Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib, Narowal

This is the historical place where Jagat Guru Nanak Ji departed from this world on 23rd Assu, Samvat 1596 (22nd Sept. 1529 AD). It is also called Dera Nanak Baba. Dera Sahib railway station, on Lahore-Narowal section, serves this place. The Shrine is located by the River Ravi within a distance of four kilometers from the railway station.

The present building was built at a cost of Rs.1,35,600, donated by Sardar Popindar Singh, the Maharaja of Patiala. It was repaired by the Govt of Pakistan in 1995 incurring expenditure in lacs of rupees. It has a spacious and beautiful building. Its location beside a forest and river Ravi makes its care difficult.

Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur, popularly known as Kartarpur Sahib, is a gurdwara in Kartarpur, Punjab, Pakistan. It is located in Shakargarh, Narowal District. It is one of the holiest sites in Sikhism, alongside the Golden Temple in Amritsar and Gurdwara Janam Asthan in Nankana Sahib. It is at Kartarpur Sahib, where the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, settled and assembled the Sikh community after his missionary travels (udasis to Haridwar, Mecca-Medina, Lanka, Baghdad, Kashmir, and Nepal) and lived for 18 years until his death in 1539.

The gurdwara is especially noteworthy for its proximity to the Pakistan-India border. The shrine can be seen from the Indian side of the border on any clear day. Earlier thousands of Sikhs would gather on the Indian side of the border to perform darshan or sacred viewing of the site.

About 4.5km away from Kartarpur on the Indian border, the Border Security Force allowed pilgrims by the bus-fulls to step onto a 10-feet-tall platform and catch a quick glimpse of Guru Nanak Dev’s resting place. In summer, the devout could line up at the border for a peek through binoculars.

Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism, is believed to have spent his last days in the gurudwara from 1521 to 1539. He had traveled through several nations, preaching the message of peace, harmony, and love among all people, before finally arriving in Kartarpur in 1521. Duni Chand, the area’s then-governor, gave him 100 acres of property on the Ravi River’s bank. Guru Nanak founded the Kartarpur town by the Ravi River in 1504, plowing the fields and setting up a community kitchen, or Langar. Guru Nanak is believed to have composed many hymns of the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of the Sikhs, in Kartarpur, including the japji sahib. He assembled a Sikh commune there and resided for 18 years until his death on 22 September 1539.

The Gurdwara was constructed on the site where Guru Nanak is claimed to have died. It is thus the Sikh religion’s second holiest shrine, after Gurdwara Janam Asthan in Nankana Sahib, Pakistan, which is the birthplace of Guru Nanak.

As a teacher, Guru Nanak preached peace, harmony, and universal brotherhood. He pointed out that there is only one God, regardless of caste, religion, or gender, and gave the word ‘Ik Onkar’, meaning there is only one God.

According to Fakr Syed Aijazuddin, a Lahore-based art historian, the shrine has the last copies of the original Guru Granth Sahib. “Every step here reminds us of the Guru’s life,” one Sikh pilgrim observed.

According to legend, when Guru Nanak died, his Muslim and Hindu followers debated whether he should be buried or burnt. Guru Nanak is said to have appeared as an old man to settle this dispute the next day. When they returned the next day, instead of the Guru’s body, they were said to have found a huge pile of flowers, which his devotees split equally and cremated or buried accordingly.