भारतीय इतिहास के ६ स्वर्णिम पृष्ठ (वीर सावरकर - विदेशी आक्रान्ताओं पर विजय गाथा)

day, that ‘Adigranth’ has always been read with equal reverence for all these sayings. But a son of Guru Nanak himself had started a separate branch of Sikhism. 965A. In course of time, when the Hindus and Sikhs began to be atrociously persecuted by the Muslims, it was felt that an armed force of the Sikhs for self-protection was absolutely necessary, and Guru Govind Singh began to dream of establishing an independent kingdom of the Sikhs. To that end, he wanted a band of daredevils of inviolable loyalty to their Guru. 966. Guru Govind Singh, therefore, called a big assembly of all the Sikhs. Such incidents in his life have been described a little later in poetical compositions, much on the same lines as the colourful descriptions of the Hindu Puranas. But we shall give here only the historically relevant part of it. 967. In that big assembly, Guru Govind Singh invited volunteers, who were prepared even to lay down their lives in the defence of their religion and willing to spend their whole lives in the army, take it up as their profession, for, he said, he had to build a standing army of the Sikhs. It was a very austere vow. Of the many, who thus volunteered, the Guru himself chose for the first time only the best five who were expected to be as sharp and as unbending as steel. To imbibe this principle on their minds, the first religious rite that was performed was the sprinkling on their heads of the holy water that was churned by a sharp steel sword as the mantras were chanted. Then it was enjoined upon them that they were always to have a sword fastened to their waist; they were never to cut the hair on any part of their body. They were asked ever to gird up their loin, to wear kaccha or langot—a loin-cloth, and to wear steel rings round their wrists as a mark of their stern military vow. A comb was also considered to be a must for every Sikh. Thus hair (केश Kesh), a comb (कंग-कंगवा—Kangha), a loin-cloth (कच्छ-लंगोट—Kaccha), a steel ring (कड़ा—Kara) and a sword (कृपाण —Kripan) became the five inseparable marks of every true Sikh, and were called ‘five kakkas’. The military wing of the Sikhs, specially chosen by the Guru has since then been called the ‘Khalsa’, which has become an honourable appellation throughout the whole of India. Khalsa is originally an Urdu word meaning ‘chosen’! 968. As soon as this Khalsa army reached a desired magnitude, Guru Govind Singh began to conquer smaller Hindu-Muslim States or to sack