Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Panj Pyare" in English language version.
Charan pāhul (Pañjābī, 'foot-initiation'). Hindu initiation ritual continued by Sikh Gurūs. Gurū Gobind Siṅgh replaced charan pāhul with khaṇḍe-dī-pāhul, initiation with the khaṇḍā on Baisākhī day 1699.
Pañj pyāre (Pañjābī, 'five beloved ones'). 1. Five men who volunteered their heads for Gurū Gobind Siṅgh on Baisākhī 1699. All were renamed Siṅgh. They subsequently fought bravely for the Gurū. The pañj pyāre are remembered daily in Ardās, and a portion of kaṛāh praśād is taken out in their memory before general distribution. 2. Five baptized Sikhs who administer khaṇḍe-di-pahul. They are normally men and must be amritdhārī, physically whole, and known to observe the Sikh code of conduct (rahit). 3. The central and final authority for all Sikhs, located at Amritsar.
During the ceremony the amrit is accompanied by a solemn oath in the presence of Sri Guru Granth Sahib and Panj Pyare, or the five beloved ones. Panj Pyare is a quintet of initiated Sikh men or women who act as leaders within the Sikh community. The Panj Pyare oversees the Amrit Sanchar ceremony by preparing the initiates and administering the Amrit to those ready to be initiated
Today, the term panj pyare refers to an ad hoc group of five amritdhari Sikhs who are recognized by the congregation for their commitment to Sikhi and are asked to perform certain functions. The panj pyare are given the honour of conducting the amrit sanchar (initiation ceremony) and may also be called upon to perform other important services, such as laying the cornerstone of a gurdwara or leading a religious procession. They may also assist in dispute resolution, such as deciding issues confronting a family, the local Sikh sangat (community), or the greater Sikh panth as a whole. They must be of the highest moral standing and adhere strictly to Sikh principles and values. The panj pyare are all volunteers, and they are selected when the need arises. They maintain this status until the duty they were asked to perform has been fulfilled.
At crucial moments of Sikh history, the panj pyare have collectively acted as supreme authority for the Sikhs. For example, during the battle of Chamkaur, the last five surviving Sikhs constituted themselves into the Council of Five, and they commanded Guru Gobind to leave the fortress and save himself by reassembling the Sikhs. Before Guru Gobind Singh passed away, he ended the line of living gurus. Through the institution of the panj pyare, the Guru envisioned a continuing society that would conduct itself democratically and choose its leaders based on merit.
As we can note, the sakhi contains the names of both the Panj Piare and the lesser known pañj mukte, or the Five Liberated Ones. The Five Liberated Ones, namely Ram Singh, Fateh Singh, Deva Singh, Ishar Singh, and Tahil Singh, were, according to Sikh tradition, the next five Sikh men to be administered the elixir of the double-edged sword after the Panj Piare. They are referred to as the five bhujangis or the mahan mukte (great liberated) in the late-eighteenth-century rahit-nama attributed to Daya Singh.
