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Sikh Culture
The Sikhs are adherents to Sikhism, the fifth largest organized religion in the world, with around 25 million adherents. Sikh History is around 500 years and in that time the Sikhs have developed unique expressions of art and culture which are influenced by their faith and synthesize traditions from many other cultures depending on the locality of the adherents of the religion. Sikhism is the only religion that originated in the Punjab region with all other religions coming from outside Punjab (with the possible exception of Punjabi Hinduism since the oldest Hindu scripture – the Rig Veda – was composed in the Punjab region. Some other religions, like Jainism, may also claim to have originated in Punjab since Jain symbolism has been found among artifacts of the Indus Valley Civilization). All the Sikh gurus, many saints, and many of the martyrs in Sikh history were from Punjab and from the Punjabi people (as well as other parts of the Indian Subcontinent). Punjabi culture and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sikhs
Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Sikh'' has its origin in the Sanskrit word ', meaning 'seeker', or . According to Article I of Chapter 1 of the Sikh Rehat Maryada, Sikh ''Rehat Maryada'' (), the definition of Sikh is: Any human being who faithfully believes in One Immortal Being Ten Gurus, from Guru Nanak Sahib to Guru Gobind Singh Sahib The Guru Granth Sahib The utterances and teachings of the ten Gurus and The initiation, known as the Amrit Sanskar, Amrit Sanchar, bequeathed by the tenth Guru and who does not owe allegiance to any other religion, is a Sikh. Male Sikhs generally have ''Singh'' () as their last name, though not all Singhs are necessarily Sikhs; likewise, female Sikhs have ''Kaur'' () as their last name. These unique last names were given by the Gurus to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medieval Persia
The history of Iran (also known as Persia) is intertwined with Greater Iran, which is a socio-cultural region encompassing all of the areas that have witnessed significant settlement or influence exerted by the Iranian peoples and the Iranian languages chiefly the Persians and the Persian language. Central to this region is the Iranian plateau, now largely covered by modern Iran. The most pronounced impact of Iranian history can be seen stretching from Anatolia in the west to the Indus Valley in the east, including the Levant, Mesopotamia, the Caucasus, and parts of Central Asia. To varying degrees, it also overlaps or mingles with the histories of many other major civilizations, such as India, China, Greece, Rome, and Egypt. Iran is home to one of the world's oldest continuous major civilizations, with historical and urban settlements dating back to 4000 BC. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sikh Guru
The Sikh gurus (Punjabi language, Punjabi: ਸਿੱਖ ਗੁਰੂ; Hindi: सिख गुरु) are the spiritual masters of Sikhism, who established the religion over the course of about two and a half centuries, beginning in 1469. The year 1469 marks the birth of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism. Nine other human gurus succeeded him until, in 1708, the ''Guru Gaddi, Guruship'' was finally passed on by the tenth guru to the holy Sikhism, Sikh scripture, Guru Granth Sahib, which is now considered the living Guru by the followers of the Sikh faith. The guruship was also passed onto the ''Guru Panth'', consisting of the Khalsa; however, this form of guruship went into decline following to rise of Ranjit Singh. Etymology and definition ''Guru'' (, ; , Punjabi language, Punjabi: ਗੁਰੂ, International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''guru'') is a Sanskrit term for a "teacher, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. Bhai Vir Singh (writer), V ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Khanda (Sikh Symbol)
The Khanda () is the symbol of the Sikhism which attained its current form around the 1930s during the Ghadar Movement. Description The modern Sikh symbol is never written on or in any copy of the Guru Granth Sahib. The main symbol traditionally used in the Guru Granth Sahib and Gurdwaras around the world is "Ik Onkar". Traditionally, it was very common to see "Ik Onkar" above the entrance to a Gurdwara, or on the front page of the Guru Granth Sahib. The other one was the Aad Chand. It is an amalgam of 3 symbols: * A double-edged khanda (sword) in the centre * A ''chakkar'' (chakram) * Two single-edged daggers, or kirpan, crossed at the bottom, which sit on either side of the khanda and chakkar. They represent the dual characteristics of ''Miri piri, Miri-Piri'', indicating the integration of both spiritual and temporal sovereignty together and not treating them as two separate and distinct entities. The left sword is called Miri and the right sword is called Piri. It dep ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harmandir Sahib
The Golden Temple is a gurdwara located in Amritsar, Punjab, India. It is the pre-eminent spiritual site of Sikhism. It is one of the Holy place, holiest sites in Sikhism, alongside the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur in Kartarpur, Pakistan, Kartarpur, and Gurdwara Janam Asthan in Nankana Sahib. The Temple tank, ''sarovar'' (holy pool) on the site of the gurdwara was completed by the fourth Sikh Guru, Guru Ram Das, in 1577. In 1604, Guru Arjan Dev, Guru Arjan, the fifth Sikh Guru, placed a copy of the Adi Granth in the Golden Temple and was a prominent figure in its development. The gurdwara was repeatedly rebuilt by the Sikhs after it became a target of Persecution of Sikhs, persecution and was destroyed several times by the Mughal Empire, Mughal and invading Durrani Empire, Afghan armies. Maharaja Ranjit Singh, after founding the Sikh Empire, rebuilt it in marble and copper in 1809, and overlaid the sanctum with gold leaf in 1830. This has led to the name the Golden Temple. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ranjit Singh
Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839) was the founder and first maharaja of the Sikh Empire, in the northwest Indian subcontinent, ruling from 1801 until his death in 1839. Born to Maha Singh, the leader of the Sukerchakia Misl, Ranjit Singh survived smallpox in infancy but lost sight in his left eye. At the age of ten years old, he fought his first battle alongside his father. After his father died around Ranjit's early teenage years, he became leader of the Misl. Ranjit was the most prominent of the Sikh leaders who opposed Zaman Shah, the ruler of Durrani Empire, during his third invasion. After Zaman Shah's retreat in 1799, he captured Lahore from the Sikh triumvirate which had been ruling it since 1765. At the age of 21, he was formally crowned at Lahore. Before his rise, the Punjab had been fragmented into a number of warring Sikh (known as misls), Muslim and Hindu states. A large part of Punjab was under direct Durrani control. By 1813, Ranjit Sin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sikh Empire
