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The
Golden Temple or Darbar
Sahib, situated in Amritsar,
Punjab, is the most sacred
temple for Sikhs. It is a
symbol of the magnificence
and strength of the Sikh
people all over the world.
In the evolution of the
Darbar Sahib, is entwined
the history and ideology of
Sikhism. In its architecture
are included, symbols
associated with other places
of worship. This is an
example of the spirit of
tolerance and acceptance
that the Sikh philosophy
propounds. Sri Harmandir
Sahib, also known as Sri
Darbar Sahib or Golden
Temple, (on account of its
scenic beauty and golden
coating for English speaking
world), is named after
Hari(God) the temple of God.
The Sikhs all over the
world, daily wish to pay
visit to Sri Amritsar and to
pay obeisance at Sri
Harmandir Sahib in their
Ardas.
History : The Sri Harmandir
Sahib was invaded and
destroyed many a times by
the Afghan and other
invaders. Each and every
time the Sikhs had to
sacrifice their lives in
order to liberate it and
restore its sanctity. After
the martyrdom of Bhai Mani
Singh ji in 1737, Massa
Ranghar, the Kotwal of
Amritsar took charge of Sri
Harmandir Sahib in 1740 and
converted it into a civil
court and began to hold
notch parties. This act
created great resentment
among the Sikhs. Two
warriors, Sukha Singh and
Mahtab Singh avenged the
insult by a dare devil act.
They entered the temple
complex in guise of
peasants, severed the head
of Massa Ranghar with a
single blow of kirpan and
fled away with decapitated
head on one of the their
spears. Guru Arjan Sahib got
its foundation laid by a
muslim saint Hazrat Mian Mir
ji of Lahore on 1st of Magh,
1644 Bikrmi
Samvat(December,1588). The
construction work was
directly supervised by Guru
Arjan Sahib himself and he
was assisted by the
prominent Sikh personalities
like Baba Budha ji, Bhai
Gurdas ji, Bhai Sahlo ji and
many other devoted Sikhs.
Unlike erecting the
structure on the higher
level(a tradition in Hindu
Temple architecture), Guru
Arjan Sahib got it built on
the lower level and unlike
Hindu Temples having only
one gate for the entrance
and exit, Guru Sahib got it
open from four sides. Thus
he created a symbol of new
faith, Sikhism. Guru Sahib
made it accessible to every
person without any
distinction of Caste, creed,
sex and religion.
Architecture of the Golden
Temple : Sri Harmandir
Sahib, is built on a 67ft.
square platform in the
centre of the Sarovar(tank).
The temple itself is 40.5ft.
square. It has a door each
on the East, West, North and
South. The Darshani Deori
(an arch) stands at the
shore end of the causeway.
The door frame of the arch
is about 10ft in height and
8ft 6inches in breath. The
door panes are decorated
with artistic style. It
opens on to the causeway or
bridge that leads to the
main building of Sri
Harmandir Sahib. It is 202
feet in length and 21 feet
in width. The bridge is
connected with the 13 feet
wide 'Pardakshna'
(circumambulatory path). It
runs round the main shrine
and it leads to the 'Har ki
Paure' (steps of God). On
the first floor of 'Har ki
Paure', there is continuous
reading of Guru Granth
Sahib.The main structure of
Sri Harmandir Sahib,
functionally as well as
technically is a
three-storied one. The
front, which faces the
bridge, is decorated with
repeated cusped arches and
the roof of the first floor
is at the height of the 26
feet and 9 inches. At the
top of the first floor 4
feet high parapet rises on
all the sides which has also
four 'Mamtees' on the four
corners and exactly on the
top of the central hall of
the main sanctuary rises the
third story. It is a small
square room and have three
gates. A regular recitation
of Guru Granth Sahib is also
held there. On the top of
this room stands the low
fluted 'Gumbaz'(dome) having
lotus petal motif in relief
at the base inverted lotus
at the top which supports
the 'Kalash' having a
beautiful 'Chhatri' at the
end. Its architecture
represents a unique harmony
between the Muslims and the
Hindus way of construction
work and this is considered
the best architectural
specimens of the world. It
is often quoted that this
architecture has created an
independent Sikh school of
architecture in the history
of art in India. The
Harmandir Sahib Complex and
areas in its vicinity : The
temple is surrounded by a
large lake of water, known
as the Sarovar which
consists of Amrit (Holy
Water or Immortal Nectar).
