ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>BODAL</TITLE> <style type="text/css"> .BODY { background-color: #EAF1F7; background-image: url('images/gtbh.jpg'); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; background-position: center; color: #0066CC;} .C1{text-align: justify;color: #0066CC;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .BIB{text-align: center;color: #000099;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .CONT{text-align: right;color: #FF0000;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} </style><META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="BODAL"> <META http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"></HEAD> <BODY class="BODY" oncontextmenu="return false" ondragstart="return false" onselectstart="return false"> <FONT ALIGN="JUSTIFY" FACE="Tahoma"> <p class="C1">&#65279BODAL, village 4 km south of Das&#363y&#257 (31º-49'N, 75º-39'E) in Hoshi&#257rpur district of the Punjab, is sacred to Gur&#363 Hargobind (1595-1644) who once visited here during a hunting expedition and rested under a <i>garn&#257</i> tree (<i>Capparis horrida</i>) for some time. Bh&#257&#299 Ch&#363ha&#7771, a Muslim bard of the village, entertained him by playing on his rebeck. The Gur&#363 advised him to learn to perform <i>k&#299rtan</i>, i. e. the singing of sacred hymns. The tree about 200 metres southwest of the village under which Gur&#363 Hargobind had sat came to be known as Garn&#257 S&#257hib. Gurdw&#257r&#257 Garn&#257 S&#257hib was first established during the time of Sard&#257r Jodh Si&#7749gh (d. 1816), leader of the R&#257mga&#7771h&#299&#257 <i>misl</i>, in whose territory Bodal then lay. Later, Bh&#257&#299 &#298shar Si&#7749gh R&#257mga&#7771h&#299&#257 of Taq&#299pur, a village 6 km northeast of Bodal, constructed the present marble-floored octagonal domed room with the sanctum in the middle and a covered passage around it for circumambulation. The old <i>garn&#257</i> tree still stands close to it. Further additions to the building have been made during recent times. An imposing three-storeyed gateway came up in 1972; a spacious mosaic-floored <i>d&#299v&#257n</i> hall was constructed in 1980; arid a new dining hall was added to Gur&#363 k&#257 La&#7749gar in 1984. The Gurdw&#257r&#257 is administered by the Shiroma&#7751&#299 Gurdw&#257r&#257 Parbandhak Committee through a local committee. Besides the daily services and celebration of major Sikh anniversaries, a religious fair is held on the occasion of Bais&#257kh&#299 (mid-April) every year.</p> </ol><p class="CONT">Gurnek Si&#7749gh<br></p><BR> </font> <img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""> </HTML></BODY>