Historical Gurdwaras in India

State of UTTAR PARDESH

Haridwar

1) Gurdwara dedicated to Guru Amar Das (at Kankhal near Sati Ghat) - Haridwar,the famous Hindu pilgrimage centre on the banks of Ganga River (the Ganges) was visited by several Gurus at different times, but the only historical Sikh shrine is the Gurdwara at Kankhal near Sati Ghat, three kilometres south of Haridwar. It is dedicated to Guru Amar Das and is managed by Nirmala Sikhs.


Mathura

Mathura, another well-known holy place for Hindus, 150 kilometres south of Delhi, was visited by the first, sixth, ninth and (possibly) by the tenth Guru. There are, however, three historical Gurdwaras here, one dedicated to Guru Nanak Dev and the others to Guru Tegh Baahdur.

1) Gurdwara Guru Nanak Bagichi (lit. Guru Nanak's small garden) - on the right bank of Yamuna River near Masani railway station between Mathura and Vrindavan, is dedicated to Guru Nanak Dev who visited Mathura and Vrindavan during the month long Shravan fair held in the Bikrami month of Savan (July-August). As the water of the river during this period is muddy, the Guru is said to have set up and himself manned a piau (drinking water stall) and served clean water to pilgrims. The commemorative shrine established here and maintained by a long line of Udasi priests was taken over by the Mathura Singh Sabha during the 1950s, and was handed over to Sant Sadhu Singh Mauni in 1975 for reconstruction. It now has a rectangular hall with vaulted roof and a verandah in front, besides several rooms for staff and pilgrims. A water tank with taps on the roadside represents Guru Nanak Dev's piau.

2) Gurdwara Guru Tegh Bahadur, Sri Guru Singh Sabha - is situated outside Tilak Dwar of the old city on Guru Tegh Bahadur Marg opposite the General Post Office. Guru Tegh Bahadur during his martyrdom journey had at first avoided Delhi and had proceeded to Agra, alternate capital of the Mughal emperors, via Mathura. Earlier during his travels

3) Gurdwara Gau Ghat - Another shrine Gurdwara Gau Ghat on the river bank, where Guru Tegh Bahadur is said to have his morning bath, is still maintained by Udasi Sikhs. Yet another Sikh shrine used to be there, according to Bhai Kahn Singh Mahan Kosh, in memory of Guru Harbobind's visit. It is said have been located in the residential house of a Chaube (Brahman priest), which is no longer traceable.


Agra

Agra, 55 kilometer south of Mathura, was the alternate capital of Mughal emperors since the time of Akbar. A Sikh sangat had also existed here since the time Guru Nanak Dev visited it early in the sixteenth century. Guru Hargobind must have passed through it after his release from the Fort at Gwalior. The celebrated Bhai Grudas is said to have preached Sikhism here for some time. Guru Tegh Bahadur visited it during his journey to the east. He was here again shortly before his arrest and execution in November 1675. it was here that Guru Gobind Singh was formally received in court by Emperor Bahadur Shah in July 1707. He stayed here till his departure along with Bahadur Shah to Rajputana and onward to the Decaan. However, the two historical shrines, one inside and the other outside the city limits, are related only to Guru Tegh Bahadur.

1) Gurdwara Mai Than Patshahi Naumi - The Gurdwara is located in a narrow street near Ghatia Chowk in a ward which is also named Mai Than Mohalla after the Gurdwara. Here was the house of a devoted Sikh lady, Mai Jassi, who had long cherished a desire to see the Guru and present to him a length of cloth made from cotton yarn spun by herself. Guru Tegh Bahadur visited her at her house shortly before his was 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 is seated in a canopied 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.

2) Gurdwara Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur, Sikandra- Old sources mention the existence of a shrine in a garden outside Agra, marking the spot where Guru Tegh Bahdur offered himself for arrest. This site had become obscure until traced and revived with the construction of the present magnificent Gurdwara near Sikandra, north of Agra by Sant Sadhu Singh Mauni during the 1970s.


