The Creation of the Khalsa (1699)

The background

By the late seventeenth century the Sikh community had lived through difficult decades. Guru Arjan Dev Ji had been executed in 1606 and Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji in 1675 in Delhi. Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji had already given the community a visible expression of miri and piri — temporal and spiritual responsibility held together. At Anandpur Sahib, Guru Gobind Singh Ji faced pressure from surrounding hill rulers and from Mughal authority.

Within the Panth there were internal problems too. The masands, agents who had once collected offerings and cared for distant sangats, had in many places become corrupt and self-serving. Historians see the creation of the Khalsa partly as a way of bringing the sangat into a direct relationship with the Guru, without intermediaries.

Vaisakhi 1699 at Anandpur Sahib

According to Sikh tradition, Guru Gobind Singh Ji called the sangat to Anandpur Sahib for Vaisakhi in 1699. Before the gathering he drew his sword and asked who was ready to give his head for the Guru. One by one, five Sikhs came forward. The Guru took each into a tent and returned alone; then he presented all five, dressed alike, before the sangat.

These five are remembered as the Panj Pyare, the Five Beloved Ones: Bhai Daya Singh Ji, Bhai Dharam Singh Ji, Bhai Himmat Singh Ji, Bhai Mohkam Singh Ji and Bhai Sahib Singh Ji. Tradition records that they came from different regions and from different castes and occupations, which Sikhs understand as a clear message that the Khalsa stands above caste.

Historians note that the earliest accounts of the event, such as Sainapati's Sri Gur Sobha, are brief, and that the detailed narrative Sikhs know today was shaped by later writers. The core facts — that Guru Gobind Singh Ji created the Khalsa at Anandpur Sahib around Vaisakhi 1699 through a new initiation — are widely accepted.

Khande di Pahul — the Amrit initiation

The Guru prepared Amrit in an iron bowl, stirring water with a khanda (double-edged sword) while reciting bani. Tradition adds that Mata Sahib Kaur Ji added patase (some accounts name Mata Jito Ji) (sugar sweets), so that strength would be joined with sweetness. The five were initiated, and then — in the moment Sikhs remember most — the Guru asked the Panj Pyare to initiate him in turn. Guru and Khalsa became one.

This new initiation, Khande di Pahul, replaced the earlier Charan Pahul, in which water touched by the Guru's foot was given to the initiate. Tradition records that very large numbers took Amrit in the days that followed.

Identity and discipline

Initiated Sikhs were given a common identity. Men took the name Singh; women are named Kaur, a practice the Sikh Rehat Maryada now prescribes for all Amritdhari women, though historians note that its universal use developed over time. The Khalsa keeps the five articles of faith known as the five Ks — Kesh (uncut hair), Kangha (wooden comb), Kara (steel bracelet), Kachhera (undergarment) and Kirpan (sword) — and follows a rehat (code of conduct) that includes daily Nitnem and avoiding the prohibited acts (kurehits).

The Khalsa salutation Waheguru Ji ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji ki Fateh — "the Khalsa belongs to Waheguru; victory belongs to Waheguru" — expresses the idea at the heart of it: the Khalsa is not a private army or a club, but a community that belongs to the Divine.

What the Khalsa came to mean

The Khalsa gave the Panth courage and cohesion through the eighteenth century, when Sikhs endured severe persecution and eventually established their own political power in Punjab. Its ideal is often summed up as sant-sipahi, the saint-soldier: someone devoted in spirit, disciplined in life, and willing to stand up for others, especially the weak.

Today, every Vaisakhi, Sikhs around the world remember 1699, and Amrit Sanchar ceremonies continue in which five initiated Sikhs, serving as Panj Pyare, administer Amrit. Not every Sikh is Amritdhari, and Sikhs are at different stages of their journey; the Khalsa remains the ideal towards which the Rehat Maryada invites every Sikh.