Gurudwara Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Sikandra

Gurudwara Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur in Sikandra is famous because of the history of this place. Dating back to almost 17th century, this place of worship has been standing the test of time and has been a living example of the power of the Supreme. The Gurudwara has supposedly been built in the gardens just outside the borders of the city of Agra. This Gurudwara in Sikandra is world famous and is visited by many pilgrims both in India and from other countries of the world.

Facts

This Gurudwara is associated with the ninth Sikh Guru Tegh Bahadur Singh. We see the history associated with this place of worship dating back to the 17th century, to the time where India was under the Moghul rule. There was a time when the Moghuls ruled the country and especially when Aurangazeb ruled, there was a lot of pressure on people who followed religions other than Islam. So, at that time Guru Tegh Bahadur knowing that he was going to be arrested sooner or later gave himself up for arrest to the royal forces. Gurudwara of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur stands in the very same place that the Guru surrendered before the Mughal forces.

Even today, the pilgrims trace their memories of that day that their Guru offered himself up for the well-being of so many followers whose safety he had preserved and had ensure that he took care of them by giving himself into the Royal forces. The rule of Aurangzeb, unlike the times of Akbar and Shah Jahan, was a little difficult as he was intolerant of other religions and treated followers of other beliefs with hardly any respect and honour.
The place where the Gurudwara now stands was a Taal or a water reservoir in the earlier days, to be very precise in the days of Jehangir. This Taal in Sikandra served as the water source for all activities of the people in the region and this included their domestic needs, the water for their crops etc. This big reservoir served as the place that all the needs of the people where taken care off. Such was the rule of Jehangir, where the King was concerned about all his people and he did not differentiate them based on caste and creed. However, times changed and the peace and prosperity of the people was soon lost. In the rule of Aurangzeb, the people had to go through very bad times, where the reservoir lost all its water and was used for other purposes. Knowing the threat to the people and the issues associated, Guru Tegh Bahadur gave up and offered to be arrested at this very same point and the Gurudwara is built on that exact place today.

This Gurudwara has a lot of other prominence as well. Out of the ten Sikh Gurus who are famous amongst the believers, four of them have visited this Gurudwara that was initially called Guru Ka Taal, meaning the reservoir of the Guru and was built in 1970 by Sant Baba Sadhu Singhji Mauni. This Gurudwara is very similar to other massive structures built in sandstone and though this had twelve towers in the time when it was built, now one can see only eight towers standing as testimony to the glorious days.

How to Reach

• Agra airport is the closest airport if you want to reach this Gurudwara. This is well connected to most cities in the country. The other option to choose to commute from the Delhi Airport which has good international and domestic connections. Pilgrims who come from places out of India can choose to come to Delhi and then go to Agra and Sikandra from there. Sikandra is only ten kilometres from Agra.
• The nearest station to Sikandra is Baluchapura. Though there are trains that connect to this station are the closest to Sikandra being just 5 km away, if the pilgrims need more choices and more connections, then it is better to connect to Agra railway station.
• There are local transport in the means of tempos, auto rickshaws and other taxis. There are private and government buses that ply between Agra and Sikandra. The Idgah bus station can be the central point for transport connections.

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