Who was the first of the Panj Pyare (Five Beloved Ones)?

Bhai Daya Singh was the first of the Panj Pyare, the Five Beloved Ones.

Born Daya Ram, he was a Khatri Sikh from Lahore. At Anandpur Sahib in 1699, Guru Gobind Singh asked for a volunteer willing to offer his head. Daya Ram stepped forward first. Four more men then answered the call: Dharam Das, Himmat Rai, Mohkam Chand, and Sahib Chand. After initiation into the Khalsa, they became Bhai Daya Singh, Bhai Dharam Singh, Bhai Himmat Singh, Bhai Mohkam Singh, and Bhai Sahib Singh.

The Panj Pyare formed the first group to receive Khanda di Pahul, the Khalsa initiation ceremony. Their story is central to the founding of the Khalsa and is commemorated during Vaisakhi celebrations. Daya Singh’s first response is why he is conventionally named first in lists of the original five.

The term Panj Pyare later came to mean any appointed group of five initiated Sikhs serving the community, not only the original five. That broader usage is a common source of confusion in questions about their identity.