Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti

Context: Nation celebrated the Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti on 6^th January in 2025. 

Relevance of the Topic:Prelims: Key facts about Guru Gobind Singh.  

About Guru Gobind Singh

• He was the tenth Sikh Guru  born in Patna, Bihar to Ninth Sikh Guru Teg Bahadur and Mata Gujri. His birth anniversary is based on the Nanakshahi calendar.
• He was a spiritual master, warrior, poet and philosopher and became the 10th Sikh Guru at the age of Nine.
• He fought against the Mughals in the battle of Muktsar in 1705. 
• He was assassinated in 1708. His death anniversary is called Guru Gaddi Diwas.

His Contributions:

• Religious Contributions:
  • Introduction of the turban to cover hair.
  • He founded the principles of Khalsa or the Five ‘K’s i.e., K’s are kesh (uncut hair), kanga (wooden comb), kara (iron or steel bracelet), kirpan (dagger) and kachera (short breeches). 
  • He selected the five Sikh volunteers after a test, and they were named as Panj Pyaare or ‘five beloved ones’.
  • He declared the Shri Guru Granth Sahib as the permanent Sikh Guru after him.
• Literary Contributions:
  • Jaap Sahib, Benti Chaupai, Amrit Savaiye, Zafarnama (letters to Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in Persian, reminding him of the misdeed the Mughals had done to the Sikhs).
  • He further codified Sikh law, wrote martial poetry and music, and was the reputed author of the Sikh work called the Dasam Granth (“Tenth Volume”).