Field guides / Punjab / Sheikhupura / Gurdwara Sacha Sauda, Farooqabad
Field guide · Heritage
Sheikhupura
Sheikhupura District · Punjab, Pakistan
Gurdwara Sacha Sauda, Farooqabad
The fort-like gurdwara where the young Guru Nanak spent his father's twenty rupees feeding hungry ascetics, his 'true bargain'.
Built at the command of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the spacious gurdwara was closed after 1947 and reopened in 2000; it is in regular use again, and Sikh yatrees visit it, including around Guru Nanak's birth anniversary in November.
Why go
- ✦Where the young Guru Nanak spent twenty rupees feeding hungry ascetics
- ✦A spacious, fort-like gurdwara built at Ranjit Singh's command
- ✦Reopened in 2000 and in regular use again
History
In order to engage Guru Nanak Dev Ji into worldly affairs, his father, Mehta Kalu Ji, gave him twenty rupees and asked him to start his own business. It is said that he was 18 years of age then. Guru Ji along with Baba Mardana set out to do business. Outside Mandi Chuharkana they ran into some starving Jogis. He could not tolerate this sight of starvation and immediately purchased edibles with the 20 rupees he had. He distributed the same among the starving mystics. When Guru Dev Ji's father came to know about it he was very annoyed. Guru Nanak told him that he had entered into a true deal (Sachcha Sauda). The Gurdwara was built at the site where Guru Ji had fed the mystics. This fort like spacious and beautiful Gurdwara was built at the royal command of Maharaja Ranjit Singh during his reign. There are 250 bighas of land attached to the shrine and fairs used to be organised on the first saddi Magh, Visakh and Kattak.
Planning tip
Best Time to Visit, November to March, or November for Guru Nanak's birth anniversary, when groups of Sikh yatrees come here from Nankana Sahib. The gurdwara, closed after 1947, reopened in 2000 and is in regular use again; summer on these plains nears 39 °C.
Getting there, Outside Farooqabad (old Mandi Chuhrkana), about 50 km west of Lahore; Gurdwara Sach Khand is 1 km away across the railway line.
What to Do
Nearby
Straight-line distance from Gurdwara Sacha Sauda, Farooqabad, within 5 km.
