Pangat (Punjabi: ਪੰਗਤ ) is a word derived from the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

word ''pankti''
पङ्क्ति
that means a line, a row, or a group. It refers to the Sikh concept of commensality. It is a synonym for ''Guru Ka Langar''. In a Pangat, food is served by volunteers (Sevadars) to people of all religions who sit together to eat. Pangat is about eating food while sitting in rows with no discrimination on the basis of

caste A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...

creed A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) which summarizes its core tenets. Many Christian denominations use three creeds ...

, race,

ethnicity An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they Collective consciousness, collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, ...

gender Gender is the range of social, psychological, cultural, and behavioral aspects of being a man (or boy), woman (or girl), or third gender. Although gender often corresponds to sex, a transgender person may identify with a gender other tha ...

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

or economic status. According to the beliefs of Sikhism, nobody sleeps without eating, nor should anybody die of hunger.

History

Pangat and Sangat came together from the time of

Guru Nanak Gurū Nānak (15 April 1469 – 22 September 1539; Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ; pronunciation: , ), also known as ('Father Nanak'), was an Indian spiritual teacher, mystic and poet, who is regarded as the founder of Sikhism and is t ...

, the first Guru of

Sikh 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 ''Si ...

ism. Nanak's father gave him money for trade that he spent on feeding hungry

sadhu ''Sadhu'' (, IAST: ' (male), ''sādhvī'' or ''sādhvīne'' (female), also spelled ''saddhu'') is a religious ascetic, mendicant or any holy person in Hinduism and Jainism who has renounced the worldly life. They are sometimes alternatively ...

s. He named this that ''True Transaction'' (Sacha Sauda). Where there is Sangat, there is always a Langar (food service). According to Sikh principles all people (Sangat) who sit in pangat share food on equal basis. In the history of Sikhism, when

Emperor Akbar Akbar (Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, – ), popularly known as Akbar the Great, was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped the young emperor expand ...

and the King of Haripur went to meet Guru Amar Das, the third Guru of Sikhism. They both had to eat Langar in the pangat before meeting the Guru.

References

{{Sikhism Cultural assimilation Sanskrit words and phrases Sikh practices

History

See also

References