Bankhandi (1807 or 1808–1863), commonly referred to as Baba Bankhandi Maharaj

honorific An honorific is a title that conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense to refer to an Honorary title (academic), h ...

ally'','' was an

Udasi Udasis ( Gurmukhi: ਉਦਾਸੀ ਸੰਪਰਦਾ; ''udāsī saparadā'') (Devanagari: उदासी संप्रदाय), also spelt as Udasins, also known as Nanak Putras (meaning "sons of Nanak"), are a religious sect of ascetic ' ...

missionary and saint who founded

Sadh Belo Sadh Belo (, Urdu: سادھ بھيلو), also spelt as Sadh Bela, or Sat, is an River island, island in the Indus River near Sukkur, Sindh, Pakistan that is famous for its highly revered Hindu temples. The temples are associated with the syncr ...

in 1823.

Biography

Bankhandi, who was born as Balchandra, was originally a Gaur Brahmin said to hail from

Kurukshetra Kurukshetra () is a city and administrative headquarters of Kurukshetra district in the Indian state of Haryana. It is also known as Dharmakshetra ("Realm of duty") and as the "Land of the Bhagavad Gita". Legends According to the Puranas ...

(in

Haryana Haryana () is a States and union territories of India, state located in the northern part of India. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab, India, Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with les ...

). Other sources claim he was born as Balchand Sharma, and was originally said to hail from either

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

or Kero Khetar near Dehli. He became an Udasi missionary and belonged to the ''Bakhshishāṅ'' subsect (specifically the ''Mihanshahi'' branch). He moved to a heavily forested island in

Sukkur Sukkur is a city in the Pakistani province of Sindh along the western bank of the Indus River, directly across from the historic city of Rohri. Sukkur is the List of cities in Sindh by population, third largest city in Sindh after Karachi and H ...

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

on the

Indus River The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayas, Himalayan river of South Asia, South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in the Western Tibet region of China, flows northw ...

called Menak Parbat in 1823 at the age of 15. He took a liking to his newfound environment, where he established a ''dhuni'' (location for a sacred fire). There he founded Sadh Belo, which grew to become a major centre of spirituality and learning for the Udasi sect. Bankhandi established places of worship for various Indic deities, such as Annuparna,

Ganesha Ganesha or Ganesh (, , ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva (Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in the Ganapatya sect. His depictions ...

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

, and

Hanuman Hanuman (; , ), also known as Maruti, Bajrangabali, and Anjaneya, is a deity in Hinduism, revered as a divine ''vanara'', and a devoted companion of the deity Rama. Central to the ''Ramayana'', Hanuman is celebrated for his unwavering devotio ...

. He also constructed places where the

Guru Granth Sahib The Guru Granth Sahib (, ) is the central holy religious scripture of Sikhism, regarded by Sikhs as the final, sovereign and eternal Guru following the lineage of the ten human gurus of the religion. The Adi Granth (), its first rendition, w ...

was kept. He is said to have died in 1863. A temple dedicated to him was constructed in 1899 by the eight successor ('' gaddi nashin''), Sant Harnam Das. It remains a popular pilgrimage site today.

References

{{Sikhism 1800s births 1863 deaths