amrit sanchar ("nectar ceremony"; also called amrit sanskar, amrit parchar, or khande di pahul), is the name given in the sikh tradition to the baptism ceremony which is also known as the initiation ceremony into the khalsa "brotherhood". the word pahul or puhul is a derivative from a substantive, "pahu" — meaning an agent which brightens, accelerates or sharpens the potentialities of a given object. in sikhism, the baptised sikh is also called an amritdhari, literally meaning "amrit taker" or one who has ‘taken on amrit’.