PANJ PIARE (literally the five beloved ones), name given to the five Sikhs, Bhai Daya Singh, Bhai Dharam Singh, Bhai Himmat Singh, Bhai Mukham Singh and Bhai Sahib Singh, who were so designated by Guru Gobind Singh at the historic divan at Anandpur Sahib on 30 March 1699 and who formed the nucleus of the Khalsa as the first batch to receive at his hands khanda di Pahul, i.e. rites of the two-edged sword.

In Sikh theology, as in the Indian classical tradition generally, panj or panch, the numeral five, has a special significance. Guru Nanak in Japji refers to five khands, i.e. stages or steps in spiritual development, and calls a spiritually awakened person a panch. The ancient Indian socio-political institution panchayat meant a council of five elders. Something like an inner council of five existed even in the time of the earlier Gurus: five Sikhs accompanied Guru Arjan on his last journey to Lahore; the five were each given 100 armed Sikhs to command by his successor, Guru Hargobind; Guru Tegh Bahadur, set out on his journey to Delhi to court execution attended by five Sikhs.

Until the Baisakhi of AD 1699, Sikh initiation ceremony, charan pahul, comprised the administering of charanamrit or charanodak to the novitiate. As Bhai Gurdas, Varan, I.23, records, this was the practice Guru Nanak introduced for the Sikhs. At the ceremony the novitiate quaffed water poured over the foot of the Guru and vowed to follow the religious and moral injunctions as well as the code of communal conduct laid down. Later, masands or local leaders, specially authorized by the Gurus, also administered charan pahul. According to Kesar Singh Chhibbar, Bansavalinama, a modification was introduced in the time of Guru Hargobind when water, poured over the toe of the right foot of each of the five chosen Sikhs assembled in a dharamsal, was received in a bowl and administered to the seekers after ardas or supplicatory prayer.

Events at Keshgarh Sahib in 1699

"I want a head!"

Guru Gobind Singh, who had abolished the institution of masands replaced charan pahul with khanda di Pahul. He summoned a special assembly in the Keshgarh Fort at Anandpur on the Baisakhi day of 1756 Bk/30 March 1699. After the morning devotions and kirtan, he suddenly stood up, drawn sword in hand, and, to quote Bhai Santokh Singh, Sri Gur Pratap Suraj Granth, spoke: “The entire sangat is very dear to me; but is there a devoted Sikh who will give his head to me here and now? A need has arisen at this moment which calls for a head.” A hush fell over the assembly. Daya Ram, a native of Lahore, arose and offered himself. He walked

Guru Sahib emerges

Guru Gobind Singh emerged from the tent “hand in hand with the five”, says Kuir Singh, Gurbilas Patshahi 10. The disciples wore saffron-coloured raiment topped over with neatly tied turbans of the same colour. Guru Gobind Singh, similarly dressed, introduced his chosen Sikhs to the audience as Panj Piare, the five devoted spirits beloved of the Guru. He then proceeded to perform the ceremony. Filling an iron bowl with clean water, he kept churning it with a khanda, i.e. double-edged sword, while reciting over it the sacred verses. Guru Gobind Singh’s wife Mata Jitoji, brought sugar crystals which were put into the vessel at the Guru’s bidding. Sweetness was thus mingled with the alchemy of iron. Amrit, the Nectar of Immortality, was now ready and Guru Gobind Singh gave the five Sikhs each five palmsful of it to drink. At the end, all five of them quaffed from the steel bowl the remaining elixir binding themselves in new fraternal ties. Their rebirth into this brotherhood meant the cancellation of their previous family ties, of the occupations which had hitherto determined their place in society, of their beliefs and creeds and of the rituals they had so far observed.

The five Sikhs—three of them the so-called low-castes, a Kstriya and a Jat—formed the nucleus of the self-abnegating, martial and casteless fellowship of the Khalsa Guru Gobind Singh had brought into being. They were given the surname of Singh, meaning lion, and were ever to wear the five emblems of the Khalsa — kesh or unshorn hair and beard; kangha, a comb in the kes to keep it tidy as against the recluses who kept it matted in token of their having renounced the world; kara, a steel bracelet; kachchh, short breeches worn by soldiers; and kirpan, a sword. They were enjoined to succour the helpless and fight the oppressor, to have faith in One God and to consider all human beings equal, irrespective of caste and creed.

The Five Different Castes

The episode of sis-bhet, i.e. offering of the heads was recorded by Bhai Kuir Singh in his Gurbilas Patshahi 10 (1751) followed by Bhai Sukkha Singh, Bhai Santokh Singh, and others. Earlier chronicles such as the Sri Gur Sobha, and the Bansavalinama do not narrate it in such detail. Ratan Singh Bhangu, Prachin Panth Prakash, simply says that “five Sikhs were selected one each from five different castes.” From what is known about the lives of those five Sikhs, each of them had received instruction at the hands of Guru Gobind Singh, was a devoted disciple and had been in residence at Anandpur long

