Sanatan Shastarvidiya, the ancient martial art of the Kshatriyas

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Moving from the centre

View: https://youtu.be/VOhG9vYozwU?si=bzqGKwadZk_PBfdP

Nihang Nidar Singh is hated by many Khalistani types for his advocacy of traditional sikhi, the site of his group is:

Sanatan Sikhi

sarbloh.info​

This website is dedicated to Sanatan (traditional) Sikhi​

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Sanatan Sikhi refers to the traditional Sikhi that existed prior to the emergence of the Tat Khalsa Singh Sabhia movement (the progenitor of the modern Singh Sabha).

Sanatan Sikh orders include the Udhasis, Nirmalas, SevaPanthis (aka Adan Shahis) and Akali Nihangs (aka Akali Nihang Singh Khalsa). These orders were established by the Sikh Gurus and have clear lineages from their origins through to the present day.

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Introduction
Shastar Vidiya, being an ancient battle art is also known by various other names, namely:

Ayudh Vidiya - the science of weapons
Bir / Vir Vidiya - the science of warriors
Jujaroo / Loojaroo Vidiya - the science of 'they who die fighting enthusiastically upholding Dharma'
Chatka Gatka - Quick-killing Gatka*
*a designation introduced in the late 19th century in Punjab, India, by Nihang Singhs to distinguish Shastar Vidiya from the exhibitionist art of Gatka that came to predominance during British Raj.

Having traversed the ages, Shastar Vidiya is also referred to as 'Sanatan Shastar Vidiya' - the timeless science of weapons. Given that 'Sanatan' (timeless/most ancient) Dharma is the traditional designation of Hinduism, and in the past Hindus practiced this art, the art is also known as 'Sanatan Hindu Shastar Vidiya'. In the 15th century the Sikhs, being of Hindu descent themselves, adopted the art. The tenth Sikh Guru traces back his own ancestry to the great 'Surya Bansi' (belonging to the Sun Dynasty) Hindu warrior, Lord Raam (see Bachitter Natak, Dasam Guru Granth Sahib). As such, it is also known as 'Sanatan Hindu Sikh Shastar Vidiya'.

Shastar Vidiya is a complete traditional Indian battlefield system from the Punjab, land of the five rivers, in the north west of India. It is a highly evolved and deeply conceptual art as it incorporates sophisticated unarmed techniques with a variety of unique Indian weapons such as, swords, spears, daggers, clubs, sticks, chain and ball, 'chakars' (quoits), 'bagh nakha' (leopard claw), etc., as well as tactics and stratagems.

The art has alongside it, a martial yoga, known as 'Sanjam Kiriya Variyam'. Despite being deeply rooted in tradition, its ancient wisdom, techniques, character and spirit are timeless - and are very relevant and practical even today. The benefits do not only pertain to the combat art, bit in living a long, healthy and happy life.

Many prominent masters of various martial arts have, in relation to their own practices, described Shastar Vidiya as being 'a long lost relative' (Fred Bigliardi, June 2012). This echoes the teachings of many martial arts of Far Eastern origin, which in one form or another, trace their origins to ancient India. From a purely Indian perspective, its martial-cum-cultural and spiritual wisdom engenders a deep sense of pride in the ancient 'Kshatriya' (traditional Hindu warrior) and spiritual heritage of India. It brings to life the awe-inspiring wisdom, great martial qualities and deeds of our ancient Indian deities and ancestors: Shiva, mother Chandi, Chaturbhuj Vishnu, Krishan Maharaj, Raam, Arjun, Hanuman, Bheem, Guru Gorakhnath, Guru Gobind Singh, Guru Hargobind, Baba Darbara Singh, Baba Sukha Singh, etc.

Indians can feel proud of this tradition as it was their great ancestors who defended India. In defending its people, be they of whatever creed, race or religion, they treasured Dharma, hence kept this wondrous, unique cultural, spiritual, and martial legacy alive. In this way Shastar Vidiya fully contextualises Hindu and Sikh martial, historical and spiritual traditions. As such, Shastar Vidiya remains a relevant and essential art not only for Sikhs, Hindus or Indians at large, but to the wider world.

