The Golden Temple in Amritsar is also referred as Harmandir Sahib and Darbar Sahib. It is situated in Amritsar in Punjab state of Northern India. It is considered as the holiest sikh gurudwara in the world. Harmandir Sahib which means Temple of GOD is popularly known for its golden dome. Diwali is one of the festivals where Golden Temple is illuminated with thousands of lights and enormous amount of fireworks are discharged.
Lets take a look at these lesser known facts about THE GOLDEN TEMPLE
1. The Gurudwara is constructed with white marble, covered with genuine gold leaf strands in the center of the lake. The water of the lake is said to be fed from the River Ravi. Thousands of piilgrims bathe everyday in the pond which is said to have healing properties.
2. The gurudwara has 4 entrances, one from each direction, which symbolically welcomes everyone be it from any caste, creed, colour and class.
3. Langar is a free meal provided to anyone who visits the temple at no cost. Around 1 lakh meals are prepared and served daily to the pilgrims through langar. Its said that every 15 minutes, a new group of diners enter the langar hall to have meal. All the cooking and washing of utensils is carried out by worshipers who voluntarily offer their services.
4. Harmandir Sahib has a historic timeline as in 1574, the Mughal emperor gifted the site of Harmandir Sahib to Bibi Bhani who was the daughter of the Third Guru Amar Das as a wedding gift, when Bibi Bhani married Jetha, who became the fourth guru Raam Das.
5. In 1581 Guru Arjan Dev Ji, the son of Guru Raam Das became the Fifth Guru and helped in completing the construction of Lake and the stairways on every side to be paved with bricks.
6. In 1604, under Guru Arjan Dev Ji’s supervision, the temple’s construction was completed. He in the meantime compiled the holy book “Adi Granth” also known as Guru Granth Sahib over a span of 5 years and installed it in the temple on September 1. He then appointed a Sikh named Baba Buddha Sahib as the caretaker of the Granth.
7. During the year 1757 to 1762, an Afghani general named Jahan Khan of the invader Ahmad Shah Durrani attacked the temple. While it was defended by martyr Baba Deep Singh Ji, the temple sustained major attacks but had to go under a major renovation.
8. In the year 1830, Maharaja Ranjit Singh who the founder of Sikh Empire sponsored the renovation of Golden Temple by donating marble and gold plating for the temple.
9. In 1835, Pritam Singh undertook the work to supply the Sarovar(lake) with water from the river Ravi at Pathankot through a canal system.
10. Operation Blue Star in 1984, the dark phase in the temple’s history.
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