Bhai Bala

Bhai Bala (Punjabi: ਭਾਈ ਬਾਲਾ 1466–1544), born in Talwandi Rai Bhoi into a Sandhu Jat family[1] (now called Nankana Sahib in Pakistan),[2][3] was a childhood friend and lifelong companion of Bhai Mardana and Guru Nanak. According to the Bhai Bala Janam Sakhis, he traveled with Guru Nanak and Bhai Mardana on all of their great journeys around the world including China, Mecca, and around India. He supposedly died in Khadur Sahib, in his late 70s, in 1544.[2][4]

Bhai Bala
ਭਾਈ ਬਾਲਾ
Bhai Bala seated to the right of Nanak
Personal
Born
Bala Sandhu

1466
Rai-Bhoi-Di-Talwandi, Punjab
Died1544
Khadur Sahib
Cremation placePrecincts of the modern Gurdwara Tapiana Sahib
ReligionHinduism (birth)
Sikhism (convert)
Parent
  • Chandar Bhan Sandhu (father)
Cremation of Bhai Bala, ca.1825–1849 painting
A rare Tanjore style painting from the late 19th century depicting the ten Sikh Gurus with Bhai Bala and Bhai Mardana.

Historicity

There has been considerable discussion as regards to Bhai Bala's existence, particularly within the Sikh academic field. The reasons for this are:

Bhai Gurdas, who has listed all Guru Nanak's prominent disciples (in his 11th Var), does not mention the name of Bhai Bala (this may be an oversight, for he does not mention Rai Bular either). However Bhai Mani Singh's Bhagat Ratanwali, which contains essentially the same list as that by Bhai Gurdas, but with more detail, also does not mention Bhai Bala. There are a number of other anomalies, which Dr. Kirpal Singh has explicated in his Punjabi work 'Janamsakhi Tradition.'[5][6] According to H.S. Singha, some scholars argue that Bhai Bala was a genuine person, however his Janamsakhi hagiographies had been corrupted by heretical sects such as the Minas, Handaliyas, and others.[7] The earliest extant Bala version rendition of the Janamsakhis itself claims to date to 1525 but this has been refuted by W.H. McLeod.[8]

See also

References
  1. McLeod, W. H. (1980). Early Sikh tradition : a study of the janam-sākhīs. Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 15. ISBN 0-19-826532-8. OCLC 5100963.
  2. McLeod, W.H., Guru Nanak and the Sikh Religion. Oxford, 1968.
  3. A Gateway to Sikhism | Early Gursikhs: Bhai Bala Ji - A Gateway to Sikhism
  4. Max Arthur Macauliffe, 1909
  5. Singh, Dr Kirpal, Janamsakhi Tradition (An Analytical Study). Singh Brothers, 2004.(page 10)
  6. Dr. Kirpal Singh. "Janamsakhi Tradition – An Analytical Study" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 March 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  7. Singha, H.S. (2000). The Encyclopedia of Sikhism. p. 28. ISBN 9788170103011. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  8. McLeod, W. H. (1980). Early Sikh tradition : a study of the janam-sākhīs. Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 16. ISBN 0-19-826532-8. OCLC 5100963.
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