The Panj Pyare are men who joined the Khalsa under the leadership of Gobind Singh (1666-1708), the last of the ten Sikh Gurus. They have a revered place in the Sikh tradition; His story also shows how religious traditions evolve, it is said that when Gobind Singh was chosen as the Guru of the Sikhs on the death of his father, Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji, who had refused to convert to Islam. Having refused, even though it cost him his life, he became worried about the future of the community. Sikhs who wanted to escape the tyranny of Islam were afraid to openly proclaim their faith. In an effort to revive the nation and inculcate in it the qualities of courage and fearlessness, Guru Gobind Singh ji took a definite measure to safeguard the interests of the Sikhs.

At a gathering of the Sikh community, Guru Gobind Singh asked for five men who would be willing to lay down, at that very moment, their lives for him and the community. No one came forth immediately; thereupon, the Guru exhorted and harangued them, and asked what manner of men they were that they would not act in the larger interest. Finally, a man stepped forth. Gobind Singh took him to a nearby tent, and soon a thud was heard; then the Guru emerged from the tent, his sword dripping with blood. No one doubted that the man had been killed. Then the Guru asked for a second man, but this time, aware of the fate in store for each one of them, no one dared to volunteer himself. Again, the Guru exhorted them, and declared the end of the community in sight; and, finally, a volunteer came forth. He too was taken into the tent, and apparently dispatched into the martyr’s heaven in the same manner; and again the Guru emerged from the tent, his sword dripping with blood. In a similar manner, three other volunteers came forth; but when the Guru took the fifth into the tent, he came out of it with all the five men, and with five decapitated goats. These men, later immortalized in the Sikh faith as the Panj Pyare, or the Five Beloved, were then initiated into the khalsa, given the name of Singh (lion), and were henceforth enjoined to wear the symbols of the faith, abstain from alcohol and tobacco, and entrusted with the safekeeping of the community.