Guru AngadGuru Angad (31 March 1504 – 29 March 1552; Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਅੰਗਦ, pronunciation: gʊɾuː əŋgəd̯ə) was the second of the ten Sikh gurus of Sikhism. After meeting Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, becoming a Sikh, and serving and working with Guru Nanak for many years, Guru Nanak gave Lehna the name Angad ("my own limb"), and chose Angad as the second Sikh Guru. After the death of Guru Nanak in 1539, Guru Angad led the Sikh tradition. He is remembered in Sikhism for adopting and formalising the Gurmukhi alphabet.
KhalsaKhalsa (ਖ਼ਾਲਸਾ, ˈkhaːlsaː, to be pure) refers to both a community that considers Sikhism as its faith, as well as a special group of initiated Sikhs. The Khalsa tradition was initiated in 1699 by the Tenth Guru of Sikhism, Guru Gobind Singh. Its formation was a key event in the history of Sikhism. The founding of Khalsa is celebrated by Sikhs during the festival of Vaisakhi. Guru Gobind Singh started the Khalsa tradition after his father, Guru Tegh Bahadur, was beheaded during the Islamic sharia rule of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb.
Caste system in IndiaThe caste system in India is the paradigmatic ethnographic instance of social classification based on castes. It has its origins in ancient India, and was transformed by various ruling elites in medieval, early-modern, and modern India, especially the Mughal Empire and the British Raj. It is today the basis of affirmative action programmes in India as enforced through its constitution. The caste system consists of two different concepts, varna and jati, which may be regarded as different levels of analysis of this system.
KhatriKhatri is a caste/clan of the Indian subcontinent that is predominantly found in India, but also in Pakistan and Afghanistan. In the subcontinent, they were mostly engaged in mercantilistic professions such as banking and trade. They were the dominant commercial and financial administration class of Late-Medieval India, some in Punjab often belonged to hereditary agriculturalist land-holding lineages, while others were engaged in artisanal occupations such as silk production and weaving and some were scribes learned in Sanskrit or Persian.
Khalsa boleKhalsa bole (Gurmukhi: ਖ਼ਾਲਸਈ ਬੋਲੇ or ਖ਼ਾਲਸਾ ਬੋਲੀ; Ḵẖālasa'ī bōlē, Ḵẖālasā bōlī; meaning "words of Khalsa"; alternatively transcribed as Khalsa boli) is a bravado-based language variety developed and spoken by members of the Akali-Nihang sect of Sikhism. It has also been described as a coded language. Other common names for the lect are Gar Gaj Bole (ਗੜਗੱਜ ਬੋਲੇ; meaning "words that thunder"), Nihang Singh de Bole ("words of the Nihang Sikhs"), Nihang Bola ("Nihang speak"), and Khalsa de bole ("words of the Khalsa").
NitnemNitnem (ਨਿਤਨੇਮ) is a collection of Sikh hymns (Gurbani) to be read minimally 3 different times of the day. These are mandatory and to be read by every Amritdhari Sikh as expressed in the Sikh Rehat Maryada. Optionally additional prayers may be added to a Sikh's nitnem. There are five hymns (Five Banis) to be done during Amrit Vela (early morning), the Rehras Sahib hymn for the evening and Kirtan Sohila for the night. The morning and evening prayers should be followed by an Ardaas.
HukamnamaA Hukamnama (Punjabi: ਹੁਕਮਨਾਮਾ, translit. Hukamanāmā), in modern-times, refers to a hymn from the Guru Granth Sahib which is given as an injunction, order, or edict to Sikhs. It also refers to edicts issued by the contemporary Takhts. In the historical sense, it was used to refer to an issued injunction, order, or edict given by one of the Gurus of Sikhism or their officiated followers and associates during their lives.
GurmukhiGurmukhī (ਗੁਰਮੁਖੀ, ˈɡʊɾəmʊkhiː, Shahmukhi: ) or Gurumukhī is an Indic script predominantly used in present-day Punjab, India. It is an abugida developed from the Laṇḍā scripts, standardized and used by the second Sikh guru, Guru Angad (1504–1552). It is commonly regarded as a Sikh script, used by Punjabi Sikhs to write the Punjabi language, and is one of the official scripts of the Indian Republic, while the Arabic-based Shahmukhi script is used in Punjab, Pakistan.
PatialaPatiala (pʌʈeɑ̈ːɭɑ) is a city in southeastern Punjab, northwestern India. It is the fourth largest city in the state and is the administrative capital of Patiala district. Patiala is located around the Qila Mubarak (the 'Fortunate Castle') constructed by the Sidhu Jat Sikh chieftain Ala Singh, who founded the royal dynasty of Patiala State in 1763, and after whom the city is named.
RavidassiaRavidassia or the Ravidas Panth is a branch of Sikhism based on the teachings of Guru Ravidass and Guru Nanak who is revered as a satguru. Historically, Ravidassia represented a range of beliefs in the Indian subcontinent, with some devotees of Ravidass counting themselves as Ravidassia, but first formed in the early 20th-century in colonial British India. The Ravidassia tradition began to take on more cohesion following 1947, and the establishment of successful Ravidassia tradition in the diaspora.
