Hemkunt Sahib
(Gurudwaras)
Sri Hemkunt Sahib
In Chamoli district is dedicated to Guru
Gobind Singh ji, who has mentioned it in his autobiographical
Bachittar Natak as the site where he meditated before his
rebirth as son of Guru Tegh Bahadur sahib ji and Mata Gujari ji.
The exact location of the place remained obscure until Pandit
Tara Singh Narotam roughly determined it with reference to its
mention in Mahabharata, I, 119, but it was Sant Sohan Singh to
Tehri Garhwal who actually surveyed and found, in 1934, the spot
'surrounded by seven peas' as Guru Gobind Singh had described
it. With financial help from bhai Vir Singh, he was able to construct,
by 1936, a small hut on the bank of the small lake of Hem Kunt.
After his death in 1939, Havildar Modan Singh devoted the remaining
20 years of his life to the development of the shrine. HemKunt
Sahib is over 15,000 feet above the sea level and it is uncongenial
for long stay due to cold and lack of sufficient oxygen in the
air. Havildar Modan Singh not only constructed Gurdwara Gobind
Ghat and Gurdwara Gobind Dham as staging and base camps at 6000
feet and 10,500 feet above sea level respectively, but also succeeded,
shortly before his death in December 1960, in establishing the
Gurdwara Sri Hemkunt Sahib Management Trust which has continued
to improve upon the work of these pioneers, including arrangements
for the comfort of pilgrims enroute. A new building of the Gurdware
Sri Hemkunt Sahib proper has also been constructed with a special
design suited to withstand heavy snow during winter. |