The Khanda ( pa, ਖੰਡਾ, ) is the symbol of the

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism (Sikhi), a monotheistic 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 ' ...

faith which attained its current form around the 1930s during the

Ghadar Movement The Ghadar Movement was an early 20th century, international political movement founded by expatriate Indians to overthrow British rule in India. The early movement was created by conspirators who lived and worked on the West Coast of the Unite ...

. The modern Sikh symbol/logo is never written on or in any copy of the

Guru Granth Sahib The Guru Granth Sahib ( pa, ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ, ) is the central holy religious scripture of Sikhism, regarded by Sikhs as the final, sovereign and eternal Guru following the lineage of the ten human gurus of the rel ...

. The main symbol/logo traditionally used in the Guru Granth Sahib and Gurdwaras around the world is "

Ek Onkar , also spelled (Gurmukhi: or ; ); literally, "There is only one God or One creator or one Om-maker") is a phrase in Sikhism that denotes the one supreme reality. It is a central tenet of Sikh religious philosophy. are the first words of the ...

". Traditionally, it was very common to see "Ek 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) The khanda ( sa, खड्ग) is a double-edge straight sword originating from the Indian subcontinent. The Maratha Army, Maratha warrior clans venerated the khanda as a weapon of great prestige. It is often featured in religious iconography, th ...

in the centre * A ''chakkar'' (

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 diamet ...

) * Two single-edged daggers, or

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 chang ...

, crossed at the bottom, which sit on either side of the khanda and chakkar. They represent the dual characteristics of '' 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 depicts the Sikh doctrine ''

Deg Tegh Fateh Deg Teg Fateh ( pa, ਦੇਗ ਤੇਗ਼ ਫ਼ਤਿਹ, meaning Victory to Charity and Arms) is a Sikh slogan and the title of an anthem in the Punjabi language that signifies the dual obligations of the Khalsa: The responsibility to provide fo ...

'' in emblematic form. It consists of three weapons and a circle: the

khanda Khanda may refer to: Places * Khanda, Sonipat, a very big and historical village in Sonipat district of Haryana, India * Khanda, Jind, a village in Jind district of Haryana, India * Khanda Kheri, a village in Hansi Tehsil of Hisar district of ...

, two

s and the chakkar which is a sharp circular

Throwing Weapon Throwing is an action which consists in accelerating a projectile and then releasing it so that it follows a ballistic trajectory, usually with the aim of impacting a remote target. This action is best characterized for animals with prehensi ...

. Deg Teg Fateh (), or Victory to Charity and Arms) is a Sikh slogan and the title of an anthem in the Punjabi language that signifies the dual obligations of the Khalsa: The responsibility to provide food, and to provide protection, for the needy and oppressed. Deg refers to the "cauldron" and Tegh to the "sword". The cauldron or kettle symbolizes charity and is a reference to the Sikh religious obligation to provide langar, the free distribution of food, to all people, irrespective of an individual's religion, caste or ethnicity. The sword, or (kirpan), represents the warrior code of the Khalsa. The Khanda icon conveys these two principles. It is the military emblem of the Sikhs. It is also part of the design of the ''

Nishan Sahib The Nishan Sahib (Gurmukhi: ਨਿਸ਼ਾਨ ਸਾਹਿਬ ''niśāna sāhiba'') is a Sikh triangular flag made of cotton or silk cloth, with a tassel at its end. The word, ''Nishan Sahib'' means exalted ensign, and the flag is hoisted on a ...

''. A double-edged

is placed at the top of a Nishan Sahib flag as an ornament or

finial A finial (from '' la, finis'', end) or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature. In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the apex of a dome, spire, t ...

. In recent years, the Khanda has been used to show solidarity within the Sikh community after high-profile shootings in the United States. Another symbol that may be confused with the Khanda is the ''aad chand'' (lit. "half moon") of the

Nihang 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 Immort ...

, which consists of a ''khanda'' sword in the middle of a crescent, aligned with points upward. The symbol is encoded in

Unicode Unicode, formally The Unicode Standard,The formal version reference is is an information technology standard for the consistent encoding, representation, and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems. The standard, ...

, at code point in the

Miscellaneous Symbols Miscellaneous Symbols is a Unicode block (U+2600–U+26FF) containing glyphs representing concepts from a variety of categories: astrological, astronomical, chess, dice, musical notation, political symbols, recycling, religious symbols, tri ...

range.

References

{{Sikhism Sikh symbols Sikh terminology