ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>KART&#256RPUR (31º-26'N, 75º-30'E)</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="KARTRPUR"> <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">&#65279KART&#256RPUR (31º-26'N, 75º-30'E), municipal town famous for its furniture industry, 15 km northwest of Jalandhar along Sher Sh&#257h S&#363r&#299 M&#257rg in the Punjab, was founded by Gur&#363 Arjan (1563-1606) in 1594 on land granted during the reign of Emperor Akbar (1556-1605) . Gur&#363 Arjan's successor, Gur&#363 Hargobind (1595-1644), resided here too for some time. Two of his sons, S&#363raj Mall and Te<u>gh</u> Bah&#257dur, were married at Kart&#257rpur. In April 1635, the <i>faujd&#257r</i> or garrison commander of Jalandhar, at the instigation of Paind&#257 <u>Kh</u>&#257n, a former protege of Gur&#363 Hargobind turned hostile, attacked Kart&#257rpur. After a three-day battle in which the Gur&#363's youngest son, Te<u>gh</u> Bah&#257dur, displayed feats of valour, Gur&#363 Hargobind left the town and retired with his family and attendants to the hill resort of K&#299ratpur. His young grandson, Dh&#299r Mall (1627-77), however, would neither leave Kart&#257rpur nor part with the Holy Book, the original recension of Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib. He stayed behind and declared himself Gur&#363 forming a sect of his own appropriating to himself income from land as well as from offerings made by devotees to the Holy Granth. It is his line called So&#7693h&#299s of Kart&#257rpur that became the owners of the place and high priests of the sacred shrines located there. The Dh&#299rmall&#299&#257 sect was rejected by Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh (1666-1708), who forbade the Sikhs to have any dealings with them. The So&#7693h&#299s of Kart&#257rpur later returned to the Sikh fold accepting vows of the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257. In 1757, Ahmad Sh&#257h Durr&#257n&#299 sacked Kart&#257rpur, burnt down the sacred Thamm S&#257hib shrine and forced So&#7693h&#299 Va&#7693bh&#257g Si&#7749gh (d. 1762) to flee and find refuge in the hills of &#362n&#257. The Sikhs soon avenged the desecration and re-established the shrines when they came to power in the Punjab. There are now the following sacred places in Kart&#257rpur.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;GURDW&#256R&#256 THAMMJ&#298 S&#256HIB (popularly called Thamm S&#257hib) is named after a massive wooden log (<i>thamm</i>, in Punjabi) used as central support for the first house that Gur&#363 Arjan got built for use as an assembly hall for the <i>sa&#7749gat</i> at the new habitation. The thamm was later treated by the Sikhs as a sacred relic. Some time after the building was destroyed in 1757 by Ahmad Sh&#257h Durr&#257n&#299, a simple structure was raised on the site, replaced by the present seven-storeyed edifice constructed through the munificence of Mah&#257r&#257j&#257 Ra&#7751j&#299t Si&#7749gh (1780-1839). Standing on a high plinth in the middle of a walled compound, it comprises a 15-metre square double-storeyed marble floored hall encompassing the square sanctum at the ground floor. The six storeys rising above the sanctum are topped by a dome with a gilded pinnacle. The Gurdw&#257r&#257 owns 100 acres of land and is administered by the Shiroma&#7751&#299 Gurdw&#257r&#257 Parbandhak Committee through a local committee which also controls Gurdw&#257r&#257s Ga&#7749gsar, Chubachch&#257 S&#257hib, Vi&#257h Asth&#257n, and &#7788&#257hl&#299 S&#257hib.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;GURDW&#256R&#256 GA&#7748GSAR P&#256TSH&#256H&#298 PAÑJV&#298&#7748 TE CHHEV&#298&#7748, 200 metres east of the town is named after the well got sunk in 1599 by Gur&#363 Arjan who pronounced it to be as sacred as the River Ga&#7749g&#257. The old Mañj&#299 S&#257hib near the well was replaced by the present five-storeyed building raised by the Shiroma&#7751&#299 Gurdw&#257r&#257 Parbandhak Committee in 1975. The sanctum is at one end of a square hall on the ground floor. The other four storeys with the dome on top rise above the sanctum. Within the hall to the right side as one faces the sanctum is a platform dedicated to Gur&#363 Hargobind who, according to local tradition, sat here sometimes to address visiting <i>sa&#7749gats</i>.