Hazur Sahib, also spelt Hazoor Sahib, also known as Takht Sachkhand Sri Hazur Abchalnagar Sahib and Abchal Nagar, is one of the five takhts in Sikhism. It is located on the banks of the River Godavari at the city of Nanded in the state of Maharashtra, Western India. The gurudwara within the complex is known as Sach-Khand.
Shrine’s History
Hazur Sahib marks the site where Guru Gobind Singh Ji had his camp in 1708. The Guru held his court and congregation here and was convalescing after being attacked by two would-be assassins. One of the attackers stabbed the Guru and was killed by him with a single stroke of his talwar. The other was killed by his followers as he tried to escape. The Guru’s wound was deep but initially healed after being stitched by a European surgeon. However, the wound re-opened a few days later when the Guru was stringing a bow for one of his Sikhs and the Guru died after declaring the Guru Granth Sahib as his successor. The Sikhs built a room over the platform where Guru Gobind Singh Ji would sit while holding his court and installed the Guru Granth Sahib on it. They called it Takhat Sahib. Guru Gobind Singh Ji, while conferring Guruship on the holy Book, had himself named Nanded as “Abchalnagar” after the first word of a hymn read at random on the occasion. In October 2008, the 300th-anniversary celebration of the Guruship of Guru Granth Sahib took place here. This site is now one of five Takhats which are places of primary importance to the Sikhs.
The other four takhats are Akal Takhat at Amritsar, Takhat Keshgarh Sahib at Anandpur, Takhat Patna Sahib in Bihar and Takhat Damdama Sahib in Talwandi Sabo, Bhatinda, Punjab. Sachkhand had been used by Guru Nanak Dev Ji to mean the abode of God. Ranjit Singh had the present building of the Takhat Sahib constructed with money, artisans and labour sent from the Punjab during the early 1830s. Around the same time, the Nizam of Hyderabad State a Muslim ruler of the Deccan Region raised a contingent of Northern Sikhs as part of his army. Most of these men settled permanently in Hyderabad State and also devout Hindus of the Deccan embraced Sikhism in the 19th century. Hindus also have a high regard for the Guru Gobind Singh and gurudwara.
The control of Takhat Sachkhand Sri Hazoor Sahib, which had formerly passed into the hands of Udasi Sikh priests was regained by the Sikhs under the influence of the Singh Sabha Movement of the late nineteenth century. Some of the ‘rituals and ceremonies connected with working’ are peculiar to this Takhat Sahib. In 1956 an Act was passed by the legislature of Hyderabad under which the management of the Takhat Sahib and other historical Gurdwaras was legally placed under a 17-member Gurudwaras Board and a five-member Managing Committee. The Takht houses both the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji and the Sri Dasam Granth. This follows the pattern of Takht Sri Patna Sahib. Nanded is the holy city where Baba Banda Singh Bahadur had his ashram and Baba Banda Singh started his journey of Khalsa victory from Nanded only, has a very high place in the national history of India.
This shrine differs from other historical places of Sikh worship, here all ancient customs which were practised at the time of the Guru are still practised, for example, sandalwood tilak is still applied on the foreheads of priests and local devotees. The most important aspect of this holy shrine is that there are two sanctum sanctorum here. While all the functions are carried out by the priests in the outer room, the inner room is a vault which houses priceless objects, weapons and other personal belongings of the Guru. No one except the head priest can enter this holy vault
Architectural Relevance of This Shrine
The structure is built at the place where Guru Gobind Singh died. The inner room of the gurdwara is called the Angitha Sahib and is built over the place where Guru Gobind Singh was cremated in 1708. The gurdwara was built between 1832 and 1837 by order of Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780?1839).
Shrine’s Map Location and How to Go There
By Road
The nearest Bus Stop is Nanded.
By Rail
The nearest Railway station is Hazur Sahib Nanded, Umri, Limbgaon.
By Air
The nearest Airport is Nanded Airport