HARIMANDIR

also spelled Harmandir, also called Darbar Sahib (Punjabi: Sacred Audience), or Golden Temple the chief gurdwara, or house of worship, of the Sikhs of India and their most important pilgrimage site; it is located in the city of Amritsar, in Punjab state. The Harimandir was built in 1604 by Guru Arjun, who symbolically had it placed on a lower level so that even the humblest had to step down to enter it, and with entrances on all four sides, signifying that it was open to worshipers of all castes and creeds. The foundation stone was laid by Mian Mir, a Muslim divine of Lahore. The temple was destroyed several times by Afghan invaders and was rebuilt in marble and copper overlaid with gold foil during the reign (180139) of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The structure thus became known as the Golden Temple. The temple occupies a small island in the centre of the tank, or pool, called the amrit-sar (pool of nectar) and is connected to land on its west by a marble causeway running across the water of the pool. The Harimandir building sustained some minor damage on June 6, 1984, when Indian troops fought their way into the temple complex to crush Sikh extremists who were using it as a fortress and refuge. The nearby building known as the Akal Takht, which is the headquarters of the Sikh religion, was heavily damaged in the attack, however.