Degh Tegh
Degh Tegh (Punjabi ਦੇਗ ਤੇਗ): This term forms part of the Sikh Ardas where it is recited in the line: "ਦੇਗ ਤੇਗ ਫਤਹ, ਬਿਰਦ ਕੀ ਪੈਜ, ਪੰਥ ਕੀ ਜੀਤ...." "Daeg taeg Fateh, bihrd kee paaej, Panth kee jeet....". The word "degh" means "Large cooking pot" or "cauldron" or an "offering". The word "tegh" means "sword" or "kirpan". The term "degh tegh" refers to the concept of serving food Langar and protecting the liberty of the community. The two concepts of making sure that everyone in the community is fed and does not go hungry; and also that on one lives in any danger and that all in the community feel safe are both equally promoted by Sikhi and the Sikh Gurus.
In Chaubis Avtar which is part of the Dasam Granth, Guru Gobind Singh says: "Deg Teg Jag Maih Dou Chleha" which means "May both the kitchen and the sword prevail in the world" (ਅਪਨਾ ਜਾਨ ਮਝੇ ਪਰਤਿਪਰੀਝ ॥ ਚਨ ਚਨ ਸ਼ੱਤ ਹਮਾਰੇ ਮਰੀਝ ॥ ਦੇਗ ਤੇਗ ਜਗ ਮੈ ਦੋਊ ਚਲੈ ॥ ਰਾਖ ਆਪ ਮਹਿ ਅਉਰ ਨ ਦਲੈ ॥੪੩੬॥. In this line the Guru ordained that the kitchen to feed the poor and the sword to teach the tyrant should go together hand-in-hand.
Detailed Description
Deg and Teg are Persian words, meaning the kettle and the sword respectively. Deg literally means a cooking-pot. It symbolically stands for the free kitchen or Langar; whereas Teg or the sword represents dignity and power. Deg to feed the poor and the stranger, regardless of caste and religion; and Teg, the sword, to destroy the oppressor of humanity and protect the oppressed. Hence Deg and Teg are symbols of service and protection.
In Pakhiano Charitra Guru Gobind Singh says: "Charity and Kirpan are symbolic of self-respect" The terms Deg and Teg have so often come together in the Sikh literature and the history, symbolically meaning the sustenance: spiritual and material.
Some Sikhs also state that Deg is the "Bowl containing parshad" (the blessed pudding served in the Gurdwara) - teg is the kirpan and that Deg and Teg turns parshad into Karah parshad - holy blessed food. Others state that spiritual sustenance ie food (deg) plus kirpan (Teg) is essential for fateh (victory). Fateh does not simply mean victory in a battle field but in every endeavour of life, and Chardikala imparts an art of positive thinking.
Going back to the recitation from the ardas, "Deg, Teg and Fateh" - is a call by the sangat in the ardas for victory of the concept of "degh Tegh" ie May voctory prevail for the concept of "service and langar or food" and the "protection and safety" for all the peoples of the world.
- based on article Popular Sikh - Degh Tegh Fateh