Etawah

1) Gurdwara Purbi Tola - Etawah, a district town 125 kilometres southwest of Agra, has two Udasi Ashrams, one of which is named Gurdwara Purbi Tola. Guru Tegh Bahadur, when he passed through Etawah on his way to the east in 1665-66, might have stayed here. Located inside the town near the courts and the Kotwali (police station), it is popularly called Bari Sangat (lit. the larger congregation). The form of worship of the Udasi priests who control the shrine is nearer to Hindu than a Sikh liturgy, but Guru Granth Sahib printed in Devnagri script is seated in a pavilion in one of the numerous courtyards. It is opened in the morning and closed in the same way and with the similar respect as is done in Sikh Gurudwaras. A copy of Guru Granth Sahib in Gurmukhi script is kept wrapped up in a small room nearby, because few priests of the present generation can read it. The Gurdwara is open to outsiders only during the day.


Kanpur

1) Gurdwara Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur - Kanpur is a prominent city, well connected by rail and road. Guru Tegh Bahadur stayed here on his way from Etawah to Allahabad in 1665-66. Kanpur then was a small village called Kahnapur or Kanhaiyapur. The memorial shrine established here was developed into the present Gurdwara Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur only in the beginning of the 20th century by Sant Praduman Singh. It is located in Dhobi Mohalla near Sarafa Chowk. Its present three-storey building completed in 1971 has the sanctum on the first floor within a high ceilinged hall with a gallery at mid-height. The Gurdwara is registered as Sri Guru Singh Sabha and is managed by a local committee.


Allahabad

1) Gurdwara Tap Asthan (Pakki Sangat) - Allahabad is situated near the confluence of the River Ganga and Yamuna, which is sacred to the Hindus as Triveni Sangam (lit. confluence of three rivers) in the belief that a third invisible river Sarasvati also meets the Ganges here. Guru Nanak Dev visited Allahabad, then called by its old name Prayag. Guru Tegh Bahadur stayed here for some time. Gurudwara Tap Asthan (Pakki Sangat) Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji in Mohalla Aihiyapur marks the site where the Guru stayed in the house of a devotee. Its building reconstructed by Mahant Pritam Singh in 1965 stands about four feet above the street level. The sanctum is a flat-roofed rectangular congregation hall at the far end of a spacious square compound entered through a double-storey gateway. Guru Granth Sahib is seated on a canopied throne of while marble. One of the side rooms adjacent to the congregation hall represents the Guru's bedroom during his stay here. Two double-storey blocks of rooms, one on either side of the courtyard, provide residential accommodation to staff and visitors.


Kara

Our old sources on historical Gurdwaras do include Kara or Kara Manakpur as they call it, in the itinerary of Guru Tegh Bahadur's journey to the eastern states, but they have failed to mention its correct location. They write that the Guru after crossing the Yamuna near Sudhail (in Yamuna Nagar district of Haryana) went to Kara Manakpur where he met Sant Maluk Das and then he wrnt to Mathura, whereas Kara is on the banks of the Ganges and is in Allahabad district. The reason for the error is the relative obscurity of the place, its being slightly off the road. However, this was not always so. Kara under the Mughals was a provincial capital and must have been right on the Sher Shah Suri's Grand Trunk Road which now runs eight kilometres away from Kara. Manakpur is five kilometres away on the opposite bank of the Ganges and is in Pratapgarh district. Locally called Garhi Manakpur, it lends its name to the railway station near it. Kara, now reduced to merely a large village, is accessible through an approach road which branches off the Grand Trunk Road at Saini, 57 kilometres from Allahabad and 139 from Kanpur. Guru Tegh Bahadur coming from Kanpur held a discourse with Sant Maluk Das whose sadhana asthan (place of meditation) and smadhi sthan (place of death) at Kara are still visited by devotees, Hindus as well as Muslims. There is no Sikh shrine at Kara now, but a pamphlet published by the followers of Sant Maluk Das testifies :

Sangat - This was a Sikh Gurdwara. People belonging to all castes and classes (jati) gathered here once in a year. Later karah prasad was distributed. This place is now totally destroyed.


Mirzapur

1) Shri Nirmal Sangat - Mirzapur is district town along the Grand Trunk Road on the right bank of the Ganga. It is also a railway station on the Delhi-Kanpur- Mughal Serai section of Northern railway. Mirzapur was visited by Guru Nanak Dev and Guru Tegh Bahddur. A Sikh Sangat existed here when the latter passed through the town during 1666. Now it is called Shri Nirmal Sangat, an association of Nirmala Sikhs. It is located at Narayan Ghat near the river bank also called Pakka Ghat. Guru Granth Sahib is also seated in a room adjacent to the mahant's house. Its present building was inaugurated on Guru Nanak Dev's birth anniversary in 1935.


