Kesar Sahib

Kesar Sahib or Kesgarh Sahib is the biggest and most important gurudwara in Anandpur Sahib. This impressive white structure is illuminated at night and is the town's biggest landmark. It is one of the four seats of authority of the Sikh religion and is therefore also called Takht Kesar Sahib.

Located on a small hill this is where the revelation of Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh and the first initiation of the Panch Pyares took place. The Kesar Sahib fort was built around it in 1699. Between 1700 and 1705 armies attacked Anandpur Sahib several times, but never penetrated the fort. It was only after Guru Gobind Singh deserted it in 1705, that the fort was captured. Today there are no remains of this fort.

During the rule of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in the late 1820s, peace reigned in the region and regular granthis (priests) began serving at Kesar Sahib gurdwara. For about a century, Kesar Sahib gurdwara had only one granthi but after the Gurdwara Reform Movement (1920-25), a jathedar (leader) was appointed here.

• You will find the Sikh holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib, in the main hall of the gurdwara. In the middle of the hall behind it you will find a small rectangular glass structure which houses 12 relics. These relics are associated with Guru Gobind Singh and the Sikh martyrs. Six of these relics were brought from Nanded where Guru Gobind Singh died, and five were brought from England in 1966. They include:

Khanda - a double-edged sword believed to be the sword with which Guru Gobind Singh prepared amrit on the day of revelation of Khalsa.

Kataar - the personal dagger of Guru Gobind Singh which was used for hand to hand combat. Saif - a double-edged weapon. It is believed that this weapon belonged to Khalifa Ali (the son-in-law of the Muslim prophet Hazrat Mohammed) and had been used by Ali's sons, Hassan and Hussain. It remained with the successors of Ali who presented it to Aurangzeb in appreciation of his contribution to the spread of Islam. After the accession of Bahadur Shah to the Mughal throne, he gave it as a token of thanks to Guru Gobind Singh. Gun - a Sikh presented this gun from Lahore on the Guru's hukamnama (order) asking Sikhs to bring him gifts of fine horses, books and weapons.

Naagni Barchha - The blade of this spear is in the shape of a female serpent. It was Guru Gobind Singh's spear. On September 1, 1700 when Ajmer Chand's army planned to bring a drunk elephant to break open the main gate of the Lohagarh fort, the guru gave Bhai Bachitar Singh the spear to turn the elephant back. He attacked and wounded the animal with this spear causing it to retreat and kill several soldiers of Ajmer Chand's army. Karpa Barchha - a spear that has a hand-shaped blade that was used during the marriage ceremony of the Guru in 1677. According to legend, there was an acute shortage of water at Guru Ka Lahore, the venue for the wedding ceremony. The Guru is believed to have struck the ground with this spear causing three springs to gush forth. Today a pond stands at the site of these three springs. In the war with Ajmer Chand, Bhai Udey Singh killed Raja Kesari Chand (Ajmer Chand's uncle), with this spear, then carried his head on it to present it to the Guru. The hill soldiers shot several arrows to stop him but the spear deflected them. The spear bears the marks of those arrows. The gurdwara also has some assorted artefacts from England:

A big spear, a small spear, the Shamshir-i-Tegh (a sword), Dah-i-Ahni (a golden quoit) and a shield made from rhinoceros skin, are all part of the collection.

Attached to this gurdwara is a huge langar (free community kitchen) hall, which reportedly, can seat 40,000 people. Three buildings house the sarais (inns) or dharamshalas (community lodges) with about 400 rooms where pilgrims can stay free. An information centre within the Kesar Sahib complex can give you details of the shrine.