ਕੇਸ

ਅਰਥ

Kesh means hair kept uncut from birth, never trimmed or shaved. It is the first and most visible of the Five Ks. For the Khalsa, keeping kesh is an act of acceptance, of hukam, God's will: the body is received as God made it, and the Sikh does not alter what the Creator fashioned.

Kesh is also read as the mark of saintliness and of commitment. It cannot be put on in the morning and taken off at night; it is a vow written on the body itself. Sikh men cover the kesh with a dastar (turban), and Sikh women keep it in a joora or braid.

Origin and history

Uncut hair was honoured in Sikh tradition long before 1699, the Gurus themselves are depicted with flowing hair beneath their turbans. But it was Guru Gobind Singh, at the creation of the Khalsa, who made kesh mandatory for the initiated, binding the whole community to a single visible identity.

That visibility had a cost. Through the eighteenth century, when the Khalsa faced persecution, keeping kesh could mean death, and Sikhs kept it anyway, a history the community remembers with pride. The stories of Sikhs who chose martyrdom over cutting their hair are among the most honoured in Sikh tradition.

Cultural context

Today the dastar over the kesh is the most recognised Sikh symbol in the world, and occasionally the source of friction, from school dress codes to workplace rules to airport security. Sikhs have defended the right to keep kesh and dastar in courts across many countries, usually successfully.

Within the community, a child's first dastar, the dastarbandi ceremony, is a proud family milestone, marking the young Sikh's entry into the visible Khalsa identity.

What does kesh mean in Punjabi?

The dictionary gives its short meaning as "Uncut hair of the Khalsa".

Kesh means hair kept uncut from birth, never trimmed or shaved. It is the first and most visible of the Five Ks. For the Khalsa, keeping kesh is an act of acceptance, of hukam, God's will: the body is received as God made it, and the Sikh does not alter what the Creator fashioned.

How is kesh used in a sentence?

The entry gives this example: ਕੇਸ ਪੰਜ ਕਕਾਰਾਂ ਵਿੱਚੋਂ ਪਹਿਲਾ ਹੈ।, "Kesh is the first of the Five Ks.".

Another example from the entry: ਉਹ ਆਪਣੇ ਕੇਸਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਦਸਤਾਰ ਨਾਲ ਢੱਕਦਾ ਹੈ।, "He covers his kesh with a dastar.".

How do you pronounce kesh?

The pronunciation hint given in the entry is "kaysh".

Where would you hear kesh used?

The entry lists its usage as "Sikh tradition".

ਕੇਸ ਦਾ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਵਿੱਚ ਕੀ ਅਰਥ ਹੈ?

ਕੇਸ ਦਾ ਅਰਥ ਹੈ ਬਿਨਾਂ ਕੱਟੇ ਵਾਲ। ਇਹ ਪੰਜ ਕਕਾਰਾਂ ਵਿੱਚੋਂ ਸਭ ਤੋਂ ਪ੍ਰਮੁੱਖ ਹੈ। ਕੇਸ ਰੱਖਣਾ ਹੁਕਮ ਮੰਨਣਾ ਹੈ, ਜਿਵੇਂ ਅਕਾਲ ਪੁਰਖ ਨੇ ਸਰੀਰ ਬਣਾਇਆ ਹੈ, ਉਸ ਵਿੱਚ ਕੋਈ ਤਬਦੀਲੀ ਨਾ ਕਰਨਾ।

ਕੇਸ ਦੀ ਵਾਕ ਵਿੱਚ ਵਰਤੋਂ ਦੀ ਇੱਕ ਮਿਸਾਲ ਦਿਓ?

ਕੇਸ ਪੰਜ ਕਕਾਰਾਂ ਵਿੱਚੋਂ ਪਹਿਲਾ ਹੈ।

ਕੇਸ ਬਾਰੇ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਵਿੱਚ ਹੋਰ ਕੀ ਦੱਸਿਆ ਗਿਆ ਹੈ?

੧੬੯੯ ਵਿੱਚ ਗੁਰੂ ਗੋਬਿੰਦ ਸਿੰਘ ਜੀ ਨੇ ਖ਼ਾਲਸੇ ਲਈ ਕੇਸ ਲਾਜ਼ਮੀ ਕੀਤੇ। ਅਠਾਰਵੀਂ ਸਦੀ ਦੇ ਘੋਰ ਸੰਕਟ ਵੇਲੇ ਵੀ ਸਿੱਖਾਂ ਨੇ ਕੇਸਾਂ ਦੀ ਖ਼ਾਤਰ ਸ਼ਹਾਦਤਾਂ ਦਿੱਤੀਆਂ, ਜੋ ਸਿੱਖ ਇਤਿਹਾਸ ਦਾ ਸੁਨਹਿਰੀ ਪੰਨਾ ਹੈ।