General Sikhism

The Khalsa will rule: the seven sovereignty stanzas

Raj Karega Khalsa: The Khalsa & The Rule · The Origin, complete translated stanzas 56–62

Edition, transcription and reuse details

Harinder Singh, Sikh Research Institute, 15 June 2020. Complete translated stanzas 56–62 as presented in The Origin; selected complete author commentary paragraphs. Verse numbers, translation glosses, brackets and wording retained. HTML wrapping and nonbreaking spaces normalized. No historical manuscript collated.

Copyright © Sikh Research Institute. Noncommercial reproduction with attribution under Terms of Use section 3 (16 April 2024), https://sikhri.org/terms-of-use, accessed 10 September 2026. Citation: Harinder Singh (2020), Raj Karega Khalsa: The Khalsa & The Rule, SikhRI.org, 15 June 2020. Terms permit noncommercial use with proper citation; they request a citation link when feasible, not prior written permission for noncommercial use.

Earlier source selection

The Origin, stanza 62

The Khalsa will rule and no one will be a dissenter, All will unite after exhaustion, those who take refuge will survive.

Nand Lal, listen to this truth: I will establish the Raj (Sovereignty). (56) The four categories will become one category, I will recite Vahiguru (Awe-Wisdom) recitation. (57) [They will] mount horses and fly hawks, The Turks (empire) will flee seeing them. (58) I will make one fight a hundred and twenty-five thousand. I will free those Singhs (warriors) who ascend (die). (59) The spears will wave and the elephants will be caparisoned, The nine-instruments will resound from gate to gate. (60) When a hundred and twenty-five thousand guns will discharge, Then the Khalsa will be victorious from wherever the sun shines and sets. (61) The Khalsa will rule and no one will be a dissenter, All will unite after exhaustion, those who take refuge will survive. (62)

In the margin

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Harinder Singh connects the promise to Sikh rule

proposed fulfillment

On: The Khalsa will rule

Source quotation · Harinder Singh — SikhRI, 15 June 2020

The Khalsa belongs to IkOankar (1Force), the Khalsa is victorious for creating Raj that sees and establishes 1-Ness. There are no “others” in any sense, class or caste, race, or gender. The Khalsa Raj as established under the command of Banda Singh Bahadur (1670-1716) freed all people from the Mughal empire; freedom from forced religion and from no discrimination. Raj Karega Khalsa was realized for the first time as a republic during 1710-1716. For doing so, the Khalsa became the public enemy #1! As the state continued their campaigns to exterminate all Sikhs, the Khalsa continued their remembrance to establish the Raj. The Sikhs captured Lahore and Delhi, the Mughals and the Afghan were perplexed. The Khalsa remained focused on the Guru’s promise even amid two Ghallugharas (genocides) of the eighteenth century. Until 1849, in the Sikh homeland in the land of the five rivers, Raj Karega Khalsa was evident to all. There was no confusion, in the letter or spirit. Raj Karega Khalsa was the incessant source of inspiration and strength for all Sikh affairs; it was their ecosystem. There was no debate that Raj Karega Khalsa was about political sovereignty which included the right to self-determination, self-rule, or nation-state.

Raj Karega Khalsa: The Khalsa & The Rule · Harinder Singh, Sikh Research Institute, 15 June 2020. Complete translated stanzas 56–62 as presented in The Origin; selected complete author commentary paragraphs. Verse numbers, translation glosses, brackets and wording retained. HTML wrapping and nonbreaking spaces normalized. No historical manuscript collated.

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2026-09-10T21:13:27+00:00

Harinder Singh on the text’s origin

background

On: Nand Lal, listen to this truth:

Source quotation · Harinder Singh — SikhRI, 15 June 2020

The motto Raj Karega Khalsa is part of a composition that early manuscripts label either as Nasihatnamah or Tankhahnamah. Nasihat means advice where Tankhah means salary; Namah is a letter. Essentially, it documents a Sikh code of conduct that cites penalties (salary as it perceived as Guru’s blessing) for transgressions as well as the aspirations of the Panth. Scholars date it to 1718. However, its religious, social, and political content suggests it was penned between 1699-1708. It opens with Bhai Nand Lal ‘Goya’ (1633-1713) asking the questions, and Guru Gobind Singh Sahib, answering them. The dialogue spans the lifestyle, ethics, and politics of the Khalsa.

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Harinder Singh’s political reading

interpretation

On: I will establish the Raj (Sovereignty).

Source quotation · Harinder Singh — SikhRI, 15 June 2020

In summary, the Khalsa’s political aspiration is to establish a sovereign rule. Consequently, subservience to any empire or ruler is unacceptable to the Khalsa. The right to bear arms and engage in military warfare are aids to acquire political power. Since the establishment of The Khalsa Raj by Baba Banda Singh Bahadar in 1710, Raj Karega Khalsa remains a constant reminder to the Sikhs about their political aim. And even today it is recited enthusiastically by all Sikhs regardless of their political activism or aspiration. Raj Karega Khalsa expresses the collective Sikh will of sovereignty and continues to be recited after Ardas (Sikh collective prayer) at all Sikh occasions, from marriage to protest. That means it still lives in the Sikh psyche, even if it is not fully grasped.

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On the timeline

1699–1708 or 1718Proposed dates for the Khalsa sovereignty text Prophecy given or recorded

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