Khanda
A straight double-edged Indian sword, blade widening toward a blunt point, spike on the pommel; Rajput weapon, central to the Sikh emblem.
Quick Facts
IndiaAbout the weapon
The khanda is a straight double-edged sword from the Indian subcontinent. The name comes from the Sanskrit khadga, from the root khand, to break, split, cut, destroy. Swords of similar type have been used from the era of the iron Mahajanapadas (roughly 600-300 BC) through the Gupta period (280-550 AD) up to the present; archaeological finds include ceremonial copper swords from Fatehgarh in the north and Kallur in the south of India. The blade widens from the hilt toward the point, and the point is usually quite blunt. The hilt has a large plate guard and a wide knuckle guard joined to the pommel; the round flat pommel bears a spike in its centre. King Prithviraj Chauhan is said by tradition to have added a stiffening spine to the blade and made it wider and flatter. We have not found dimensions in the sources. Rajput warriors held the khanda with both hands and, when surrounded by superior numbers, swung it above the head. A famous bearer was Maharana Pratap. The khanda is also part of the equipment of the Sikh martial art gatka. Rajput clans revered the khanda as a weapon of great prestige. The khanda of Baba Deep Singh is still kept at the Akal Takht Sahib. In the Hindu, Buddhist, Jain and Sikh traditions it symbolises wisdom that cuts through the veil of ignorance, and it stands at the centre of the Sikh emblem bearing the same name.