Guru Nanak and Wali Qandhari -2: Difference between revisions

WALI QANDHARl (lit. Saint of Qandahar) was, according to a tradition popularized by Bhai Bala Janam Sakhi and Bhai Santokh Singh, Sri Gur Nanak Prakash, a Muslim recluse putting up on a hilltop near Hasan Abdal, now in Campbellpore (Attock) district of Pakistan Punjab.

Accompanied by Bhai Mardana, Guru Nanak came to Hasan Abdal on his way back from Mecca and Baghdad and halted at the foot of the hill. Feeling fatigued and thirsty, but seeing no water in the vicinity, Mardana went up the hill to Wali Qandhari. The Wali asked who he was and how he happened to wander in his direction. When Mardana told him that he was in the company of no ordinary being, he refused to give him water and said that if his master was so accomplished he should not let his follower go thirsty. Mardana walked back and told the Guru what the Wali had said. Guru Nanak asked Mardana to go once again and supplicate the Wali with humility. Mardana obeyed, but returned only to report the failure of his mission. The Guru thereupon touched the hillside with the stick he was holding. As he did this, water spouted forth. Mardana drank his fill, but simultaneously Wali Qandhari's reservoir on the hilltop began to ebb and soon dried up. Blinded with rage, the Wali rolled a big boulder downhill towards the travellers.

The Guru calmly raised his arm and the rocky mass, as the story goes, stopped against his open palm (panja, in Punjabi) which made an impression in the boulder.

Guru Nanak's palmmark is still clearly visible today. The water the Guru caused to spout forth still flows around the boulder. Many visitors and pilgrims are attracted to the site. The Gurdwara, built in the midst of a small pool in front of the stone, is reverently called Panja Sahib (Holy Palm). It is one of the Sikhs' most magnificent and venerated shrines.

Wali Qandhari's Mazar (grave) on top of the adjacent oblong hill is also preserved.

References

1. Santokh Singh, Bhai, Sri Gur Pratap Suraj GRANTH. AMRITSAR, 1927-35

2. Gian Singh, Giani, Twarikh Guru KHALSA [Reprint]. PATIALA, 1970

3. Kirpal Singh, ed.,Janam Sakhi Sri Guru Nanak DevJi. Amritsar, 1962

4. Macauliffe, Max Arthur, The SIKH Religion : Its Gurus, Sacred Writings and Authors. Oxford, 1909