Golden Temple (Harmandir Sahib) The Harmandir Sahib, also known as Darbar Sahib (Punjabi pronunciation, is a Gurdwara located in the city of Amritsar, Punjab, India. It is the preeminent pilgrimage site of Sikhism. It is usually called the Golden Temple in English because it is plated with gold. The Gurdwara sahib is built around a man-made pool (Sarovar) that was completed by Guru Ram Das in 1577. Guru Arjan, the fifth Guru of Sikhism, requested Sai Mian Mir – a Muslim Pir of Lahore, to lay its foundation stone in 1589. In 1604, Guru Arjan placed a copy of the Adi Granth in Harmandir Sahib, calling the site Ath Sath Tirath (lit. "shrine of 68 pilgrimages"). The Gurdwara was repeatedly rebuilt by the Sikhs after it became a target of persecution and was destroyed several times by the Muslim armies from Afghanistan and the Mughal Empire. The army led by Ahmad Shah Abdali, for example, demolished it in 1757 and again in 1762, then filled the pool with garbage. The...
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