Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib
Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib is the birthplace of the Khalsa. Amid the Shivalik hills, it is situated on the bank of the Satluj. The beat on the Ranjit Nagara has been striking a terror in the minds of the tyrants. For the common man its resonance came to be a divine melody, his guardian angel. He bowed in obeisance to it. It is the place that commemorates the miracle of 'celebrating the scum of humanity' and a wonder of the divine and transcendent guru-disciple matrix. After purchasing land of Makhowal, Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib designated it as Chak Nanki. Later, it came to be popularized as Anandpur Sahib.
When Bhai Jaita presented himself to the Great Guru Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji with reverential, decapitated head of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib, the former burst out spontaneously: 'This is the ground for founding the Panth....' It is the place where Five Piyaras offered their heads to the Guru Playfully. The divine nectar (Amrit) was prepared in a broad metallic vessel, with a mini but broad rapier and the Piyaras were baptised by the Great Guru.
The Khalsa is my form
I live within the Khalsa...
The Khalsa is my Satguru
It was this place that is the starting point of India's decisive struggle for independence in his family. The struggle continued until the saffron-coloured flag was hoisted on the Royal Fort at Lahore. So much is the Khalsa attached to this hallowed place that the Sikh feels elated to be called a dweller of ANANDPURI.
The relics placed in the inner sanctum of Takht Sri Kesgarh Sahib include a khanda, a katar (dagger), a saif (double-edged straight tapering sword), a muzzle-loading musket, a spear known as sarpa barchha, and a nagani (a kind of spear with a twisted and pointed blade). Another set of weapons also believed to have once belonged to Guru Gobind Singh, which had been taken away by the British to England after the occupation of the Punjab in 1849 and which had been brought back from there at the time of the celebration of the 300th birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh in 1966-67 are now on display here.
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