Gurdwaras in Amritsarਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਸਰ ਦੇ ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰੇ

Gurdwaras in Amritsar are the Sikh shrines of Amritsar, the holy city founded by Guru Ram Das Ji in Punjab, India, and the home of the Harmandir Sahib, the Golden Temple. This guide gathers every Amritsar shrine in the Jugti Kosh, from Harmandir Sahib and the Akal Takht Sahib to the nine storey Baba Atal tower and the sarovar shrines of Kaulsar, Bibeksar and Ramsar, each with a full linked entry. It sits inside our hub for Gurdwaras in Indian Punjab and the country guide to Gurdwaras in India.

Why is Amritsar the holiest city of the Sikhs?

Amritsar was founded in 1577 by Guru Ram Das Ji, the fourth Guru, who began the excavation of the holy tank called the Amrita Saras, the Pool of Nectar, from which the city takes its name; it was first called Ramdaspur, Guru Ram Das Ji's city. His son and successor Guru Arjan Dev Ji completed the tank, built the Harmandir Sahib in its middle and installed the Adi Granth there in 1604, and Guru Hargobind Ji raised the Akal Takht facing it, joining spiritual and temporal authority in one complex. No other city holds so much of the Panth's founding story within walking distance.

The city the Gurus built is still a working city of prayer. The Harmandir Sahib is open to everyone regardless of caste, religion or race, its langar serves a free vegetarian meal to about 100,000 people a day, and the continuous singing of gurbani fills the complex from before dawn until late at night. Around that centre, the older shrines of the Guru period survive in the walled city's lanes and around its five sacred pools, and this guide links them into one walk.

The Harmandir Sahib complex

At the centre stands Harmandir Sahib, on its small island in the Amrit Sarovar, joined to the parikrama by a marble causeway. Guru Arjan Dev Ji had it built on a lower level than the land around, so that every visitor steps down to enter, and gave it doors on all four sides as a sign that it is open to all. Facing the causeway stands the Akal Takht Sahib, the Throne of the Timeless One, where the Guru Granth Sahib rests each night and from which the Panth's temporal decisions issue. Just south of the complex rises the tower of Baba Atal, and a short walk into Guru Bazaar brings you to Guru ke Mahal, the Gurus' own house. Our Amritsar city entry tells the wider story of the city beyond its shrines.

What are the five sarovars of Amritsar?

The five sacred pools of Amritsar are the Amrit Sarovar itself, dated 1586, Santokhsar (1587 to 1588), Ramsar (1602 to 1603), Kaulsar (1627) and Bibeksar (1628). Pilgrims have long made a round of all five, taking a dip in each. Three of the five have full Jugti entries as sarovar shrines: Ramsar, the smallest, where Guru Arjan Dev Ji compiled the Adi Granth with Bhai Gurdas Ji as his scribe in 1603 to 1604 and composed Sukhmani Sahib; Kaulsar, named for Mata Kaulan Ji, the devotee of Guru Hargobind Ji whose samadh stands at its western end; and Bibeksar, built by Guru Hargobind Ji in 1628, where he is said to have taught that bathing in its waters brings bibek, discerning wisdom. Santokhsar, the second pool, does not yet have its own Jugti entry.

Baba Atal and Guru ke Mahal: the family's Amritsar

Two Jugti shrines hold the Guru family's own Amritsar. Gurdwara Baba Atal south of the Harmandir Sahib is a nine storey octagonal tower about forty metres high, long the tallest building in Amritsar; its nine storeys stand for the nine years of Baba Atal Rai (1619 to 1628), the young son of Guru Hargobind Ji who, tradition says, gave up his own life after reviving his friend Mohan, because his father taught him that spiritual power is shown in purity of life, not in miracles. His remains were cremated on the bank of Kaulsar, where the tower later rose. Guru ke Mahal, built by Guru Ram Das Ji in 1573 as his family's humble dwelling, was home to three Gurus over fifty eight years: Guru Arjan Dev Ji was married and installed as Guru here, and both Baba Atal Rai and Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji, the ninth Guru, born here on 1 April 1621, first saw the world in this house.

All Gurdwaras in Amritsar

• Sri Harmandir Sahib, Amritsar - the Golden Temple, the chief gurdwara of Sikhism in the Amrit Sarovar
• Akal Takht Sahib, Amritsar - the Throne of the Timeless One, the highest seat of the Khalsa's temporal authority
• Gurdwara Baba Atal, Amritsar - the nine storey tower for Baba Atal Rai, son of Guru Hargobind Ji
• Gurdwara Kaulsar Sahib, Amritsar - the sarovar shrine of Mata Kaulan Ji beside the Harmandir Sahib complex
• Gurdwara Guru ke Mahal, Amritsar - the house of Guru Ram Das Ji, birthplace of Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji and Baba Atal Rai
• Gurdwara Bibeksar Sahib, Amritsar - the sarovar built by Guru Hargobind Ji in 1628, south east of the Harmandir Sahib
• Gurdwara Ramsar Sahib, Amritsar - where Guru Arjan Dev Ji compiled the Adi Granth and composed Sukhmani Sahib

How do you visit Amritsar's gurdwaras?

Begin at the Harmandir Sahib before dawn if you can, when the Guru Granth Sahib is carried in procession from the Akal Takht and the first kirtan begins; cover your head, remove your shoes and wash your hands and feet at the entrances, as at every gurdwara. The complex shrines, Baba Atal and Kaulsar, are minutes apart on foot, Guru ke Mahal is a short walk through Guru Bazaar, and Bibeksar and Ramsar lie south east of the walled city near Chatiwind Gate, an easy rickshaw ride. Pilgrims who want the full round add Santokhsar, north west of the Harmandir Sahib, to complete the five sarovars in a single day.

What is the most famous gurdwara in Amritsar?

Sri Harmandir Sahib, the Golden Temple: the chief gurdwara of Sikhism and its most important pilgrimage site, set in the Amrit Sarovar at the heart of the city Guru Ram Das Ji founded.

How many gurdwaras are in Amritsar?

Amritsar holds dozens of historic gurdwaras. Seven have full Jugti entries today: Harmandir Sahib, Akal Takht Sahib, Baba Atal, Kaulsar Sahib, Guru ke Mahal, Bibeksar Sahib and Ramsar Sahib.

Who founded Amritsar?

Guru Ram Das Ji, the fourth Guru, founded the city in 1577 and began the digging of the Amrit Sarovar, the Pool of Nectar that gives Amritsar its name.