The Takht Sri Darbar Sahib Damdama Sahib, one of the Five Takhts or Seat of Temporal Authority of Sikhism, Takht Sri Damdama Sahib is situated at Bathinda in Punjab, India and is the place where Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru, prepared the full version of the Sikh Scriptures called Sri Guru Granth Sahib in 1705. The other four Takhts are the Akal Takht, Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib, Takht Sri Patna Sahib and Takht Sri Hazur Sahib.
The Takht is located at the village of Talwandi Sabo, 28 km Southeast of Bathinda. Literally, Damdama means breathing place. Guru Gobind Singh stayed here after the Sikhs had fought several defensive battles, one in defense of his neighboring hill rajas and several others against the combined forces of The Rajputs and their Mughal allies. Before his arrival at Talwandi Sabo, the Guru’s two younger sons, Zorawar Singh and Fateh Singh, aged 9 and 7 respectively, had been bricked into a section of wall while still alive at the orders of Wazir Khan, the Nawab of Sirhind, that wall is said to have failed, leading to the two Sahibzadde (young Princes) being beheaded. The Guru’s mother who had been in charge of her grandsons (and also under arrest by Wazir Khan at the time, died shortly after being told of her grandson’s death. Today, the place is known as Fatehgarh Sahib). His two elder sons, Ajit Singh and Jujhar Singh, had died while fighting a combined Rajput, Pathan and Mughal force of thousands who had surrounded the Sikh force of less than fifty at Chamkaur Sahib. The Guru who was pressed into escaping the fortified mud brick Haveli by his followers, was able to ellude the frantic searches for him in the next few days by donning the clothes and look of a Sufi Peer (Faqir). Later having reached safety he wrote a letter in Persian prose, called the Zafarnamah (Epistle of Victory), to the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb — calling him to task as he had guaranteed safe passage to the Punjab for the Sikhs who had abandoned the city of Anandpur and its forts only to be attacked. Guru Gobind Singh fought a successful battle at Muktsar and then moved towards Talwandi Sabo.
Guru Ki Kashi
Kashi means a great learning centre. This title was given because of the intense literary activities that Guru Gobind Singh engaged in during his stay here (the compilation of Sikh Scriptures). It is said that one day Guru Gobind flung a handful of reed pens over the heads of the congregation (‘Sangat’), saying: “Here we will create a pool of literature. No one of my Sikhs should remain illiterate.” The Damdama Wali Bir as the Guru Granth Sahib is sometimes called was completed here, being dictated by the Guru to one of his disciples Bhai Mani Singh. It was at this time when the hymns of Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib, the ninth Guru and father of Guru Gobind Singh were added to the Bir.
Recognition as Takht
This Takht was officially recognized as the fifth Takht of Sikhism on Novemver 18, 1966. On a demand from the Sikhs, a sub-committee was appointed by the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, Amritsar by a General Meeting Resolution No: 789 on July 30, 1960. A report of the sub-committee containing 183 pages was received to declare Damdama Sahib or Guru Ki Kashi as the fifth Takht of the Sikhs. A general body meeting of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee at Amritsar approved the recommendations through resolution number 32 on November 18, 1966. It has been declared as the fifth Sikh Takht by the Government of India in April 1999 during tricentennial celebrations of the formation of the Khalsa.