Akal Takht, Sikh seat of temporal authority in Amritsar, India
Akal Takht is a five-story marble building with a golden dome located within the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar, Punjab, India. It rises opposite the main shrine across the sacred pool and serves as an architectural counterpart to the purely spiritual space of Harmandir Sahib.
Guru Hargobind founded this institution in 1606 by placing two swords on a masonry platform to symbolize spiritual and worldly authority. Over the centuries, the building experienced several destructions and reconstructions, the most recent following conflicts in the 1980s.
The name means "Throne of the Timeless", and the building is also called Akal Bunga. Two Nishan Sahibs fly here instead of one, said to stand for the miri-piri pairing of temporal and spiritual authority. The jathedar, the Sikhs' supreme spokesperson, sits at this takht, though rival appointments by the SGPC and the 2015 Sarbat Khalsa leave the office disputed.
Access is through the main entrance of the temple complex after removing shoes and covering head and feet. A visit lasting about one to two hours is enough to explore the space and witness the ceremonial proceedings.
The Akal Takht flies two Nishan Sahibs instead of one, said to represent the miri-piri concept of twin swords. Guru Hargobind first sat in court here on a 3.5-metre platform, receiving petitions under a parasol and fly whisk.
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