpg|thumb|right|300px]]
[[Image:Rawalsargurdara.jpg|thumb|right|300px]]
'''Gurudwara Rawalsar Sahib''' is located high on the hillside above the lake known as Rawalsar and the town that has taken its name. Rawalsar (also spelled Rewalsar) is a town in the Mandi district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh about about 15-25Km west of Mandi.
Guru Gobind Singh visited the site once on the occasion of Baisakhi to meet with Raja Siddh Sen of Mandi and some other local hill chiefs to discuss their troubles with Aurangzeb. The Guru stayed at Rawalsar for a month. Raja Joginder Sen of Mandi built a gurudwara at Rawalsar
In 1930  Raja Joginder Sen of Mandi built the  gurdwara to commemorate the Guru's visit. It is constructed of stone and one reaches it by climbing 108 stairs. The large sarovar (tank) attached to the Gurdwara is considered to have  medicinal and currative properties. A dip in the tank is considered very auspicious. The Gurdwara is partiularly sacred to Namdhari Sikhs due to its mention in Sau Sakhi as a sanctuary.
Pilgrims of Buddhism and Hinduism also visit the area as there are many sites, shrines and mandirs  related to the history of each religion.
Located at an altitude of 1360 m above sea level in the Southern Himalayan belt, winters in Rawalsar can be freezing, but summers can be very pleasant.


A few kilometers away from Mandi is Rawalsar. Rawalsar has a great significance, as it was sanctified by the visit of tenth Guru Gobind Singh. A Gurdwara was constructed here by devotees of the Guru to perpetuate his memory. Adjoining the Gurdwara is a big tank, whose water has medicinal value. A dip in this tank is considered auspicious. The Gurdwara is built of stone and one can it by climbing 108 stairs. People visit this shrine with great devotion.  It is a sacred place for Buddhists too. Many people from Tibet come here on pilgrimage, to pay homage to Buddhist shrine situated here. 
[[Image:Rawalsar.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Darbar Sahib]]
[[Image:Rawalsar.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Darbar Sahib]]
Rawalsar is a natural lake with floating islands, about 15 kilometers west of mandi town. The habitation that has grown around it is also named Rawalsar. Guru Gobind Singh visited it once on the occasion of Baisakhi festival. It was here that Raja Siddh Sen of Mandi met the Guru and took him to Mandi with him. The commemorative Sikh shrine here is called Gurdwara Damdama Sahib. It is located on the hillside at some height from the lake and its dome is visible from a distance. Rawalsar is particularly sacred to Namdhari Sikhs. Because of some allusion to it in Sau Sakhi as a sanctuary, many Namdharis went to settle there during early 1940s, but as this small hilly place could hardly absorb them, most of them came back; yet many settled at the nearby Mandi town from where they keep visiting the lake and the Gurdwara frequently
 
[[Image:Rawalsar_(1).jpg|thumb|left|300px]]
[[Image:Rawalsar_(1).jpg|thumb|left|300px]]
[[Image:Rawalsarr.jpg|thumb|left|300px]]
[[Image:Rawalsarr.jpg|thumb|left|300px]]

Revision as of 19:59, 17 August 2008

Rawalsargurdara.jpg

Gurudwara Rawalsar Sahib is located high on the hillside above the lake known as Rawalsar and the town that has taken its name. Rawalsar (also spelled Rewalsar) is a town in the Mandi district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh about about 15-25Km west of Mandi.

Guru Gobind Singh visited the site once on the occasion of Baisakhi to meet with Raja Siddh Sen of Mandi and some other local hill chiefs to discuss their troubles with Aurangzeb. The Guru stayed at Rawalsar for a month. Raja Joginder Sen of Mandi built a gurudwara at Rawalsar

In 1930 Raja Joginder Sen of Mandi built the gurdwara to commemorate the Guru's visit. It is constructed of stone and one reaches it by climbing 108 stairs. The large sarovar (tank) attached to the Gurdwara is considered to have medicinal and currative properties. A dip in the tank is considered very auspicious. The Gurdwara is partiularly sacred to Namdhari Sikhs due to its mention in Sau Sakhi as a sanctuary.

Pilgrims of Buddhism and Hinduism also visit the area as there are many sites, shrines and mandirs related to the history of each religion.

Located at an altitude of 1360 m above sea level in the Southern Himalayan belt, winters in Rawalsar can be freezing, but summers can be very pleasant.

Darbar Sahib
Rawalsar (1).jpg
Rawalsarr.jpg
Rwalsar.jpg
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