Khanda (religious symbol)

The Khanda ( "IAST|khaṇḍā") is one of most important symbols of Sikhism alongside the Ik Onkar. It became known as the Sikh National anthem, "Deh Shiva Bar Mohe" as the emblem of the Khalsa. [cite book
last = Gupta
first = Hari Ram
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = History of The Sikhs; The Sikh Gurus, 1469-1708
publisher = Munshilal Manoharlal Publishers (P) Ltd.
date = 2000
location = New Delhi
pages = 332
url =
doi =
id =
isbn = 8121502764] It is an amalgam of three symbols,cite book
last = Rose
first = David
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Sikhism photopack
publisher = Folens limited
date = 1995
location =
pages = 10
url =
doi =
id =
isbn = 1852767693] represented by three different weapons. It is commonly found on the "Nishan sahib" or flag of the Sikhs, anywhere in a Gurudwara.

There are three different weapons used in a "Khanda", which also have a symbolic meaning:
*A double-edged sword called a Khanda in the centre
*A Chakkar which is a circular weapon
*Two single-edged swords, or kirpans, are crossed at the bottom and sit on either side of the Khanda and Chakkar. They represent the dual nature/duties of the Gurus, Miri and Piri.

The Khanda represents knowledge of God, the Chakkar represents the eternal nature of God and oneness of humanity, the two swords represent Miri (political sovereignty) and Piri (spiritual sovereignty). [cite book
last = Teece
first = Geoff
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Sikhism
publisher = Black Rabbit Books
date =
location =
pages = 18
url =
doi =
id =
isbn = 1583404694]

The symbol is encoded in Unicode, in the Miscellaneous Symbols range, at codepoint U+262C (unicode|☬).

References