Gurdwara Guru Nanak Datan Sahib
Legend behind the Gurdwara Guru Nanak Datan Sahib
In 1506 A.D. Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji stepped on the land of Odisha when he was on his tour to Assam and Bengal. Guru Nanak Ji took shelter at the city of Cuttack at a small cottage near the stay of a person named Chaitany Bharati who was a mesmerist. He used to perform witchcraft with the motive of mobilizing Bhairav. Due to the influence of Guru Nanak Ji several people used to gather there and started following him as well. Seeing this Chaitanya Bharti’s heart was full of jealousy and hatred for Nanak Ji and hence he started applying witchcraft to divert the attention of the people from Guru Nanak Dev Ji. But, all his trials were worthless.One day Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji was performing meditation. At the same time Chetanya Bharati arrived there and tried attacking on Nanak Ji by a broken branche of Sahada tree nearby. When Guru Nanak Dev Ji opened his eyes the branch of the tree fell down from the hands of Chetanya Bharati and he started weeping distressingly. He then touched the feet of Guruji with agony. By the influence of the kind advices of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Chetanya Bharati turned into an adorer of almighty God and also became his disciple.
Another morning Chetanya Bharati offered a branch of the Sahada tree to Guruji to brush His teeth. Guru Nanak Ji used a small part of that branch and implanted the rest which then grew into a huge tree. That tree got perished in 1930 and research scholars who examined the tree declared to be of the ancient time. It is believed that another tree was sprouted from the root of the same tree which is now admired by the Sikhs to recall the memory of Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji and from then Gurdwara Guru Nanak Datan Sahib came into existence.
Renovation of Gurudwara Guru Nanak Datan Sahib
Two scientists and strong believer of Guru Nanak Ji, Prof. Pranakrishna Parija and Prof. Bawa Kartar Singh, who established this esteemed Gurudwara during the year 1935 by spending their time and putting a lot of efforts in collecting donation from the Sangat. It was the dream of these two scientists to build the Gurudwara for their guru and they spent a big part of their lives in turning their dream into reality. As the Gurudwara became more and more popular and a lot of devotees started visiting in huge number there was the need of renovating or reconstructing the Gurudwara. Hence in order to meet the increasing demands a new beautiful Gurudwara was built in 1988 and the previous building was being used as a school to impart high quality education to all children irrespective of their caste, creed and financial status. The School upholds Guruji's high moral "ESSENCE OF WISDOM IS SERVICE TO HUMANITY".
Gurudwara Guru Nanak Datan Sahib at Present
Any person, irrespective of Cast, Creed, Color, Race, Sex, Stat, Nationality and Place of Birth can visit the Gurdwara and receive the Blessings of Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji. There used to be the Langars (Free Meals) for all the visitors and devotees in Pangat(Sitting in a line) without any discrimination. Travelers from distant visiting the Gurudwara places take shelter here. Several special festivals are organized at the Gurudwara and people from various corner of the country visit there every year especially during the Prakash Purb of Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji and take Blessings of Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji. A board has being formed which is called Orissa Sikh Pratinidhi Board which looks after the activities and takes several initiatives regarding the growth and development of Sikh community. Its head office is in the campus of Gurdwara Guru Nanak Datan Sahib. Gurdwara Guru Nanak Datan Sahib has elaborated its glory and esteem within a much little time from its existence.Address of Gurdwara Guru Nanak Datan Sahib:
Kaliaboda, Sikharpur
Cuttack-753003, Odisha.
Phone: 0671-2441054
Email: gurdwaradatansahib@gmail.com