Shri Akal Takhat

Akal Takhat: Throne of the Immortal

The Akal Takhat in the morning as the sun rises

Akal Takhat means the Throne of the Immortal. The Akal Takhat was founded by Guru Hargobind on June 15, 1606 and was established as the place from which the spiritual and temporal concerns of the Sikh community could be acted upon. It is the most supreme of all the Takhats. (There are four takhats established by the Gurus: Amritsar, Anadpur Sahib, Patna Sahib, Hazur Sahib - and a fifth Takhat at Damdamma Sahib was established later.)

The Jathedar of the Akal Takhat is the highest spokesperson of the Sikh Panth and is meant to be a spiritual leader without control or influence from any outside, politically motivated sources.

There is no evidence to show exactly when the Akal Takht was built. From the amplitude of the near cantilever projection of the semi-circular platform onto a large square below, the throne of Akal seems to be a highly dramatised Durbar hall larger than that built by any Mughal Emperor in Delhi or Agra.

Harimandir Sahib and Akal Takht Sahib

It is quite likely that, fighting from a temporal and spiritual kingdom placed in the heartland of Punjab in Amritsar, the Guru, who put on two swords, that of the faith and of the emergent Sikh kingdom, had it built to give audiences to his followers.

Interior of the Akal Takht

At any rate, the convention seems to have been established to address all important gatherings, religious, social and political, from the Akal Takht to the amphitheatre below. This became the practice certainly during the important Gurpurbs, or the birthdays of the Gurus, when a vast congregation would assemble to hear recitations from the scriptures. The elaboration of the structure on marble pillars, as a semi-circular platform with an open view to the courtyard, reminiscent of an air-house, must have grown from the use to which the Durbar hall was put.

The gilding of the ceiling with ornamentations like those in the interior of the Hari Mandir is perhaps later than in the holy of holies. The wall paintings apparently belong to a later period, as there are panels showing Europeans.

The total effect of the Akal Takht is of a unique and noble structure spread out somewhat like an outer court of the piazza Saint Marco in Venice.

Traces of old lime plaster, with painted Mughal-style floral motifs, inside the Akal Takht. This may relate to the original plinth of Guru Hargobind's time. Photograph: Gurmeet Rai for CRCI, Delhi.

References

• Singh, Patwant (1989). The Golden Temple. South Asia Books. ISBN 9627375012.