Gurdwara Rewalsar Sahibਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ਰਿਵਾਲਸਰ ਸਾਹਿਬ

Gurdwara Rewalsar Sahib stands above Rewalsar Lake at Rewalsar in Mandi district, Himachal Pradesh, and commemorates the month Guru Gobind Singh Ji spent here in talks with Raja Sidh Sen of Mandi and other hill rulers. The lake below, called Tso Pema, the Lotus Lake, in Tibetan, is sacred to Sikhs, Buddhists and Hindus at once, so this gurdwara shares one holy shore with Buddhist monasteries and Hindu temples.

Why is Rewalsar sacred to three faiths?

For Tibetan Buddhists, Rewalsar is Tso Pema, one of the holiest places of Padmasambhava, the eighth century master known as Guru Rinpoche, who carried Vajrayana Buddhism to Tibet. Buddhist tradition tells that the local king tried to burn Padmasambhava and the princess Mandarava, his disciple, and that the pyre turned into this lake, with the two of them unharmed on a lotus at its centre. Small islands of floating reed drift on the water, and his spirit is said to rest in them. Three Buddhist monasteries stand by the lake, a shrine to Mandarava sits in a cave above it, and a 37.5 metre statue of Padmasambhava, consecrated by the Dalai Lama on 1 April 2012, looks over the town.

The great statue took nearly ten years to build. The project was led by Wangdor Rinpoche and paid for by donations. Local craftspeople built it largely by hand: a cement body over an iron frame, walls of hand cut stone, details carved by Bhutanese sculptors while the cement was still wet, and final painting by masters from Nepal. Inside are traditional dzong, tsa tsa votive tablets, prayer flags and medicine pills made by local craftworkers.

Hindus revere the lake through its three temples, dedicated to Krishna, to Shiva and to the sage Lomas, who is said to have done penance here. Above the town lies another small lake, Kunt Bhyog, linked in local tradition to the Pandavas of the Mahabharata. Sikhs revere Rewalsar because Guru Gobind Singh Ji lived here for a month, as the next section explains.

What did Guru Gobind Singh Ji do at Rewalsar?

Guru Gobind Singh Ji came to Rewalsar and stayed for one month, meeting Raja Sidh Sen of Mandi and other hill chiefs. The hill states were under growing Mughal pressure in the reign of Aurangzeb, and the Guru's talks here formed part of his long effort to draw the hill rulers into a common understanding for their shared defence. Tradition places the visit around Baisakhi, the spring festival that remains one of the town's great gatherings.

After the Guru left, his devotees raised a gurdwara here to keep his memory, and it has been a place of Sikh pilgrimage ever since. A guide to India's Sikh shrines published by the Government of India's Publications Division describes the shrine as built of stone, reached by a long flight of steps, with a large tank beside it whose water devotees hold to be auspicious to bathe in.

What does the gurdwara look like today?

The stone gurdwara stands on the hillside above the lake and is reached by a climb of 108 stairs, though a road also winds up to the top for those who cannot climb. From its side the whole of Rewalsar opens out: the near square lake with its floating reeds, the monasteries on the slopes, and the great statue of Padmasambhava above the town. The gurdwara offers pilgrims langar and simple lodging, and its mood is quieter than at Himachal's larger shrines, with time to sit above the lake after the prayers.

Festivals at Rewalsar

Baisakhi, in mid April, is the gurdwara's great day, marking the season of the Guru's visit, with akhand paths, kirtan and langar. The town's other famous gathering is the Sisu fair, held in late February or early March, when Rewalsar fills with pilgrims of all three faiths. Through the year, Tibetan pilgrims circle the lake on its parikrama path, passing the gurdwara, the monasteries and the temples one after another.

How do you reach Rewalsar?

Rewalsar lies 22.5 kilometres south west of Mandi town, at about 1,360 metres (4,460 feet) above sea level, and is reached by bus or taxi on the Mandi road. The town's PIN code is 175023. Most visitors combine the gurdwara with a walk around the lake and the meditation caves above it. See also Jugti's guide to Gurdwaras in India.