5/5 Anmol 2 years ago on Google • 195 reviews
The
Akal
Takht
("Throne
of
the
Timeless
One")
is
one
of
five
takhts
(seats
of
power)
of
the
Sikhs.
It
is
located
in
the
Darbar
Sahib
(Golden
Temple)
complex
in
Amritsar,
Punjab,
India.
The
Akal
Takht
(originally
called
Akal
Bunga)
was
built
by
Shri
Guru
Hargobind
Ji
as
a
place
of
justice
and
consideration
of
temporal
issues;
the
highest
seat
of
earthly
authority
of
the
Khalsa
(the
collective
body
of
the
Sikhs)
and
the
place
of
the
Jathedar,
the
highest
spokesman
of
the
Sikhs.
Originally
known
as
Akal
Bunga,
the
building
directly
opposite
the
Harmandir
Sahib
was
founded
by
sixth
Sikh
Guru,
Guru
Hargobind,
as
a
symbol
of
political
sovereignty
and
where
spiritual
and
temporal
concerns
of
the
Sikh
people
could
be
addressed.
Along
with
Baba
Buddha
and
Bhai
Gurdas,
the
sixth
Sikh
Guru
built
a
9-foot-high
concrete
slab.
When
Guru
Hargobind
revealed
the
platform
on
15
June
1606,
he
put
on
two
swords:
one
indicated
his
spiritual
authority
(piri)
and
the
other,
his
temporal
authority
(miri).
The
Akal
Takht
was
built
on
a
site
where
there
existed
only
a
high
mound
of
earth
across
a
wide-open
space.
It
was
a
place
where
Guru
Hargobind
played
as
a
child.
The
original
Takht
was
a
simple
platform,
3.5
metres
(10ft)
high,
on
which
Guru
Hargobind
would
sit
in
court
to
receive
petitions
and
administer
justice.
He
was
surrounded
by
insignia
of
royalty
such
as
the
parasol
and
the
flywhisk.
Later,
there
was
an
open-air
semi-circular
structure
built
on
marble
pillars
and
a
gilded
interior
section.
There
were
also
painted
wall
panels
depicting
Europeans.
The
modern
building
is
a
five-story
structure
with
marble
inlay
and
a
gold-leafed
dome.
Three
of
the
stories
were
added
by
Ranjit
Singh
in
the
1700s.
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