Bankhandi
{{Short description|Udasi saint and founder of Sadh Belo}}
{{Infobox religious biography
| religion = Sikhism
| honorific prefix = Baba
| honorific suffix = Maharaj
| name = Bankhandi
| sect = Udasi
| image = Depiction of Bankhandi Maharaj, an Udasi saint who founded Sadh Belo, Sindh in 1823.jpg
| caption = Depiction of Bankhandi from Sakhar Soonharo (1940) by Parsram Veerumal Masand
| birthname = Balchand Sharma
| birth_date = 1807 or 1808
| birth_place = Nepal or Kero Khetar near Delhi
| death_date = 1863
| death_place = Sadh Belo, Sukkur, Sindh
| office1 = Gaddi Nashin of Sadh Belo
| term1 = 1823 – 1863
| predecessor1 = none (position established)
| successor1 = Swami Achal Prasad
| subsect = Bakhshishāṅ (Mihanshahi branch)
}}{{Udasi}}
Bankhandi (1807 or 1808–1863), commonly referred to as Baba Bankhandi Maharaj honorifically{{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}}, was an Udasi missionary and saint who founded Sadh Belo in 1823.{{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}}{{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=}}{{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}}{{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}}
Biography
File:Hindu Temple, Sadh Belo, Sukkur.jpg
Bankhandi, who was born as Balchandra, was originally a Gaur Brahmin said to hail from Kurukshetra (in Haryana).{{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}} Other sources claim he was born as Balchand Sharma, and was originally said to hail from either Nepal or Kero Khetar near Dehli.
He became an Udasi missionary and belonged to the Bakhshishāṅ subsect (specifically the Mihanshahi branch).{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=Harbans |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/29703420 |title=The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism |date= |publisher=Punjabi University, Patiala |others= |year=2004 |isbn=0-8364-2883-8 |edition=2nd |volume=4 |location= |page= |pages=6, 377 |oclc=29703420}} He moved to a heavily forested island in Sukkur, Sindh on the Indus River 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.{{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}} Bankhandi established places of worship for various Indic deities, such as Annuparna, Ganesha, Shiva, and Hanuman. He also constructed places where the Guru Granth Sahib 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.