Ahraura

1) Gurdwara Bagh Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji Ka (or Gurdwara Bagh Sahib or Gurdwara Guru Gobind Singh Ji Daskhati) - Ahraura, a small town in Mirzapur district, is 18 kilometres from Ahraura Road railway station on the Allahabad-Mughal Serai section of Northern Railway and 40 kilometres from Varanasi along the Varanasi-Robertsganj road. Guru Tegh Bahadur stayed here during his journey from Mirzapur to Benaras (Varanasi) in 1666. He planted a tree inaugurating the raising of a garden here at the request of the Sikh Sangat which already existed here. Even now over a dozen Sikh families, natives of the place, live in Ahraura. The Gurdwara, an old type building with many small rooms, is along the main street. It is named Gurdwara bagh (lit. garden) Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji Ka. The sanctum is a comparatively spacious rectangular hall across the courtyard. Within the hall is a closet called Nivas Sthan (residence). The garden a small one, is at the back of the sanctum. The Gurdwara is registered as Shri Guru Singh Sabha and is managed by a committee of the local sangat.

A hand written copy of Guru Granth Sahib prepared in 1742 is in the private possession of Sardar Kanta Singh, the granthi of Gurdwara bagh Sahib, as it is called for short. Another hand-written pothi (breviary) claimed to be autographed by Guru Gobind Singh is with Sardar Hira Singh, who has built a separate Gurdwara Guru Gobind Singh Ji Daskhati (lit. autographed) Sahib. The pothi is displayed only on special anniversary occasions i.e. birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh and martyrdom anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur.


Chhota Mirzapur

1) Gurdwara Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Nauvin Patshahi - Chhota Mirzapur, a village in Mirzapur district, is midway between Ahraura and Benaras along the Varanasi-Robertsganj road. It is four kilometres north of Ahraura Road railway station. Guru Tegh Bahadur passed through it on his way from Ahraura to Benaras. According to local tradition, Guru Gobind Singh (then Sahibzada Gobind Das) also stayed here on his way from Patna Sahib to Punjab. The commemorative shrine here is named Gurdwara Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Nauvin Patshahi. Its present building covering a plinth area of about 28x21 metres has been constructed during the 1980s. There is only one Sikh family natïve of the place, headed by Sardar Musa Singh, in Chhota Mirzapur itself, but donations from Sikh transporters passing along the road and from other Sikh and non-Sikh devotees including those at Benaras have helped the construction of the new building.


Benaras (Varanasi)

Benaras is famour as a Hindu pilgrimage centre and as a centre of classical learning. Bhagats Kabir and Revidas, whose bani (compositions) forms part of the Sikh Scripture, lived here. After Guru Nanak Dev had visited it, a sangat was established here, which was already flourishing when Guru Tegh Bahadur arrived in 1666 and Guru Gobind Singh passed through the city on his way from Patna Sahib to Punjab in 1670. The latter Guru later sent five Sikhs here to learn Sanskrit. These learned men, who came to be known as Nirmala (lit. clean) Sikhs went back to Punjab to propagate learning among the Sikhs there, but more came to study ancient classics in their place. Contact thus established with Benaras continued uninterrupted, and in 1823, according to a census taken by James Princep, there were 1000 Sikhs in Benaras. They were divided into seven sects and were listed under Hindu Fakirs. The seven sects were Udasis, Nirmalas, Govind Singhis, Suthrashahis and three (not numerous though) sects of Gang Bakhshis, Ram Raias and Nagas. Collectively they were known as the Sikhs or the Nanak Shahis. Historical Sikh Gurdwaras and institutions at Benaras include:

