Dasvandh ( pa, ਦਸਵੰਧ, also transcribed as daswandh) is the one tenth part (or 10%) of one's income that one should donate, both financially and directly in the form of '' seva'', according to Sikh principles. It falls into

Guru Nanak Dev Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverential ...

's concept of '' Vand Chhako''. This was done during the time of

Guru Arjan Dev Guru Arjan (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਅਰਜਨ, pronunciation: ; 15 April 1563 – 30 May 1606) was the first of the two Gurus martyred in the Sikh faith and the fifth of the ten total Sikh Gurus. He compiled the first official edition of t ...

and many Sikhs still do it up to this day. The concept of dasvandh was implicit in

Guru Nanak Gurū Nānak (15 April 1469 – 22 September 1539; Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ; pronunciation: , ), also referred to as ('father Nānak'), was the founder of Sikhism and is the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. His birth is celebrated w ...

's own line: "''ghali khai kichhu hathhu dei, Nanak rahu pachhanahi sei''—He alone, O Nanak, knoweth the way who eats out of what he earneth by his honest labour and yet shareth part of it with others" (GG, 1245). The idea of sharing and giving was nourished by the institutions of sangat (holy assembly) and

langar Langar may refer to: Community eating *Langar (Sikhism) * Langar (Sufism) Places Afghanistan *Langar, Badakhshan, Afghanistan * Langar, Bamyan, Afghanistan * Langar, Faryab, Afghanistan * Langar, Herat, Afghanistan * Langar, Wardak, Afghanis ...

(community kitchen) the

Guru Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverential ...

had established.

History

In the time of

Guru Amar Das Guru Amar Das (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਅਮਰ ਦਾਸ, pronunciation: ; 5 May 1479 – 1 September 1574), sometimes spelled as Guru Amardas, was the third of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism and became Sikh Guru on 26 March 1552 at age 73. Befo ...

, a formal structure for organising the Sikh religion was developed in order to show directions to the Sikhs by preaching them the teachings of The Holy Guru. He set up 22 '' manji''s or districts in different parts of the country. Each of these ''manji''s was placed under the charge of a pious Sikh (both male and female) who, besides preaching

’s word, looked after the sangats within his/her jurisdiction and transmitted the disciple's offerings to the

. As the excavation of the sacred tank at Amritsar, and the erection of the central shrine, Harimandir, began under Guru Ram Das resulting in a large amount of expenditure, the Sikhs were encouraged to set aside a minimum of ten per cent (''dasvandh'') of their income for the common cause and the concept of Guru Ki Golak "Guru's treasury" was coined.

Masand A masand was a representative and tithe collector in Sikhism. They were an officially appointed missionary minister representing the Sikh Guru, who baptized conversions to Sikhism, and collected ''dasvandh'' ("the tenth" of income) as an offering ...

s, i.e. ministers and the tithe-collectors, were appointed to collect "''kar bhet''" (''seva'' offerings) and ''dasvandh'' from the Sikhs in the area they were assigned to, and pass these on to the Guru nanak. The custom of ''dasvandh'' is found in documents called '' rehitnama''s, manuals of Sikh conduct, written during the lifetime of Guru Gobind Singh or soon after. For example,

Bhai Nand Lal Bhai Nand Lal ( fa, ; pa, ਭਾਈ ਨੰਦ ਲਾਲ; 1633–1713), also known by his pen name Goya ( fa, ; pa, ਗੋਯਾ), was a 17th-century Sikh poet in the Punjab region. He was born in Ghazni Afghanistan . His father Diwan Chajju ...

’s Tankhahnama records these words of

Gobind Singh Guru Gobind Singh (; 22 December 1666 – 7 October 1708), born Gobind Das or Gobind Rai the tenth Sikh Guru, a spiritual master, warrior, poet and philosopher. When his father, Guru Tegh Bahadur, was executed by Aurangzeb, Guru Gobind Sing ...

: "Hear ye Nand Lal, one who does not give ''dasvandh'' and, telling lies, misappropriates it, is not at all to be trusted". The tradition has been kept alive by chosen Sikhs who to this day scrupulously fulfil this injunction. The institution itself serves as a means for the individual to practice personal piety as well as to participate in the ongoing history of the community, the ''Guru

Panth Panth (also panthan, meaning "path" in Sanskrit) is the term used for several religious traditions in India. A panth is founded by a guru or an acharya, and is often led by scholars or senior practitioners of the tradition. Some of the major pant ...

'' ("Guru's path").

References

Sikh practices History of Sikhism Tithes {{Sikhism-stub

History

See also

References