What is "kara"

n. (context Sikhism English) The bangle worn by Sikhs, to remind the wearer to do God's work, and one of the five Ks.

Kara or KARA may refer to:

A kara , is a steel or iron (sarb loh) bracelet, worn by all initiated Sikhs. It is one of the five kakars or 5Ks — external articles of faith — that identify a Sikh as dedicated to their religious order. The kara was instituted by the tenth Sikh guru Gobind Singh at the Baisakhi Amrit Sanskar in 1699. Guru Gobind Singh Ji explained:

The kara is to constantly remind the Sikh disciple to do God's work, a constant reminder of the Sikh's mission on this earth and that he or she must carry out righteous and true deeds and actions, keeping with the advice given by the Guru. The Kara is a symbol of unbreakable attachment and commitment to God. It is in the shape of a circle which has no beginning and no end, like the eternal nature of God. It is also a symbol of the Sikh brotherhood. As the Sikhs' holy text the Guru Granth Sahib says "In the tenth month, you were made into a human being, O my merchant friend, and you were given your allotted time to perform good deeds." Similarly, Bhagat Kabir reminds the Sikh to always keep one's consciousness with God: "With your hands and feet, do all your work, but let your consciousness remain with the Immaculate Lord." The kara is also worn by many ethnic Punjabis who may be Hindu, Muslim, or Christian; moreover, the use of the kara by non-Sikhs is encouraged as it represents the "totality of God."

The basic kara is a simple unadorned iron bracelet, but other forms exist. The kara originated as a protective ring to guard the sword arm of the Khalsa warriors during battle when fighting armed with swords. The person who wears kara has to keep it clean, and not to remove it until there is some need or extreme requirement.

It was also historically used like a knuckle-duster for hand-to-hand combat. Battlefield variations include kara with spikes or sharp edges. Sikh soldiers of the British Indian army would settle disputes by competing in a form of boxing known as loh-musti (lit. iron fist) with a kara on one hand.

In Norse mythology, Kára is a valkyrie, attested in the prose epilogue of the Poetic Edda poem Helgakviða Hundingsbana II.

The epilogue details that "there was a belief in the pagan religion, which we now reckon an old wives' tale, that people could be reincarnated," and that the deceased valkyrie Sigrún and her dead love Helgi Hundingsbane were considered to have been reborn as another Helgi and valkyrie couple; Helgi as Helgi Haddingjaskati and Sigrún as the daughter of Halfdan—the valkyrie Kára. According to the epilogue, further information about the two can be found in the work Káruljóð, which has not survived.

The name Kára either means "the wild, stormy one" (based on Old Norse afkárr, meaning "wild") or "curl" or "the curly one" (from Old Norse kárr). Otto Höfler theorizes a connection between the "curl" etymology and the Odinic cult name Odinkar that appears in runic inscriptions, which means "the one with the (long?) Odin's curls."

Kara is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include:

Kara is a genus of air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Orthalicidae.

Kara was previously a subgenus of Thaumastus; it was elevated to genus level in 2011.

Kara are a folk music group from Hertfordshire, England, whose music has been called "spirited acoustic folk with a Russian twist". Their debut album, Waters So Deep, was acclaimed by The Daily Telegraph.

Kara ( Hangul: 카라, Japanese: カラ, often stylized as KARA) was a South Korean pop girl group formed by DSP Media in 2007. The group's final lineup was composed of Park Gyuri, Han Seungyeon, Goo Hara and Heo Youngji. The group's name comes from the Greek word "chara" (χαρά, lit. "joy"), which they interpreted to mean "sweet melody".

The group originally started off as a quartet and made their debut with "Break It" (2007) while displaying a strong female image and a mature R&B sound. Expectations for the group were big because they were considered as successors to their senior labelmate, Fin.K.L. They released their first studio album titled The First Blooming in March 2007. However, their debut was not well received by the public and was a commercial failure. The following year, Kim Sung-hee departed the group due to parental pressure, and members Goo Hara and Kang Jiyoung were brought in. After their addition, the group also changed their musical style and their image to the "pretty but natural" appeal, releasing their first mini-album, Rock U in July 2008. They achieved their first number one song with " Honey" (2009). In July 2009, the group released their second studio album, Revolution and spawned the hit single " Mister", whose choreography featured the "butt-dance", that helped increase the group's popularity within East Asia. Their follow-up singles including " Lupin" (2010), " Jumping" (2010), " Step" (2011), and "Pandora" (2012) were also successful and helped further establish the group within the Korean music industry. The group were ranked at No. 6 and No. 5 in Gallup Korea in 2009 and 2010 respectively, thus making them the second best girl group in Korea for 2010. They were also ranked at No. 4 and 13 in February 2012 and 2013's Forbes Korea Power Celebrity 40 list.

After finding national success, the group began to expand their music to Japan by signing to Universal Music Japan's subsidiary label, Universal Sigma in 2010. The group's debut was a success as they were dubbed as "Japan's No. 1 Rookie Artist of 2010" by Oricon and also receiving the "New Artist of the Year Award (International)" from the Japan Gold Disc Awards. In April 2011, the group achieved their first number one single in Japan with " Jet Coaster Love", making them the first foreign female group since the creation of the Oricon to rank number one in the first week of release and also the first foreign female group in thirty years to do so. Overall, the group managed to sell over one million physical singles within two years, making them one of the fastest-selling South Korean acts in Japan.

In 2014, Nicole Jung and Kang Jiyoung decided not to renew their contracts with DSP Media thus leaving the group to pursue their own endeavors; Nicole debuted as solo artist and Jiyoung became an actress in Japan. Following their departures, a reality show titled Kara Project was aired on TV to select members to join the group. Seven trainees from DSP Media took part in the program. The winner of the competition was Heo Youngji who became the latest member to join the group.

On January 15, 2016, DSP Media announced that the contracts with Park Gyu-ri, Han Seung-yeon and Goo Ha-ra expired and they decided not to renew their contracts. In April, Park Gyu-ri revealed that the group did not disband and that the members hope to release new albums in the future.