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Nihangs
The Nihang or Akali (lit. "the immortals") is an armed Sikh warrior order originating in the Indian subcontinent. Nihang are believed to have originated either from Fateh Singh and the attire he wore or from the "Akali" (lit. Army of the Immortal) started by Guru Hargobind. Early Sikh military history was dominated by the Nihang, known for their victories where they were heavily outnumbered. Traditionally known for their bravery and ruthlessness in the battlefield, the Nihang once formed the irregular guerrilla squads of the armed forces of the Sikh Empire, the Sikh Khalsa Army. Akali The ''word Akali/akaali'' means timeless or immortal. Literally, one who belongs to ''Akaal'' (beyond Time). In other words, an Akaali is that person who is subject of none but God only. Conceptually speaking, the terms Akaali, Khalsa and Sikh are synonymous. The term Akaali was first used during the time of Guru Gobind Singh Sahib. The term Akaali became popular in the last decades of the eig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sikh Khalsa Army
The Sikh Khalsa Army (), also known as Khalsaji or simply Sikh Army, was the military force of the Sikh Empire. With its roots in the Khalsa founded by Guru Gobind Singh, the army was later modernised on Franco-British principles by Maharaja Ranjit Singh.''The Sikh Army 1799–1849'' By Ian Heath, Michael Perry It was divided in three wings: the Fauj-i-Khas (elites), Fauj-i-Ain (regular force) and Fauj-i-Be Qawaid (irregulars). Due to the lifelong efforts of the Maharaja and his European officers, it gradually became a prominent fighting force of Asia.''History of the Punjab'' by Prof Manjeet Singh Sodhi ) Ranjit Singh changed and improved the training and organisation of his army. He reorganized responsibility and set performance standards in logistical efficiency in troop deployment, manoeuvre, and marksmanship. He reformed the staffing to emphasize steady fire over cavalry and guerrilla warfare, improved the equipment and methods of war. The military system of Ranjit Singh c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sikhism
Sikhism (), also known as Sikhi ( pa, ਸਿੱਖੀ ', , from pa, ਸਿੱਖ, lit=disciple', 'seeker', or 'learner, translit=Sikh, label=none),''Sikhism'' (commonly known as ''Sikhī'') originated from the word ''Sikh'', which comes from the Sanskrit root ' meaning "disciple", or ' meaning "instruction". Singh, Khushwant. 2006. ''The Illustrated History of the Sikhs''. Oxford University Press. . p. 15.Kosh, Gur Shabad Ratnakar Mahan. https://web.archive.org/web/20050318143533/http://www.ik13.com/online_library.htm is an Indian religion that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent,"Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikh originated in India." around the end of the 15th century CE. It is the most recently founded major organized faith and stands at fifth-largest worldwide, with about 25–30 million adherents (known as Sikhs) .McLeod, William Hewat. 2019 998 Sikhism developed from the spiritual teachings of Guru Nanak (1469–1539), the faith's first gu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Akali Naina Singh
Akali Naina Singh Nihang was a Nihang warrior and fifth Jathedar of Budha Dal. He was born around 1736, into a Sidhu Jat family, in Khudi Kurd, in Barnala district. He was also caretaker of Darbar Sahib . He learned Gurbani and martial skills from Baba Deep Singh. He joined Budha Dal at the age of 20, along with his nephew Nihang Kharag Singh. He was guardian of Akali Phula Singh (1761-1823) and trained him with scriptures, warfare and martial arts. Bhai Naina Singh, the uncle and the predecessor of Akali Phula Singh Akali Phula Singh Nihang (born Nihang Singh; 1 January 1761 – 14 March 1823) was an Akali Nihang Sikh leader. He was a saint soldier of the Khalsa Shaheedan Misl and head of the Budha Dal in the early 19th century. He was also a senior ... used Akali as a prefix of his name. His successor Phula Singh became even more popular as an Akali. He is credited for introducing the tall pyramidal turban, which is common among the Nihangs.''NAINA SINGH, AKAL ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fateh Singh (Sikhism)
