Hemkund Sahib

The identification

The Bachitar Natak, a composition in the Dasam Granth, describes a previous birth in which the author meditated at a place called Hemkunt, a lake surrounded by seven snow peaks. No location was attached to this for two centuries.

In the early twentieth century a search based on the description led to the identification of a glacial lake in Garhwal, and a shrine was established there; the present gurdwara dates from the later twentieth century. The identification is a modern one and rests on the topographical match rather than on continuous tradition, which is generally acknowledged within the tradition.

The pilgrimage

The site is reached by a steep climb of some kilometres from Govindghat, and is open only in the summer months when the snow clears. Pilgrims make the ascent in large numbers despite the altitude, and a langar operates at the shrine.

The Valley of Flowers National Park lies adjacent, and the two are often visited together.

Significance

Hemkund is notable as an instance of a sacred geography established within living memory, by textual reading and search rather than by inheritance. Its rapid adoption — it is now among the most-visited Sikh pilgrimage sites — indicates how readily such an identification can take hold when it answers a text the community already holds.