Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib

On the festival of Vaisakhi, April 13, 1699, Guru Gobind Singh assembled 80,000 Sikhs at Anandpur Sahib. He emerged from his tent with a drawn sword and demanded a volunteer willing to give his head for the faith. The crowd was stunned. After a tense silence, Daya Ram stood up. The Guru led him into the tent — and emerged alone, with blood dripping from his sword.

He demanded another head. Then another. And another. And another. Five men volunteered one by one, each believing they were going to their death. These were no kings or warriors — they were ordinary men: a farmer, a barber, a washerman, a potter, and a shopkeeper.

Then the tent flaps opened — and all five emerged alive, dressed in identical saffron robes. The Guru had tested their faith. These five — the Panj Pyare (Five Beloved) — became the first members of the Khalsa, a revolutionary new order where caste was abolished, where every member would carry a sword to protect the oppressed, and where the lowest-born would stand equal to the highest.

The Guru then did something unprecedented — he knelt before the Panj Pyare and asked them to initiate HIM into the Khalsa. The teacher became the student. The master bowed to his disciples. This single act demolished the concept of hierarchy and established that in the Khalsa, the Guru is the servant of the community.

Anandpur Sahib — the "City of Bliss" — is where this world-changing revolution began. The Hola Mohalla festival celebrates the martial spirit of the Khalsa with spectacular displays of horsemanship, swordsmanship, archery, and mock battles.

Founded by Guru Tegh Bahadur. The Khalsa was created here by Guru Gobind Singh on Vaisakhi 1699. One of the five Takhts of Sikhism.

Hola Mohalla (March) features spectacular Nihang Sikh martial arts. Vaisakhi celebrates the founding of the Khalsa.

A majestic white Gurudwara complex set against the Shivalik foothills. Houses weapons and relics of Guru Gobind Singh.