1) Gurdwara Bari Sangat Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur - The Gurdwara in Nichi Bagh area is the oldest and most important sangat at Benaras judging from old hukamnamas and other relics possessed by it. At the time of Guru Tegh Bahdur's visit, the Sangat was headed by Bhai Jawehri lal, the masand. The Guru stayed in a house belonging to Bhai Kalyan Mal. It is the site of this house which is occupied by the Gurdwara Bari Sangat now. Its present three-storey building, which replaced the one constructed by Maharaja Narinder Singh of Patiala in 1854, was constructed during the 1950s. The sanctum is at one end of a spacious high-ceilinged, rectangular hall on the ground floor. All around the interior of the hall is a wide gallery and a number of cupboards for use by pilgrims. Within the congregation hall there are two more shrines - a small room called Tap Asthan represents the closet where Guru Tegh Bahadur sat in solitary meditation, and a narrow well called Baoli Ganga Pargat (lit. well making the Ganges manifest). There is a popular legend related to the latter. It is said that one morning as Guru Tegh Bahadur was meditating in the Tap Asthan, Bhai Kalyan Mal invited him to a dip in the holy Ganges. The Guru remarked, "God's Name is the holiest of all. Rather than a worshipper of God go seeking holiness in the waters of Ganges, the Ganges would come to be blessed by the bhakias touch." Seeing Kalyan Mal puzzled by his utterance, the Guru asked him to lift a nearby stone. As soon as Kalyan Mal did so, a spring of river-water appeared. This spring is the present Baoli Ganga Pargat. Two very old pairs of shoes, one once worn by Guru Tegh bahadur and the other by the young Sahibzada Gobind Das, and a chola (long, loose gown) once used by Guru Tegh Bahadur are displayed in glass cupboards. The hukamnamas, seventeen in number are kept separately in the office of the committee that manages this Gurdwara.

2) Gurdwara Guru Bagh Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji - is dedicated to Guru Nanak Dev, who visited Benaras on the occasion of Shivratri fair (February-March) early during the sixteenth century and held religious discourses with Brahaman scholars and sadhus of different denominations. The present building of the Gurdwara located along Shri Guru Nanak Marg (or street) was constructed during early 1970s. The sanctum is at one end of a rectangular hall with a wide gallery at mid-height on three sides on the interior, and a porch in front of the doors on the opposite side of the sanctum. A few rooms near the entrance to the one-acre compound of the Gurdwara are available for pilgrims' staying overnight.

3) Gurdwara Chhoti Sangat - is located in a privately owned house in a narrow lane named Bhuteshwar Gali branching off Dashashvamedh Road. It is said to be the congregation spot of a smaller Sikh community (chhoti sangat) which too was visited by Guru Tegh Bahadur and Guru Gobind Singh. It is a serial like building with two floors of rooms around a square compound. The rooms are rented out to different lodgers. The Gurdwara is in a room on the first floor maintained by a Nirmala sadhu. There is also a hand-written copy of Guru Granth Sahib here which is dated Phagun 1833 (February-March 1777).

4) Shri Chetan Math - in Bishwesharganj locality near the Punjabi Market is where the first batch of five Sikhs sent to Benaras by Guru Gobind Singh to study Sanskrit had stayed. It is now called Sri Guru Nanak Nirmal Sanskrit Vidalaya, which is a residential college affiliated to the Sampurnanand Sanskrit University Varanasi. Guru Granth Sahib is seated in one of the rooms, but its study is not a part of the curriculum.

5) Nirmal Mir Ghat - near Vishalakshi Temple on the Ganges bank was also once a Sikh Sangat, but is now a study centre or Udasi students of Udasin Sanskrit Vidyalaya. Guru Granth Sahib is still seated here but alongwith Bhagvad Gita on adjacently placed palanquins in rectangular hall.


