ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>PANDHER</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="PANDHER"> <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">&#65279PANDHER, village 25 km south of Barn&#257l&#257 (30º-22'N, 75º-32'E) in Sa&#7749gr&#363r district of the Punjab, has a historical shrine commemorating the visit of Gur&#363 Te<u>gh</u> Bah&#257dur. It is said that as Gur&#363 Te<u>gh</u> Bah&#257dur arrived here late in the afternoon and asked for a site for his camp, one of the villagers pointed in jest to the potter's house saying, "That is the place where travellers stay.&#8221 The Gur&#363's followers remarked, "These are thick-headed people." The Gur&#363 immediately turned his horse and proceeded towards 'Al&#299 Sher village. Khum&#257r&#299, the headman of Pandher, said, "This is a very proud man." Later, when they learnt who he was, they repented their impudence. The village elders followed the Gur&#363 to 'Al&#299 Sher to ask for forgiveness. They collected a few lumps of <i>gu&#7771</i>, or jaggery, and some money which they carried as an offering. On the way they met a person who was returning after a visit to the Gur&#363. They asked him what offering would the Gur&#363 expect to grant them a reprieve for their misdemeanour. "None, " replied the stranger. "The Gur&#363 is compassionate and overlooks the faults of others." The elders of Pandher thereupon distributed the offering among themselves and went to the Gur&#363 empty-handed. The Gur&#363 received them unmindful of their past conduct and instructed them in the path of virtuous living.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The remorseful residents of Pandher constructed a memorial on the spot where the Gur&#363 had briefly halted. It was developed into a <i>gurdw&#257r&#257</i>, called Gurdw&#257r&#257 Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Te<u>gh</u> Bah&#257dur S&#257hib during the Sikh rule when Pandher became a part of N&#257bh&#257 state. The rulers of N&#257bh&#257 made an endowment in land for its maintenance. A line of <i>mahants</i> served it until after 1956 when it was taken over by the Shiroma&#7751&#299 Gurdw&#257r&#257 Parbandhak Committee. The Gurdw&#257r&#257 comprises a rectangular hall, with the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib seated on a canopied platform at one end of it. Besides daily worship, special <i>d&#299v&#257ns</i> take place on full-moon days and on major religious anniversaries on the Sikh calendar. The Gurdw&#257r&#257 owns 50 acres of land.</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"> Gi&#257n Si&#7749gh, Gi&#257n&#299, <i>Tw&#257r&#299<u>kh</u> Gurdu&#257ri&#257&#7749</i>. Amritsar, n.d.<BR> <li class="C1"> Narotam, T&#257r&#257 Si&#7749gh, <i>Sr&#299 Gur&#363 T&#299rath Sa&#7749grahi</i>. Kankhal,1975<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">Major Gurmukh Si&#7749gh (Retd.)<br></p><BR> </font><img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""></HTML></BODY>