ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>DEG TEGH FATEH</TITLE> <style type="text/css"> .BODY { background-color: #EAF1F7; background-image: url('images/gtbh.jpg'); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; background-position: center; color: #0066CC;} .C1{text-align: justify;color: #0066CC;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .BIB{text-align: center;color: #000099;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .CONT{text-align: right;color: #FF0000;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} </style><META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="DEG"> <META http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"></HEAD> <BODY class="BODY" oncontextmenu="return false" ondragstart="return false" onselectstart="return false"> <FONT ALIGN="JUSTIFY" FACE="Tahoma"> <p class="C1">&#65279DEG TE<u>GH</u> FATEH, a Sikh saying which literally means victory (<i>fateh</i>) to kettle (<i>deg</i>) and sword (<i>te<u>gh</u></i>). All the three words have been taken from Persian which was the State language in the formative period of Sikhism. The word <i>deg</i>, i. e. a large sized kettle or cauldron having a wide mouth, which in the Muslim S&#363fi tradition signified charitable distribution of cooked food, also called <i>la&#7749gar</i>, has here acquired an expanded meaning. While retaining its literal meaning, it has come to stand in the Sikh tradition for the ideal of public welfare or general benevolence or munificence. Gur&#363 N&#257nak in one of his hymns, likens the Earth to a <i>deg</i> from which sustenance is received by all living beings (GG, 1190). Similarly, te<u>gh</u> has also acquired a wider connotation and has been used in the Sikh tradition as a symbol for chatisement of the evil and protection of the good. As Gur&#363 Hargobind is said to have told a Mah&#257r&#257sh&#7789rian saint, R&#257m D&#257s, during their meeting at Sr&#299nagar (Ga&#7771hv&#257l), the <i>te<u>gh</u></i> is for <i>gar&#299b k&#299 rakhi&#257</i> (defence of the weak) and <i>jarv&#257&#7751e k&#299 bhakkhi&#257</i> (destruction of the aggressor). Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh identified the <i>te<u>gh</u></i> or sword with the Lord Creator and thereby gave it a still deeper meaning. He addressed it as Bhagaut&#299 (goddess), Sr&#299 Kha&#7771&#257g (Lord Sword), Jag K&#257ran (Creator of the World) and Sr&#299s&#7789i Ub&#257ran (Saviour of the Creation), besides reiterating its role as protector of the good (<i>sukh sant&#257&#7749 kar&#7751a&#7749</i>) and destroyer of the evil (<i>durmati dar&#7751a&#7749</i>). The two ideals of <i>deg</i> and <i>te<u>gh</u></i> supplemented each other. In a supplicatory passage in his <i>Krishn&#257vt&#257r</i> Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh says: "<i>Deg teg jag mai do&#363 chalai-deg</i> and <i>te<u>gh</u></i> both prevail in the world. " In <i>Charitrop&#257khy&#257n</i>, <i>deg</i> and <i>te<u>gh</u></i> (charity and valour) constitute a composite virtue that was the characteristic of the heroes of yore (<i>Charitra</i> 200. 1; 272. 3; 307. 2).</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; When Sikhs passing through a period of fierce persecution established their power in the Punjab, this maxim was adopted as an ideal for the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 State and imprinted on their seals, coins and banners. The term <i>fateh</i> added to <i>deg</i> and <i>te<u>gh</u></i> was the expression of Sikhs' belief that the use of <i>te<u>gh</u></i> (in the last resort, as permitted by Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh), with the ideal of <i>deg</i> or charity steadfastly cherished, must lead to <i>fateh</i> or victory. Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh had introduced the salutation "V&#257higur&#363 j&#299 k&#257 <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257, V&#257higur&#363 j&#299 k&#299 Fateh, " ascribing victory to God. The <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 affirmed through this slogan that victory, a gift from God, followed the use of <i>te<u>gh</u></i> in a righteous cause and adherence to the principle of magnanimity (<i>deg</i>) - <i>deg</i>, <i>te<u>gh</u></i>, <i>fateh</i>. Band&#257 Si&#7749gh who first occupied territory, had a Persian inscription on his seal which, rendered into English, read: "Kettle and Sword (symbols of charity and power) and Victory and Ready Patronage have been obtained through the grace of Gur&#363 N&#257nak-Gobind Si&#7749gh" Here <i>te<u>gh</u></i> (sword) is used as a symbol of victory over tyranny and <i>deg</i> (kettle) as a symbol of ready patronage (welfare) for the good. Both being gifts from the Gur&#363s constituted the governing principles of the polity of the new State. The same Persian inscription incorporating the Sikh ideal of Deg Te<u>gh</u> Fateh was reproduced on the coin introduced by Sard&#257r Jass&#257 Si&#7749gh &#256hl&#363v&#257l&#299&#257 in 1765 after the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 had gained a decisive victory over the Af<u>gh</u>&#257ns. The practice continued during the time of Mah&#257r&#257j&#257 Ra&#7751j&#299t Si&#7749gh, the first Sikh sovereign of the Punjab as well as in some of the cis-Sutlej Sikh states which had accepted British suzerainty.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Over the centuries the principle of Deg Te<u>gh</u> Fateh has taken a firm root in Sikh psyche and tradition. The maxim has become part of the Sikh <i>ard&#257s</i>, prayer which is recited at the end of all Sikh services. Every time when the <i>ard&#257s</i> is offered, blessings of the Lord are invoked for the triumph of the ideal of <i>deg</i> and <i>te<u>gh</u></i>. In the <i>ard&#257s</i> Sikhs also recall their past heroes: "They who dwelt on His Name, ate only after sharing their victuals with others, maintained the <i>deg</i> and wielded the <i>te<u>gh</u></i> and sacrificed their lives for the sake of <i>dharma</i>, remember them, <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 J&#299 and proclaim V&#257higur&#363. . . . "</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"> Teja Singh, <i>Sikhism : Its Ideals and Institutions</i>. Bombay, 1937<BR> <li class="C1"> Sher Singh, <i>The Philosophy of Sikhism</i>. Lahore, 1944<BR> <li class="C1"> Prakash Singh, <i>The Sikh Gur&#363s and the Temple of Bread</i>. Amritsar, 1964<BR> <li class="C1"> Nripinder Singh, <i>The Sikh Moral Tradition</i>. Delhi, 1990.<BR> <li class="C1"> Harbans Si&#7749gh, <i>De<u>gh</u> Te<u>gh</u> Fateh</i>. Chandigarh, 1986<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">Fauj&#257 Si&#7749gh<br></p><BR> </font> <img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""> </HTML></BODY>