Copyright thehindu
An important holy relic related to the Sikh faith, the sacred Jore Sahib, the actual footwear of the 10th Sikh Guru, Shri Guru Gobind Singh Ji Maharaj and his wife Mata Sahib Kaur Ji, had an unusual 1500-kilometre long journey from New Delhi to Patna after a gap of more than 300 years to be finally established on November 1 at the Takhat Sri Harmandir Ji Patna Sahib. The establishment of the reliquary at Patna Sahib, the birthplace of Shri Guru Gobind Singh Ji, is being seen as a major event in the Sikh faith, as the private custodians of the relics have offered them to the larger Sikh congregation. The relics were scientifically validated by the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, and a system for transporting and further preservation of the relics was created. The story is interesting not just due to the provenance of the relics, which were authenticated by the Union Ministry of Culture via carbon dating, but also because the private custodians of the relics are related to the family of the Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri. “Our ancestors were in the service of Guru Maharaj with the holy Jore Sahib ‘Charan Suhawa’ more than 300 years ago. We handed over the relics to the Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Prabhandhak Commitee and management committee of the Takhat Sri Harimandir Ji Patna Sahib on 22nd October 2025, in Delhi. The scared relics were brought with fervour, piety, and enthusiasm with a nine-day Holy Guru Charan Yatra through Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to Patna Sahib,” Mr. Puri said in a post on social media platform X at the conclusion of the yatra. The historic initiative had the support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who too paid obeisance in Patna when the relics were finally established at the Takhat Sri Harmandir Ji Patna Sahib. The sacred geography associated with the Sikh faith stretches across India and borders, and is not confined to Punjab, instead spanning the lives and travels of the Sikh Gurus. The establishment of the reliquary of the Charan Jore of Shri Guru Gobind Singh Ji in Bihar is seen as an important step in strengthening this sacred geography.
