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Fresco depiction of Guru Gobind Singh with the original Panj Pyare from an abandoned Sikh samadhi in Kot Fateh Khan, Attock, Punjab, Pakistan

Panj Pyare (Template:Lang-pa, Pañj Piārē, the five beloved ones) is the collective name given to five men − Bhai Daya Singh, Bhai Dharam Singh, Bhai Himmat Singh, Bhai Mohkam Singh and Bhai Sahib Singh – by the tenth Sikh guru, Guru Gobind Singh during the historic and monumental divan at Anandpur Sahib in the Punjab on March 30, 1699. (The Gregorian calendar skipped 11 days in 1752. So, in present times, Vaisakhi occurs near 13 April every year.)

They formed the nucleus of the Khalsa: the first five persons to receive Khanda di Pahul initiation and rites (baptism) of the two-edged sword. They were the inaugural Panj Pyare. However, the term is not limited only to this inaugural group. After them, any group of five baptized Sikhs are also referred to as the Panj Pyare.^[1]

Until the Vaisakhi of AD 1699, the Sikh initiation ceremony was known as Charan Pahul.^[2]

Background

The idea of five beloved ones predate the formalization of the Khalsa Panth by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699. Guru Nanak alludes to the institution of "five beloved sons" in his gurbani.^[3]

"Guru Nanak says, 'In Gurmat (Sikhism) five beloved ones are the sons of the Guru.' Maru M. 1"
— Jaspal Singh, Guru Granth Sahib: The Sikh Scripture (2021), page 62

Throughout Sikh history, there have been five beloved ones during different guruship terms. Examples are given below for some of them:^[3]

Guru Arjan

His five beloved ones were Bhai Bidhi Chand, Bhai Jetha, Bhai Langah, Bhai Pirana, and Bhai Pera.^[3]

Guru Tegh Bahadur

His five beloved ones were Dewan Mati Dasa, Bhai Gurdita (not to be confused with Guru Hargobind's son), Bhai Dayala, Bhai Ude, and Bhai Jaita (later baptized as Jiwan Singh).^[3]

Guru Gobind Singh

His five beloved ones were the original/inaugural group of Panj Piare as already named in the article.^[3]

Story of Vasakhi

Guru Gobind Das 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 Das sent special edicts to congregants far and wide 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 in orange suits with a blue bib. (These are the colors of Sikhism). 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 Khalsa Panth, 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 this a gift from god;
Kangha, the wooden comb, which keeps the tangles out of Sikhs' hair, which shows that God keeps the tangles out of one's life;
Kara, the iron (or steel) bracelet, which has no beginning or end, which shows that God has no beginning or end;
Kirpan, the sword, used only to defend others weaker than the bearer; and
Kashera, the underwear worn by Sikhs in battle so they can move freely.

By being identifiable, no Sikh could ever hide behind cowardice again.

Political tyranny and brutality by Islamic Rulers of the day was not the only circumstance that was lowering people's morale. Discriminatory class distinctions (the Indian "caste" system) were responsible for the people's 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, calico printer/tailor; one jheemar, one kumhar, water-carrier; and one Nai, a barber. Further the five were from distant regions - lahore, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Karnataka odisha.. He gave the surname of Singh (Lion) to every Sikh and also took the name for himself. From 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 opportunity 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.

Panj Pyare
Name	Birth - Death	Religion	Birth Place
Bhai Daya Singh	1661–1708	Sikh^[4]	Sialkot, Pakistan
Bhai Dharam Singh	1666–1708	Sikh^[4]	Hastinapur, Meerut District, India
Bhai Himmat Singh	1661–1705	Sikh^[4]	Puri Odisha, India
Bhai Mohkam Singh	1663–1705	Sikh^[4]	Bet Dwarka, Gujarat, India
Bhai Sahib Singh	1662–1705	Sikh^[4]	Karnataka, India

Panj Mukte

After the first five initiates into the Khalsa order, the next five (out of a total of ten) were termed the Panj Mukte ('five martyrs') and are named as follows:^[5]

