Takht Sachkhand Sri Hazur Sahib

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). 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 (curved sword). 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.



A few days before Parlok Gaman, Guru Gobind Singh ji ended the line of personal Guruship by appointing the “Granth Sahib” (Gur-Ta-Gaddi) as his official successor with the status of ‘Eternal Guru’. His objective was great and laudable. He fully realized that human beings are perishable, but noble ideas live forever – they are eternal. For this reason he made the Granth Sahib a repository of sublime ideals, a spiritual and secular guru that contains hymns of Muslim, Hindu, and Harijan saints in addition to the compositions of sikh gurus. He thus entrusted the destiny of the Khalsa not to a charismatic personality but to the collective wisdom of the community. His sole mission was to restore mankind to a single brotherhood.

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" (literally "Steadfast city") after the first word of a hymn read at random on the occasion.



It was here that in the first week of Sept’1708, that a Bairagi Sadhu Madho Dass was baptized to Sikhism by Guru Gobind Singh ji and was given a new name – Banda Singh Bahadur. It was this great hero who in the next seven years (1709-1715) gave a sharp turn to the history of Sikhs by shaking the foundation of Mughal Empire in the North-west and paved the way for the liberation of the Punjab in 1764-65. His another disciple Bhai Santokh Singh was advised to continue to stay at Nanded and to start “Guru ka Langar” for the devotees.

Bhai Daya Singh and Dharam Singh, two of the Panj Piare (Five beloved Ones) who had offered their heads at the Guru’s call when the Khalsa was created in Kesgarh Fort of Anandpur Sahib on the Baisakhi Day of 1699, and had survived the battle of Chamkaur, subsequently died here.



A Gurudwara was constructed by Maharaja Ranjit Singh ji at the site where Guru Gobind Singh ji breathed his last. It took 5 years to complete (1832-1837). It is revered as "Sachkhand Sri Hazur Abchal Nagar Sahib". This historical shrine, which is one of the five Takhts (thrones) of the Sikhs is situated near Godavari river. It is visited by lakhs of devotees throughout the year. It is a two-storey building. Its interior is artistically ornamented in the style of Harmandir Sahib, Amritsar. The walls of the inner room called Angitha Sahib have been covered with golden plates. The dome is polished and on the pinnacle is the kalash made of gold plated copper.

The building stands on a high base and has a small square room on the second floor bearing the gilded ribbed dome topped with a tall gilded pinnacle and umbrella shaped finial. There are some rooms in the basement too, so that the edifice is technically four-storied. Corners of the roof of the first floor are decorated with domed kiosks on octagonal pedestals. Other embellishments on the exterior included oriel windows and a fancy fencing on the roof top. Inside, the sanctum it has marble lining decorated with inset work in floral patterns on lower parts of the walls and stucco and tukari work on the upper parts as well as on the ceiling.



Guru Granth Sahib is seated in the room in front of the sanctum during the day time only and at night it is brought inside and placed on a marbled platform. During the day there are some old weapons and other relics such as a golden dagger, a matchlock gun, a quiver with 35 arrows, two bows, a steel shield studded with precious stones and five golden swords. All these are placed on a marbled platform.

The building complex of the Takhat Sahib is spread over several hectares. It also includes two other shrines, Bunga Mai Bhago ji (comprising a large room where Guru Granth Sahib is seated) and Angitha Sahib (place of cremation).



Sachkhand (literally "region of Truth") 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 labor 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. 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, sandal-wood 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

Besides Gurdwara Sachkhand Sahib, other major Gurdwaras in Nanded area are Nagina Ghat , Banda Ghat, Sangat Sahib, Baoli Sahib, Mal Tekdi, Shikar Ghat, Hira Ghat and Mata Sahib, etc.

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