The Five Takhts (Panj Takht)ਪੰਜ ਤਖ਼ਤ

The Panj Takht, the Five Thrones, are the five highest seats of authority in Sikhism: Sri Akal Takht Sahib at Amritsar, Takht Sri Kesgarh Sahib at Anandpur Sahib, Takht Sri Damdama Sahib at Talwandi Sabo, Takht Sri Patna Sahib at Patna, and Takht Sachkhand Sri Hazur Sahib at Nanded. Their edicts guide Sikhs worldwide.

What is a Takht?

A takht literally means a throne or seat of authority. In Sikhism it is the point where the spiritual and the temporal meet, the idea Guru Hargobind expressed as miri and piri: the saint and the soldier, prayer and the sword against injustice. A Takht is not only a shrine to visit. It is a seat from which the Sikh community governs itself. Each Takht can issue a hukamnama, an edict on Sikh conduct and community affairs, and Sikhs across the world honour these edicts. In the 18th century, when the Khalsa fought as guerrilla bands, the Sarbat Khalsa, the assembly of the whole Sikh community, gathered at the Akal Takht on occasions like Vaisakhi to take collective decisions of war and peace and to settle disputes between Sikh groups.

The five Takhts

Three of the five Takhts stand in Punjab; the other two stand far outside it, a reminder that Sikh history was never confined to one region.

• Sri Akal Takht Sahib, Amritsar - the first and supreme Takht, facing the Harmandir Sahib
  - Takht Sri Kesgarh Sahib, Anandpur Sahib - birthplace of the Khalsa, founded on Vaisakhi 1699
  - Takht Sri Damdama Sahib, Talwandi Sabo - where the Guru Granth Sahib took its final form
  - Takht Sri Patna Sahib, Patna - birthplace of Guru Gobind Singh
  - Takht Sachkhand Sri Hazur Sahib, Nanded - the Guru's final court, 1708

How the five Takhts came about

The five Takhts were not raised together. They grew across more than a century of Sikh history, and each marks a turning point.

The first was the Akal Takht, the Throne of the Timeless God, raised by Guru Hargobind at Amritsar in the early 1600s (sources give 1606 or 1609), just opposite the gate of the Harmandir Sahib. The pairing was deliberate: while the Golden Temple stands for spiritual guidance, the Akal Takht stands for justice and temporal action. There the Guru held his court and decided matters of military strategy and policy, declaring that Sikhs must wield both prayer and the sword against tyranny.

The second Takht took shape at Anandpur Sahib. On Vaisakhi, 13 April 1699, Guru Gobind Singh founded the Khalsa there, initiating the first five Sikhs, the Panj Pyare, with Amrit. Takht Sri Kesgarh Sahib became the seat of that new Khalsa identity, and it still keeps relics of the Guru, including his weapons.

After the battles of Chamkaur and Muktsar, the Guru rested at Talwandi Sabo. During his stay in 1705-06 he gave the Guru Granth Sahib its final form, the Damdama Sahib Bir. The place, whose name means resting place, became a seat of learning known as Guru Ki Kashi. It was formally recognised as the fifth Takht on 18 November 1966.

Takht Sri Patna Sahib honours the Guru's beginnings: he was born in Patna on 22 December 1666 and spent his early childhood there. Guru Nanak and Guru Tegh Bahadur also visited Patna at different times.

The last of the five, Takht Sachkhand Sri Hazur Sahib at Nanded on the Godavari, marks the Guru's final days. He spent them there in 1708 and recognised the Guru Granth Sahib as the eternal Guru of the Sikhs. It was also at Nanded that he met Madho Das Bairagi, who became Banda Singh Bahadur. The present shrine was built in the early 19th century by Maharaja Ranjit Singh, and its inner chamber, Sachkhand, holds relics of the Guru.

What do the Takhts actually do?

The Takhts are living institutions, not museums. Each has a Jathedar, and the Akal Takht's Jathedar is the foremost voice of Sikh religious authority. When questions of Sikh conduct or community affairs arise, the Takhts answer them with hukamnamas, and those edicts are respected by Sikhs worldwide. In this the Takhts carry forward the work of the Sarbat Khalsa: the community deciding for itself, collectively, in the light of the Gurus' teachings.

Can you visit all five Takhts?

Yes, and many Sikhs make it the pilgrimage of a lifetime. A special train, the Panj Takht Special Train, began service on 16 February 2014 to carry pilgrims to all five Takhts in one journey. Earlier, in December 2010, the Deccan Odyssey luxury train ran a chartered pilgrimage across four Takhts, with pilgrims flying to the fifth, Takht Sri Patna Sahib. Most travellers combine the Takhts with the shrines around them: the Golden Temple complex at Amritsar, the forts of Anandpur Sahib, the quiet of Talwandi Sabo, and the distant courts of Patna and Nanded.