Tarn taran district General information
Tarn Taran district is one of the districts in the state of Punjab in North-West India. One of its main cities is Tarn Taran Sahib, which is located near Amritsar. It is a holy place for many Sikhs of India and abroad.
History
Tarn Taran (31°27'N, 74°56'E) is an important centre of Sikh pilgrimage 24 km south of Amritsar, which was founded by Guru Arjan in 1596. Six years earlier, on 13 April 1590, he had inaugurated the conversion of a natural pond lying along the Delhi Lahore highway into a rectangular tank. Full scale digging operations commenced on the last day of the dark half of the month, Bhadon, falling on 19 August 1590. With the completion of digging, on Chet vaA'Amavas 1653 Bk/19 March 1596, the construction of the main shrine, the Darbar Sahib, and ancillary buildings began.
Meanwhile, a local official, Nur udDin, ordered, under imperial authority, the construction of a new caravan serai (way station/inn) along the royal highway. He confiscated all the bricks (as well as, the kilns in which they were burnt) which were intended for the holy shrine at Tarn Taran. He deputed his son, Amir udDin, to have the bricks carried to the serai site where, besides the inn, a complete village named Nur Din sprang up. This was about 6 km to the northwest of the Guru's tank.
Further development of Tarn Taran remained suspended until 1768, when Sardar Budh Singh of Faizullapuria misi occupied the entire parganah of Patti, uprooted the village of Nur Din and the serai, and brought their bricks back to the site of this sarovar.
Sardar Budh Singh and Sardar Jassa Singh Ramgarhia joined hands to have the building of the Darbar Sahib constructed. Some bungas or dwelling houses were also built on the periphery of the holy tank. Maharaja Ranjit Singh visited the shrine in 1802. It was here that he exchanged turbans with Sardar Fateh Singh Ahluvalia as a token of their lasting friendship.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh had the steps on the two sides of the sarovar, left unfinished by Budh Singh and Jassa Singh, completed and its circumambulatory passage paved. The Darbar Sahib was also reconstructed. Maharaja Ranjit Singh and his grandson Kanvar Nau Nihal Singh, donated large quantities of gold to have the exterior plated with the metal, but the work made little progress in the troubled times that followed Ranjit Singh's death. It was in the last quarter of the nineteenth century that part of the exterior was covered with goldleaf by Sant Sham Singh, of Amritsar. Only one of the four towers planned by Kanvar Nau Nihal Singh for the four corners of the tank was erected during this time. Under Maharaja Ranjit Singh's orders, the town of Tarn Taran was enclosed by a wall. A few other shrines such as the Mahji Sahib, the Akal Bunga and the Guru ka Khuh were developed and several bungas added.
After the annexation of the Punjab to the British dominions, the management of the shrines at Tarn Taran, along with those at Amritsar, was entrusted to a Sarbarah or manager appointed by the deputy commissioner of Amritsar. The role of the manager was, however, confined to general supervision, the priests being autonomous in the conduct of religious affairs. They divided the offerings among themselves and gradually appropriated most of the lands endowed to the Darbar Sahib during Sikh rule. They neglected their religious duties and cared little for the sanctity of the holy shnnes and the sarovar. The traditional monthly congregation on every amavasya day, the last day of the dark half of the month, was reduced to a gay carnival. Reforms introduced by the Siugh Sabha, Tarn Taran, established in 1885, were disapproved and resisted by the clergy. Efforts of the Khalsa Diwan Majha and the Central Majha Khalsa Diwan to cleanse the administration met with only partial success.
As the Gurdwara reform movement got under way, the control of the sacred shrines passed to a representative body of the Sikhs, the Shiromoni Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, on 27 January 1921.
Climate
The climate of the Tarn Taran district is characterized by general dryness except in the brief south -west monsoon season, a hot summer and bracing winter. The year may be divided in four seasons. The cold season is from November to March. The period from April to June is the hot season. The southwest monsoon season is from about the beginning of July to the first week of September. The succeeding period lasting till the beginning of November is the post-monsoon or transition period.
Access
Air : Amritsar International Airport is the nearest airport as Amritsar is 24 km away from Tarn Taran. Amritsar has International airport, which connect the holy city with Singapore, England. Amritsar is also connected by air with Delhi and Srinagar.
Rail : Otherwise Tarn Taran Railway Station is on the Amritsar-Khem Karan rail route. Otherwise, Traveling north, Amritsar Junction Railway Station is the major railhead. Amritsar is connected by rail with Delhi, Calcutta, Bombay, Varanasi, Wagah (Attari Border) and some other places in India.
