Sikh National Anthem

The Sikh national anthem was written by Guru Gobind Singh Ji. Sikhism is the only religion with it’s own national anthem.

This is one of the most celebrated and widely quoted hymns by Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru. He shows in the following Shabad the qualities that makes one fit to become part of his world mission called the Khalsa Panth – To live with courage and bravery to the highest levels of righteousness.

One must never shirk from conducting oneself in the most upright and considerate possible manner. The Khalsa has to be prepared at all times to willingly and consistently behave in the most impartial and just manner and to always undertake to carry out righteous and Gurmat acts; to never have any fear or show even the slightest hesitation when taking such actions; to never flinch from stepping in front of the enemy to protect the poor, weak and needy of the world – to never have any apprehension or anxiety from the righteous fight ahead.

To give no consideration or thought as to the size, strength or magnitude of the enemy in front of you – It may be 1 opponent or 125,000 opponents – the Khalsa’s faith and trust is only with Waheguru and no one else. And to always know and be certain that Waheguru will always be their support and that victory in the end will without doubt be theirs:

ਦੇਹ ਸਿਵਾ ਬਰੁ ਮੋਹਿ ਇਹੈ ਸੁਭ ਕਰਮਨ ਤੇ ਕਬਹੂੰ ਨ ਟਰੋਂ ॥
ਨ ਡਰੋਂ ਅਰਿ ਸੋ ਜਬ ਜਾਇ ਲਰੋਂ ਨਿਸਚੈ ਕਰਿ ਅਪੁਨੀ ਜੀਤ ਕਰੋਂ ॥
ਅਰੁ ਸਿਖ ਹੋਂ ਆਪਨੇ ਹੀ ਮਨ ਕੌ ਇਹ ਲਾਲਚ ਹਉ ਗੁਨ ਤਉ ਉਚਰੋਂ ॥
ਜਬ ਆਵ ਕੀ ਅਉਧ ਨਿਦਾਨ ਬਨੈ ਅਤਿ ਹੀ ਰਨ ਮੈ ਤਬ ਜੂਝ ਮਰੋਂ ॥੨੩੧॥

Deh siva bar mohe eh-hey subh karman te kabhu na taro.
Na daro arr seo jab jaye laro nischey kar apni jit karo.
Arr Sikh ho apne he mann ko, eh laalach hou gun tau ucharo.
Jab aav ki audh nidan bane att he rann me tabh joojh maro.

Translation: Dear God, grant my request so that I may never deviate from doing good deeds.
That, I shall have no fear of the enemy when I go into battle and with determination I will be victorious.
That, I may teach my mind to only sing your praises.
And when the time comes, I should die fighting heroically on the field of battle.||231||
~ Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji

CONTEXT
The Shabad (hymn), written in the 17th century, is a part of Chandi Charitar Ukti Bilas, a section of the Dasam Granth. Here the word “Shiva” may be taken to mean Lord Shiva but this is incorrect. In Sikh tradition uses the terms Shiva, Hari, Rama etc. in a nirguna sense to mean the One Lord Almighty.

The language used is Braj Bhasha which along with Awadhi (a variety of eastern hindi) was one of the two predominant literary languages of North-Central India before the switch to hindustani (khariboli) in the 19th century. Much of the traditional literature in this region was developed in Braj during the medieval period.

The entire ‘Chandi di vaar’ is a graphic violent battlefield scene written with the primary intent of desensitizing the docile Sikh population to horrific scenes they would experience in forthcoming battles to defend their human rights and Dharma, the path of righteousness.

Article from “discoversikhism.com”.
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