Paonta Sahib- Land of Peace

Out of the various sweet experiences that I have lived already, the visit to Paonta Sahib has deeply impacted me. Paonta Sahib is a small town in Himachal Pradesh, about 50kms away from Dehradun. The journey to this beautiful town nestled in a foothill on the banks of the river Yamuna surrounded by sal trees is picturesque. The road goes through expansive sugarcane fields and curves by the side of the pristine Yamuna to reach this town. On the way one finds a bird-watching point and a hydro electric power plant. This place that has great sanctity for the Sikhs, is also a bustling township with growing industries. The name of the city is derived from “paon” meaning “foot” either because Guru Govind Singh set foot in this place. According to an alternative story, because he lost an ornament which he wore on his foot called a “paonta” while bathing in the river Yamuna which flows here, this place got its name. Having come from the blue mountain and red river state of Assam I felt at home with this beautiful hilly region by the river. However, I had no reason to believe that there would exist a relationship between this small town with our state Assam, but it has a connection and one has to go back to the past to understand it.

Guru Tegh Bahadur, the 9th Sikh guru and father of the 10th guru,Guru Govind Singh had visited Assam to spread the message of Guru Nanak. During this time the family of Raja Ratna Rai of Assam became a disciple of the Guru. Later on the Raja visited Guru Govind Singh at Anandpur in Punjab. During his visit he is said to have presented a majestic elephant and other unusual and expensive gifts to the Guru as a mark of his obeisance. He also prayed that only the Guru rides the elephant and uses the gifts. But as the story goes, the greedy Raja of Anandpur, Bhim Chand eyed the elephant and wanted to grab it.Thus he sent one of his ministers to get the elephant and the priceless gifts on the pretext of his son’s marriage. The Guru, however understood the wrong intentions of the Raja and declined to offer him the same. This angered the Raja who became an enemy of the Guru. At that time Sikhism was spreading rapidly and this warrior cult had become a threat to the Mughal Empire. Emperor Aurangzeb thus sided with the Raja as he felt if the Sikh Guru is confronted and subdued without his direct interference, then it would be good for the empire. Thus with the backing of the emperor, the Raja tried to threaten the Guru into submission, and thus wanted to spring a reason for battle.

In the meantime, conflicts between the Rajas in the Baaisdhar region were at a peak. The Raja of Srinagar Garhwal Phatshah had grabbed the land belonging to the Raja of Nahan, Medini Prakash and the latter was not in a position to secure the release of this land. He took counsel of the famous sage Kalpi, who advised him to invite Guru Govind Singh to his province and take his blessings. Raja Medini Prakash recognized that if the Guru comes to stay in his province peace will descend without waging a battle with Phatshah. Thus he respectfully sent his invitation to the Guru and requested him to make his province his residence.The Guru felt that the strained relations with the Raja of Anandpur will not allow for a peaceful atmosphere to do literary work.

When the Guru arrived at Nahan, the Raja, his ministers, followers and the citizens gave him a rousing reception. The Guru travelled extensively across the province. He was enchanted by the natural beauty of the place which is the present day Paonta Sahib and decided to make this his abode for over four years. He composed his “Dasam Granth” sitting on the banks of the river. Legend says that the mighty Yamuna was flowing very fiercely while the Guru was writing his Grant. So he requested mother Yamuna to slow down so that it does not disturb him. The Yamuna followed his advice and one can notice the mildness of the river near Paonta Sahib.

Within the precincts of the Gurudwara are the Sri Talab Asthan where he disbursed salaries and the Sri Dastar Asthan where he judged the turban tying competitions. At Kavi Darbar Asthan, poetic symposia were held. There is also a museum that displays pens of the Guru and weapons of the time. Also there are information about various Sikh leaders and Gurus. The Guru left Paonta Sahib after the battle of Bhangani with Raja Fateh Shah, in which he defeated the errant ruler’s army after thirty days of battle.

Walking down the precincts of the gurudwara is relaxing. One can see hundreds of devotees praying and listening to the Gurubani. It was my first ever visit to a gurudwara. We took our turn to have the community lunch-“Langar”. It was indeed an experience to sit and have a meal together with hundreds of people in an orderly fashion. We could see many people voluntarily working in the community kitchen-cooking, cleaning and serving. I could see a connection with the Assamese Bhooj in the “Naamghar”.

Isn’t our culture and history too strong to bind us wherever we may live? With this realization I returned home.