Gurudwara Prakash Asthan Sri Guru Ram Das Ji ( Lahore)

This is that holy historical place where Guru Ram Das was born on 24th September, 1534 (25 Asuj, Samwat 1591) to Sodhi Hardas Ji and Mata Daya Kaur. The SatGuru spent first 7 years of his life here. This place is situated inside Delhi Darwaza, near Purani Kotwali Chowk in Chuni Mandi. The ancestoral house of the Guru was small in size. Maharani Nakain requested to Maharaja Ranjit Singh at the time of birth of Kanwar Kharak Singh, for permission to rebuild this historical place a new. As a result of this, the Maharaja purchased the surrounding buildings from the Qazis and got a Gurdwara of dimensions 122′-6×97′-6 built which was some what similar to the Harimandir Sahib, Amritsar. On the west is an open yard and Nishan Sahib is fixed on the South-West corner. The Singh Sabha Movement got set-going from this Gurdwara in 1927 A.D. According to Gurdwara act, this Gurdwara came under S.G.P.C. Management. At the time of partition eighteen Sikhs faced martyrdom there.

Gurdwara Janamasthan Guru Ram Das is located inside Delhi Darwaza, in Chuna Mandi, Lahore. It stands at the site of Guru
Ram Das’s ancestral home and birthplace. Guru Ram Das was the fourth Guru-the spiritual leader of the Sikhs, fourth in the line of
Guru Nanak, Guru Angad, and Guru Amar Das. Named Jetha, meaning “firstborn,” at his birth, Guru Ram Das
was born on September 24, 1534, to Bhai Haridas Sodhi and Mata Anup Devi (Mata Daya). Guru Ram Das spent the first few
years of his life at Chuna Mandi in Lahore. He was barely seven years old when his parents died. Being orphaned, he went to live
under the care of his maternal grandmother in Basarke.

After spending about five years there, Jetha and his grandmother relocated to Goindwal. Because he grew up in an impoverished
family throughout his childhood, Jetha had to earn his income, which he successfully did by selling boiled lentils and peas on the
street. At Goindwal. he became a disciple of Guru Amar Das, and was married to his daughter, Bibi Bhani, in 1554. Bhai Jetha
proved to be a virtuous man of significant merit. After passing many tests, Guru Amar Das blessed Bhai Jetha as his successor
and anointed him as Guru Ram Das in 1574.

Thereafter upon his appointment, Guru Ram Das led the Sikhs in religious affairs, and was instrumental in founding the town of
Ramdaspur (Amritsar). He bought the land from the landlords of villages Tung, Gumtala, and Gilwali and initiated the digging of a
sarovar (sacred pool), at the instructions of Guru Amar Das. Once, when Guru Ram Das was busy in the process of excavating the
sarovar, a delegation of Sikhs came from Lahore and invited him to return to his hometown for a visit. The Guru accordingly
proceeded to Lahore. He remained there for some time, turned his parental house into a dharamsala, and built a well near it for
the convenience of his followers. Guru Ram Das died on September 1, 1581, in Amritsar.

In 1606 C.E., after learning of the catastrophic news of Guru Arjan’s martyrdom, the dharamsala of Guru Ram Das was the site
where all Sikhs of Lahore and nearby regions had gathered for a meeting before they left for Amritsar to see Guru Hargobind:

ਸ ਨਿ ਸਭਿ ਸਿਖ ਲਵਪ ਰ ਚਲਿ ਆਏ॥ ਹਮ ਬੀ ਖਬਰ ਸ ਨੀ ਉਠ ਧਾਏ ॥
ਚ ਥ ਪਾਤਸ
ਾਹ ਕੀ ਧਰਮ ਸਾਲ॥ ਡ ਰਾ ਕੀਨ ਸ ਤਹਾ ਰਸਾਲ ॥
ਸਭਿ ਸ ਗਤਿ ਨਿਸਕ ਮਿਲੀ ਜ ਤੀ ਬੀਚ ਲਹ ਰ॥
ਸਭੀ ਨਿਸਾ ਜਾਗਤ ਰਹ ਕਰਤ ਭਏ ਤਹਿ ਜ ਰ॥

Every Sikh began marching towards Lahore. All who heard the
news joined the congregation
And encamped at the caravanserai of the Fourth Guru. All
inhabitants of Lahore arrived there as well.
All remained awake through the night and kept brainstorming
[ways of regrouping after Guru’s demise).
Some two centuries later, Kharak Singh, the heir apparent, and
son of Maharani Nakain and Maharaja Ranjit Singh, was born, in

At that time, Maharani Nakain requested the Maharaja to reconstruct the Gurdwara Janamasthan Guru Ram Das. There
was only a small dharamsala in this place. Consequently, Maharaja Ranjit Singh purchased the surrounding buildings of the
market and had a large gurdwara built. It was ready within a year, and a beauti- ful place of worship came into being.*
The records of Tarikh-e Lahore indicate that during the 1880s, “every Sunday evening, the hymns from Guru’s Granth [Guru
Granth Sahib] were recited by a large congregation of men and women at Gurdwara Janamasthan Guru Ram Das. In 1883, Giani
Ditt Singh, Jawahar Singh, Mayya Singh, Dr. Jai Singh, and a host of other affiliated members initiated the Singh Sabha Movement from this very place. The shudhi, or reconversion program, also commenced here, making it possible for those who had converted to Islam to return to the Sikh faith. Following the death of Giani Ditt Singh in 1901, the Singh Sabha congregational meetings continued to be held at Sant Ishar Singh Dharamsala outside “Shah Aalam Darwaza.” Later, these sessions were held at
Gurdwara Baoli Sahib (Dabbi Bazar) until 1947.”

The two-story, square, marble structure of Gurdwara Janamasthan Guru Ram Das features a marble courtyard in front.
The interior ground floor hall is decorated with black and white tiles paved in a hexagonal pattern. The second story has a gallery
all around, with three windows in the center and windows on either side near its corners.”