Bhai Himmat Singh Ji: the water-carrier from Jagannath Puri who became a Pyara

This day celebrates the birth of Bhai Himmat Singh Ji, the third of the Panj Pyare. When Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji asked for a head for the third time on Vaisakhi in 1699, it was a water-carrier from the far east of India who stood up.

Himmat Rai of Puri

He was born Himmat Rai in 1661 at Jagannath Puri, on the coast of Odisha, into a family of water-carriers, a caste of low standing in that society. He came to Anandpur Sahib as a young man and served there for years, carrying water for the langar and the sangat.

The third head

When the Guru stepped out of the tent a third time with his sword and called for another Sikh, Himmat Rai rose. He received Khande di Pahul with the other four and took the name Himmat Singh, his name meaning courage. That the five came from Lahore, Hastinapur, Puri, Dwarka and Bidar, and from castes the old order ranked high and low, was itself part of the Guru's message: in the Khalsa, all are one. Read more about Vaisakhi and the creation of the Khalsa.

Chamkaur

Bhai Himmat Singh Ji fought in the defence of Anandpur Sahib and rode with the Guru when the fort was left in December 1704. At Chamkaur he was among the Singhs who went out of the garhi to face the besieging army, and he fell there, with Bhai Mohkam Singh Ji and Bhai Sahib Singh Ji.

How the day is observed

Sangats remember him with kirtan and Ardas, especially at Takht Sri Kesgarh Sahib and at Chamkaur Sahib. A gurdwara at Jagannath Puri, Gurdwara Bauli Math, is associated with Guru Nanak Dev Ji's visit there, and Sikhs of Odisha keep his memory with pride.