BHALAN, village near the confluence of Soah rivulet with the River Sutlej 14 km south of Nangal in Ropar district of the Punjab, is sacred to Guru Gobind Singh, who arrived here following Khanzada Rustam Khan in the winter of 1693-94. As Guru Gobind Singh himself relates in his Bachitra Natak, the Khanzada had planned to surprise the Sikhs with a night attack, but finding the defendants alert he beat a hasty retreat. "Ravaging Barva village (on his way back)," records Guru Gobind Singh, "he made a halt at Bhalan." The shrine rebuilt by the local sangat in 1960 is called Gurdwara Dashmeshgarh (lit. Fort of the Tenth Master). It is a small square sanctum with a circumambulatory verandah around it. The Gurdwara is managed by a committee of the local Sikhs.
