Historical Gurdwaras in India

State of HARYANA

Siana Sayyadan

1) Gurdwara Jora Sahib - Five kilometres from Pehowa on the road to Guhla-Chika is Siana Sayyadan, the native village of the Muslim divine Sayyad Shah Bhikh or Bhikhan Shah who having divined the birth of Guru Gobind Singh in far away Patna, had performed sajada (prostration) to the east against the tenets of his religion. He had later gone and made obeisance to the child Gobind Rai at Lakhnaur in 1670. When Guru Gobind Singh visited Kurukshetra and Pehowa on the occasion of solar eclipse fair in 1702-03, he also came to Siana and encamping outside the village enquired about Bhikhan Shah, and found that the old saint had moved to Thaska long ago and had died since. One Bhai Jhanda the carpenter, who had been a Sikh of Guru Nanak Dev, also hailed from this village. His descendants still lived here. They now devotedly served Guru Gobind Singh and took pahul of Khalsa at his hands. The Guru at their request even visited their house. One of them presented a pair of wooden sandals which the Guru put on and left his own shoes with these devotees. The family is no longer traceable, but the Guru's shoes, embroidered in red and white, are still preserved as a sacred relic in the village Gurdwawa called Gurdwara Jora (lit. pair of shoes) Sahib.

2) Gurdwara Damdama Sahib - The other Gurdwara dedicated to Guru Gobind Singh is outside the village along the approach-road and marks the spot where the Guru's camp had been. It is called Gurdwara Damdama Sahib. Reconstructed during the 1960s, it comprises a domed sanctum within a six-foot high walled enclosure. Facilities for overnight stay are not available here.