Gurdwara Panja Sahib

About

Set at Hasan Abdal, a short journey northwest of Rawalpindi, Gurdwara Panja Sahib is among the most revered Sikh shrines in Pakistan. At its heart lies a large rock bearing the imprint of an open right hand, panja, which the sangat venerates as the mark of Guru Nanak. Crystal spring water gushes from beneath the rock into a wide pool, where pilgrims bathe and drink as they remember the Guru's compassion.

Sikh tradition holds that Guru Nanak and Bhai Mardana came here in the summer of 1521 during the Guru's long journeys. When Bhai Mardana grew thirsty beneath a shady tree where they had been singing kirtan, the local Sufi recluse Shah Wali Qandhari refused him water from his hilltop spring. At the Guru's word, water rose freely from the ground where they sat; the spring on the hilltop is said to have ceased flowing, and the rock cast down towards them came to rest with the imprint of the Guru's hand upon it.

The gurdwara was named Panja Sahib by Hari Singh Nalwa, the celebrated general of the Sikh Empire, who is credited with building the first shrine on the site. The surrounding complex was later raised in the style favoured under Maharaja Ranjit Singh, with murals of Guru Nanak once adorning the older fabric. The site is now administered by the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee under the federal government.

History

The sacred spring at this place was known long before the Sikh era. The Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang, visiting in the seventh century, refers to a sacred spring of Elapatra to the northwest of Taxila, which scholars identify with the spring at Hasan Abdal. Guru Nanak's visit, dated in Sikh sources to Baisakh of Samvat 1578 (summer 1521), gave the place its enduring identity. The first gurdwara on the site was raised by Hari Singh Nalwa, and the larger Mughal-style complex was completed in the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

Significance

For Sikhs everywhere, Panja Sahib is a place where Guru Nanak's blessing flowed as visible water from stone, a sign of the dignity granted to even the humblest companion of the Guru. The Baisakhi pilgrimage to Panja Sahib draws yatris from across India, Pakistan, and the diaspora, who bow before the panja and bathe in the springs that still flow from the rock.