By Mr. Darshan Singh Abbot
Gurdwara Pathar Sahib was established in memory of Guru Nanak. It is about 25 miles from Leh, on the Leh-Kargil road. The Gurdwara commemorates the visit of Guru Nanak to the Ladakh region. Tibetan Buddhists consider Guru Nanak Dev as a saint and is revered by the name of Guru Gompka Maharaj.
Guru Nanak travelled to many places during the ‘Udasis’ (spiritual sojourns) and it is believed that on his travel back to Punjab via Srinagar, one of the places he halted was in Leh.
There are reports that in the late 1970s during the construction of the Leh-Nimu Road people found a boulder in the middle of the projected road-belt. Even after numerous attempts, they could not remove the boulder with the help of a bulldozer. The driver supposedly had a dream where he was asked not to move the stone. Initially, when he told the army officers of the area about his dream they were all sceptical. However, after a few Lamas and locals visited the army officers working on the road project and apprised them of the story of Saint Nanak Lama and the unyielding boulder, the army officers understood the significance of the historical site, now known as Gurdwara Pathar Sahib.
The Buddhist Lamas shared with the army officers the story attached to the boulder (pathar) which has a negative impression of their revered Lama Nanak – it contains a ‘hollow imprint of his shoulders and backside.’ They shared the story of Udasis from 1515-18 when Guru Nanak is believed to have travelled to Sikkim, Kashmir, Nepal and Tibet. They further elaborated that according to legend, a demon lived in the area and terrorised the people. They prayed to the Almighty for help and it is said that Guru Nanak came to their help. There is a belief that the Guru blessed the people with sermons. One morning, when Guru Nanak was meditating, a demon in a fit of rage pushed a boulder down from the hilltop with an intention to kill Guru Nanak. However, when the boulder touched the Guru’s body it softened like warm wax and came to a halt on his back.
The demon was taken aback when he saw Guru Nanak unhurt. Mad with anger, the demon tried to push the boulder with his right foot. As the stone was still soft like wax, it is believed that his foot got stuck in the stone and his footprint is also believed to be etched in the stone. The demon realised his helplessness against the spiritual power of the great Guru and sought forgiveness.
