Gurdwara Baba Atal Sahibਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ਬਾਬਾ ਅਟੱਲ ਸਾਹਿਬ

Gurdwara Baba Atal Sahib is a nine-storey octagonal tower in Amritsar that memorialises Baba Atal Rai (1619-1628), the young son of Guru Hargobind. Each of its nine storeys echoes one year of his short life, and its walls carry celebrated 19th-century frescoes of Sikh history. It stands on the bank of the Kaulsar tank, a short walk south of the Golden Temple.

Who was Baba Atal Rai?

Atal Rai was a son of Guru Hargobind, the sixth Sikh Guru. Sikh tradition, told in the Gurbilas Chhevin Patshahi, says that as a boy of nine he brought his friend Mohan back to life after the boy died of a snake bite. His father was displeased: the Gurus forbid the display of miracles, teaching that spiritual power should show itself in purity of doctrine and holiness of living. Atal Rai answered that he would lay down his own life for breaking the law of nature. He withdrew to the bank of the Kaulsar tank in Amritsar in a meditative trance, and died there on 13 September 1628. He was cremated on the same bank. Though he died a child, he was honoured with the title of Baba, usually given to aged and respected men, for the spiritual power he had shown.

Why nine storeys?

A small samadhi, a cenotaph, was first raised over the cremation spot, and with the passage of time it grew into a gurdwara. The tower's nine storeys echo the nine years of Baba Atal's life. The present structure was raised in the last quarter of the 18th century: the foundation was laid in 1779, the first two storeys were built under the direction of Jodh Singh Ramgarhia, and the rest rose through the contributions of Sikh sardars and public donations. The gilt dome crowning the tower was presented by Desa Singh Majithia. As early as 1881, a report by Henry Hardy Cole notes the shrine under restoration by the Sikh temple management of Amritsar.

The tower's architecture

Rising about 40 metres, the tower was long the tallest building in Amritsar. It is a double octagon: a larger outer tower rises around a smaller inner one, and the passage between them serves as a circumambulatory. The outer storeys stop at the sixth level while the inner tower climbs the full nine, crowned by the gilded dome. A double staircase runs within the thickness of the walls, giving entry to every floor; the tower is climbed by 110 steps. The ground floor has four doors, one on each side, with the main entrance facing east. Within the inner octagon the Guru Granth Sahib rests beneath a finely wrought brass canopy topped by a chhatri. The doors are of brass and silver, embossed with figures from Sikh and Hindu themes. From the middle of the 19th century onward, devotees presented embossed brass plates, and some still carry the donors' names and addresses. A treasury building, the toshakhana, stands beside the tower.

Frescoes of Sikh history

The first floor's walls carry one of Punjab's great mural cycles. A long series unfolds the life of Guru Nanak from the Janam Sakhi tradition: it opens with the gods entreating the Almighty to send a holy person to relieve the earth of the dark age, and closes with Nanak appointing Angad as his successor. Other panels show Nanak's childhood, including the school scene where the young Nanak explains the first letter to his teacher; the ten Gurus; the lineage of Baba Buddha; Sri Chand and Lakhmi Das, the sons of Guru Nanak; the Sikh martyrs, including the four sons of Guru Gobind Singh; and the battle of Muktsar. The murals were painted in the last decade of the 19th century, in Indian red, ochre and earth colours with touches of gold, by artists including Mehtab Singh. Many have been lost: a 1971 repainting in gaudy chemical colours damaged the old work, and by 1988 only 42 panels survived.

The langar and the Baba Atal saying

The gurdwara was famed for its langar. Pilgrims and the destitute were fed freely through the day, and devotees brought prepared food to be shared with all who were present. From this grew a saying heard across Punjab: "Baba Atal, pakkian pakain chall", meaning Baba Atal sends prepared meals. The shrine still feeds the poor and the needy.

Visiting Gurdwara Baba Atal Sahib

The gurdwara stands south of the Golden Temple on the bank of the Kaulsar, one of Amritsar's five holy sarovars, near Sarai Guru Ram Das. It is an easy walk from the main complex, and visitors climb the tower for its murals and its view: in 1903 the rooftop offered a panorama stretching from the Himalayas in the north to Tarn Taran in the east. It pairs naturally with the Harmandir Sahib and the Akal Takht in a day's pilgrimage through Amritsar. More of the city's historic shrines are listed in the Gurdwaras in India guide.