sanatanhindusikh
shastarvidiya
educationofasikhwarrior
Shastar (weapon) Vidiya (knowledge or science) was essential military training for the Sikh warrior - the Akali Nihang Singh Khalsa.
Source: http://www.vam.ac.uk
The present-day descendants of the Akali Nihangs, the Buddha Dal, trace the origins of Shastar Vidiya to the founder of the religion, Guru Nanak himself. According to their oral tradition, Guru Nanak was summoned to the divine court of God where, alongside receiving the holy Gur Mantra, Vah Guru, he also received Shaster Vidiya.
Guru Nanak passed this martial knowledge on to his trusted Sikh, Baba Buddha Ji, with the stated intention of claiming it back in his sixth form. It was the sixth Guru, Guru Hargobind, who received Shaster Vidiya from Baba Budha Ji at an early age. Baba Budha Ji also trained an army of twenty two hundred Sikh warriors who were the soldiers of the Akal Bunga (the Immortal Fort, built in 1606), and known as the Akalis.
The Akali army was called the Akal Sena or Akal Fauj but was informally known as the Buddha Dal or army of Baba Budha Ji. Its primary function was to defend Sikhism and all who sought the protection of the Sikhs from the then oppressive Mughal empire which had tortured and executed the fifth Guru, Arjandev. It was his son, Akali Guru Har Gobind, with his army of Akalis who engaged the Mughal forces in four battles and gained four successes.
