Gurdwara Takht Sri Patna Sahibਤਖ਼ਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਪਟਨਾ ਸਾਹਿਬ

Gurdwara Takht Sri Patna Sahib, also called Takhat Sri Harimandir Ji, is one of the five Takhts — the thrones of Sikh authority. It stands in Patna, Bihar, on the ground where Guru Gobind Singh Ji was born on 22 December 1666, and which was blessed by visits from Guru Nanak Ji and Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji. The white-marble shrine seen today was rebuilt between 1948 and 1957 after the 1934 earthquake, and it keeps some of the most precious relics of the tenth Guru.

History

Guru Gobind Singh Ji, the tenth Sikh Guru, was born in Patna on 22 December 1666. He spent his early years here before moving to Anandpur Sahib. Besides being his birthplace, Patna was honoured by the visits of Guru Nanak and Guru Tegh Bahadur. Guru Nanak visited on his way to the holy city of Gaya, and Guru Tegh Bahadur stayed at this very site. A nineteenth-century painting even records the moment Guru Tegh Bahadur, then in Dhaka, received word of the birth of his son Gobind Rai in Patna.

The spot was once the haveli of Salis Rai Johri, an ardent devotee of Guru Nanak, who converted his palatial house into a dharamsala. When Guru Tegh Bahadur visited Patna, he stayed here. In 1781 Sir Charles Wilkins visited the shrine and published an account in the Asiatic Researches. Shortly after, the building burnt down in a fire. Maharaja Ranjit Singh of the Sikh Empire ordered its reconstruction, but did not live to see it completed — he died in 1839. The 1934 earthquake that rocked Bihar damaged the building, and the present structure was rebuilt between 1948 and 1957 at a cost of ₹2,000,000.

Architecture

The gurdwara is a luminous example of Sikh architecture in white marble: a domed central structure with cusped arches, carved balconies and gold detailing, the Takht's name in golden Gurmukhi above the entrance. A museum on the premises preserves the relics of the tenth Guru — a gilded cradle (pangura) on four gold-plated stands, four iron arrows, the Guru's sacred sword and pair of sandals, a wooden comb, an earthen goli, a small iron kanda, and a book holding the Hukamnamas of Guru Gobind Singh Ji and Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji.

Significance

Patna Sahib is one of the five Takhts of the Sikhs, a seat of authority from which its Jathedar issues edicts to the Sikh community. It is the epicentre of Sikhism's spread into eastern India, and among the most important Sikh shrines in the world. As one of the two great Takhts outside Punjab — the other being Takht Sri Hazur Sahib at Nanded, Maharashtra — it draws pilgrims from across India and the diaspora, and is the subject of its own detailed entry in this Kosh's guide to India's gurdwaras.

Festivals and the yatra

The largest annual gathering is the Prakash Parv of Guru Gobind Singh Ji in December–January, when lakhs of devotees stream into Patna Sahib; the 350th Prakash Parv in 2017 was celebrated with great splendour. Nearby sites reward the pilgrim too: Guru ke Baag, the garden where Guru Tegh Bahadur stayed for some days and whose owner gifted it to him; the Mangal Talab (Gandhi Sarovar) pond; and the Bazaar Samiti shopping hub for pilgrims.

How to reach

The shrine has its own station, Patna Sahib railway station, close by, with Patna Junction connecting it to the rest of India. The nearest airport is Jaiprakash Narayan International Airport, Patna. By road, NH-31 links Patna with the country, and local transport reaches the shrine easily. The best time to visit is October to March.

Why is Patna Sahib important in Sikhism?

It is the birthplace of Guru Gobind Singh Ji, the tenth Sikh Guru, and one of the five Takhts, the thrones of Sikh authority. The site was also blessed by Guru Nanak Ji and Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji.

When was the present building constructed?

After a fire destroyed the earlier shrine, Maharaja Ranjit Singh ordered its reconstruction, completed after his death in 1839. The 1934 earthquake damaged it, and the present white-marble building was raised between 1948 and 1957.

Which relics are preserved at Patna Sahib?

The museum keeps Guru Gobind Singh Ji's gilded cradle, four iron arrows, his sacred sword and sandals, a wooden comb, an earthen goli, a small iron kanda, and the Hukamnamas of Guru Gobind Singh Ji and Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji.