Historic gurdwara
Gurdwara Charan Kanwal Sahib, Machhiwara
The gurdwara on the site of the garden where Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji first stopped at Machhiwara after leaving Chamkaur in December 1705, and where three Sikhs found Guru Ji again.
History
- December 1705
Arrival from Chamkaur
Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji left Chamkaur on the night of 7 December 1705 and reached Machhiwara. Guru Ji travelled through thorny forest and first rested in a garden beyond the village. Three Sikhs separated at the departure from Chamkaur, Bhai Daya Singh, Bhai Man Singh and Bhai Dharam Singh, found Guru Ji asleep here.
Macauliffe's account, drawn from Sikh tradition, says Guru Ji was found with a waterpot for a pillow, feet blistered, and that Bhai Man Singh carried Guru Ji on his back to shelter. He calls the place Bir Guru, in the Machhiwara forest. Gurdwara Charan Kanwal Sahib marks the garden.[EoS][Macauliffe][Randhir]
The house of Gulaba and the two brothers
From the garden Guru Ji moved to the upper room of a house belonging to Gulaba inside the village. Macauliffe describes Gulaba and his family as anxious for their safety while imperial troops searched the country.
The brothers Ghani Khan and Nabi Khan, Pathan horse dealers who had visited Guru Ji at Anandpur, then came to help. Guru Ji wore a blue robe and travelled in a palanquin, presented as the Pir of Uch, a Muslim holy man. Randhir says Mughal soldiers stopped the party once and were satisfied by the brothers' answer. Macauliffe says a friendly Saiyid from Nurpur, an officer in the detachment, backed the story.[EoS][Macauliffe][Randhir]
- Today
The three gurdwaras
The central building of Gurdwara Charan Kanwal Sahib has a square hall with a square sanctum at its centre, and an upper domed pavilion with a large portrait of Guru Ji asleep. A rectangular sarovar to the west dates from the 1970s, fed by an old well that people believe watered the garden in Guru Ji's time. A local committee of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee runs it, and a large December fair recalls Guru Ji's stay.
The same committee manages Gurdwara Chubara Sahib, on the site of Gulaba's house, whose name means an upper room. Gurdwara Uch da Pir was set up after 1947 in a private house that had belonged to descendants of the two brothers. Guru Ji is believed to have stayed there briefly.[EoS][Randhir]
What the sources disagree on
- Who Gulaba was, and whose garden it was
The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism calls him a masand and treats the garden as outside the village. Macauliffe calls him a Sikh whom Guru Ji met in the garden. Randhir calls the garden that of Masand Gulab Rai.[EoS][Macauliffe][Randhir]
- Where the brothers met Guru Ji
Macauliffe brings them to Gulaba's house. Randhir says they recognised Guru Ji at the garden. The Encyclopaedia also notes a belief that Guru Ji stayed briefly in the brothers' own house.[Macauliffe][Randhir][EoS]