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;GURDW&#256R&#256 VI&#256H ASTH&#256N GUR&#362 TE<u>GH</u> BAH&#256DUR TE M&#256T&#256 GUJAR&#298 J&#298 at the end of Rab&#257b&#299&#257&#7749v&#257l&#299 Lane marks the house where Bh&#257&#299 L&#257l Chand Subhikkh&#299, father of M&#257t&#257 Gujar&#299, stayed and where M&#257t&#257 Gujar&#299's marriage with Gur&#363 Te<u>gh</u> Bah&#257dur was solemnized on 4 February 1633. The five-storeyed Gurdw&#257r&#257 was built during the 1980's under the supervision of B&#257b&#257 Uttam Si&#7749gh of Kha&#7693&#363r S&#257hib. The sanctum is at the far end of a rectangular hall on the ground floor. A separate building to the north of the hall houses a library.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;GURDW&#256R&#256 CHUBACHCH&#256 S&#256HIB P&#256TSH&#256H&#298 CHHEV&#298&#7748 is located in a walled compound about 100 metres northwest of Gurdw&#257r&#257 Thamm S&#257hib. The sanctum is at the far end of a flat-roofed rectangular hall, built in 1940.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;GURDW&#256R&#256 &#7788&#256HL&#298 S&#256HIB P&#256TSH&#256H&#298 VII, about 2 km south of the main town, marks the site where Gur&#363 Har R&#257i (1630-61), accompanied by his horse guard halted while on his way from K&#299ratpur to Goindv&#257l in 1658. The Gurdw&#257r&#257 is named after a <i>sh&#299sham</i> tree (<i>Dalbergia sissoo, &#7789&#257hl&#299</i> in Punjabi), still extant, to which, according to local tradition, the Gur&#363's own horse was tied. The present buildings were constructed in 1949 under the supervision of Sant &#298shar Si&#7749gh of R&#257&#7771&#257. The central building is a flat-roofed rectangular hall in which is located the sanctum.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;GURDW&#256R&#256 B&#256BE D&#298 BER or simply Ber S&#257hib, about 1.5 km east of town is dedicated to B&#257b&#257 Gurditt&#257 (1613-38), eldest son of Gur&#363 Hargobind. It is here that B&#257b&#257 Sr&#299 Chand (1494-1629), son of Gur&#363 N&#257nak, held discourse with B&#257b&#257 Gurditt&#257 under a <i>ber</i> tree (<i>Ziziphus marutiana</i>) before he chose him his successor as head of the Ud&#257s&#299 sect. The <i>ber</i> tree still stands as also the old well known as Kh&#363h Mall&#299&#257&#7749. According to tradition, Bh&#257&#299 Gurd&#257s (d. 1636), poet and expounder of the holy writ, used to compose verses here attracted by the seclusion of the place. The present Gurdw&#257r&#257 comprising a square room with a verandah in the front was constructed in 1961 by the local <i>sa&#7749gat</i>.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;SH&#298SH MAHAL (lit. palace of mirrors), originally the residence of Gur&#363 Arjan, and Gur&#363 Hargobind during their occasional visits to Kart&#257rpur, is within a fortress-like house, the property of the So&#7693h&#299 descendants of B&#257b&#257 Dh&#299r Mall. A number of sacred relics are preserved in the Sh&#299sh Mahal. They include the original copy of the Holy Book prepared by Gur&#363 Arjan; a breviary of hymns used by Gur&#363 Arjan for his daily prayers; a heavy <i>kha&#7751&#7693&#257</i> or double-edged sword believed to have been used by Gur&#363 Hargobind; another <i>kha&#7751&#7693&#257</i> associated with Gur&#363 Har R&#257i; the ceremonial cord and cap given by B&#257b&#257 Sr&#299 Chand to B&#257b&#257 Gurditt&#257 as emblems of headship of the Ud&#257s&#299 sect; and a few garments belonging to B&#257b&#257 Gurditt&#257.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Other historical monuments at Kart&#257rpur are the <i>sam&#257dh&#299</i> of B&#299b&#299 Kaul&#257&#7749; N&#257nak&#299&#257&#7751&#257 S&#257hib, a shrine commemorating M&#257t&#257 N&#257nak&#299, the mother of Gur&#363 Te<u>gh</u> Bah&#257dur; Damdam&#257 S&#257hib, a platform dedicated to Gur&#363 Hargobind; and &#7692er&#257 Bh&#257&#299 Bhagat&#363 J&#299 marking the site where Bh&#257&#299 Bhagat&#363, a prominent Sikh contemporary of the Fifth, Sixth and the Seventh Gur&#363s, was cremated in 1652 by Gur&#363 Har R&#257i.</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"> T&#257r&#257 Si&#7749gh, <i>Sr&#299 Gur T&#299rath Sa&#7749grahi</i>. Amritsar, n.d.<BR> <li class="C1"> &#7788h&#257kar Si&#7749gh, Gi&#257n&#299, <i>Sr&#299 Gurdu&#257re Darshan</i>. Amritsar, 1923<BR> <li class="C1"><i>Gurbil&#257s Chhev&#299&#7749 P&#257tsh&#257h&#299</i> . Patiala, 1970<BR> <li class="C1"> Santokh Si&#7749gh, Bh&#257&#299, <i>Sr&#299 Gur Prat&#257p S&#363raj Granth</i>. Amritsar, 1927-33<BR> <li class="C1"> Gi&#257n Si&#7749gh, Gi&#257n&#299, <i>Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Panth Prak&#257sh</i>. Patiala, 1970<BR> <li class="C1"><i>Jullundur District Gazetteer</i><BR> </ol><p class="CONT">B. S. Nijjar<br></p><BR> </font><img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""></HTML></BODY>