Amritsar/Patna, Jan. 3 : Millions of Sikh devotees participated in the 342nd birth anniversary celebrations of their tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh.

In Patna, the birth place of Guru Gobind Singh, processions were taken out on Friday ahead of the celebrations on Saturday.

Free langars (meals) are also arranged and prasad (holy food) distributed.

"This is the birth place of our tenth and last Sikh leader Guru, Gobind Singh. He was the one who came with the concept of Khalsa
(brotherhood). Today it is his 342 birth day," said Daljeet Singh, Chief Granthi (religious leader), Patna Sahib Gurudwara.

Guru Govind Singh, a warrior-martyr, a poet and a social reformer, all rolled in one, was born at Patna Sahib in 1666.

In Amritsar, the anniversary will be observed on January 5, but hundreds of devotees took part in a procession that went through the city''s thoroughfares on Saturday.

"Today, we have come here to get blessings of our tenth guru. We are celebrating their birth anniversary with pomp and show. Our whole family has participated in the nagarkirtan (religious procession). People from all over the world have come to participate in nagarkirtan, and to get blessings from Guru Gobind Singh," said Harjit Singh, a devotee.

Guru Gobind Singh moulded the Sikh religion into its present form with the formation of the Khalsa. All members of the "Khalsa" sect have to possess the five K''s - "Kes" (long hair), "Kangha" (comb), "Kirpan" (dagger), "Kachha" (shorts) and "Kara" (steel bracelet).

The Guru''s birth anniversary commemorates his brave deeds to counter the Mughal might in the early part of 18th and the latter part of the 17th centuries.(ANI)