Printable crossword
Hola Mohalla: The Sikh Martial Festival
Swords, war drums, and devotional singing — solve the crossword on Hola Mohalla, the Sikh festival of martial spirit begun by Guru Gobind Singh Ji in 1701.
Across
- 2The Takht at Anandpur Sahib where the grand Hola Mohalla procession begins, led by the Panj Pyare.
- 4The devotional singing that runs alongside the martial displays at Hola Mohalla — body and spirit trained together.
- 8A seat of Sikh authority — Anandpur Sahib is home to one of the five in the Sikh world, called Keshgarh Sahib.
- 9The fort at Anandpur Sahib where Guru Gobind Singh Ji organised the very first Hola Mohalla gathering in 1701.
- 10The city in Punjab where Guru Gobind Singh Ji held the first Hola Mohalla in 1701, and where hundreds of thousands still gather today.
- 12The community of initiated Sikhs for whom Guru Gobind Singh Ji designed Hola Mohalla as a gathering of martial readiness and spiritual discipline.
- 13The free community kitchen that operates at massive scale during Hola Mohalla — everyone sits in pangat and eats the same food.
Down
- 1The steel quoits worn in the towering turbans of Nihang Singhs — traditional weapons as well as adornment.
- 3The rows in which everyone sits together at the Langar, eating the same food — a sign of equality before Waheguru.
- 5The 1699 festival when Guru Gobind Singh Ji founded the Khalsa — just two years before the first Hola Mohalla.
- 6The traditional Sikh martial art performed at Hola Mohalla with real swords, spears, sticks, and shields.
- 7The warrior order that has preserved Sikh martial traditions for over 300 years, wearing blue bana and towering turbans at Hola Mohalla.
- 11The war drums that accompany Hola Mohalla processions, just as they did when Guru Gobind Singh Ji held the very first gathering.
What you'll learn
- What happens at Hola Mohalla, the Sikh festival of martial spirit
- How and when Guru Gobind Singh Ji began the festival
- Nihang traditions, Gatka and seva at the festival