Gurdwaras in Tarn Taranਤਰਨ ਤਾਰਨ ਦੇ ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰੇ

Gurdwaras in Tarn Taran are the historic Sikh shrines of Tarn Taran district in the Majha region of Punjab, India, a compact Guru period landscape west of Amritsar. This guide gathers every Tarn Taran shrine in the Jugti Kosh: Sri Tarn Taran Sahib, the Darbar Sahib founded by Guru Arjan Dev Ji around the largest sarovar of any gurdwara, Khadur Sahib, the headquarters of Guru Angad Dev Ji, and Goindwal Sahib, the Baoli Sahib town of Guru Amar Das Ji on the Beas. The guide sits inside our hub for Gurdwaras in Indian Punjab and the country guide to Gurdwaras in India, and our Tarn Taran place entry tells the wider story of the district.

Why is Tarn Taran district sacred to Sikhs?

Few districts hold so much of the early Panth in so small an area. Between 1539 and 1574 the centre of the young Sikh community stood in this district twice over: first at Khadur Sahib, where Guru Angad Dev Ji based himself for over a decade, then at Goindwal Sahib, where Guru Amar Das Ji led the Panth for 33 years and built the first Sikh pilgrimage centre. A generation later Guru Arjan Dev Ji founded the town and sarovar of Tarn Taran itself. Eight of the ten Gurus are remembered as having visited Khadur Sahib alone, and the three towns of this guide can still be travelled in a single day, following the Gurus in order.

Sri Tarn Taran Sahib and the largest sarovar

The district takes its name from its chief shrine. Gurdwara Sri Tarn Taran Sahib, officially Gurdwara Sri Darbar Sahib, stands at the south eastern corner of a vast rectangular sarovar begun in 1590, when, tradition says, Guru Arjan Dev Ji made the first cut at the spot now marked by the marble steps of Har Ki Pauri, and Baba Buddha Ji laid the foundation stone of the Darbar Sahib. The pool measures about 289 metres on its northern side, 283 metres on the south, and about 230 metres east and west, making it the largest sarovar of any gurdwara. Its name, given by the Guru, means the boat that ferries one across the ocean of existence, and its waters were long held to heal, above all leprosy, so the sarovar was first known as Dukh Nivaran, the eradicator of affliction, and the Guru founded a leper home beside it. The three storeyed Darbar Sahib was rebuilt and gold plated under Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who visited from 1802 and completed the parikrama in 1836 to 1837, and the shrine is famous for its monthly gathering on Amavas, the no moon night, when pilgrims fill the town.

Khadur Sahib: the headquarters of Guru Angad Dev Ji

About 20 kilometres east of Tarn Taran town, on the road toward the Beas, stands Khadur Sahib, where Guru Angad Dev Ji moved the Sikh centre from Kartarpur and made his base from 1539 to 1551, living here some 13 years. Khadur became the workshop of the young faith: here the Guru gave the Gurmukhi script its primer, opened the first Sikh school, prepared the first gutka of Guru Nanak Dev Ji's bani and founded the first mal akhara, a wrestling ground joining physical discipline to spiritual practice, alongside campaigns against intoxicants and social evils. The town also holds the beloved story of his successor: Bhai Amar Das, carrying a pitcher of Beas water some 10 kilometres through the night for the Guru's bath, stumbled into a weaver's pit near the spot the Khaddi Sahib gurdwara now marks, yet saved the pitcher; when the weaver's wife called him a poor homeless Amar, Guru Angad Dev Ji answered that Amar Das would be the home of the homeless, and anointed him the third Guru at the spot Gurdwara Thara Sahib keeps. The stately Guru Angad Dev Gurdwara stands where the Guru lived, some 38 kilometres from Amritsar and 9 kilometres from Goindwal.

Goindwal Sahib: the first Sikh pilgrimage centre

Nine kilometres beyond Khadur, on the bank of the Beas and about 23 kilometres from Tarn Taran town, Goindwal Sahib grew from a ferry crossing on the old Delhi to Lahore highway. When the trader Goinda's settlement failed, Guru Angad Dev Ji sent Bhai Amar Das, who knew the track from his daily water carrying, to lay its foundation in 1551, and after his anointment in 1552 Guru Amar Das Ji made it his seat for 33 years. That year he began the Baoli Sahib, a covered stepwell of 84 steps descending to the water; Sikhs believe that bathing in the baoli and reciting Japji Sahib on each step brings liberation, and the well drew pilgrims from far and near, making Goindwal the first centre of Sikh pilgrimage. Here the Guru started the Vaisakhi fair, made langar the rule that no one met him before eating, saying first pangat, then sangat, and received Emperor Akbar, who ate in the langar in 1569 on his way from Delhi to Lahore. Guru Arjan Dev Ji was born here on 15 April 1563, and he later returned to gather the hymns of the first four Gurus for the Adi Granth.

All Gurdwaras in Tarn Taran

• Gurdwara Sri Tarn Taran Sahib - the Darbar Sahib of Guru Arjan Dev Ji with the largest sarovar of any gurdwara
• Gurdwara Sri Khadur Sahib - the headquarters of Guru Angad Dev Ji, home of the Gurmukhi primer and the first mal akhara
• Gurdwara Goindwal Sahib - the Baoli Sahib of Guru Amar Das Ji, the first centre of Sikh pilgrimage on the Beas

How do you visit Tarn Taran's gurdwaras?

Most pilgrims come from Amritsar, under an hour away, and the natural order follows the Gurus: begin at Sri Tarn Taran Sahib in the district town, ideally early, when the kirtan relay is under way and the sarovar is calm, and time a visit for the Amavas gathering if you can. Then drive east to Khadur Sahib, about 20 kilometres, for the Guru Angad Dev Ji shrines, and finish 9 kilometres further on at Goindwal Sahib, descending the 84 steps of the Baoli Sahib and eating in the langar as Guru Amar Das Ji insisted every visitor should. Cover your head and remove your shoes at each shrine, as at every gurdwara.

Which is the most important gurdwara in Tarn Taran district?

Gurdwara Sri Tarn Taran Sahib, the Darbar Sahib founded by Guru Arjan Dev Ji in 1590: its sarovar is the largest of any gurdwara, and the town and district take their name from it.

How many gurdwaras are in Tarn Taran district?

The district holds many historic shrines, including several smaller gurdwaras in Tarn Taran town and Khadur Sahib. Three have full Jugti entries today: Sri Tarn Taran Sahib, Khadur Sahib and Goindwal Sahib.

What does Tarn Taran mean?

The boat that ferries one across: Guru Arjan Dev Ji gave the name to the sarovar he founded, meaning the boat that carries a person across the ocean of existence, and the town later took the sarovar's name.