Cremation of Bhai Bala, ca.1825–1849 paintingA rare Tanjore style painting from the late 19th century depicting the ten Sikh Gurus with Bhai Bala and Bhai Mardana.
Bhai Bala (Punjabi: ਭਾਈ ਬਾਲਾ, romanized: Bhāī Bālā; 1466–1544) was a companion of Guru Nanak. Born in Talwandi into a Sandhu Jat family, Bala was also a close associate of Bhai Mardana.
Biography
According to the Bhai Bala janamsakhis, 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.[1][2]
Historicity
There has been considerable discussion as regards to Bhai Bala's existence, particularly within the Sikh academic field. 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.[3] There are a number of other anomalies, which Dr. Kirpal Singh has explicated in his Punjabi work janamsakhi tradition.[4][5]
Trilochan Singh counters some of the points raised by stating that Mehma Parkash and Mani Singh janamsakhi both mention Bhai Bala. Bala is further mentioned in Suchak Prasang Guru Ka by Bhai Behlo written during Guru Arjan Dev’s time. Bhai Behlo says, “Bala discarded his body there, At the holy city of Khadaur, Angad, the master, performed the rites, Graciously with his own two hands.” He also raises the point that Bhai Bala’s family is still living in Nankana Sahib[1][6][7] and that Bala’s samadhi exists in Khadaur.[8] According to H.S. Singha, some scholars argue that Bhai Bala was a genuine person, however his janamsakhihagiographies had been corrupted by heretical sects such as the Minas, Handaliyas, and others.[9] The earliest extant Bala version rendition of the janamsakhis itself claims to date to 1525 but this has been rejected by New Zealand historian W.H. McLeod.[10]
References
^ abMcLeod, W.H., Guru Nanak and the Sikh Religion. Oxford, 1968.
^Singh, Bhupender (23 December 2022). Baba Nanak Shah Fakir (1st ed.). Blue Rose Publishers. p. 23. ISBN9789357046602. 4. Bhagat/Gyan Ratnavali by Mani Singh: This work was written around the eighteenth century (between AD 1675 and 1708) by Bhai Mani Singh, a devotee of Guru Gobind and is only an exposition of Bhai Gurdas's first canto. It does not pretend to add to the information on Guru Nanak. Historic value of Bhagat Ratnavali is immense because it is based on the first Var of Bhai Gurdas and contains no imaginary events. Also, it records all episodes in chronological order and avoids errors of other janamsakhis. Bhagat Ratnavali is significant, in the sense that in the list of Guru Nanak's companions and disciples, contained in this book there is no mention of Bala Sandhu.
