Guru Gobind Singh baptising the Five Beloved

This contemporary painting by master artist Devender Singh, imagines the scene set for the Baisakhi celebration of 1699 at Anandpur Sahib. The Guru is baptizing the Five Beloved or “Panj Piyare” who are now the nucleus of the Khalsa- the order of the Pure. They hailed from regions from all over India in the modern states of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Orissa and Karnataka. This is indicative of the Gurus inclusive thought.

Guru Gobind Singh and the Panj Piare, Devender Singh, 2014, , Kapany Collection