Jaunpur

1) Gurdwara Tap Asthan Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji (Bari Sangat) - Jaunpur, a district town on the banks of Gomati River, 58 kilometres north of Benaras is another place wehre a well-known Sikh Sangat existed of old. When Guru Tegh Bahadur was staying in Benaras, in 1666, the Jaunpur sangat led by Bhai Gurbakhsh, the local masand, had gone to meet him. Bhai Gurbakhsh was an accomplished performer of kirtan and Guru Tegh Bahadur had bestowed upon him the gift of a mridang (a type of two-faced drum) in appreciation of his skill and devotion. Guru Tegh Bahadur himself visited Jaunpur during his return journey towards Punjab in 1670. The memorial shrine, Gurdwara Tap Asthan Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji (Bari Sangat) is in the east of the town on the left bank of the river. The sanctum is at one end of spacious rectangular hall. A small room with a square platform in the middle of it represents the original Tap Asthan, which it is believed, was actually on a sandy mound right on the River's left bank one and a half kilometre southeast of the present Gurdwara. The ruins of a rectangular building can still be seen on top of this mound in the revenue limits of Chachakpur village. This hut and about two acres of land asurrounding it are still shown in the name of Gurdwara Bari Sangat in the revenue records of the village. There used to be another shrine, Chhoti Sangat, in a private house in Rao mandal Mohalla of Jaunpur, but it ceased to exist after the death of its last Sikh occupant, Sardar Jawahar Singh in mid-1960s. Its two sacred relics, a hand written copy of Guru Granth Sahib and a steel arrow believed to be a gift from Guru Tegh Bahadur are now kept in Gurdwara Tap Asthan Bari Sangat. There are two hand-written copies of the Scripture in this Gurdwara 1742 Bikrami (A.D. 1985) and 1801 Bikrami (A.D. 1744) respectively.


Nizamabad

1) Gurdwara Charan Paduka Patshahi 1 te 9 - Nizamabad is a small town in the interior of Azamgarh district. An eight-kilometre link road connects it to Serai Rani on the Jaunpur-Azamgarh road. Another six-kilometres road links it to Phariha. Both Serai Rani and Phariha are railway stations on the Ballia-Shahganj metre gauge section of North-Eastern Railway. Nizamabad was visited by Guru Nanak Dev during his eastern udasi in the early sixteenth century, and by Guru Tegh bahadur during his journey back towards Punjab in 1670. A shrine called Charan Paduka (lit. wooden sandals) common to both Gurus existed here of old under Udasi priests until Bawa Kripa Dayal Singh of Goindwal established a proper Gurdwara and himself settled here to preach Sikhism. It became a well known Sikh missionary centre during the time of his son Sadho Singh and grandson, the well-known scholar, author and poet Bawa Sumer Singh. The shrine is named Gurdwara Charan Paduka Patshahi 1 te 9. Its buildings have been renovated by Sant Sadhu Singh Mauni, whose successors continue to administer it. Besides a pair of wooden sandals kept here as a sacred relic one used by Guru Tegh Bahadur, there are fourteen old hand-written copies of Guru Granth Sahib.


Ayodhya

1) Gurdwara Guru Gobind Singh Ji - Ayodhya on the right bank of the River Saryu, also known as Ghaghra, is a noted pilgrimage centre for the Hindus because it has the honour of being the native place and capital of Lord Rama. It is a railway station on the Lucknow-Faizabad-Mughal Serai section of the Northern Railway and is also connected by road to the district town Faizabad, only six kilometres away. Guru Nanak Dev, Guru Tegh Bahadur and Guru Gobind Singh (as a child) visited Ayodhya at different times. There are three Sikh shrines here, all in a cluster, near Brahm Kund on the bank of Saryu. The one dedicated to Guru Nanak Dev is only a Nishan Sahib fixed on a platform constructed in 1972. Memorial to Guru Tegh Bahadur's visit, too, was only at platform until 1975, when Sikh troops of Faizabad Cantonment built a room over it. Guru Granth Sahib is seated here only during a series of akhand paths concluding on the martyrdom anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur. The shrine dedicated to Guru Gobind Singh was also only a Thara Sahib to begin with, and all the three shrines were looked after by Brahman priests until the arrival here of a Kashmiri Sikh, Gulab Singh about the middle of the nineteenth century. He occupied the shrines and later constructed Gurdwara Guru Gobind Singh Ji in 1899 on the site of the platform dedicated to child Gobind Das. An octagonal domed room is named Singhasan Sthan (lit. throne) Guru Gobind Singh Ji. It encloses the former platform on which are placed the sacred relics - i.e. a pair of sandals believed to be once worn by Guru Tegh Bahadur, a steel arrow, a dagger and a chakar (steel quoit with sharp outer edge). There is also a hand-written copy of the Holy Scripture dated 1838 Bikrami (A.D. 1781) . There are few Sikhs in Ayodhya, but Sikh soldiers from Faizabad visit usually on Sundays and other gurpurbs.



