The formal standing prayer of supplication and remembrance that frames Sikh worship and undertakings.
Tagged: Daily Prayer Prayer Supplication Sikh
Historical Context
Ardas, from a Persian word for a petition presented to a superior, is the Sikh community's formal prayer of supplication. Its fixed core invokes God, recalls the ten Gurus and the martyrs and sacrifices of Sikh history, and prays for the welfare of all humanity (sarbat da bhala); a variable middle section voices the particular occasion — a birth, a marriage, a journey, a difficulty. The prayer's wording was standardized under the authority of the Akal Takht in the twentieth century.
Use and Practice
Ardas is offered standing, with hands folded, at the conclusion of the morning and evening banis and of every congregational service, and before and after undertakings of any significance. The congregation responds at set points, and a reading from the Guru Granth Sahib follows.
References
- SikhiWiki — Ardas Free / open access
- SikhNet Free / open access
Related Prayers and Creeds
- Nitnem — The daily banis (hymns) prescribed for Sikh devotion: morning, evening, and night prayers from the Sikh scriptures.
Related Across the Site
- Nitnem — The Daily Banis Devotion — The Sikh day is built of hymns: Japji Sahib at dawn, Rehras at evening, Kirtan Sohila before sleep — the Guru's word as the day's frame.
- Al-Fatiha Prayer or Creed — The opening chapter of the Qur'an, recited in every unit of the ritual prayer.
- Amidah Prayer or Creed — The standing prayer at the center of every Jewish prayer service, recited silently while standing.
- Jesus Prayer Prayer or Creed — A short, repeated invocation of Jesus asking for mercy, central to the Orthodox hesychast tradition.
- Nitnem Prayer or Creed — The daily banis (hymns) prescribed for Sikh devotion: morning, evening, and night prayers from the Sikh scriptures.
- Salah Prayer or Creed — The ritual prayer performed five times daily, with fixed postures, recitations, and the closing testimony (Tashahhud).
- The Angelus Prayer or Creed — A thrice-daily prayer of versicles and Hail Marys commemorating the Annunciation and the Incarnation.
- The Lord's Prayer (Our Father) Prayer or Creed — The prayer Jesus taught his disciples in Matthew 6 and Luke 11, shared by Christians of every tradition.