Paonta Sahib, a sacred city, 81 km from
Nahan in the
Sirmaur District of
Himachal Pradesh, is a Sikh pilgrimage center situated at an altitude of 398 m. This city is sacred to the memory of
Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Guru of the Sikhs.
By the riverside there is a
Gurdwara which holds a memorial to the martial Guru in the form of his weapons. The city was named after this guru and got the name from the
Hindi word paon meaning foot, either because he set his foot in this place or he lost an ornament which he wore on his foot called a paonta while bathing in the river
Yamuna. Gurdwara Paonta Sahib and Paonta Fort are housed in this sacred city. The Guru wrote the major portion of the
Dasam Granth while he was in the Gurdwara Paonta Sahib, once the home of Guru Gobind Singh. Poetry reading sessions and symposiums are held here. He built the Paonta Fort that spreads over hundred acres of land, that gave shelter for his followers and other famous poets. The city attracts thousands during the spring festivals of
Baisakhi and
Holi. The city also holds two Hindu temples one dedicated to
Lord Ram which is called Devi Ka Mandir, built by a princess, and the other dedicated to
Lord Krishna. Freezing winters and hot summers are the climactic features of this land.
