The most sacred temple for Sikhs, the
Golden Temple or Darbar
Sahib,
is situated at Amritsar, Punjab. The Sikhs all over the world, daily wish to
pay visit to Sri Amritsar and to pay obeisance at Sri Harmandir Sahib in
their Ardas.
The magnificence and strength of the Golden Temple attracts tourist from
all over the world. Specially Sikh people from all over the world wishes to
pay obeisance fo at Darbar Sahib also called Sri Harmandir Sahib in their
Ardas. In the process of development, the Darbar Sahib has entwined the
history and ideology of Sikhism.
The main structure of Sri Harmandir Sahib, functionally as well as
technically is a three-storied one. Sri Harmandir Sahib, is built on a 67ft.
square platform in the centre of the Sarovar(tank). The temple itself is
40.5ft. square. It has a door each on the East, West, North and South.
The architecture of Golden Temple depicts a unique harmony between the
Muslims and the Hindus way of construction work. The architecture of Golden
Temple features symbols related to other places of worship. It is often
quoted that the architecture of the Golden Temple has created an independent
Sikh school of architecture in the history of art.
History
The Fifth Nanak, Guru Arjan Sahib, conceptualized the idea of creating a
central place of worship for the Sikhs. He himself designed the architecture
of Sri Harmandir Sahib. Earlier to this Guru Amardas, the third Nanak
chalked out the plan of excavating a holy tank or Amrit Sarovar, from which
the name Amritsar was derived. The plan of Amardas was executed by Guru
Ramdas Sahib under the supervision of Baba Budha ji. The land for the site
was acquired by the earlier Guru Sahibs on payment or free of cost from the
Zamindars (landlords) of native villages. The plan to establish a town
settlement was also made. Therefore, the construction work on the
Sarovar(the tank) and the town started simultaneously in 1570. The work on
both projects completed in 1577 A.D.
The foundation of the Golden temple was laid by a Muslim Saint Hazrat Mian
Mir ji of Lahore on 1st of Magh, 1644 Bikrmi Samvat(December,1588). The
construction work was directly supervised by Guru Arjan Sahib himself. The
building work completed in 1601 A.D. on Bhadoon Sudi 1st, 1661 Bikrmi Samvat
(August/September,1604). The Granth Sahib, the holy book of the Sikhs, was
installed in the Harmandir Sahib in 1604, three years after its completion.
Places of Interest Near Golden temple
