Takht Sri Damdama Sahib

Takht Sri Damdama Sahib is at Talwandi Sabo, also called Damdama Sahib, about 28 km south-east of Bathinda in Punjab. The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism counts it among the Sikhs’ five takhts. Damdama means a place of repose: Guru Tegh Bahadur stopped here in the early 1670s, and Guru Gobind Singh, who reached Talwandi Sabo on 20 January 1706, stayed over nine months after a long stretch of turmoil.

Key moments

• 1706: the Encyclopaedia says the Guru had Bhai Mani Singh prepare a fresh copy of the Guru Granth Sahib under his own supervision. The Damdami Taksal’s own account goes further: the Guru dictated the Granth from memory in nine months and nine days, with Bhai Mani Singh as scribe. The Encyclopaedia says the Guru wrote his Persian letter, the Zafarnama, earlier, at Dina.
• 1706 to 1757: Baba Deep Singh rejoined the Guru here, stayed on to look after the shrine, and in 1726 had four copies made from Bhai Mani Singh’s recension. The Encyclopaedia names him founder of the Damdami Taksal and says the place became a Sikh cantonment and seat of learning; the Taksal says the Guru founded it.
• 1963: the SGPC took over the shrines from the family of the custodian.
• 18 November 1966: by Resolution No. 32 the SGPC approved Damdama Sahib as a takht, asked the Khalsa to remember it in the ardas, and recommended that its jathedar, like those of the other four takhts, sit ex officio on the SGPC.

What it means today. Tibbi Sahib, the Guru’s training ground, is still the venue for Hola Mohalla and Baisakhi, and Bunga Mastuana, founded in 1923 by Sant Atar Singh, trains young scholars. The name Damdami Taksal comes from this place, and the Taksal’s website, which speaks for its Jatha Bhindra, names Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale as the leader it follows. The Encyclopaedia and the Taksal differ on who founded the Taksal.