Road : Tarn Taran is well connected by bus with Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Ambala, Chandigarh, Delhi, Ferozepur, and Jammu etc.
Local Transport: Cycle Rickshaws, Taxis, Auto rickshaw.
Tourist Place
Darbar Sahib Sri Guru Arjan Dev Ji
Around 1590 Guru Arjan Dev set out on a tour of the country between the rivers Ravi and Beas. Here Guru Arjan Dev bought some land and laid the foundation of a Gurdwara in honor of Guru Ram Das and started the excavation of a tank even larger than Amritsar. The Gurdwara has one of the largest tanks and resembles the Golden Temple, except that it is built on the side of the tank and has a marble exterior. Guru Arjan Dev also established the first home for lepers in India at Tarn Taran.
It is an important Sikh tank said to have healing properties and a corrective effect on minor skin ailments. Though the Parikrama around the still waters of the tank takes much longer, it is built along the same lines as the Golden Temple. There is a temple, which was constructed by Ranjit Singh. Fairs are held here on every 'Amavas' dark night of the month.
Goindwal Sahib
Goindwal SahibGoindval (also known as Goindwal Sahib) is a place in Tarn Taran district in the states of Punjab in India about 22 km from Tarn Taran. It became an important center for the Sikh religion, during the Guruship of the Guru Amar Das. Goindval is on the banks of the river Beas and is one of the focal points of small scale industries of Tarn Taran district.The Sikh Guru Arjan Dev was born there on 15 April 1563.
Goindwal Sahib was the first center of Sikhism and was established by Guru Amar Das. The Hindus went on pilgrimage to Hardwar and Benaras but the Sikhs needed a place of their own. Understanding this Guru Amar Das purchased the land and personally helped in the construction of the Gurdwara and Baoli (well) with 84 steps leading down to it. Guru Amar Das said that whoever recited the entire Japji prayer of Guru Nanak on each of the 84 steps with a pure heart before bathing in the Baoli would receive spiritual emancipation. The devout believe that by reciting Japji Sahib, the divine ´Word´ revealed to Guru Nanak Dev at each step after taking a bath in the Baoli provides ´Moksh´, liberation from 84,00,000 cycles of life of this world.
The Religious Places in Goindwal Sahib are:
1. Sri Baoli Sahib
2. ShriDarbar Sahib
3. Thara Sahib
4. Langar Sahib
5. Gurdwara Sri Chaubara Sahib
6. Killi Sahib
7. Chaubara Baba Mohan Ji
8. Joti Jot AsthanPatshahi Tiji
9. GuriaiAsthan Guru Ram Das Ji
10. JanamAsthan Sri Guru Arjan Dev Ji
11. Khuh Guru Ram Das Ji ate Joti Jot Asthan Bhai Gurdas Ji
12. Gurdwara Damdama Sahib
Khadur Sahib
Khadur SahibKhadur Sahib is symbolically attached with the name of Guru Angad Dev Ji. This place got sanctified by the visit of eight Sikh Gurus. This town is quite easy to approach - being only 38 kms from Amritsar, 22 kms from Jandiala Guru, 20 Kms from Tarn Taran, 22 kms from Rayya and 9 kms from Goindwal Sahib. The second Master spent 13 years of his Guruship at Khadoor Sahib, spreading the universal message of Guru Nanak Sahib.
Khadur Sahib is the place which was sanctified by visits of eight Sikh Gurus. It is the place where Gurmukhi Lipi was introduced for the first time as medium of language after careful modification by Guru Angad Sahib. It is the place where first Gurmukhi Primer was prepared by the Guru. It is the place where first school was established by Guru Angad Sahib Ji. It is the place where first Gutka of Guru Nanak Sahib's Bani was prepared. It is the place where first Mal Akhara for wrestling was established and it is the place where regular campaign against intoxicants and social evils was started by Guru Angad Sahib.
The Religious Places in Khadoor Sahib are:
1. Gurdwara Tapinana Sahib
2. Gurdwara Tap Asthan Sri Guru Angad Dev Ji
3. Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Angitha Sahib
4. Gurdwara Thara Sahib Guru Amar Das
5. Gurdwara Mai Bharai
6. Gurdwara Mall Akhara
Gurdwara Bir Baba Budha Ji
Gurudwara Bir Baba Budha JiGurdwara Bir Baba Budha is situated on the right side of village Thatha on the Amritsar Patti road. Baba Budha was a disciple of Guru Nanak. He lived from the period of Guru Nanak till the period of Guru Hargobind Sahib. He invested all the Gurus from Guru Angad Dev to Guru Hargobind Sahib in their high offices. He also used to take care of the Guru's cattle in the Bir (forest).