Gurdwara Parivar Vichora Sahibਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ਪਰਿਵਾਰ ਵਿਛੋੜਾ ਸਾਹਿਬ

Gurdwara Parivar Vichora Sahib stands on a hill above the Sirsa river at Majri village in Rupnagar district, Punjab. It marks the ground where Guru Gobind Singh Ji's family was separated during the winter flight from Anandpur Sahib, in December 1704 by Sikh tradition. Sikhs call that parting the Parivar Vichora, the separation of the family, and few places in Punjab carry its sorrow as directly as this hilltop shrine.

What is Parivar Vichora?

Parivar Vichora is the shrine of a parting. Parivar means family and vichora means separation, and the name says plainly what happened here: a family that had left its fort together under a promise of safe passage was scattered at a flooded river and never came together again. The gurdwara that keeps the memory is a white, domed building on a hilltop above the bank of the Sirsa, reached by a long covered stairway, looking out over the valley the Guru's party had to cross.

The shrine is one of the best known halts on the Guru Gobind Singh Marg, the pilgrimage route that follows the Guru's 1705 journey from Anandpur Sahib to Talwandi Sabo. Pilgrims travelling the Marg usually reach Parivar Vichora soon after leaving Anandpur, at the very start of the story the road tells.

History: the night Anandpur Sahib was left

After a long siege of Anandpur Sahib, an agreement was reached between the Sikhs and the Mughal and hill forces around the fort: the Guru would evacuate Anandpur, and his party would be allowed to leave unharmed. On the night of 5 and 6 December the column moved out into the winter dark, the Guru with his four sons, his mother Mata Gujri Ji, his wives, and the Sikhs who remained with him. Sikh tradition dates the evacuation to December 1704, though some modern summaries give 1705, and the Kosh follows the traditional dating here.

By morning the party had reached the bank of the Sirsa, a short march from Anandpur. The promise of safe passage was already breaking down, with enemy troops pressing close behind. The Guru halted briefly at the river for the morning congregation, the diwan that a Sikh camp held even on the move, before attempting the crossing.

The crossing of the flooded Sirsa

The Sirsa was in flood, swollen and fast, and the crossing turned into a battle. The Guru divided his small force in two: one part turned to hold off the attackers while the other was ordered across the river. The Guru himself rode into the swollen stream with a small party of Sikhs, swords in hand, and reached the far bank with his sons and a few dozen followers. Many Sikhs were lost in the water and in the fighting on its banks.

In the confusion of the crossing, the party came apart. The two younger Sahibzade, Sahibzada Zorawar Singh Ji and Sahibzada Fateh Singh Ji, were separated from their father along with their grandmother, Mata Gujri Ji. There was no time to search for them: the pursuing army was close, and every minute on the bank put the whole party at risk. The family that had left Anandpur together was now in pieces, and this riverbank is where the pieces parted.

Where did the separated family go?

The Guru, with his two elder sons and about forty Sikhs, rode on towards Chamkaur Sahib, where the famous battle of Chamkaur followed within days. Mata Sahib Kaur Ji, escorted by a few Sikhs, made her way to Delhi. Mata Gujri Ji and the two younger Sahibzade were taken in by Gangu, a servant of the Guru's household, and carried to his village near Morinda. From there their road led to Sirhind, where the young Sahibzade were martyred, a martyrdom remembered today at Fatehgarh Sahib. No member of the family who crossed the Sirsa that morning met the others again, which is why this quiet hill carries such weight in the Sikh memory of that December.

The shrine today

For a long time the exact ground was kept in local memory rather than marked by a building. In the modern period Sant Baba Kartar Singh Ji Bhairomajre Wale identified this place on the Sirsa bank and began the kar seva, the voluntary service, that raised the shrine, and grateful devotees built the gurdwara that stands here now. Its white building and tall Nishan Sahib rise above the river plain, and the covered stairway that climbs the hill is the first thing a visitor sees from the road below.

Like every gurdwara, it is open to all, with the Guru Granth Sahib Ji in darbar, kirtan through the day and langar served to visitors. From the top, the view takes in the Sirsa valley the Guru's party crossed, and on a clear day the Shivalik foothills towards Anandpur.

Why does Parivar Vichora matter to Sikhs?

Parivar Vichora is the first station of the Safar-e-Shahadat, the journey of martyrdom that Sikhs retrace every December, from the leaving of Anandpur through the battles and martyrdoms that followed at Chamkaur and Sirhind. It is also a landmark of the Guru Gobind Singh Marg, the 577 kilometre route, inaugurated as a marked highway on 10 April 1973, that links the shrines of the Guru's 47 day journey to Talwandi Sabo. Families bring children here to hear the story where it happened, and the telling usually begins with the river: ordinary water, on an ordinary winter morning, at the moment a family was parted for ever.

How to reach Parivar Vichora

The gurdwara stands at Majri village in Rupnagar district, Punjab 140114, a short drive from Rupnagar town and from Anandpur Sahib, on or near the Guru Gobind Singh Marg. Most pilgrims visit it together with Anandpur Sahib, Bhatha Sahib at nearby Kotla Nihang and Chamkaur Sahib, following the order of the Guru's own journey. Be ready for the climb: the shrine sits on its hill, and the covered stairway is climbed on foot, head covered, as at any gurdwara. For the full list of shrines on this route, see Gurdwaras in India.