He was born in 1661 in Jagannath Puri in modern-day Odisha, India into a low-caste of water-suppliers.

[5][6] He reached Anandpur at the age of 17 to serve the tenth Sikh Guru, Gobind Singh.

[7] He was the third to answer the call by the Guru for a head during the ceremony to formalize the Khalsa order in 1699 atop a hill in Anandpur (where Takht Kesgarh Sahib now stands).

[7][8] After his baptism into the Khalsa order, he adopted the name Himmat Singh.

[3][7] Himmat Singh was viewed as being an avatar of an obscure Bhagat named Phandak (hunter).