Khanda di Pahul, introduced by Guru Gobind Singh on 30 March 1699, became the established form of initiation for Sikhs for all time to come; so also the institution of the Panj Piare. In fact, Guru Gobind Singh had himself initiated by the Panj Piare as he had initiated them. Since then this has been the custom. Panj Piare, any five initiated Sikhs reputed to be strictly following the rahit, or Sikh discipline, are chosen to administer to the novitiates amrit, i.e. Khanda di Pahul. Panj Piare are similarly chosen to perform other important ceremonies such as laying the cornerstone of a gurdwara building or inaugurating kar-seva, i.e. cleansing by voluntary labour of a sacred tank, or leading a religious procession, and to decide issues confronting a local sangat or community as a whole. At crucial moments of history, Panj Piare have collectively acted as supreme authority, representing the Guru-Panth. During the battle of Chamkaur, it was the last five surviving Sikhs who, constituting themselves into the Council of Five, Panj Piare, commanded Guru Gobind Singh to leave the fortress and save himself to reassemble the Sikhs. Guru Gobind Singh had abolished the masand system and before he passed away, he also ended the line of living gurus. In the institution of Panj Piare, he had created the nucleus of a casteless and democratic continuing society.

Bibliography

1. Gurdas, Bhai, Varan

2. Jaggi, Rattan Singh, ed., Bansavalinama. Chandigarh, 1972

3. Kuir Singh, Gurbilas Patshahi 10. Patiala, 1968

4. Bhangu, Ratan Singh, Prachin Panth Prakash. Amritsar, 1962

5. Santokh Singh, Bhai, Sri Gur Pratap Suraj Granth, Amritsar, 1927-35

6. Bhalla, Sarup Das, Mahima Prakash.

7. Gian Singh, Giani, Panth Prakash, Patiala, 1970

8. Sukha Singh, Gurbilas Dasvin Patshahi, Patiala, 1970

Above adapted from article By S. S. Ashok

Story of Baisakhi

Guru Gobind Rai Ji was 33 years old when he had Divine inspiration to actuate his designs and make an undying legacy. Every year at the time of Baisakhi (springtime), thousands of devotees would come to Anandpur to pay their obeisance and seek the Guru's blessings. In early 1699, months before Baisakhi Day, Guru Gobind Rai sent special edicts to congregants far and wide that that year the Baisakhi was going to be a unique affair. He asked them not to cut any of their hair -- to come with unshorn hair under their turbans and chunis, and for the men to come with full beards.

On Baisakhi Day, March 30, 1699, hundreds of thousands of people gathered around his divine temporal seat at Anandpur Sahib. The Guru addressed the congregants with a most stirring oration on his divine mission of restoring their faith and preserving the Sikh religion. After his inspirational discourse, he flashed his unsheathed sword and said that every great deed was preceded by equally great sacrifice: He demanded one head for oblation. "I need a head", he declared. After some trepidation one person offered himself. The Guru took him inside a tent. A little later he reappeared with his sword dripping with blood, and asked for another head. One by one, four more earnest devotees offered their heads. Every time the Guru took a person inside the tent, he came out with a bloodied sword in his hand.

Thinking their Guru to have gone berserk, the congregants started to disperse. Then the Guru emerged with all five men dressed piously in white. He baptized the five in a new and unique ceremony called pahul, what Sikhs today know as the baptism ceremony called Amrit. Then the Guru asked those five baptized Sikhs to baptize him as well. This is how he became known as Guru Chela both teacher and student. He then proclaimed that the Panj Pyare -- the Five Beloved Ones -- would be the embodiment of the Guru himself: "Where there are Panj Pyare, there am I. When the Five meet, they are the holiest of the holy."

He said whenever and wherever five baptized (Amritdhari) Sikhs come together, the Guru would be present. All those who receive ]Amrit from five baptized Sikhs will be infused with the spirit of courage and strength to sacrifice. Thus with these principles he established Panth Khalsa, the Order of the Pure Ones.

Unique Identity

At the same time the Guru gave his new Khalsa a unique, indisputable, and distinct identity. The Guru gave the gift of bana, the distinctive Sikh clothing and headwear. He also offered five emblems of purity and courage. These symbols, worn by all baptized Sikhs of both sexes, are popularly known today as Five Ks: Kesh, unshorn hair; Kangha, the wooden comb; Kara, the iron (or steel) bracelet; Kirpan, the sword; and Kachera, the underwear. By being identifiable, no Sikh could never hide behind cowardice again.

Political tyranny was not the only circumstance that was lowering peoples' morale. Discriminatory class distinctions (--the Indian "caste" system--) promoted by Brahmins and Mullahs were also responsible for the peoples' sense of degradation. The Guru wanted to eliminate the anomalies caused by the caste system. The constitution of the Panj Pyare was the living example of his dream: both the high and low castes were amalgamated into one. Among the original Panj Pyare, there was one Khatri, shopkeeper; one Jat, farmer; one Chhimba, washer-man; one Ghumar, water-carrier; and one Nai, a barber. The Guru gave the surname of Singh (Lion) to every Sikh and also took the name for himself. From Guru Gobind Rai he became Guru Gobind Singh. He also pronounced that all Sikh women embody royalty, and gave them the surname Kaur (Princess). With the distinct Khalsa identity and consciousness of purity Guru Gobind Singh gave all Sikhs the opporunity to live lives of courage, sacrifice, and equality.

The birth of the Khalsa is celebrated by Sikhs every Baisakhi Day on April 13. Baisakhi 1999 marks the 300th anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh's gift of Panth Khalsa to all Sikhs everywhere.

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