Ram Singh
Fateh Singh
Deva Singh
Ishar Singh
Tahil Singh

Bibliography

"Concepts in Sikhism". Global Sikh Studies [www.globalsikhstudies.net]. Archived from the original on February 23, 2009. Retrieved April 4, 2006.</ref>

Gurdas, Bhai, Varan
Jaggi, Rattan Singh, ed., Bansavalinama. Chandigarh, 1972
Kuir Singh, Gurbilas Patshahi 10. Patiala, 1968
Bhangu, Ratan Singh, Prachin Panth Prakash. Amritsar, 1962
Santokh Singh, Bhai, Sri Gur Pratap Suraj Granth, Amritsar, 1927–35
Bhalla, Sarup Das, Mahima Prakash.
Gian Singh, Giani, Panth Prakash, Patiala, 1970
Sukha Singh, Gurbilas Dasvin Patshahi, Patiala, 1970

References

^ "Pañj pyāre | The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2022-09-23. Pañj pyāre (Pañjābī, 'five beloved ones'). 1. Five men who volunteered their heads for Gurū Gobind Siṅgh on Baisākhī 1699. All were renamed Siṅgh. They subsequently fought bravely for the Gurū. The pañj pyāre are remembered daily in Ardās, and a portion of kaṛāh praśād is taken out in their memory before general distribution. 2. Five baptized Sikhs who administer khaṇḍe-di-pahul. They are normally men and must be amritdhārī, physically whole, and known to observe the Sikh code of conduct (rahit). 3. The central and final authority for all Sikhs, located at Amritsar.
^ "Charan pāhul | The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2022-09-24. Charan pāhul (Pañjābī, 'foot-initiation'). Hindu initiation ritual continued by Sikh Gurūs. Gurū Gobind Siṅgh replaced charan pāhul with khaṇḍe-dī-pāhul, initiation with the khaṇḍā on Baisākhī day 1699.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Singh, Jaspal (2021). Guru Granth Sahib: The Sikh Scripture. K.K. Publications. p. 62.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Macauliffe, Max Arthur (2009). The Sikh Religion. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/cbo9781139506595. ISBN 978-1-139-50659-5.
^ Fenech, Louis E. (2021). The Cherished Five in Sikh History. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 48. ISBN 978-0-19-753287-4. OCLC 1157751641. As we can note, the sakhi contains the names of both the Panj Piare and the lesser known pañj mukte, or the Five Liberated Ones. The Five Liberated Ones, namely Ram Singh, Fateh Singh, Deva Singh, Ishar Singh, and Tahil Singh, were, according to Sikh tradition, the next five Sikh men to be administered the elixir of the double-edged sword after the Panj Piare. They are referred to as the five bhujangis or the mahan mukte (great liberated) in the late-eighteenth-century rahit-nama attributed to Daya Singh.

Singh, Patwant (1989). The Golden Temple. South Asia Books. ISBN 962-7375-01-2.

[1] "Pañj pyāre | The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2022-09-23. Pañj pyāre (Pañjābī, 'five beloved ones'). 1. Five men who volunteered their heads for Gurū Gobind Siṅgh on Baisākhī 1699. All were renamed Siṅgh. They subsequently fought bravely for the Gurū. The pañj pyāre are remembered daily in Ardās, and a portion of kaṛāh praśād is taken out in their memory before general distribution. 2. Five baptized Sikhs who administer khaṇḍe-di-pahul. They are normally men and must be amritdhārī, physically whole, and known to observe the Sikh code of conduct (rahit). 3. The central and final authority for all Sikhs, located at Amritsar.

[2] "Charan pāhul | The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2022-09-24. Charan pāhul (Pañjābī, 'foot-initiation'). Hindu initiation ritual continued by Sikh Gurūs. Gurū Gobind Siṅgh replaced charan pāhul with khaṇḍe-dī-pāhul, initiation with the khaṇḍā on Baisākhī day 1699.

[:1-3] Singh, Jaspal (2021). Guru Granth Sahib: The Sikh Scripture. K.K. Publications. p. 62.

