Sikh Theology
SPNer
- Oct 31, 2024
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From: https://bhagauti.substack.com/p/whowhat-is-bhagauti
In our daily Ardaas, we are called upon to meditate upon Bhagauti:
Bhagauti, as well as being a name for the warrior goddess Durga, is a word that has a very special meaning in Gurbani.
In Chandi Di Vaar, the “Ballad of Durga”, Guru Sahib says:
Applying this definition of Bhagauti to the first line of Chandi Di Vaar can be confounding. Why is Guru Sahib asking us to ਸਿਮਰਿ (do Simran of/remember) a sword, before Guru Nanak Dev Ji?
A clue lies in another line from Chandi Di Vaar:
Khanda is a metaphor for Naam. It is this Naam-Khanda that we are ordered to remember at the start of Chandi Di Vaar and Ardaas. The word Bhagauti represents this Naam Khanda, which is why we are commanded to meditate on it.
This usage of the word in this context holds powerful implications.
By giving the primal Naam-Khanda the feminine title of Bhagauti, Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji has rejected any gender-based ideology that could be used to appropriate the Khande-Ke-Pahul Amrit Ceremony to one specific gender.
During the Khandey-Ke-Pahul Amrit Ceremony, the double-edged Khanda, which simultaneously takes life and gives life, becomes the physical manifestation of the primal Naam-Khanda that pervades the entire universe.
The use of the word Bhagauti to represent this very same Naam-Khanda dismantles the ridiculously simple-minded, false notion that the Khande-Ke-Pahul Amrit Ceremony is “male-only” since “the Khanda is a male.”
Let’s hope our Panth can get to a place where we can abandon slow-witted, sexist rhetoric and replace it with an understanding of the true metaphysical depths of our Gurus’ Naam-centered philosophy.
In our daily Ardaas, we are called upon to meditate upon Bhagauti:
This line comes from the Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s famous Bani, Chandi Di Vaar: The Ballad of Durga. What is this Bhagauti that we are called to remember?
Bhagauti, as well as being a name for the warrior goddess Durga, is a word that has a very special meaning in Gurbani.
In Chandi Di Vaar, the “Ballad of Durga”, Guru Sahib says:
In this line, Bhagauti clearly means sword, and not Durga. Durga, on the other hand, is described as a deity who was created by Akal Purakh for the purpose of destroying demons. In all of Chandi Di Vaar, the word Bhagauti is never used to refer to Durga (who is instead referred to by various other names such as Chandi and Durgsa).
Applying this definition of Bhagauti to the first line of Chandi Di Vaar can be confounding. Why is Guru Sahib asking us to ਸਿਮਰਿ (do Simran of/remember) a sword, before Guru Nanak Dev Ji?
A clue lies in another line from Chandi Di Vaar:
This tells us that before the creation, Akal Purakh established a sword: a celestial Khanda, from which the entire universe was created. This Khanda is not a physical Khanda. It is Naam - the first seed (beej) or root (mool) of creation established by Vaheguru, as per Gurbani:
Naam is the universal, qualitative manifestation of the transcendent Lord, spread through all of Creation; it is Akal Purakh’s immanence; and it is the source of all life.
Khanda is a metaphor for Naam. It is this Naam-Khanda that we are ordered to remember at the start of Chandi Di Vaar and Ardaas. The word Bhagauti represents this Naam Khanda, which is why we are commanded to meditate on it.
This usage of the word in this context holds powerful implications.
By giving the primal Naam-Khanda the feminine title of Bhagauti, Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji has rejected any gender-based ideology that could be used to appropriate the Khande-Ke-Pahul Amrit Ceremony to one specific gender.
During the Khandey-Ke-Pahul Amrit Ceremony, the double-edged Khanda, which simultaneously takes life and gives life, becomes the physical manifestation of the primal Naam-Khanda that pervades the entire universe.
The use of the word Bhagauti to represent this very same Naam-Khanda dismantles the ridiculously simple-minded, false notion that the Khande-Ke-Pahul Amrit Ceremony is “male-only” since “the Khanda is a male.”
Let’s hope our Panth can get to a place where we can abandon slow-witted, sexist rhetoric and replace it with an understanding of the true metaphysical depths of our Gurus’ Naam-centered philosophy.
