ਦੇਗ ਤੇਗ

ਅਰਥ

Deg is the great cauldron, the langar pot that feeds everyone without distinction. Tegh is the sword, the kirpan's promise to defend the defenceless. Together, deg tegh names the twin duties of the Sikh: compassion and courage, charity and resistance, the kitchen and the battlefield held in one hand.

The phrase comes from the Ardas, where the sangat prays:

ਦੇਗ ਤੇਗ ਫ਼ਤਹਿ ੥ ਬਿਰਦ ਕੀ ਪੈਜ ਪੰਥ ਕੀ ਜੀਤ ੥

Victory to the cauldron and the sword; honour to the tradition, triumph to the Panth. Every Sikh who has stood through an Ardas has heard these words, they are the mission statement of the community, recited daily.

Origin and history

The pairing is attributed to the vision of Guru Gobind Singh: the Khalsa as sant-sipahi, saint-soldier, whose spirituality expresses itself equally in feeding the hungry and facing the tyrant. Neither half is optional, a Sikh who feeds but will not defend, or who fights but will not feed, has missed the teaching.

Sikh history reads as the working-out of this phrase: the same community that built the great langars of Amritsar also fielded the armies that sheltered the persecuted. The deg and the tegh rose together.

Cultural context

'Deg Tegh Fateh' is emblazoned on Sikh flags, coins of the Sikh empire bore the phrase, and it remains a rallying cry, invoked whenever the community organises relief kitchens in disaster zones, the deg leading, with the tegh's spirit behind it.

For individual Sikhs, deg tegh is a compact ethical test: does my life feed anyone? Would I stand up for someone? The phrase asks both questions at once.

What does deg tegh mean in Punjabi?

The dictionary gives its short meaning as "Charity and the sword".

Deg is the great cauldron, the langar pot that feeds everyone without distinction. Tegh is the sword, the kirpan's promise to defend the defenceless. Together, deg tegh names the twin duties of the Sikh: compassion and courage, charity and resistance, the kitchen and the battlefield held in one hand.

How is deg tegh used in a sentence?

The entry gives this example: ਦੇਗ ਤੇਗ ਫ਼ਤਹਿ, ਪੰਥ ਕੀ ਜੀਤ।, "Victory to deg and tegh; triumph to the Panth.".

Another example from the entry: ਸਿੱਖ ਧਰਮ ਦੇਗ ਅਤੇ ਤੇਗ ਦੋਵਾਂ ਦਾ ਧਰਮ ਹੈ।, "Sikhism is the faith of both deg and tegh.".

How do you pronounce deg tegh?

The pronunciation hint given in the entry is "dayg-tayg".

Where would you hear deg tegh used?

The entry lists its usage as "Sikh tradition".

ਦੇਗ ਤੇਗ ਦਾ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਵਿੱਚ ਕੀ ਅਰਥ ਹੈ?

ਦੇਗ ਦਾ ਅਰਥ ਹੈ ਵੱਡਾ ਭਾਂਡਾ, ਲੰਗਰ ਦੀ ਦੇਗ, ਜੋ ਸਭ ਨੂੰ ਭੋਜਨ ਦਿੰਦੀ ਹੈ। ਤੇਗ ਦਾ ਅਰਥ ਹੈ ਤਲਵਾਰ, ਮਜ਼ਲੂਮਾਂ ਦੀ ਰੱਖਿਆ ਦਾ ਵਾਅਦਾ। ਦੇਗ ਤੇਗ ਦਾ ਅਰਥ ਹੈ ਦਇਆ ਅਤੇ ਬਹਾਦਰੀ, ਦੋਵੇਂ ਇਕੱਠੇ।

ਦੇਗ ਤੇਗ ਦੀ ਵਾਕ ਵਿੱਚ ਵਰਤੋਂ ਦੀ ਇੱਕ ਮਿਸਾਲ ਦਿਓ?

ਦੇਗ ਤੇਗ ਫ਼ਤਹਿ, ਪੰਥ ਕੀ ਜੀਤ।

ਦੇਗ ਤੇਗ ਬਾਰੇ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਵਿੱਚ ਹੋਰ ਕੀ ਦੱਸਿਆ ਗਿਆ ਹੈ?

ਅਰਦਾਸ ਵਿੱਚ ਸੰਗਤ ਅਰਦਾਸ ਕਰਦੀ ਹੈ, 'ਦੇਗ ਤੇਗ ਫ਼ਤਹਿ, ਬਿਰਦ ਕੀ ਪੈਜ, ਪੰਥ ਕੀ ਜੀਤ', ਭਾਵ ਦੇਗ-ਤੇਗ ਦੀ ਫ਼ਤਹਿ ਹੋਵੇ, ਪੰਥ ਦੀ ਜਿੱਤ ਹੋਵੇ।