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Guru Angad, Bhai Amar Das And Goindwal

There was a man named Goinda, also known as Gonda, a Marvaha Khatri trader, who planned to establish an habitation by the river Beas not far from Khadoor Sahib. One day Goinda arrived to meet Guru Angad at Khadoor Sahib. Goinda had been involved in a lawsuit with his relations, and vowed that if ever he were victorious, he would found a city in honour of the Guru. Guru Angad read Goinda a shabad on the futility of fame and humbly refused to have the city named after himself.

Fortune favoured Goinda, he began to found the city on an open plot of land on the bank of the Beas, of which he had obtained a lease from the emperor. Having started the work, Goinda laid out the boundaries, employed masons, and began to build; but what was done by day was in some mysterious manner undone by night. It was supposed that this was the work of evil spirits, but probably the enmity of Goinda's relations has not been taken sufficiently into consideration.

Bhai Amar Das Provides Help

Goinda went back to Khadoor to seek Guru Angad's blessing and asked if any one of the two Guru's sons would live in the new settlement. Instead, Guru Angad sent Bhai Amar Das and commissioned him to remove whatever obstructed the construction of the settlement and lay the foundations. Bhai Amar Das prayed to God for help and everything succeeded according to the Guru's wishes. Goinda founded a beautiful city, which Bhai Amar Das called Goindawal in honour of him.

The city is still known as Goindwal. Goinda also built a home for his benefactor Guru Angad. When everything was completed, Goinda went again to Khadoor to offer his thanks to the Guru for sending with him such a potent envoy as Bhai Amar Das, and also to beg the Guru to go and live in the newly-founded city. The Guru did not wish to leave his old town and residence, so he asked Bhai Amar Das to live in Goindwal and visit him daily.

Bhai Amar Das Settles In Goindwal

On account of the presence of Bhai Amar Das and the religious atmosphere which pervaded the place, Goindwal became a place of earthly paradise. In due course, Bhai Amar Das moved his relatives from Basarke and permanently settled in Goindwal. Bhai Amar Das was now old, but a halo of devotion shone round him. His daily duties were as follows: He rose at Goindwal before dawn, and proceeded to the river Beas to take water to Khadoor for Guru Angad to bathe with. Meanwhile he repeated the Japji and generally finished it half-way between Goindwal and Khadoor.

After hearing the Asa Di Var in Khadoor Bhai Amar Das would fetch water for the Guru's kitchen, scrubbed the cooking utensils, and brought firewood from the forest. Every evening he listened to the Sodar and the daily vespers and then tended to Guru Angad. After putting him to rest he returned to Goindwal. The half-way spot where Bhai Amar Das would finish Japji Sahib every morning is called the Damdama or resting place. Gurdwara Sri Damdama Sahib Goindwal was built on the spot.

The location of Goindwal was an ancient eastwest highway that crossed the river Beas connecting Delhi and Lahore and the head of the most important ferries on the river Beas. With the renovation of the highway by Sher Shall Sur, the Afghan ruler of north India (1540–45), this ferry site became an important transit point.


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