Overview
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Tags
- Religious Center
- Religious Organization
- Sikh Temple
Description
This shrine is situated near the Old Motibagh Palace, former residence of the rulers of Patiala. According to Sikh tradition, Guru Tegh Bahadur, during his journey to Delhi for his supreme sacrifice, stayed here for a while, in 1675. It was then jungle country and no memorial was raised until Maharaja Narinder Singh of Patiala (1823-62), who had already built the Motibagh Palace, constructed this Gurdwara in 1852.
The building stands on a high plinth and is approached by a flight of marble-topped steps leading to a porch on top of the base. The sanctum is a square room with a verandah around it. It has four doors, one on each side, but three of them are closed with screens of perforated red-stone slabs. The one open door has a white marble frame and wooden leaves covered with beautifully carved brass sheets.
The interior walls and the ceiling are richly decorated with filigree work and inset multicoloured glass pieces. On the first floor is a square room with a pinnacled lotus dome on top. For administration, the shrine is affiliated to Gurdwara Dukh Nivaran Sahib. Special religious gatherings and Guru ka Langar mark the anniversaries of the birth and martyrdom day of Guru Tegh Bahadur. On the latter occasion, a largely attended procession is led out from here. Marching through the city streets, it ends at Gurdwara Dukh Nivaran Sahib. Extensive renovations have been carried out recently.
Towards the end of the eighteenth century writers such as Kesho Das and Bhagvan Singh Banuri were attracted to Patiala where they applied themselves to preparing a history of the House of Patiala, composed ballads celebrating contemporary events and wrote books on the lives and philosophy of the Gurus. The renowned historian, Bhai Santokh Singh, too, had come to settle at Patiala in 1823, though Bhai Udai Singh of Kaithal "borrowed" his services from Raja Karam Singh. One Bhai Nihal wrote the story of the lives and exploits of the House of Phul. The famous Nirmala scholar Pandit Tara Singh Narotam, who, besides writing several books on religious philosophy, compiled a catalogue of historical Sikh shrines, enjoyed the respect and patronage of the Patiala rulers. Giani Gian Singh wrote his book on Sikh history while in residence at Gurdwara Motibagh.
