'Jore Sahib' of Guru Gobind Singh enshrined at Patna Sahib

New Delhi/Patna, Nov 2 (PTI) The holy ‘Jore Sahib’, the footwear of Guru Gobind Singh and his wife Mata Sahib Kaur, has been enshrined at the Takht Patna Sahib, the birthplace of the 10th Sikh guru, officials said on Sunday.

The ceremony took place at the holy Sikh shrine on Saturday in the presence of Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri and a large number of devotees, they said.

The enshrinement took place after the culmination of the nine-day 'Guru Charan Yatra' during which the holy relics travelled from Delhi to Patna after passing through Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

Bihar Governor Arif Mohammad Khan and representatives of various faiths attended the ceremony, reflecting a harmonious gathering of reverence and communal brotherhood, the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) said in a statement.

Delhi-based IGNCA falls under the Ministry of Culture.

The sacred 'Jore Sahib' was escorted by the Panj Pyaras in a spiritually uplifting procession symbolising devotion, unity and sacrifice, it said. “Thousands of devotees lined the Yatra route to pay their respects and be part of this historic moment that brought together faith, emotion and spiritual solidarity," the statement said.

Before the commencement of the Yatra, the crucial task of “scientifically validating the antiquity of the 300-year-old 'Jore Sahib', preparing a conservation framework, and undertaking necessary preservation measures was entrusted to IGNCA”, the statement said.

The conservation division of IGNCA completed the task with “utmost respect and scholarly rigour, ensuring that the relics could be enshrined with full authenticity and sanctity” at Takht Patna Sahib, it said.

The sacred relics were also examined through carbon-dating, a senior IGNCA official said.

The custodianship of the holy relics was earlier transferred to the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee and the Takht Sri Patna Sahib Management Committee on October 22, the statement said.

Before the start of the procession, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged people to have a ‘darshan’ of the ‘Jore Sahib’ as the ‘Guru Charan Yatra’ traversed through Haryana and Uttar Pradesh before making its way to the Takht Patna Sahib. PTI KND ARI ARI