Fateh Singh (Gurmukhi: ਫਤਿਹ ਸਿੰਘ ; 25 February 1699 – 12 December 1705), commonly referred to with honorifics as Baba Fateh Singh or Sahibzada Baba Fateh Singh, was the fourth and youngest son of Guru Gobind Singh. He was born at the spot marked by the modern-day Gurdwara Bhora Sahib, Anandpur and was reared in the same locality. He was raised by his paternal grandmother, Mata Gujri, after the passing of his mother in December 1700. He was executed in Sirhind, alongside his elder brother Zorawar Singh, by being entombed alive in a brick wall and after they fell unconscious, they were taken out of the wall and killed. Guru Gobind Singh learnt of the deaths of his sons, Fateh Singh and Zorowar Singh, while he was staying at the village of Jatpura. Mata Gujri is claimed to have died of shock on hearing of the deaths of her two youngest grandsons. Fateh Singh is among the most hallowed martyrs in Sikhism. According to one theory regarding the genesis of the Akali ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chakram
Chakram ( sa, , script=latn; pa, , script=latn) is a throwing weapon from the Indian subcontinent. One of its major purposes is to protect the turban and the head from sword/melee attacks. It is circular with a sharpened outer edge and a diameter of . It is also known as chalikar meaning "circle", and was sometimes referred to in English writings as a "war- quoit". The Chakram is primarily a throwing weapon but can also be used hand-to-hand. A smaller variant called ''chakri'' is worn on the wrist. A related weapon is the ''chakri dong'', a bamboo staff with a chakri attached at one end. History The earliest references to the chakram come from the 5th century BCE Indian epics ''Mahabharata'' and ''Ramayana'' where the Sudarshana Chakra is the weapon of the god Vishnu. Contemporaneous Tamil poems from the 2nd century BCE record it as ''thikiri'' (திகிரி). Chakra-dhāri ("chakram-wielder" or "disc-bearer") is a name for Krishna. The chakram was later used extensively ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Talwar
The talwar (), also spelled ''talwaar'' and ''tulwar'', is a type of curved sword or sabre from the Indian subcontinent. Etymology and classification The word ''talwar'' originated from the Sanskrit word ''taravāri'' ( sa, तरवारि) which means "one-edged sword". It is the word for ''sword'' in several related languages, such as Hindustani (Urdu and Hindi), Nepali, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, etc. and as () in Bengali. Like many swords from around the world with an etymology derived from a term meaning simply 'sword', the talwar has in scholarship, and in museum and collector usage, acquired a more specific meaning. Unfortunately, South Asian swords, while showing a rich diversity of forms, suffer from relatively poor dating (so developmental history is obscure) and a lack of precise nomenclature and classification. The typical talwar is a type of sabre, characterised by a curved blade (without the radical curve of some Persian swords), possessing an all-metal hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kara (Sikhism)
A kara ( pa, ਕੜਾ (Gurmukhi), (Shahmukhi) कड़ा (Devanagari)) is a steel or cast iron (''sarb loh'') bangle worn by Sikhs. It is expected to be worn by all Sikhs. It is one of the five kakars or five Ks—external articles of faith—that identify a Sikh as dedicated to the religious order of Sikhism. The kara was instituted by the tenth Sikh guru Gobind Singh at the Baisakhi Amrit Sanchar in 1699. Guru Gobind Singh Ji explained: The Kara is a symbol of unbreakable attachment and commitment to God. As the Sikhs' holy text the Guru Granth Sahib says "In the tenth month, you were made into a human being, O my merchant friend, and you were given your allotted time to perform good deeds." Similarly, Bhagat Kabir reminds the Sikh to always keep one's consciousness with God: "With your hands and feet, do all your work, but let your consciousness remain with the Immaculate Lord." The kara is also worn by many Sikhs and other non- Sikh Indian families across the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pesh-kabz
