Gurdwaras in Nankana Sahibਨਨਕਾਣਾ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਦੇ ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰੇ

Gurdwaras in Nankana Sahib are the Sikh shrines of Nankana Sahib, the birthplace town of Guru Nanak Dev Ji in Punjab, Pakistan, about 75 kilometres west-southwest of Lahore. This guide walks through every Nankana Sahib shrine in the Jugti Kosh, from Gurdwara Janam Asthan, the birthplace shrine itself, to the childhood shrines within walking distance of it, each with a full linked entry. It is one chapter of our hub for Gurdwaras in Pakistani Punjab and of the country guide to Gurdwaras in Pakistan.

Why is Nankana Sahib holy to Sikhs?

Nankana Sahib is where Sikhism begins. Guru Nanak Dev Ji was born here in 1469, when the town was called Rai Bhoi di Talwandi after its Bhatti chiefs, and it was renamed Nankana in his honour. He spent his first fifteen or sixteen years here, and the town's shrines mark the places of that childhood one by one: where he was born, where he played, where he went to school, where he grazed his father's cattle, and where he sheltered after giving away his trading money to feed hungry sadhus.

Later Gurus kept the town in the Panth's memory. Guru Arjan Dev Ji and Guru Hargobind Ji both visited, and shrines honouring the fifth and sixth Gurus stand beside the childhood cluster. Under Sikh rule the gurdwaras were richly endowed with land, and in February 1921 the town became the turning point of the Gurdwara Reform Movement, when a peaceful jatha was massacred at the Janam Asthan by men hired by its mahant. Control of the shrines passed to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee the next day, and after Partition in 1947 they passed to the Government of Pakistan. The Punjab government's own district page still lists the Janam Asthan ensemble among the Protected Heritage Monuments of the Archaeology Department.

The birthplace: Gurdwara Janam Asthan

Every visit begins at Gurdwara Janam Asthan, the premier shrine of the town. It marks the house of Mehta Kalu Ji and Mata Tripta Ji, where Guru Nanak Dev Ji was born. A first room was raised here by his descendants, and Maharaja Ranjit Singh built the present domed sanctum and pavilion on its raised platform, with a large endowment for the Guru ka Langar. The complex, with its sarovar and pilgrim accommodation, is the working heart of the town: daily services continue here, and at Guru Nanak Gurpurab in November thousands of pilgrims fill it. Our full entry on the Janam Asthan tells the shrine's own story, including the Saka of 1921 and the historic jand tree and well that still stand in the compound.

The childhood shrines around the Janam Asthan

The childhood shrines lie close together, and pilgrims walk between them. About 300 metres south-east of the Janam Asthan, Bal Lila Sahib marks the field where the boy Nanak played with other children, a site Guru Hargobind Ji is said to have identified; Diwan Kaura Mall built the shrine and Maharaja Ranjit Singh renovated it and enlarged its tank. Patti Sahib marks the school of Pandit Gopal, where the child Nanak astonished his teachers: its small domed room is also called Maulawi Patti. About 300 metres east, Tambu Sahib stands by the great van tree that spread like a tent, where the young Nanak is said to have hidden from his father's anger after the Sacha Sauda, the true bargain in which he fed hungry sadhus with his trading money. That bargain itself is remembered at Sacha Sauda in nearby Chuharkana.

Two shrines stand a little further east. Mal Ji Sahib, about one and a half kilometres from the Janam Asthan, marks the mal tree under which the sleeping Nanak was shaded: in one telling the tree's shade stood still as the sun moved, and in another a cobra spread its hood over his face, and Rai Bular, the town's chief, became a devotee on seeing it. Kiara Sahib, about two kilometres east of Bal Lila, marks the field where Nanak's straying cattle were found to have left a peasant's crop completely unharmed. Together the five childhood shrines let a pilgrim read Guru Nanak Dev Ji's early life as a walk through one small town.

The later Gurus at Nankana Sahib

Two shrines complete the Jugti set. Chhevin Patshahi, about 200 metres east of the Janam Asthan, honours the visit of Guru Hargobind Ji in 1620 to 1621; it was built and long managed by Nihang Sikhs and came under the SGPC in 1921. Beside it in a shared enclosure stands Panjvin Patshahi, the domeless shrine raised in memory of Guru Arjan Dev Ji, who also visited his great-grandfather's birthplace town. Counts of the town's gurdwaras usually give nine, including a Nihang shrine that does not yet have a Jugti entry; this guide lists the eight with full entries and grows as more are documented.

All Gurdwaras in Nankana Sahib

• Gurdwara Janam Asthan, Nankana Sahib - the birthplace of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the premier shrine of the town
• Gurdwara Bal Lila Sahib, Nankana Sahib - the playing field of Guru Nanak Dev Ji's childhood
• Gurdwara Patti Sahib, Nankana Sahib - the school of Guru Nanak Dev Ji
• Gurdwara Tambu Sahib, Nankana Sahib - the tent like tree where Guru Nanak Dev Ji sheltered after the Sacha Sauda
• Gurdwara Mal Ji Sahib, Nankana Sahib - the mal tree where a cobra is said to have shaded the sleeping Guru Nanak Dev Ji
• Gurdwara Kiara Sahib, Nankana Sahib - the field where Guru Nanak Dev Ji's strayed cattle left the crop unharmed
• Gurdwara Chhevin Patshahi, Nankana Sahib - where Guru Hargobind Ji rested, beside the Panjvin Patshahi shrine
• Gurdwara Panjvin Patshahi, Nankana Sahib - the domeless shrine of Guru Arjan Dev Ji in a shared enclosure

How do pilgrims visit Nankana Sahib?

Nankana Sahib is a district headquarters in its own right since 2005, about 75 kilometres west-southwest of Lahore and about 40 kilometres south-west of Sheikhupura, connected by rail and road. Most pilgrims arrive in organised jathas, above all for Guru Nanak Gurpurab in November, and also for Vaisakhi in April and the Saka Nankana Sahib commemoration in February. The eight Jugti shrines can be walked in a single day: start at the Janam Asthan at dawn, walk the childhood cluster, and finish at Mal Ji and Kiara Sahib in the east of the town. Pilgrims often combine the town with Kartarpur Sahib, where Guru Nanak Dev Ji spent his final years, and with Lahore on the same yatra.

What is the most famous gurdwara in Nankana Sahib?

Gurdwara Janam Asthan, the birthplace shrine of Guru Nanak Dev Ji. It is the premier shrine of the town and the focus of the Guru Nanak Gurpurab pilgrimage each November.

How many gurdwaras are in Nankana Sahib?

The town is usually counted as having nine gurdwaras, gathered around the Janam Asthan. Eight have full Jugti entries today: the Janam Asthan, the five childhood shrines of Bal Lila, Patti, Tambu, Mal Ji and Kiara Sahib, and the Chhevin and Panjvin Patshahi shrines.

When is the best time to visit Nankana Sahib?

For the full pilgrimage atmosphere, Guru Nanak Gurpurab in November, when jathas arrive from India and around the world. For quiet darshan of all eight shrines in one walk, any clear morning outside the big festivals serves well.

What was Nankana Sahib called before?

Rai Bhoi di Talwandi, after Rai Bhoi, the Bhatti chief whose descendant Rai Bular was Guru Nanak Dev Ji's contemporary and devotee. The town took the name Nankana, from Nanak, in the Guru's honour.