Takht Sri Kesgarh Sahib Ropar

Sikhism evolved as a disciplined community with no discrimination among human beings by caste, creed or religion, the religion was initiated by Guru Nanak Sahib in 1469AD. As an advancement of this, the spiritual movement Khalsa came which is considered as Guru Panth, the final temporal Guru of Sikhs.

Takht Sri Darbar Sahib Kesgarh Sahib, the meaning of this Gurudwara implying the birth place of Khalsa, is one of the five Temporal Authorities of Sikhism. This Gurudwara is located in the city of Anandpur Sahib, Punjab, India. It stands with pride amidst the Shivalik hills and positioned on the bank of the River Sutlej.

The city Anandpur Sahib was founded as Chak Nanaki by the Ninth Guru Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur in 1665AD and his son Guru Gobind Singh Ji, the tenth Guru of Sikhism,  had spent 25 years of his life in this city, gave the new name Anandpur meaning "the City of Bliss".

History

The foundation stone for this Gurudwara was laid on March 30, 1689 and it was here that Khalsa was born. A young Guru organized a special congregation on the Baisakhi day of 1699AD drawing thousands of Sikhs and the first initiation of Khande Di Pahul was done here with large number of Sikhs in attendance. Keshgarh Sahib was then so large to accommodate many thousands of Sikhs who had assembled there on that historic day at Anandpur Sahib.

This location known as Makhowal was afterwards acquired and the then guru Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib named it as Chak Nanki. When Guru Gobind Singhji lived here, it came to be called as Anandpur Sahib.

At the time of Khalsa initiation for the first time, the hill of Kesgarh Sahib was at least 10-15 feet taller than its present height. Next to the hill, there stood another hill known as Tambu Wali Pahari because a special tent was erected here on the day of Khalsa formation. This hill does not exist now and likewise the long range of small hills which existed from Kesgarh Sahib to Anandpur fort is not prominent now.

For quite some time, most of the Sikh homeland was under the rule of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and Anandpur Sahib was the safest place for Sikhs for their inhabitation and Takht Shri Keshgarh Sahib has been the main shrine at Anandpur Sahib. A visitor to Anandpur Sahib will have the opportunity of seeing many Relics belonging to Shri Guru Gobind Singh Ji, which include

• Khanda - a Double Edged Sword which Guru Ji used on the revelation of Khalsa Day.
• Kataar - Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s personal Dagger which he used to carry it with him
• Saif - the double edged Weapon presented to Guru Gobind Singhji by Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah.
• The gun presented to Guruji Sahib by one of the devotees from Lahore.

Nearby Attractions

Apart from local attractions at Anandpur Sahib there are places of tourist interest nearby, which include

• Chandigarh Botanical Garden and Nature Park has a large variety of fauna, the Garden is considered as one of best gardens in the country.
• Punjab University is the oldest university of the country with a beautiful campus, accommodating the Educational Units and Student Hostels.
• Garden of Fragrance is known as the garden of love, giving quite a view, apart from walking tracks, having features like laughing clubs, karate clubs yoga clubs in it.

How To Reach

The Gurudwara Takht Kesgarh Sahib is located in Anandpur of Kiratpur in Ropar District, which involves 30km travel from Rupnagar City.

By Air

As for the Air travel, Chandigarh Airport is the nearest which is about 60 kilometers from Rupnagar and from there one can engage a taxi. Daily flights are scheduled from Delhi to Chandigarh while there are flights from other destinations too.

By Train

The train service from Delhi to Rupnagar is in the Delhi-Ambala-Una section and the train travel will be for about 6 hours.

By Road

The Ropar town is the district headquarters, located in 42 kilometers distance from Chandigarh, has good travel facility by road. The travel distance is around 290 km from Delhi and the road travel will be by NH-1 from Delhi to Ambala City and then by NH-21 for reaching Rupnagar.

Photo Gallery