Located on the banks of river Yamuna, the Gurdwara Sahib Majnu Ka Tila is the Sikh’s place of worship in Delhi. It lies beyond the Khyber Pass section, near the Timarpur colony, on the right banks of the river. The Gurudwara Sahib Majnu Ka Tila celebrates the birth of Khalsa and hence, is a famous Gurudwara here. It is celebrated on the Baisakhi day and it is during this time that the Gurudwara is flocked by people from all the parts of the city and sometimes from other cities as well, irrespective of caste, creed and religion.

History of Gurudwara

It is believed that once, there was a Muslim hermit who camped here, during the reign of Sultan Sikandar Shah Lodhi, on a small hill located on the banks of river Yamuna. He was fasting and eventually he became very thin. He was a Sufi mendicant and he was meditating for days as he wanted to see a glimpse of God. He was so involved in meditating that he did not have any idea of what was going on around him and hence, people named him Majnu meaning someone crazy in love. Majnu was the name given to a man by the Persians who was madly in love with a girl named Lali and it was this love that became symbolic of the love for God in Sufi literature. Majnu had a small boat and when was not meditating, he would use this boat to ferry people across the banks of Yamuna.

Once day, Guru Nanak was passing by the river Yamuna and he came across Majnu and gave this skiny hermit, his blessings. With this enlightenment, Majnu became a disciple of Guru Nanak and while the great Guru was camping on the top of the hillock, many Sufi saints came to meet him and they all had spiritual discussions. Sajjada Nashin was one of the most eminent Sufi saints who came here and was deeply influenced by the verses of Guru Nanak. He was from the shrine of Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia. Later many people got attracted to this site because of Majnu’s personality.

Guru Nanak who met Majnu on July 20th in the year 1505 was so pleased with Majnu that he stayed there till the end of the month. Later, Baghel Singh who was a Sikh military leader built the Gurdwara Sahib Majnu Ka Tila to commemorate the Guru’s stay in the year 1783 but it was a very small structure. Guru Hargobind Singh also stayed here when he was invited by Jahangir to Delhi. Ram Rai, the son of Guru Har Rai, the seventh Sikh Guru also stayed here during the reign of Aurangzeb and thus, the Gurdwara Sahib Majnu Ka Tila has a rich history associated with it.

Architecture of the Gurudwara

There is a tiny old Gurudwara made of marble and it exists even today. It was built by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. A majestic Gurudwara was later built in the year 1950 by the sangat of Delhi. There is also a well situated outside the Gurudwara and lot of renovation work has been done to give the Gurudwara its majestic look.

Significance of the Gurudwara

The Gurdwara Sahib Majnu Ka Tila is an extant shrine in Delhi and is also one of the oldest. It is famous for its association to the first Sikh Guru or Guru Nanak and is famous as the birth of Khalsa is celebrated each year in this Gurudwara on the Baisakhi Day.

Facilities to the Gurudwara

It is maintained by the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee. They manage various other schools, hospitals and other charitable organizations in and around Delhi. There are hundreds of volunteers who visit this Gurudwara everyday to work. The place is filled by devotees and Sikhs during the month of Baisakhi. In fact, it is also visited by many non Sikhs during the festivities.

Best Time to Visit

As already mentioned above, the Gurudwara Sahib Majnu Ka Tila is visited by people mostly during the celebration of birth of Khalsa that usually takes place in the month of April. But it can also be visited during the other days of the year and it remains open from early morning to late night. Both Sikhs and non Sikhs are expected to wear proper clothes while visiting the Gurudwara. Both men and women also need to cover their head and remove shoes before entering the premises of the Gurudwara.

How to Reach

By Air

Delhi is the capital of the country and the Indira Gandhi International Airport is well connected to rest of the world. It of course, connected to all the other cities of the country as well. There are state-run buses, auto-rickshaws and private taxis that connect the airport and the Gurudwara.

By Road

Delhi is well-connected by a good network of roads with rest of the country as it is the Capital City of the Country. The buses are available to the Gurudwara from different places of Delhi and other nearby places as well.

By Local Transport

For local transport DTC and State operated buses are available. Rented cars, taxis, auto-rickshaws are also available.

It is well connected by Delhi metro as well.