Ardas — congregational prayer

• Opening with Ik Onkar, the foundational statement of Sikh belief.
• Praise of the Gurus, from Guru Nanak through the ten Gurus and the Guru Granth Sahib.
• Remembrance of Sikh martyrs.
• At a wedding, specific prayers for the couple — the marriage, health, spiritual growth, and livelihood.
• A close for sarbat da bhala, the welfare of all.

The product preset is 10 minutes, in every Anand Karaj variant.

Everyone in the darbar sahib stands. Hands are often pressed together at chest level. Guests who do not know the practice should stand when the sangat stands. Photographers stand too. Shooting the prayer from a seat while everyone else is standing is disrespectful.

Immediately after ardas, the granthi opens the Guru Granth Sahib at random and reads the hymn on that page as the day's word for the couple. Neither the granthi nor the couple chooses the verse. It commonly adds a few minutes beyond the 10-minute ardas preset.

Silent shutter. Stand with the congregation; kneel only briefly if a low frame is necessary, then rise. Wide view of the standing sangat with the scripture and granthi, the couple with hands together, family, and the granthi's face. For the hukamnama: the volume being opened, the granthi's hand on the verse, and the couple listening.

Ardas itself is one of the most consistent blocks in an Anand Karaj: the sangat stands, the granthi leads, and the prayer moves through praise of the Gurus, remembrance of martyrs, petitions for the couple, and a close for the welfare of all. The ten-minute preset rarely needs rewriting. What does shift is how tightly ardas connects to the hukamnama that follows, how many wedding-specific lines the granthi includes, and how crowded the standing room is. In a packed darbar sahib you may have almost no lateral movement; in a quieter hall you can recompose a wide of standing guests without brushing shoulders. Diaspora ceremonies keep the same structure even when many guests are learning the posture for the first time — standing when the sangat stands remains the clear cue.

Guests who cannot stand for medical reasons stay seated without fuss; photographers should not single them out or ask them to move for a cleaner frame. Non-Sikh attendees are welcome to stand in silent attention. Hands pressed together at the chest are common but not a costume to impose. The hukamnama remains unchosen: whatever verse appears when the Guru Granth Sahib is opened is the guidance for the day, and it commonly adds a few minutes after the ardas preset. Do not expect a second opening for a "better" verse, and do not treat the reading as a flexible photo op that can be paused.

Confirm with the couple or the granthi's attendant when everyone will be asked to stand, whether photography during ardas is limited to the rear or side, and how quickly the hukamnama begins afterward. Stand with the congregation for the prayer; kneel only briefly for a low frame if needed, then rise. Silent shutter is non-negotiable. Prioritize a wide of the standing sangat with scripture and granthi, then the couple's hands and faces, then the volume opening for the hukamnama. If you are still seated while the room stands, you are already in the wrong place — reset before the first lines, not halfway through the petition for the couple.