Hasan Abdal
| Hasan Abdal حسن ابدال |
|
|---|---|
 Hasan Abdal
حسن ابدال |
|
| Coordinates: 33°49′10″N 72°41′20″E / 33.819487°N 72.689026°ECoordinates: 33°49′10″N 72°41′20″E / 33.819487°N 72.689026°E | |
| Country |
 Pakistan
|
| Province | Punjab |
| District | |
| Elevation | 308 m (1,010 ft) |
| Population (1998) | |
| • Total | 37,789 |
| • Estimate (2007) | 54,200 |
| Time zone | PST (UTC+5) |
| Calling code | 057 |
| Number of towns | 1 |
| Number of Union councils | 2 |
| Website | |
Hasan Abdal or Hassan Abdal (Urdu: حسن ابدال) is a historic town of 50,000 residents in , Punjab, Pakistan. It is located where the Grand Trunk Road meets the Karakoram Highway near the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, 40 km northwest of Rawalpindi. The town is famous for Gurdwara Sri Panja Sahib, one of the most sacred sites in Sikhism, where thousands of Sikhs congregate on the eve of Besakhi every year .
The famous Chinese traveler Xuanzang who visited the place in the 7th century A.D. mentions the sacred spring of Elapatra about 70 li to the northwest of Taxila which is identical to the one at the current site of Gurdwara Panja Sahib. The town is mentioned in Ain-i-Akbari in the context that Shams al-Din built himself a vault there in which lies Hakim Abu’l Fath buried. Akbar’s visit to the town on his way back from Kashmir is also mentioned.
William Finch who travelled through India between 1608 and 1611 describes Hasan Abdal to be a "pleasant town with a small river and many fair tanks in which are many fishes with golden rings in their noses ...; the water so clear that you may see a penny in the bottom". The Mughal emperor Jehangir mentions in his Tuzk-e-Jahangiri this town by the name of Baba Hasan Abdal where he stayed for three days. He also praises the city in these words: "The celebrated place at this station is a spring which flows from the foot of a little hill, exceedingly clear, sweet and nice...". Hasan Abdal was visited by various Mughal kings on their way to Kashmir
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Wikipedia