PARAGA (PRAYAGA)

MORINDA (SOWN, 76°29`E), also called Baganvala, an old village in Ropardistrict of the Punjab, has a historical shrine called Gurdwara Shahidgarij. On 7 December 1705, as Guru Gobind Singh along with his two elder sons and a handful of disciples, was locked in an unequal battle with the besieging hordes at Chamkaur, his aged mother, Mata Gujan, and the two younger sons, betrayed by their domestic servant, Garigu, were taken into custody at Kheri (now Saheri) and brought to Morinda byJani Khan and Mani Khan, the Rarighar headmen. They were despatched the next day to Sirhind where they were bricked alive in a wall and then executed on 13 Poh 1762 Bk/ 12 December 1705 (27 December now according to new calendar). The place where they were interned at Morinda is now marked by Gurdwara Shahid Garij. At the end of 1763, the Dal Khalsa, before advancing on Sirhind, attacked and destroyed Morinda. Jani Khan and Mani Khan and their entire male progeny were killed. The Gurdwara, in the western part of the town, is said to have been built by Raja Bhup Singh of Ropar, who also donated a plot of gardenland to it. The present buildings are in a walled compound entered through a doublestoreyed gateway. The divan hall, with a square sanctum in the middle, stands on a raised base. Buildings for the langar and for residential accommodation are in a separate enclosure. The Gurdwara is administered by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee.

MOHI, village in Ludhiana district, 9 km from Jodhari (30°48`N, 75°48`E) along the Guru Gobind Singh Marg, has a shrine called Gurdwara Patshahi Dasviri, dedicated to Guru Gobind Singh. Guru Gobind Singh passed through this village on his way from Alamgir andJodhari to Hehrari at the end of 1`705. It is said that Guru Gobind Singh halted here to have a tightfitting ring removed from his finger by the village goldsmith. The present building of the Gurdwara, constructed in 1936, is a square room with a verandah on all four sides. A wide dome covers the entire room. A 33metre square walled bathing lank near by is called Sarovar Guru Sar. The shrine itself is affiliated to Gurdwara Sahib at Hehrari and is managed by a local committee under the overall charge of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee.

KARA, situated in Allahabad district of Uttar Pradesh, on the right bank of the River Gariga, was once a flourishing town and a provincial capital under the Muslim Sultanate and under the Mughals though now it is no more than a large village. Sikh chronicles usually refer to it as KaraManakpur, but Manakpur is a separate village 5 km away on the opposite bank of the Gariga. Guru Tegh Bahadur in the course of his journey to the eastern parts in 166566 halted at Kara on his way from Kanpur to Allahabad. At Kara, he met Sant Maluk Das, a famous Vaisnava saint. Maluk Das had heard about Guru Nanak and the spiritual line issuing from him. He was surprised to see his Ninth successor accompanied by armed disciples who hunted animals. But on beholding Guru Tegh Bahadur, his doubts disappeared as clouds disperse before high winds. He, according to Sn Our Pratdp Suraj Granth, said to himself, "Though the Guru is clad as a prince, his mind is fixed in divine knowledge. He is the occean of qualities. How can an ignorant one like me praise him? Sinner I have been from birth. His sanctity I did not fathom." Maluk Das fell at the Guru`s feet and took him to his hut where he served him with humility. There is no Sikh shrine at Kara at present, but a pamphlet published by the followers of Sant Maluk Das testifies that a Sikh sangat and a Sikh gurudwara once flourished here, and that once in a year a gathering took place here of members of all communities when kardh prasdd was freely distributed. .

KALMOT (also called Khera Kalmot), village 18 km northwest of Anandpur (31°14`N, ^G^l`E) in Ropar district of the Punjab, was in 1700 the scene of a clash between the Sikhs and the local GujjarRarighars who challenged Guru Gobind Sihgh while out on a chase. The Sikhs defeated the Rarighars and occupied the fortress. The Rarighars tried to seize the fortress by night but were repulsed. The fortress is no longer in existence. The shrine established on the site on top of a hillock west of the village was reconstructed in 1975. The twostoreyed building of Gurdwara Patshahi Dasviri, as it is called, has on the ground level a mosaicfloored hall with a verandah in front. The Gurdwara is maintained by the local sangat.