The Akal Takht (ਅਕਾਲ ਤਖ਼ਤ, ) in Amritsar, Punjab is the seat of supreme religious clergy of the Sikhs. Akal means The Timeless One - another term for God. Takht means 'seat' or 'throne' in Persian. Hence, The Seat(Throne) of the Timeless One or Seat(Throne) of God.
Akal Takht is located in the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar. The Akal Takht was initially built by the sixth Guru of Sikhs, Guru Har Gobind as a symbol for political sovereignty of Sikhs. It stood as symbol of political and military resistance against the Mughal Empire in the 17th and 18th century. In 18 century Ahmed Shah Abdali led series of attacks on the Akal Takht and Harmandar Sahib . On June 4, 1984, the Indian Army heavily damaged the Akal Takht building as part of a controversial military operation known as Operation Bluestar.
The Jathedar of the Akal Takht along with other four Jathedars of the other four holy Takhts are the temporary physical supreme religious authority of Sikhs. The present Jathedar of the Akal Takht is Gyani Joginder Singh Vedanti.
The Akal Takht is one of five sacred Takhts in the Sikh faith. The other Takhts are:
See also
- Golden Temple, Amritsar
External links
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Last updated on Monday July 21, 2008 at 11:34:25 PDT (GMT -0700)
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