Situated 25 miles from Leh in Ladakh region in Jammu and Kashmir, Gurudwara Pathar Sahib stands at the place where Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikh religion and the first guru, is believed to have vanquished a demon.
Situated in predominantly Buddhist Ladakh, Gurudwara Pathar Sahib is also worshipped and venerated by Buddhists. Tibetan Buddhists venerate Guru Nanak as Guru Gompka Maharaj and as Nanak Lama.
According to legend, during his sojourn in Ladakh, Guru Nanak was attacked by a demon. The demon threw a large boulder on the guru as he sat at the base of a hill meditating. However, the rock became soft like molten wax and failed to cause any harm to the Sikh guru.
The demon was in for a surprise when he found the Sikh guru unscathed. Bristling with fury, the demon tried to crush Guru Nanak by kicking the boulder with all his might. To his surprise, the demon’s foot caused a deep impression in the boulder which had turned soft. Realizing that the man in front of him was no mortal soul, the demon underwent a transformation and stopped harassing the people.
The boulder and the legend associated with it was forgotten with the passage of time. The boulder was discovered again during the construction of Leh-Nimu road in 1970s. Construction work was brought to a halt by a huge boulder and despite all efforts it couldn’t be removed.
Though people associated with the construction had visions asking them not to disturb the rock, army official in-charge of the project decided to blow. However, when army officials were about to blow up the boulder, lamas and locals arrived and stopped the work. The lamas told the army officials about the rock and Nanak Lama. Later, army officials, locals and lamas helped construct the gurudwara.
The gurudwara is maintained today by the Indian Army. It is a tradition for vehicles to stop and pay obeisance at the temple.
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