Paonta Sahib पांवटा साहिब ਪਾਂਉਟਾ ਸਾਹਿਬ |
|
---|---|
City | |
Location in Himachal Pradesh | |
Coordinates: 30°26′17″N 77°37′26″E / 30.438°N 77.624°ECoordinates: 30°26′17″N 77°37′26″E / 30.438°N 77.624°E | |
Country | India |
State | Himachal Pradesh |
District | Sirmour |
Municipality | Sirmaur |
Elevation | 389 m (1,276 ft) |
Population (2011) | |
• Total | 25,172 |
• Rank | 7 in HP |
Languages | |
• Official | Hindi |
Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
Vehicle registration | HP17 |
Paonta Sahib (पांवटा साहिब, ਪਾਂਉਟਾ ਸਾਹਿਬ) is one of the major industrial towns of Himachal Pradesh in India. It is located in the south of Sirmour district, on National Highway 7. Major industries are cement production (Cement Corporation of India in Rajban), power generation and renewable energy, pharmaceuticals (Sun Pharmaceutical,Mankind Pharma Limited), textiles, chemicals and food, as well as Asia's biggest limestone market at Sataun. Paonta Sahib is an important place of worship for Sikhs, hosting a large Gurdwara named Gurudwara Paonta Sahib, on the banks of the river Yamuna. The river is the boundary between the states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
The town was founded by Sikh Guru Guru Gobind Singh. The Gurudwara Paonta Sahib has linkages to the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh and the Sikh leader Banda Singh Bahadur. Its original name was Paontika. Paon in Hindi means "feet", and tika in Hindi means "became stable". It is believed that Guru Gobind Singh and his horse stopped at this place and he decided to stay here. He lived here for four and a half years, having never stayed so long at any other place in his entire life. He wrote many Sikh religious books here and then went to Anandpur Sahib to establish the Khalsa Panth. The Gurudwara also houses a museum which contains a lot of antiques and weapons used by Guru Gobind Singh during his stay.
Paonta Sahib is located at 30°26′17″N 77°37′26″E / 30.438°N 77.624°E. It has an average elevation of 389 metres (1,276 feet). It is on the bank of the river Yamuna, the river being the boundary between the states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. It is situated near the towns of Nahan in Himachal Pradesh, Yamunanagar in Haryana, Saharanpur in Western Uttar Pradesh and Dehradun in Uttarakhand. It is on the western extreme of the Doon Valley a distance of about 44 km from Dehradun. Kalesar National Park is 12 km from Paonta Sahib.