HUZUR SAHIB TAKHAT - NANDED

   " SAT SRI AKAL "
   " WAHEGURU JI KA KHALSA , WAHEGURU JI KI FATEH "

Takhat Sachkhand Sri Hazur Abchalnagar Sahib is the principal shrine at about half a Kilometer from the left bank of the river Godavari, Nanded, Maharashtra. It marks the site where the 10^th Guru of Sikhs Guru Gobind Singji had his camp in 1708 A.D. after the departure of the emperor Bahadur Shah. The tenth Guru held his court and congregation here. It is the place from where the tenth Guru rose to heaven along with his horse Dilbag.

In 1708 being prescient of the end of his earthly role, the Guru had despatched Banda Singh with five of his Sikhs to Punjab and Mata Sahib Devan under a separate escort to Delhi before the stabbing incident. He told the rest of his retinue to retire to their homes if they so wished, but he bade one Bhai Santokh Singh to stay on here and keep Guru ka langar going , many others also chose to remain. Together they built a room over the platform where he used to sit while holding his court and installed Guru Granth Sahib on it. They called it Takhat Sahib. Guru Gobind Singh, while conferring Guruship on the holy Book, had himself named Nanded as Abchalnagar (means steadfast city) after the first word of a hymn read at random on the occasion. Sachkhand (means region of Truth) had been used by Guru Nanak Dev to mean the abode of God.

The present building of the Takhat Sahib was got constructed by Maharaja Ranjit Singh with money, artisans and labour sent from Punjab during early 1830s. The complex of the Takhat Sahib is spread over several hectares.

Recently the tercentenary celebration of Gur-ta-Gaddi (Gur ta Gaddi) at the Takhat   Sachkhand Gurudwara at Nanded was done which was  of great relevance to the Sikh Community. This involved the remembrance of the 300th (Tri Shatabdi) year of the consecration of Guru Granth Sahib as the last guru of Sikh community by Guru Gobind Singhji. The event will also commemorated the 300th anniversary of the Parlok Gaman of Guru Gobind Singhji.

Some highlights of Sikhism –

1.      It is the youngest religion dating back to 1469

2.      Its founder Guru Nanak Devji was born in a village called Talwandi, now known as Nankana Sahib in Pakistan.

3.      The Sikhs have ten Gurus

4.       Guru Granth Sahib is the Holy Book of Sikhs and the final Guru of the Sikh Religion

5.       Follower of the Sikh religion could be identified using the Five “K” i.e. Kesh (uncut hair), Kangha (a

The Five Takhts of Sikhism :

Sr.No.	Takht	Location
1	Akal Takht	Amritsar (Punjab)
2	Harimandir Saheb	Patna (Bihar)
3	Kesgarh Saheb	Anandpur (Punjab)
4	Huzur Sahib	Nanded (Maharashtra)
5	Damdama Sahib	Talwandi Sabo, Bhatinda (Punjab)

Guru Gobind Singh was a true son of India who through out his life span fought for the country and sacrificed everything for the country. This shrine is obviously a must visit for all Sikhs but it is my belief that all Indians must visit this shrine at least once in their life time.