Nanak Mata

1) Gurdwara Nanak Matta - The historical shrine of Nanak Mata (often pronounced Matta) associated with Guru Nanak Dev and Guru Hargobind is situated on the bank of Deoha stream, since dammed into a reservoir named Nanak Sagar, 15 kilometres west of Khatema Railway Station on the Pilibhit-Tanakpur metre-gauge section of North-Eastern Railway. This used to be retreat of Gorakhpanthi Nath Yogis and was called Gorakh Mata when Guru Nanak Dev came here during his travels in early sixteenth century. The Yogis at first behaved contemptuously towards the Guru and tried to overawe him with their occult powers. But as he remained undaunted and unaffected by their rudeness and miracle-making, they agreed to talk to him. Guru Nanak Dev impressed upon them the impropriety and unrighteousness of their path of renunciation, and exhorted them to live a pious yet active life of a God-oriented man of the world. The place thereafter became an Udasi shrine named Nanak Mata. A century later, when Bhai Almast came to preach the message of the Gurus in the eastern provinces, he found Nanak Mata again occupied by Nath Yogis. Finding himself unable to evict them, he sent word for help to Guru Hargobind, who was then residing at Darauli Bhai. The Guru at once reached Nanak Mata, chastised the Yogis and revived the Sikh shrine. Almast made Nanak Mata his principal preaching centre for the rest of his life, and it continued to be served by Udasi priests after his death. Nawab Asaf-ud-Daula of Lucknow once visited it and made a large endowment in land with an annual rental value of Rs.5000. An official document Wajab-ul-Arz Parganah Nanak Mata, dated 1314 Fasali (A.D. 1906-07) contains a provision under which every tenant while paying rent was also to pay one rupee for the mahant of the shrine. The economic prosperity brought in mutual rivalry among the priests. There was litigation entered into by Mahant Amar Das and his disciple Harnam Das. Taking advantage of this, third person Chaudhari Ram Singh occupied the shrine and its property. The management of the shrine deteriorated. Some local devotees brought the matter to the notice of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee and the Chief Khalsa Diwan, besides addressing complaints to the Deputy Commissioner of the district and the provincial governor. A Panthic convention was held on 26th and 27th August 1933 and Gurdwara Nanak Mata Sudhar Committee was formed under the chairmanship of Sardar Santokh Singh, Chief Engineer Pilibhit with Inderjit Singh and Balwant Singh of Kathgodam, Ram Singh of Bareilly and Sardar Bahadur Bhagat Singh as member. The matter was taken to the court and it having been decided, on 20th August 1935, in favour of the committee, it took over possession from the Receive, appointed earlier by the Court, on 19th September 1935.


Ritha Sahib

1) Gurdwara Ritha Sahib - is only 60 kms. by flying distance in the north of Nanak Mata, but the distance by motorable road is 209 kms. It is 166 kms. from Tanakpur, the last railway station on Bareilly-Tanakpur section. Here, too, Guru Nanak Dev had an encounter with Nath yogis whom he tried to bring to the path of active humanitarian service along with remembrance of God's Name. The story is not mentioned in Janamsakhis, but a strong tradition has grown that here Guru Nanak Dev miraculously made the normally bitter fruit of a soapnut tree sweet for Bhai Mardana to feed on. A soapnut tree (not the original one) is still there and pilgrims are given prasad of sweet soapnuts. However, the common belief that the nuts only of one branch, under which the Guru had sat, are sweet is not true. Nor are all the nuts given as prasad yielded by this one tree. About ten kilometers from the Grudwara, there is a tract of land where such trees are grown and their fruit is collected and brought to replenish the Gurdwara's stock of prasad. It is called Nanak Bagichi (lit. Nanak's garden).


Srinagar (Garhwal)

1) Gurdwara Charan Paduka - Old Srinagar town on the bank of Alakhnanda river also had a Sikh shrine Charan Paduka in memory of Guru Nanak Dev who had visited it during his travels in this area. The town and the Sikh shrine with it were destroyed as the result of a breach in Gohana reservoir in 1894. The present town is about one mile away from the old site. Here, too, an Udasi Sadhu established a kind of Gurdwara in his hut where Guru Granth Sahib was seated.