Golden Temple

Golden Temple

Golden temple is located in the city of Amritsar, Punjab, India which is on the north-western border of India, the city is also gateway for the travelers on the overland route through Pakistan.The Harmandir Sahib  also Darbar Sahib and informally referred to as the "Golden Temple". It was built by the fifth Sikh guru, Guru Arjun, in the 16th Century.Amritsar literally means "the pool of nectar", the name derived from a pool constructed at the sacred site , gifted by the Mughal Emperor Akbar to Guru Ramdas, the fourth preceptor of the Sikh faith. 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.There are four doors to get into the Harmandir Sahib, which symbolize the openness of the Sikhs towards all people and religions.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 Darshani Deori (an arch) stands at the shore end of the causeway. The door frame of the arch is about 10ft in height and 8ft 6inches in breath. The door panes are decorated with artistic style. It opens on to the causeway or bridge that leads to the main building of Sri Harmandir Sahib. It is 202 feet in length and 21 feet in width.On the top of this room stands the low fluted ‘Gumbaz’(dome) having lotus petal motif in relief at the base inverted lotus at the top which supports the ‘Kalash’ having a beautiful ‘Chhatri’ at the end.Its architecture represents a unique harmony between the Muslims and the Hindus way of construction work and this is considered the best architectural specimens of the world. It is often quoted that this architecture has created an independent Sikh school of architecture in the history of art in India. 

History of Golden Temple 

 It was built by the fifth Sikh guru, Guru Arjun, in the 16th Century. In 1604, Guru Arjun completed the Adi Granth, the holy scripture of Sikhism, and installed it in the Gurudwara.

Guru Arjan Sahib, the Fifth Sikh Guru, conceived the idea of creating a central place of worship for the Sikhs and he himself designed the architecture of Sri Harmandir Sahib. Earlier the planning to excavate the holy tank (Amritsar or Amrit Sarovar ) was chalked out by Guru Amar Das Ji, the Third Sikh Guru, but it 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. During the leadership of the fifth Guru, Guru Arjan (1581–1606), the full-fledged Gurdwara was built. In December 1588, Guru Arjan initiated the construction of the Gurdwara. The foundation stone was laid by none other than Guru Arjan Sahib himself in December 1588. It is a common misconception that the foundation stone was laid by the Sufi saint Mian Mir of Lahore.Some of the architectural features of the Harmandir Sahib were intended to be symbolic of the Sikh worldview. The present structure has been constructed by five service-groups headed by Baba Thakar Singh of Bhindran-Mehta Jatha.

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