Baba Sodal Mandir

The Sodal Mandir, in the Doaba Chowk area near Devi Talab, is a smaller shrine but the centre of one of Jalandhar's most distinctive religious traditions. Baba Sodal was a child saint of the Khatri community said to have drowned in the temple tank in the 15th century after a dispute with his mother. The annual Sodal Mela on Anant Chaudas day (September) is the city's largest fair, drawing pilgrims from the Punjabi diaspora as far as Britain and Canada.

The shrine itself is small and not architecturally distinguished, but the tank is the focus and the atmosphere during the mela is genuinely impressive. Outside festival time it is a quiet local stop; combine it with a visit to Devi Talab a kilometre away.

things to do sight
A story
Baba Sodal was, according to local legend, a child of miraculous powers who drowned in this tank in the 1430s after a quarrel with his mother. She is said to have begged him to come back to life and he refused, telling her she had no right to ask. The annual mela in his memory has been held continuously for nearly 600 years.