The Khalsa Fauj were the military forces of the Khalsa order of the Sikhs, established by the tenth guru, Guru Gobind Singh, in 1699. It replaced the Akal Sena that had been established by the sixth guru, Guru Hargobind.
Guru Gobind Singh with three of his sons (minus Fateh Singh) and retinue at the Anandpur Darbar in the year 1698
Painting of Guru Gobind Singh on horseback and holding bird of prey while marching with the Khalsa Fauj
Painting from an illustrated folio of a Mughal manuscript depicting the Battle of Sirhind (1710), also known as the Battle of Chappar Chiri. From the ‘Tawarikh-i Jahandar Shah’, Awadh or Lucknow, ca.1770. The Sikh Khalsa forces are dressed in blue whilst the Mughals are wearing white
Painting of Banda Singh Bahadur being blessed with five arrows by Guru Gobind Singh, by Gian Singh Naqqash, ca.1930
Guru Gobind Singh was the tenth and last human Sikh Guru. He was a warrior, poet, and philosopher. In 1675, at the age of nine he was formally installed as the leader of the Sikhs after his father Guru Tegh Bahadur was executed by Emperor Aurangzeb. His father was the ninth Sikh Guru. His four biological sons died during his lifetime – two in battle and two executed by the Mughal governor Wazir Khan.
Contemporary painting of Guru Gobind Singh (seated) found within a Dasam Granth manuscript of Anandpur Sahib
Guru Gobind Singh's birthplace in Patna, Bihar
Guru Tegh Bahadar and a young Gobind Das at the Anandpur Darbar
Artistic depiction of "Dusht Daman", the alleged previous incarnation of Guru Gobind Singh as narrated in the "Bachittar Natak"