The Sikh Empire was a regional power based in the Punjab, Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. It existed from 1799, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured Lahore, to 1849, when it was defeated and conquered by the East India Company, British East India Company following the Second Anglo-Sikh War. At its peak in the mid-19th century the empire extended from Gilgit and Tibet under Qing rule, Tibet in the north to the Thar Desert, deserts of Sindh in the south and from the Khyber Pass in the west to the Sutlej in the east, and was divided into eight provinces. Religiously diverse, with an estimated population of 4.5 million in 1831 (making it the List of countries by population in 1800, 19th most populous state at the time), it was the last major region of the Indian subcontinent to be annexed by the British Raj, British Empire. In 1799, Ranjit Singh of Sukerchakia Misl captured Lahore from the Sikh triumvirate which had been ruling it Sikh period in Lahore#Sikh triumvirate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Persian People
Persians ( ), or the Persian people (), are an Iranian peoples, Iranian ethnic group from West Asia that came from an earlier group called the Proto-Iranians, which likely split from the Indo-Iranians in 1800 BCE from either Afghanistan or Central Asia. They are indigenous to the Iranian plateau and comprise the majority of the population of Iran.Iran Census Results 2016 United Nations Alongside having a Culture of Iran, common cultural system, they are native speakers of the Persian language and of the Western Iranian languages that are closely related to it. In the Western world, "Persian" was largely understood as a demonym for all Iranians rather than as an ethnonym for the Persian people, but this understanding Name of Iran, shi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aryan
''Aryan'' (), or ''Arya'' (borrowed from Sanskrit ''ārya''), Oxford English Dictionary Online 2024, s.v. ''Aryan'' (adj. & n.); ''Arya'' (n.)''.'' is a term originating from the ethno-cultural self-designation of the Indo-Iranians. It stood in contrast to nearby outsiders, whom they designated as non-Aryan (). In ancient India, the term was used by the Indo-Aryan peoples of the Vedic period, both as an endonym and in reference to a region called ''Aryavarta'' (, ), where their culture emerged. Similarly, according to the Avesta, the Iranian peoples used the term to designate themselves as an ethnic group and to refer to a region called '' Airyanem Vaejah'' (, ), which was their mythical homeland. The word stem also forms the etymological source of place names like '' Alania'' () and ''Iran'' (). Although the stem may originate from the Proto-Indo-European language, it seems to have been used exclusively by the Indo-Iranian peoples, as there is no evidence of it having s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mughal Architecture
Mughal architecture is the style of architecture developed in the Mughal Empire in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries throughout the ever-changing extent of their empire in the Indian subcontinent. It developed from the architectural styles of earlier Indo-Islamic architecture and from Iranian architecture, Iranian and Architecture of Central Asia, Central Asian architectural traditions, particularly Timurid architecture. It also further incorporated and syncretized influences from wider Architecture of India, Indian architecture, especially during the reign of Akbar (r. 1556–1605). Mughal buildings have a uniform pattern of structure and character, including large bulbous domes, slender minarets at the corners, massive halls, large vaulted gateways, and delicate ornamentation. Examples of the style are found mainly in modern-day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. The Mughal dynasty was established after the victory of Babur at First Battle of Panipat, Panipat in 1526 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indian Culture
Indian culture is the heritage of social norms and technologies that originated in or are associated with the ethno-linguistically diverse nation of India, pertaining to the Indian subcontinent until 1947 and the Republic of India post-1947. The term also applies beyond India to countries and cultures whose histories are strongly connected to India by immigration, colonization, or influence, particularly in South Asia and Southeast Asia. India's languages, religions, dance, music, architecture, food, and customs differ from place to place within the country. Indian culture, often labelled as a combination of several cultures, has been influenced by a history that is several millennia old, beginning with the Indus Valley Civilization and other early cultural areas.John Keay (2012), ''India: A History'', 2nd Ed – Revised and Updated, Grove Press / Harper Collins, , see Introduction and Chapters 3 through 11Mohammada, Malika (2007), ''The foundations of the composite culture i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gurdwara
A gurdwara or gurudwara () is a place of assembly and place of worship, worship in Sikhism, but its normal meaning is "place of guru" or "home of guru". Sikhism, Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as ''Gurdwara Sahib''. People from all faiths and religions are welcomed in gurdwaras. Each gurdwara has a ''Darbar Sahib Hall, Darbar Sahib'' where the Guru Granth Sahib is placed on a (an elevated throne) in a prominent central position. Any congregant (sometimes with specialized training, in which case they are known by the term granthi) may recite, sing, and explain the verses from the Guru Granth Sahib, in the presence of the rest of the congregation. All gurdwaras have a hall, where people can eat free lacto-vegetarian food served by volunteers at the gurdwara. They may also have a medical facility room, library, nursery, classroom, meeting rooms, playground, sports ground, a gift shop, and finally a repair shop. A gurdwara can be identified from a distance by tall flagpoles bearing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
