Gurudwara Hemkunt Sahib by Shekhar Joshi Postcard

Gurudwara Hemkunt in the Himalayas is also regarded as one of the holiest places of the Sikhs. It was there that Sri Guru Gobind Singh the tenth and last Guru of the Sikhs is reported to have meditated in his previous life. In 'Bachitar Natak' the great Guru relates his story in the following words- "I shall now relate my own story, how God sent me into this world. I was busy performing penance on the hills of 'Hemkunt' where seven peaks are prominent. The place is called 'Sapt Shring’ where King Pandu had performed Yoga, there I practiced austerity and worshipped the god of death. He writes in his autobiography that Ram Chander son of Raja Dasrath had two sons Lava and Kushu. Lava and Kushu ruled over Northern India for many years. They remained good friends during their rule and they colonized two important cities Lahore and Kasur in Punjab. But when they died their sons could not tolerate each other. They became great enemies. In order to get their supremacy they quarreled with each other, One grand son of Lava named Sodhi won the battle and became the king of Punjab. The grandsons of Kushu being defeated took shelter at Banaras. There they learnt the Vedaas.