Khanda (Sikh symbol)
The Khanda is one of the most important symbols of Sikhism. Its importance is emphasised by the fact that many Sikh flags, including the Nishan Sahib have the Khanda on them. It is a collection of four weapons commonly used by Sikhs at the time of Guru Gobind Singh.
The weapons are:
- A double-edged sword called a Khanda sits in the middle.
- A Chakkar is a circular weapon that surrounds the Khanda
- Two daggers, or Kirpans are crossed at the bottom and sit on either side of the Khanda and Chakkar. They represent the dual nature of the [Gurus[The_Sikh_Gurus]], Miri and Piri.
The weapons have symbolic meanings. The Khanda symbolises knowledge of God, the Chakkar symbolises the oneness of God, Miri means political sovereignty and Piri means spiritual sovereignty.
The Khanda is an important emblem in Sikhism and can be compared to the Cross to Christians, or the Star of David to Jews.
The current flag of Iran bears an emblem which is visually similar to a Khanda, but is not referential to Sikhism.
The symbol is encoded in Unicode, in the Miscellaneous Symbols range, at codepoint U+262C (☬).
