https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=BankhandiBankhandi - Revision history2026-08-01T14:50:45ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Bankhandi&diff=489618&oldid=prevMohammadzaidmansoori at 15:34, 7 May 20262026-05-07T15:34:31Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Udasi saint and founder of Sadh Belo}}<br />
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{{Infobox religious biography<br />
| religion = [[Sikhism]]<br />
| honorific prefix = Baba<br />
| honorific suffix = Maharaj<br />
| name = Bankhandi<br />
| sect = [[Udasi]]<br />
| image = Depiction of Bankhandi Maharaj, an Udasi saint who founded Sadh Belo, Sindh in 1823.jpg<br />
| caption = Depiction of Bankhandi from ''Sakhar Soonharo'' (1940) by Parsram Veerumal Masand<br />
| birthname = Balchand Sharma<br />
| birth_date = 1763<br />
| birth_place = Nepal or Kero Khetar near Delhi<br />
| death_date = 1863<br />
| death_place = Sadh Belo, Sukkur, Sindh<br />
| office1 = [[Gaddi Nashin]] of [[Sadh Belo]]<br />
| term1 = 1823 – 1863<br />
| predecessor1 = ''none'' (position established)<br />
| successor1 = Swami Achal Prasad<br />
| subsect = Bakhshishāṅ (Mihanshahi branch)<br />
}}<br />
{{Udasi}}<br />
<br />
'''Bankhandi''' (1763 – 1863), commonly referred to as '''Baba Bankhandi Maharaj''' [[honorific]]ally<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Kalhoro |first=Zulfiqar Ali |date=26 May 2013 |title=The Sikhs of Sindh |url=https://sikhchic.com/history/the_sikhs_of_sindh |website=Originally published on The Friday Times, republished on SikhChic}}</ref>'','' also spelt '''Vankhandi''',<ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last=Bharadwaj |first=Prakash |title=Sindhis Through the Ages: Far-East & South-East Asian countries |publisher=World-Wide Publishing Company |year=1988 |pages=58}}</ref> was an [[Udasi]] missionary and saint who founded [[Sadh Belo]] in 1823.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Memon |first=Sarfaraz |date=26 June 2022 |title=Sindh's Sadh Belo Temple |work=T-Magazine |url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/2363411/culture-and-hertiage}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Rasheed |first=Shaikh Abdul |date=2017-09-18 |title=Sadh Belo Temple the most frequented religious site |url=https://dailytimes.com.pk/116400/sadh-belo-temple-the-most-frequented-religious-site/ |access-date=2023-05-29 |website=Daily Times |language=}}</ref><ref name="auto2">{{Cite web |title=Sadhu Bela: Pakistan's temple island you won't forget |url=https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/pakistan/sadhu-bela-pakistans-temple-island-you-wont-forget-1.2177507 |website=gulfnews.com}}</ref><ref name="auto32">{{Cite web |last=Jatt |first=Zahida Rehman |date=June 12, 2018 |title=Sadh Belo temple: an abode of Udasipanth in Sindh |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1413676 |website=dawn.com}}</ref> Bankhandi was a missionary and preacher of the Mihanshahi sub-sect of the Udasis.<ref name=":4" /><br />
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== Biography ==<br />
[[File:Hindu Temple, Sadh Belo, Sukkur.jpg|thumb|Photograph of the temple at Sadh Belo, Sukkur, Sindh]]<br />
Bankhandi, who was born as Balchandra, was originally a [[Gaur Brahmins|Gaur Brahmin]] said to hail from [[Kurukshetra]] (in [[Haryana]]).<ref>{{Cite book |last=eGangotri |url=https://archive.org/details/rTnV_gurusakhi-suryodaya-charitamrit-i-e-guru-bankhadi-yogsidhi-by-harinam-das-ji-mah/page/n53/mode/1up?q=%22Gaur+Brahman%22 |title=Gurusakhi Suryodaya Charitamrit I E Guru Bankhadi Yogsidhi By Harinam Das Ji Maharaj Gadidhar Mahant Sadguru Bankhandi Ashram, Sukkur Sind}}</ref> Other sources claim he was born as Balchand Sharma, and was originally said to hail from either [[Nepal]] or Kero Khetar near [[Delhi|Dehli]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> According to Sarmukh Singh Amole, he was born in 1763 whilst other sources give a year of birth ranging from 1807–1808.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Amole |first=Sarmukh Singh |title=PRĪTAM DĀS, MAHANT |url=https://eos.learnpunjabi.org/PRITAM%20DAS%20MAHANT%20(1752-1831).html |access-date=11 April 2026 |website=Encyclopedia of Sikhism (Online Edition) |publisher=Punjabi University, Patiala}}</ref> <br />
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He became an Udasi missionary and belonged to the ''Bakhshishāṅ'' subsect (specifically the ''Mihanshahi'' branch).<ref name=":12">{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=Harbans |title=The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism |publisher=Punjabi University, Patiala |year=2004 |isbn=0-8364-2883-8 |edition=2nd |volume=4 |location= |pages=6, 377 |oclc=29703420}}</ref> He moved to a heavily forested island in [[Sukkur District|Sukkur]], [[Sindh]] on the [[Indus River]] called Menak Parbat in 1823 at the age of 15.<ref name=":0" /> He took a liking to his newfound environment, where he established a ''dhuni'' (location for a [[Yajna|sacred fire]]).<ref name="auto32" /> There he founded Sadh Belo, which grew to become a major centre of spirituality and learning for the Udasi sect.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |title=Partition and the practice of memory |date=2018 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-3-319-64516-2 |editor-last=Mahn |editor-first=Churnjeet |location=Cham, Switzerland |pages=47 |editor-last2=Murphy |editor-first2=Anne}}</ref><ref name=":3" /> He established a hut (''kutiya'') there on the mound.<ref name=":5" /> Bankhandi established places of worship for various Indic deities, such as [[Annapurna (goddess)|Annuparna]], [[Ganesha]], [[Shiva]], and [[Hanuman]].<ref name="auto32" /> He also constructed places where the [[Guru Granth Sahib]] was kept.<ref name="auto32" /> It is believed that Bankhandi had been bestowed with a bowl (''[[kamandalu]]'') by the goddess Annapoorna that had divine properties.<ref name=":5" /> He is said to have died in 1863.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":4" /> A temple dedicated to him was constructed in 1899 by the eight successor (''[[Gaddi Nashin|gaddi nashin]]''), Sant Harnam Das.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> It remains a popular pilgrimage site today.<ref name=":12" /><br />
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== References ==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
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{{Sikhism}}<br />
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[[Category:1800s births]]<br />
[[Category:1863 deaths]]</div>Mohammadzaidmansoori