Later Mughals v1.c6.s15.4

v1.c6.s15.4

Nanak had been married to the daughter of another patwari, and had by her two sons. But he did not live long with her, and instead of nominating one of his sons he named as his successor his disciple Lahina, a Tihun Khatri, to whom he had given the name of Angad.‡ This Guru, a totally unlettered man, took up his residence at Khadur, on the banks of the Bias. There he died on the 6th March 1552, having named as his successor Amardas, a Bhalla Khatri, born in 1479§ at Vasarka in the district of Amritsar. When he became Guru he removed to Govindwal, where he made a great well, with eighty-four steps down to the water, round which every year a great mela or gathering is still held. He died on the 14th May 1574, leaving as his successor his son-in-law Ramdas, a Khatri of the Sodhi clan, born at the village of Guru Chak. Ramdas derived a large income from the voluntary offerings of his disciples, which he devoted to the restoration of an old tank that he called Amritsar (Nectar-tank), building in the middle of it a temple called Har-mandar (the temple of Hari). The town which sprang up round the tank was known at first as Ramdaspur, but gradually the name Amritsar superseded all others. This well-known city, the spiritual centre of the Sikh religion, lies 32 miles east of Lahor. Tradition asserts that the land was granted to the Guru by the Emperor Akbar, nor is this improbable. The word chak in the revenue language of Upper India means a slice or portion of the village area. A piece of land detached and given to a faqir would naturally be known as Chak Guru or Guru Chak. In Browne's map, prepared about 1787, it still bears that name, as well as the modern one of Amritsar. Ramdas died on the 3rd March 1581.