SIROPA, a term adopted from Persian saropa (head and foot) or sarapa (head to foot) meaning an honorary dress, is used in Sikh vocabulary for a garment, scarf or a length of cloth bestowed on someone as a mark of honour. It is the equivalent of khill`at or robe of
SYMBOLISM. The poetry of the Guru Granth Sahib is noteworthy especially for the wealth and variety of its images and symbols. The Gurus and sants whose compositions form part of the Holy Book have rendered their mystical and spiritual experience in the idiom of poetry. A large number of similes
TABI DARI, lit. subordination or obedience, was a system of non proprietory but permanent and hereditary land tenure during Sikh rule in the Punjab. The holders of tabi`dan tenure were equivalent to those who since Mughal times had been known as muzari ariimaurusi or occupancy tenants. It was prevalent in
TAKHT, Persian word meaning a throne or royal seat, has, besides its common literal use, other connotations in the Sikh tradition. In Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh Scripture, phrases such as sachcha takht (true throne) and pura takht (perfect throne) have been used to signify God`s seat of divine justice.
BUNGA: A place of residence for the Sikhs or the place for rest for the pilgrims. There were at least 69 Bungas at Amritsar in the nineteenth century, some of them are still in existence. Another term for the resting hostel for the Sikh pilgrims is Saran. At Darbar Sahib,
DARBAR, a Perisan word meaning "a house, dwelling; court, area; court or levee of a prince; audience chamber," is commonly used in Punjabi to signify a royal, princely or any high ranking officer`s court (as distinguished from courts of justice) where dignitaries granted audience to the common people, listened to
LAHORE DARBAR, i.e. the Sikh Court at Lahore, denoted the government of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and his successors (1799-1849). However, the Persian chroniclers refer to this government as Sarkar Khalsaji, and the term "Lahore Darbar" is not used even in British records until about the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
MORCHA, in Persian murchah or murchal meaning entrenchments, fortification or battlefront, has, apart from its usage in military strategy, entered Indian political vocabulary via the Gurdwara Reform or Akali movement of the early 1920`s. In that prolonged agitation for the liberation of Sikh historical shrines from the control of a
PANTH, from Sanskrit patha, pathin, or pantham, means literally a way, passage or path and, figuratively, away of life, religious creed or cult. In Sikh terminology, the word panth stands for the Sikh faith as well as for the Sikh people as a whole. It represents the invisible mystic body
RAJ KAREGA KHALSA, lit. "the Khalsa shall rule," a phrase expressive of the will of the Sikh people to sovereignty, is part of the anthem which follows the litany or ardas recited at the end of every religious service of the Sikhs. While the ardas is said by an officiant
RANJIT NAGARA, lit. the drum of victory in battlefield, was the name given the kettledrum installed by Guru Gobind Singh at Anandpur in 1684. Nagdrd, Punjabi for the Persian naqqdrah meaning a kettledrum, was a symbol of royalty. As well as fulfilling his spiritual office, Guru Gobind Singh had, like
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