ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ਮੋਤੀ ਬਾਗ ਸਾਹਿਬਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ਮੋਤੀ ਬਾਗ ਸਾਹਿਬ

Gurdwara Moti Bagh Sahib is a historic Sikh shrine at Nanakpura on Delhi's Ring Road, between Dhaula Kuan and R K Puram. It marks the garden camp where ਗੁਰੂ ਗੋਬਿੰਦ ਸਿੰਘ ਜੀ halted with his army in 1707, on his first visit to Delhi. By the old account kept at the shrine, the Guru announced his arrival by shooting two arrows across the city to the Red Fort, the second carrying a note: it is not magic, it is skill of archery.

What is Gurdwara Moti Bagh Sahib?

Gurdwara Moti Bagh Sahib is one of the nine historic gurdwaras of Delhi, standing on the Ring Road, also called Mahatma Gandhi Marg, south of the National Highway 8 crossing. The site was earlier known as Mochi Bagh, after the cobblers' colony and garden there, and over time the name softened into Moti Bagh. The old gateway, the deohri, from which the Guru is said to have shot the arrows is still preserved, and the Guru Granth Sahib Ji is installed there in honour of the Guru's archery.

Why did Guru Gobind Singh Ji come to Delhi in 1707?

In 1707 Emperor Aurangzeb died in the Deccan, and his sons fell into a struggle for the throne of Delhi. Prince Muazzam, the eldest son, sought Guru Gobind Singh Ji's help in the battle of succession. Bhai Nand Lal, the great Persian poet and devoted Sikh of the Guru, also requested the Guru's help in assisting the prince. Guru Gobind Singh Ji came to Delhi and camped at Mochi Bagh with his army. With the Guru's support Muazzam prevailed and became Emperor Bahadur Shah I, and the Guru met him again near Humayun's Tomb, at the ground now marked by ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ਦਮਦਮਾ ਸਾਹਿਬ.

The two arrows to the Red Fort

The story the shrine has always told is of two arrows. From the deohri at his camp, the Guru, an accomplished archer, shot a first arrow towards the Red Fort, some six and a half miles away. It struck the foot of the divan on which Prince Muazzam sat, and announced the Guru's arrival in Delhi. The prince took the distance and accuracy of the shot to be a miracle. Then a second arrow landed at the divan's other foot, carrying a chit with the words: it is not a miracle, but skill of archery. The prince, the story says, was so impressed that he acknowledged the Guru's greatness at once.

The prince already held the Guru in regard. Sent by his father to act against the Guru in Punjab, Muazzam had instead made an impartial inquiry into the hill chiefs' reports, and had written to Aurangzeb that Guru Gobind Singh Ji was a darvesh, a holy man, and that the real troublemakers were the hill rajas. That honesty had earned him his father's displeasure and a time in prison. Aurangzeb, still unconvinced, sent four of his best generals to inquire, and they reported the same: the Guru had done nothing against anyone and led a saintly life. Even after the sufferings of Anandpur and Chamkaur, the Guru bore the prince no ill will and agreed to help him.

What can you see at Moti Bagh Sahib today?

The preserved deohri still stands, with the Guru Granth Sahib Ji installed in it, and from its top the Delhi skyline and the Red Fort can still be seen in the distance. Beside the old structure, the Sikhs of Delhi have built a new gurdwara building, so the shrine today is a working place of worship as well as a memorial. Weapons of Guru Gobind Singh Ji kept at the shrine are also shown to visitors.

How do you reach Gurdwara Moti Bagh Sahib?

The gurdwara stands at Nanakpura on the Ring Road in south Delhi, between Dhaula Kuan and R K Puram, by the Shanti Path crossing. It pairs naturally with the other historic gurdwaras of the capital in the Delhi guide, most of them within a short drive across the city centre.

When is Moti Bagh Sahib busiest?

Every year the anniversary of the first installation of the Adi Granth as Guru is celebrated here with great enthusiasm by thousands of Hindus and Sikhs, who remember Guru Gobind Singh Ji and his last injunction: whoever wishes to behold the Guru, let him search the holy Granth. On ordinary days the shrine is a calm stop on the busy Ring Road, and like every gurdwara it keeps its doors and its langar open to all who come.