Published By: Sakshi Agrawal

Amritsar: Interesting facts about the Golden Temple

Scroll below for interesting facts about the most admired gurudwara in India.

The Golden Temple, located in the heart of Amritsar, is an embodiment of glory, equality and harmony. Visited by more than thousands of visitors every month, the fourth Sikh Guru, Guru Ram Das Sahib, founded it in the 16th century.

If you are planning on visiting the temple soon, know these facts that will leave you in awe even before you lay eyes on the beautiful wonder.

Named after the gold foil covering

The name of the temple stems from the outer layer of gold foil that covers the white marble of the entire temple.

Open to everyone

The temple has four entrances showing openness to everyone irrespective of caste, creed and religion.

Largest kitchen in the world

The Golden Temple houses the largest kitchen in the world with more than 1 lakh people being served free food here every day.

The sacred pool surrounding the temple

A pool, known as AmritSarovar, surrounds the temple and is considered sacred by devotees. The Sikhs believe that one can gain secret possessions by taking a dip in the holy water of the pool.

People work for free

While the operation and maintenance are funded by donations, the temple is entirely managed by volunteers who partake in cooking, cleaning and serving food at no cost to the temple.

A four-year-long renovation

In the 1990s, the temple went under a renovation where five hundred kilograms of 24-karat gold was used during the process. The value of that gold is more than 130 crores today. While only 7-9 layers of gold were used, during the renovation 24 layers were used. People believe that the glory of the temple will reach the 25th century.

The construction of the temple

The fifth Sikh Guru, Guru Arjan, who also designed the entire architecture, started the construction of the temple. The construction took almost 8 years to complete, after starting in 1581.

Located below ground level

The temple has been structurally located a level below the ground level. The stairs also descend downwards at the temple. These structures symbolize that one should always be humble and walk down to reach the temple of God.

How many of these incredible facts did you already know?