Sri Gur Panth Prakaash, Rattan Singh Bhangoo

After thoroughly deliberating over the whole situation,
Guru Gobind Singh arrived at a firm resolution.
Thereafter, positioning himself at Keshgarh (Sahib),
He started making endeavors to implement his resolution. (1)

He summoned the services of learned Brahmins and great astrologers,
To make a prediction about the auspicious moment for launching his mission. He made a selection of five sprightly youths,
One each out of the five Indian castes. (2)

By selecting these five youths from the five different castes,
Guru Gobind Singh created a common brotherhood of all the four main castes. S. Daya Singh Sobti was the first to be selected from the Kshatriya caste, Who was a prominent inhabitant of the city of Lahore. (3)

Dharam Singh from Hastinapur was the second to be chosen, Who happened to be a Jat with flowing Shiva like locks of hair. Mohkam Singh was the third, born and bred at Dwarka,
The place from where Namdev’s spiritual guide Krishna hailed. (4)

Sahib Singh, a barbar by caste, was the fourth from a place, Which was also the abode of Bhagat/Saint Sain.
Himmat Singh, the water-carrier, was the fifth chosen,
Thus, the five youths from the five castes were identified. (5)

Thereafter, Guru Gobind Singh got the ‘Khande de Pahul’ prepared, By mixing sweet-candies in a bowl of water.
He stirred the sweetened solution with a double-edged sword,
By keeping its sharp edge all the time towards himself. (6)

Satguru Guru Gobind Singh kept on chanting the true name of God, And kept on reciting the name of God, The Creator.

He continued meditating on the timeless eternal God,
In order to invoke His grace for the success of his mission. (7)

First, Guru Gobind Singh recited the ballad consecrated to Bhagwati (the primal force), He himself had composed this ballad for the first time.
Then he invoked the grace of earlier Nine Sikh Gurus,
And beseeched them to bestow their blessings on the Tenth Guru. (8)

Thereafter he recited the thirty-two savyeeyas,
Which also came out from his own sacred lips.
This war ballad “Chandi-di-War” was a very inspiring composition,
The recitation of which was also made mandatory during initiation ceremony. (9)

Tirbhange
Chaupai :
O/ the primal force/Bhagwati/the Sword
Which is capable of making a mince-meat of the wicked; Which is capable of decimating the forces of ignorance;
Which is capable of waging a mighty war in the field;
Which bestows its blessings on the mighty warriors.
Which protects the mighty arms from being broken;
Which ignites and illuminates the whole environment;
Which emanates an ever-steady and undiminished brilliance, Which shines and illuminates as brightly as the sun.
Which brings about peace and comfort for the saints;
Which annihilates all kinds of evil and the wicked;
Which eliminates all kinds of sins and strife;
I have sought the protection and blessings of that Divine Power. Praise be to that creative Force of the Universe;
Which sustains and preserves the whole creation;
Which shields and protects me as well;
Praise be to that sword, the emblem/incarnation of Bhagwati.
Filling his cupped hands with the prepared Amrit Pahul (elixir) Satguru exhorted the five chosen ones to present themselves.
Instructing them to face him with their eyes open wide,
He sprinkled the cupped elixir into their eyes. (10)

He made them recite and repeat the name of the timeless/eternal,
And bade them shout the slogan, “Victory be to God”.
Thereafter, he poured the cupped elixir five times into each one’s head, As well as made each one of them drink five draughts of this elixir. (11)

Then he made them partake food from the same steel bowl, In order to eliminate all distinctions of caste and race.

He instructed them to discard the four distinctions of caste,
As well as their symbolic emblems such as the thread and saffron mark. (12)

Thereafter, Satguru bade them to obey the following injunctions:
They would neither have any dealings with the Masands.
Nor with those indulging in female foeticide or smoking or being the followers of Ram Rai, For whosoever dealt with them was bound to come to grief. (13)

They must also contribute to Guru’s House as per their financial capacity, As well as offer sacred ‘karah Parshad’ to the Khalsa fraternity.
They must wear the Sikh undergarment and a turban on their heads, And follow the teachings of Sri Guru Granth Sahib. (14)

Satguru, after delivering these instructions to the chosen five,
Made them sling a sword from their shoulders.
He also made them wear a dagger-studded steel rings around their turban, In the midst of chanting the name of eternal God. (15)

Guru Gobind Singh further instructed them to read Gurbaani, And meditate on God’s name both in the morning and evening. They must also recite hymns of Anand Sahib and Rehras, As well as recite the text of “Chandi-di-Var”. (16)

They must wear a turban twice a day on their heads,
As well as wear the ordained arms round the clock.
They should go on hunting expeditions after partaking Amrit, So that they might become well-versed in handling of arms. (17)

They should eat mutton only after slaughtering the animal with one stroke, And desist from eating the meat of animals found dead.
They must clean and nourish the hair on their heads and their beards,
And desist from shaving their hair with a blade. (18)

They must discard the rituals associated with their dead ancestors,
And concentrate and meditate on Guru-ordained teachings.
They must remain vigilant against those going astray from the prescribed regimen, And award them suitable punishment for their acts of misdemeanour. (19)

Whatever ceremonial procedure Satguru had devised earlier,
He repeated the same procedure once again.
He begged to be initiated himself in the same manner,
From those five chosen ones whom he himself had initiated. (20)

After being initiated by the five initiated ones in the same manner, He came to be known as Teacher-disciple rolled into one.
This has been the tradition from the very beginning,
As Guru Nanak had also accepted Guru Angad as his Guru. (21)

After taking of Pahul-Amrit as per Guru’s instructions,
The Khalsa Panth flourished and went from strength to strength.
It was in the year of seventeen hundred and fifty two,
That the Khalsa Panth was founded on Wednesday in the month of Vaisakh.(22)