Tirtha Atlas

The sacred geography of the Indic world — every site mapped, dated, storied, and cited.

1126 sites15 countries4 traditions30 centuries
Early modern · Sikh · Pakistan

Gurdwara Panja Sahib

Hasan Abdal, Punjab · 33.8208°, 72.6897°

Guru Granth Sahib (handprint of Guru Nanak)Sikh EmpireSikh architecture with Mughal influence
Sacred since
1521 CE
first attestation / structure
Standing structure
19th c. (Hari Singh Nalwa; Maharaja Ranjit Singh)
Sikh Empire

History & significance

A major Sikh shrine at Hasan Abdal built around a boulder bearing what tradition holds to be Guru Nanak's handprint, from his visit with Bhai Mardana in the summer of 1521. The general Hari Singh Nalwa is credited with the first gurdwara on the spot and Maharaja Ranjit Singh later rebuilt it in Mughal idiom; the sacred spring here was already recorded by the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang in the seventh century.

Sthala katha — the legend

It is told that a local ascetic refused Guru Nanak water and hurled a rock at him, which the Guru stopped with his open palm, leaving his handprint in the stone and releasing a spring.

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Related sites

Takht Sachkhand Sri Hazur Sahib
Nanded · India
1832–1837 (Maharaja Ranjit Singh)
Gurdwara Janam Asthan
Nankana Sahib · Pakistan
present gurdwara 1819–20 (Ranjit Singh); 16th-c. original
Gurdwara Dera Sahib
Lahore · Pakistan
memorial 1619; main building under Ranjit Singh
Gurdwara Rori Sahib
Eminabad, Gujranwala · Pakistan
built in Ranjit Singh's reign (1799-1839)

Sources

coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-27 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Sikh Empire