There are four entrances to
the temple, signifying the
importance of acceptance and
openness; ostensibly, this
concept is reminiscent of
the tent of Abraham in the
Old Testament -- his tent
was open on all four sides
in order to be able to
welcome travelers from all
directions. Inside the
temple complex there are
many shrines to past Sikh
Gurus, Saints and martyrs
(see map). There are three
holy trees (Bers) each
signifiying a historical
event or Sikh saint. Inside
the temple there many
memorial plaques that
commemorate past Sikh
historical events, saints,
martyrs and includes
commemorative inscriptions
of all the Sikh soldiers who
died fighting in World wars
one and two. For a new
visitor the first
recommended place to visit
is the information Office
highlighted in the map and
followed by visiting the
Sikh Central museum near the
main entrance and clock
tower. Anyone who wants to
enter the Harmandir Sahib
may do so, irrespective of
religion, colour, creed or
sex. The only restrictions
are that the person must not
drink alcohol, eat meat or
smoke cigarettes or other
drugs while in the shrine.
Visitors are, as well,
expected to dress
appropriately and everyone
must cover their heads as a
sign of respect, remove
their shoes and wash their
feet in the small pool of
water as they enter the
Harmandir Sahib premises.
Head scarves are provided.
All Sikh temples (Gurdwaras)
in the world follow this
traditional rule that
everyone is welcome to
enter. There are four doors
to get into the Harmandir
Sahib, meaning that
Harmandir sahib is open to
anyone. In 1988, after
Operation Black Thunder, a
narrow peripheral strip of
land (including buildings)
was acquired by the
government essentially to
create a security belt. A
large number of people were
displaced and rehabilitated
in the process. However, the
project met with a strong
resistance from the moderate
as well as militant Sikh
organisations and the
project had to be abandoned,
after a senior Government
engineer, connected with the
project, was killed. The
project was revived only in
1993 by the Deputy
Commissioner Karan Bir Singh
Sidhu, who was also
appointed as the Project
Director of what was
popularly described as the
Galliara Project. He changed
the concept of the periphery
from that of a security belt
to that of a second
parikarma and created a
serene landscape that was
fully consistent with the
ethereal beauty of the
Harmandir Sahib. This was
done in quiet consultation
with the SGPC. The pilgrims
today can travel by foot in
the Galliara; no vehicles
are permitted.
Artwork and monument
sculptures : Much of the
present decorative gilding
and marblework dates from
the early 1800s. All the
gold and exquisite marble
work were conducted under
the patronage of Hukam Singh
Chimni and Emperor Ranjit
Singh, Maharaja of the Sikh
Empire of the Punjab. The
Darshani Deorhi Arch stands
at the beginning of the
causeway to the Harmandir
Sahib; it is 202 feet (62 m)
high and 21 feet (6 m) in
width. The gold plating on
the Harmandir Sahib was
begun by Emperor Ranjit
Singh and was finished in
1830 AD. The Sher-e-Punjab
(Lion of the Punjab), was a
heavy donor of wealth and
materials for the shrine and
is remembered with much
affection by the Punjabi
people in general and the
Sikh community in
particular. Maharaja Ranjit
Singh also built two of the
other most sacred temples in
Sikhism. This was due to
Maharaja Ranjit Singh having
a deep love for the tenth
Guru of Sikhism Guru Gobind
Singh. The other two most
sacred temples in Sikhism,
which he built, are Takht
Sri Patna Sahib (intiation
or birth place of Guru
Gobind Singh) and Takht Sri
Hazur Sahib the place of
Guru Gobind Singh's Sikh
ascension into heaven.
Celebrations at Harmandir
Sahib : One of the most
important festivals is
Vaisakhi, which is
celebrated in the second
week of April (13th
usually). Sikhs celebrate
the founding of the Khalsa
on this day and it is
celebrated with fervour in
the Harmandir Sahib. Other
important Sikh religious
days such as the martyrdom
day of Guru Teg Bahadur,
birthday of Guru Nanak etc,
are also celebrated with
religious piety. Similarly
Diwali is one of the
festivals which sees the
Harmandir Sahib beautifully
illuminated with Divas/Diyas
(lamps),lights and fireworks
are discharged. During these
special occasions 1-2
million pilgrims visit the
Holy shrine named Harmandir
Sahib.Most Sikh people visit
Amritsar and the Harmandir
Sahib at least once during
lifetime, particularly
during special occasions in
their life such as
birthdays,marriages or birth
of their children etc.
For the global Sikh pilgrim
or international tourist
visitor the fastest way to
reach the Harmandir Sahib is
by air-travel. The holy city
of Amritsar, where the
Harmandir Sahib is located,
has a rapidly expanding
modern Airport; Amritsar
International Airport. The
airport can be reached
direct, by the international
traveler, from most major
cities of the world
including, London and
Toronto. Moreover, there is
a rapidly expanding array of
international hotels in the
holy city that can be booked
for overnight stays. Lonely
Planet Bluelist 2008 has
voted the Harmandir Sahib as
one of the world’s best
spiritual sites. |
