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Gurdwara Sri Nanaklama Sahib

Location - Chungthang, Sikkim, India


Associated with - Sri Guru Nanak Sahib Ji


Sikh Artifacts - None


Sarovar - None


Sarai - unknown


This wonderful historic Gurdwara is situated in Chungthang, which is a town in North Sikkim. Sikkim is a small but beautiful landlocked state nestled in the Himalayas.

It is situated at the confluence of two rivers: River Lachen and Lachung Chu, both tributaries of the 'most scenic' River Teesta.

The thumb-shaped state borders Nepal in the west, Tibet to the north and east, Bhutan in the south-east and the West Bengal to its south.

Chungthang is located in this state at a distance of 95 kilometres from the capital Gangtok, at an elevation of 1,700 metres (5,600 ft).

History

It is believed Sri Guru Nanak Sahib Ji visited this place during his third udasi, travelling to China and Tibet. Guru Nanak dug his walking stick into the ground here where it eventually grew into a tree. The rounded tree trunk has the shape of a walking stick.

An amrit kund (water spring) was also made to appear Guru Nanak. Guru Nanak visited the place in order to provide solace the Karma pa Nying ma pa sect then being hounded out from Tibet by the Ge lug pa sect.

It is also said that Guru Nanak came across this place and vanquished two demons here. The footprints of that battle were believed to be still left on that cordoned off rock. It is also said that Chungthang derived from the Punjabi, 'Changa sthan' or good place, which Guru Nanak had bestowed on it.

Many from the Karma pa Nying ma pa sect were the followers of Guru Nanak, as their Head Lama became Guru Nanak's follower in the Kailash Mansarovar area after being impressed by Guru Nanak's discussions with the famous Siddh's of the age. This sect had fled from Tibet to the Himalayan belt of Northern India, which included Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttra-Khand, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, and Arunachal Pradesh.

Records show that during his journeys to the Himalayas and the Far East, including China, Guru Nanak visited all these states around 1516 AD. After his visit to Kailash-Mansarovar, Guru Nanak returned along Kali River and went to Nepal, where an ancient Gurdwara at Kathmandu, on the bank of river Bishnumati commemorates his visit.

Visiting various religious places in Nepal, Guru Nanak crossed over to Tibet through Nanak-la-pass and reached Sakya monastery. The earlier king of Tibet from Karma-pa sect was, by then, deposed by the Ge-lug-pa sect but was still holding on to this monastery. Guru Nanak helped Trasung Deochung reconstruct this monastery. Trasung Deochung honoured him with a robe that is preserved in Lachen Gompha.

From Tibet, Guru Nanak entered Sikkim through Chhorten Nyi ma la. Passing through Dolma Sampa and Tongpen, he entered Muguthang valley where he visited Kedang, Bendu, Sherang, Lyingka, and Muguthang. He went through Naku la and Lawu Gompha and reached plateau area around Gurdwara Sri Guru Dongmar Sahib, the highest Gurdwara in the world.

Guru Dongmar is a lake at a height of 18,000 feet alongside a glacial peak known by the same name. The lake remains frozen most of the year due to heavy snowfall for almost six months each year.

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