[:0-4] Macauliffe, Max Arthur (2009). The Sikh Religion. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/cbo9781139506595. ISBN 978-1-139-50659-5.

[5] Fenech, Louis E. (2021). The Cherished Five in Sikh History. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 48. ISBN 978-0-19-753287-4. OCLC 1157751641. As we can note, the sakhi contains the names of both the Panj Piare and the lesser known pañj mukte, or the Five Liberated Ones. The Five Liberated Ones, namely Ram Singh, Fateh Singh, Deva Singh, Ishar Singh, and Tahil Singh, were, according to Sikh tradition, the next five Sikh men to be administered the elixir of the double-edged sword after the Panj Piare. They are referred to as the five bhujangis or the mahan mukte (great liberated) in the late-eighteenth-century rahit-nama attributed to Daya Singh.

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 {{About|five Sikh men appointed by [[Guru Gobind Singh]]|the Sikh army community|Khalsa}}
 [[File:GuruGobindSinghJiGurdwaraBhaiThanSingh.jpg|thumb|Fresco depiction of Guru Gobind Singh with the original Panj Pyare from an abandoned Sikh samadhi in Kot Fateh Khan, Attock, Punjab, Pakistan]]
-'''Panj Pyare''' ({{lang-pa|ਪੰਜ ਪਿਆਰੇ}}, ''{{IAST|Pañj Piārē}}'', the '''five beloved ones''') is the collective name given to five men − [[Daya Singh|Bhai Daya Singh]], [[Dharam Singh (Sikhism)|Bhai Dharam Singh]], [[Himmat Singh (Sikhism)|Bhai Himmat Singh]], [[Mohkam Singh|Bhai Mohkam Singh]] and [[Sahib Singh (Sikh martyr)|Bhai Sahib Singh]] – by the tenth [[Sikh guru]], [[Guru Gobind Singh]] during the historic and monumental divan at [[Anandpur Sahib]] in the [[Punjab]] region of India on March 30, 1699. (The Gregorian calendar skipped 11 days in 1752. So, in present times, Vaisakhi occurs near 13 April every year.)
+'''Panj Pyare''' ({{lang-pa|ਪੰਜ ਪਿਆਰੇ}}, ''{{IAST|Pañj Piārē}}'', the '''five beloved ones''') is the collective name given to five men − [[Daya Singh|Bhai Daya Singh]], [[Dharam Singh (Sikhism)|Bhai Dharam Singh]], [[Himmat Singh (Sikhism)|Bhai Himmat Singh]], [[Mohkam Singh|Bhai Mohkam Singh]] and [[Sahib Singh (Sikh martyr)|Bhai Sahib Singh]] – by the tenth [[Sikh guru]], [[Guru Gobind Singh]] during the historic and monumental divan at [[Anandpur Sahib]] in the [[Punjab]] on March 30, 1699. (The Gregorian calendar skipped 11 days in 1752. So, in present times, Vaisakhi occurs near 13 April every year.)
 They formed the nucleus of the [[Khalsa]]: the first five persons to receive [[Khanda di Pahul]] initiation and rites (baptism) of the two-edged sword. They were the inaugural Panj Pyare. However, the term is not limited only to this inaugural group. After them, any group of five baptized Sikhs are also referred to as the Panj Pyare.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pañj pyāre {{!}} The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/panj-pyare |access-date=2022-09-23 |website=www.encyclopedia.com |quote=Pañj pyāre (Pañjābī, ‘five beloved ones’).  1. Five men who volunteered their heads for Gurū Gobind Siṅgh on Baisākhī 1699. All were renamed Siṅgh. They subsequently fought bravely for the Gurū. The pañj pyāre are remembered daily in Ardās, and a portion of kaṛāh praśād is taken out in their memory before general distribution.  2. Five baptized Sikhs who administer khaṇḍe-di-pahul. They are normally men and must be amritdhārī, physically whole, and known to observe the Sikh code of conduct (rahit).  3. The central and final authority for all Sikhs, located at Amritsar.}}</ref>