The pesh-kabz or peshkabz ( fa, پیش قبض, hi, पेश क़ब्ज़) is a type of Indo-Persian knife designed to penetrate mail armour and other types of armour.Lexicon of Medieval Knives and Daggers', retrieved 5 July 2011Shackleford, Steve, (ed.), ''Blade's Guide To Knives And Their Values'' (7th ed.), Krause Publications, (1989), p. 406 The word is also spelled ''pesh-qabz'' or ''pish-ghabz'' and means "fore-grip" in the Persian language; it was borrowed into the Hindustani language. Originally created during Safavid Persia, it became widespread in Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent during Mughal period. Design Most pesh-kabz use a hollow-ground, tempered steel single-edged full tang, recurved blade with a thick spine bearing a "T" cross-section for strength and rigidity.Paul, E. Jaiwant, ''Arms and Armour: Traditional Weapons of India'' (1st ed.), Roli Books, , (2005), pp. 67-70Stone, G. Cameron, '' A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kirpan
The kirpan is a curved, single-edged dagger or knife carried by Sikhs. Traditionally, it was a full-sized sword but modern Sikhs have reduced the length to that of a dagger or knife due to modern considerations based on societal and legal changes since then. It is part of a religious commandment given by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699, in which he gave an option to the Sikhs, if they accepted they must wear the five articles of faith (the five Ks) at all times, the kirpan being one of five Ks. The Punjabi word ਕਿਰਪਾਨ, kirpān, has a folk etymology with two roots: ''kirpa'', meaning "mercy", "grace", "compassion" or "kindness"; and ''aanaa'', meaning "honor", "grace" or "dignity". It is derived from or related to Sanskrit कृपाण (kṛpaṇa, “sword, dagger, sacrificial knife”), ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European stem *kerp-, from *(s)ker, meaning "to cut". Sikhs are expected to embody the qualities of a ''Sant Sipahi'' or "saint-soldier", showing no fe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Sikh Hooper Western 1860s
A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes''. It is similar in shape to the Ancient Greek letter alpha, from which it derives. The uppercase version consists of the two slanting sides of a triangle, crossed in the middle by a horizontal bar. The lowercase version can be written in two forms: the double-storey a and single-storey ɑ. The latter is commonly used in handwriting and fonts based on it, especially fonts intended to be read by children, and is also found in italic type. In English grammar, " a", and its variant " an", are indefinite articles. History The earliest certain ancestor of "A" is aleph (also written 'aleph), the first letter of the Phoenician alphabet, which consisted entirely of consonants (for that reason, it is also called an abjad to distinguish it fro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Khanda (sword)
The khanda ( sa, खड्ग) is a double-edge straight sword originating from the Indian subcontinent. The Maratha warrior clans venerated the khanda as a weapon of great prestige. It is often featured in religious iconography, theatre and art depicting the ancient history of India. It is a common weapon in Indian martial arts.M. L. K. Murty (2003), p91 Khanda often appears in the Sikh, Jain, Buddhist and Hindu scriptures and art. Etymology The word ''khanda'' has its origins in the Sanskrit 'Rocky Pendergrass, 201Mythological Swords Page 10. (खड्ग) or ', from a root ' meaning "to break, divide, cut, destroy". The older word for a bladed weapon, ', is used in the Rigveda in reference to either an early form of the sword or to a sacrificial knife or dagger to be used in war. Appearance The blade broadens from the hilt to the point, which is usually quite blunt. While both edges are sharp, one side usually has a strengthening plate along most of its length, which both a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sirhind
Sirhind-Fategarh is a town and a municipal council in the Fatehgarh Sahib district in the Indian state of Punjab. Demographics In the 2011 census Sirhind-Fatehgarh had a population of 60852. Males constituted 54% of the population and females 46%. Sirhind-Fatehgarh had an average literacy rate of 90%, higher than the national average of 74%: male literacy is 84%, and female literacy was 80%. 12% of the population was under 6 years of age. Etymology According to popular notion, Sirhind, comes from 'Sar-i hind', meaning the Frontier of Hind, as Mughal saw it as the 'gateway to Hindustan'.Memories of a town known as Sirhind The Sunday Tribune, 15 April 2007. |
