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Sri Harmandir Sahib is a divine pilgrimage endowed with the blessings of great Sikh gurus and is a very important and sacred pilgrim center. It has universal appeal across all religions and people from around the world come to worship.

Also known as the Golden Temple, the place is extremely holy to Sikhs. It is remembered by every Sikh in his prayers when he begs the Lord almighty to bless him with a dip in the holy sarovar.

The temple was built over a long period. Guru Ram Das, the fourth Sikh guru laid the foundation of Sarovar of Golden Temple in 1577. The foundation of the temple was laid by a Muslim saint Sain Mian Meer on Jan 13, 1589. During the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in Punjab, a sum of INR 64,11,000 was spent on gold work in the shrine. It is because of this gold work that the temple is known as Golden temple.

Sri Harmandir Sahib has always had a exalted status because of its religious importance but the shrine also houses rich art heritage. Beautifully executed in different materials and techniques, the intricate art on the body of the temple convey philosophical significance besides showing the skill of the craftsmen. these decorative art forms within and outside the main shrine have been classified as jaratkari (inlaid stone), moharakashi (frescos with natural pigments), gach (engraved patterns), tukri (fixing of mirror using mercury) and gold embossing.

Sikh devotees for whom the temple is a symbol of freedom and spiritual intelligence arrive from all over the world to offer prayers.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 30th, 2007 at 6:16 am and is filed under Indian Art & Culture, Wonders of India. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.