Nanak’s syncretic abode

Both Kartarpur and the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib—argueably the largest such complex in the world, owe their origin and sanctity to the Bhakti saint and founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak. On his arrival in Kartarpur in the-then Punjab, Guru Nanak was donated 100 acres of land on the bank of river Ravi by the-then governor of the region-Duni Chand, to spread his message of universal peace and harmony. In Kartarpur,  the Guru “shed his travelling garb and adopted the dress of a simple household and farmer”, and soon the place became a sacred site once he settled there as he radiated love and faith and devotees were attracted like moth to his simple devotion. In Sikhism Kartarpur remains second to none as Guru Nanak is believed to have composed many hymns of the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of the Sikhs, in Kartarpur, including the japuji sahib here.  The community meal, called guru ka langar, was also initiated here and became an inseparable part of the Sikh tradition thereafter. In 1539, on Guru’s death, there was rising disagreement between his Hindu and Muslim devotees on how his last rites should be performed. Legend has it that both communities were asked by the Guru to put flowers on his body overnight and the community whose flowers retained their freshness would perform his last rites. It is believed that the next morning, the Guru’s body disappeared and all the flowers were fresh. Hence, both the communities mutually decided to divide the cloth that had covered his body, burned half of it, burying the other half. This was followed by the commemoration of Nanak’s memory through the construction of two shrines built by his Hindu and Muslim devotees in Kartarpur. These shrines were, later, washed away by floods and were rebuilt. The foundation stone of the gurudwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur was laid in 1572 and Maharaja Ranjit Singh encrusted its dome with gold. The present structure was built by Bhupinder Singh, the Maharaja of Patiala in 1925 and grandfather of Punjab’s chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh. Historically therefore from the perspective of a shared syncretic history of the subcontinent Kartarpur remains significant.