When the 6th Guru of the Sikhs, Sri Hargobind Sahib Ji, witnessed the sacrifice of his Father, Sri Guru Arjan Dev Ji (5th Guru of the Sikhs), at the hands of the Moghul tyrants he proclaimed that when such injustice in the world is happening a Sikh should be able to step forward and have the physical and mental ability to fight against that tyranny and injustice.

The Guru then adorned two Kirpans on his person and explained to the Sikhs that these two Swords represent the two basic elements for every Sikh, Miri and Piri. Miri was the temporal or material power, the word itself refers to leadership of a king or a sign of royalty and the Guru said that every Sikh should be knowledgable in political reform and be the model of a leader. Piri was the significance of spiritual and physical power, the literal translation meaning saint or holy person. This saintly and religious power combined with royalty meant that every Sikh would have a sense of pride and direction, it was the formation of the concept ‘Saint Soldier’.

From that time Sikhs not only learned the art of warfare but also learned the art of weaponry. They were taught about the significance of weapons and how much relation a weapon has to the representation of the Almighty. In the verse below, The Tenth Master of the Sikhs, Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji, explains how the Sword and other weapons are the embodiment of the Lord Almighty, the power they possess and more importantly the level of respect given to them: