Few places carry as much weight in Sikh memory as Anandpur Sahib, the City of Bliss, which rises gently from the Shivalik foothills near the river Sutlej in the Rupnagar district of Punjab, India. Its low ridges and white shrines mark the ground where, on a spring day in 1699, the Sikh community was given a new and lasting form. For Sikhs the world over, a visit here is a journey to one of the faith's holiest centres, a town whose name is bound up with courage, devotion, and the founding of the Khalsa. To understand Anandpur Sahib is to follow the story of two Gurus and the community they shaped.
A town founded in 1665
Anandpur Sahib was established in 1665 by the ninth Sikh Guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur. He acquired land on a small mound at the edge of the hills and laid the foundations of a new settlement. The Guru first named the place Chak Nanaki, in honour of his mother, Mata Nanaki. Only later did the town come to be called Anandpur, a name meaning the city of bliss, which reflected its growing role as a place of gathering and spiritual life. From its earliest days the settlement was conceived as a centre for the Sikh community rather than merely a market or fortress.
The work of Guru Tegh Bahadur
The founding Guru gave Anandpur its first character as a place of refuge and teaching. Guru Tegh Bahadur is remembered for his defence of freedom of conscience, and the town he built would become a base from which the Sikh tradition continued to grow. After his martyrdom in Delhi in 1675, leadership passed to his young son, who would carry the community through some of its most testing and formative years. The early identity of Anandpur as a sanctuary of faith set the stage for the events that followed.
Here a scattered community was given a shared discipline, a common name, and a single calling.
The birth of the Khalsa in 1699
The most celebrated moment in the town's history came on the festival of Vaisakhi in 1699. There the tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, founded the Khalsa and initiated the first Panj Pyare, the Five Beloved Ones, who answered his call with their lives. This act gave the Sikh community a distinct identity marked by faith, equality, and readiness to stand for justice. The initiation introduced commitments still kept today, including the articles of faith now widely known as the Five Ks. This single gathering reshaped the future of Sikhism.
Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib
At the heart of Anandpur Sahib stands Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib, built on the very ground associated with the founding of the Khalsa. It is one of the five Takhts, the seats of temporal and spiritual authority that hold a central place in Sikh governance and tradition. As the Takht most closely tied to the birth of the Khalsa, it draws pilgrims throughout the year who come to pray and to remember the events of 1699. Its presence makes the town a place of living authority as well as historical memory.
Sieges and struggle
Anandpur Sahib was not only a place of worship but also a site of conflict during the lifetime of Guru Gobind Singh. The town withstood long sieges, including a battle in 1700 and a far more prolonged siege in 1704 that stretched on for months. These hardships brought great suffering and heavy loss, and they ended with the community leaving the town under severe pressure. The memory of these trials is woven into the reverence Sikhs hold for Anandpur, recalling a period of endurance under extraordinary strain.
The festival of Hola Mohalla
Each spring the town comes alive with Hola Mohalla, a festival begun by Guru Gobind Singh in 1701. Held around the time of Holi, it channels celebration into displays of martial skill, mock combat, poetry, and devotion. Nihang Singhs, the traditional Sikh warriors, take part in processions and feats of horsemanship, while large crowds gather near Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib. The festival keeps alive the spirit of discipline and readiness that has long been associated with the town and its history.
A living centre of faith
Today Anandpur Sahib remains one of the great pilgrimage centres of Sikhism, drawing close to two million visitors during Hola Mohalla alone. Its shrines, its Takht, and the museum dedicated to the Khalsa together tell a story that reaches from 1665 to the present. For those who wish to understand the deeper meaning behind the town, its history opens naturally onto the life of Guru Gobind Singh, the meaning of Vaisakhi, and the shared identity it gave to a people. Anandpur Sahib endures as a place where memory and faith continue to meet.