AT A GLANCE
Why go?
Baba Makhan Shah Lubana Gurdwara Sahib is a Sikh place of worship in Pehowa, a small historic town in Haryana's Kurukshetra district. It carries the name of Bhai Makhan Shah Lubana, the 17th-century trader-devotee whose devotion made him a revered figure in Sikh memory, and it serves as a gathering and seva (service) centre for the Lubana Sikh community of the region.↗↗
It is a neighbourhood gurdwara rather than a grand pilgrimage monument, and that quiet, local character is part of its appeal: visitors come less to marvel at architecture than to share in an active community of faith, with a welcoming, working prayer hall open through most of the day.↗↗
Who the gurdwara honours
The name belongs to one of the most vivid episodes in Sikh history. Makhan Shah Lubana (1619–1674) was a prosperous merchant and devout Sikh. Tradition holds that when his ship was caught in a violent storm at sea, he vowed an offering of 500 gold coins to the Guru if he survived. The storm passed, and he went to the town of Baba Bakala to fulfil his promise—only to find some twenty-two men each claiming the Guruship after the death of the child Guru Harkrishan.