 

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Through twenty-five years of intense study and demanding physical training, Nidar Singh Nihang has managed to preserve Sanatan Shastar Vidiya™. As a closely guarded art that has teetered on the brink of extinction for the last 150 years, he is the sole-surviving master and ninth Gurdev ("grandmaster") of a classical school of learning established in 1661, called the Baba Darbara Singh Akhara™, which is the last remnant of this ancient tradition.



Born and brought up in the UK, Gurdev Nidar Singh Nihang was a teenager who knew virtually nothing about the religion he was born into when, in 1984 , left his home in the backstreets of Wolverhampton to live with relatives in a sleepy Punjabi village. It was there that his mundane life was changed forever following a chance meeting with an enigmatic septuagenarian Akali-Nihang warrior.



“I was fascinated by the old man’s claim that he was the last in a lineage of Sikh warriors who had secretly guarded the Guru’s art of war. I was immediately drawn on a journey of discovery into a world that has now all but vanished.”



Gurdev Nidar Singh lives and breathes the technical aspects of the physical art, but reflecting the Indian tradition of all-encompassing learning, he is constantly striving to discover more of the art’s history, traditions, and martial philosophy, as passed on by a lineage of masters stretching back to the dawn of Indian civilisation.



Gurdev Nidar Singh’s journey to reconnect people with their martial traditions continues and he has dedicated his life to preserving and sharing this precious heritage for the benefit of current and future generations.



In 2021, he gave his blessings to his shish ("personal student") Nihang Teja Singh to establish Budh Baridh™, an organisation headed in the UK with the mission to preserve Sanatan Shastar Vidiya™ and its associated practices.



Visit www.shastarvidiya.org to find out more about Sanatan Shastar Vidiya™.

Articles​

2004 – Shastar Vidya, Martial Arts Illustrated Vol. 17 No.4

2009 – Shastar Vidya, Martial Arts Illustrated Vol. 21 No.12

2009 – Ancient But Deadly: the Return of Shastar Vidiya, The Independent

2009 – A tale of survival, Tribune India

2009 – British Sikhs revive deadly art banned by the Raj, Reuters

2009 – Brite genopliver ældgammel kampkunst [Danish], Politiken

2009 – UN ART MARTIAL SAUVÉ DE L’OUBLI [French], Courrier International

2011 – The only living master of a dying martial art, BBC News

2011 – Meet the last surviving master of the Sikh warrior art, Daily Mail

2011 – UK factory ex-worker is last Sikh martial art master, Tribune India

 

[Drwho]

India is no place for martial arts. We don’t have proper food no proper training and no will to fight.
Our people are too soft all the sports bodies are full of corruption. I am from MMA background and I had to play for different other countries and so will my children. In Delhi Haryana belt it’s dominated by a few families.
Look at wrestlers boxers and athletes crying for fairness.

We need proper high protein and nutrition full food which being a poor country we will
Never get. Everything is adulterated.

 

[Anantanaga]

India is no place for martial arts. We don’t have proper food no proper training and no will to fight.
Our people are too soft all the sports bodies are full of corruption. I am from MMA background and I had to play for different other countries and so will my children. In Delhi Haryana belt it’s dominated by a few families.
Look at wrestlers boxers and athletes crying for fairness.

We need proper high protein and nutrition full food which being a poor country we will
Never get. Everything is adulterated.

We'll get there eventually. But meanwhile, we need to practice at least a bit of Sanatan Shastarvidiya.

 

[Drwho]

We'll get there eventually. But meanwhile, we need to practice at least a bit of Sanatan Shastarvidiya.

No we need healthy food and no political entry in sports authorities. Our sportsmen will eventually get there. We need wrestling boxing and MMA school.
And most important parents need to realise there is future in it. A good sportsmen Will eventually have better professional career as well.