Gurdwara Reetha Sahib

Gurdwara Reetha Sahib is only 60 kms. by flying distance north of Nanak Mata, but the distance by motorable road is 209 kms. It is 166 kms. from Tanakpur, the last railway station on Bareilly-Tanakpur section. Here, too, Guru Nanak Dev had an encounter with Nath yogis whom he tried to bring to the path of active humanitarian service along with remembrance of God’s Name. The story is not mentioned in the Janamsakhis, but locally a strong tradition has grown that Guru Nanak Dev miraculously made the normally bitter fruit of a soapnut tree sweet for Bhai Mardana to feed on.

A soapnut tree (not the original one) is still here and pilgrims are given prasad of sweet soapnuts. However, the common belief that the nuts of only the one branch, under which the Guru had sat, are sweet is not true. Nor are all the nuts given as prasad from this one tree. About ten kilometers from the Grudwara, there is a tract of land where such trees are grown and their fruit is collected and brought to replenish the Gurdwara’s stock of prasad. It is called Nanak Bagichi (lit. Nanak’s garden).

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