Talk:Swāmī Bankhaṇḍī Mahārāj

By Vishal Agarwal

Originally from Nepal, Swāmī Bankhaṇḍī became a follower of the Udāsī community of Sādhus at a place called Kurukṣetra in northern India. This community of Sādhus was founded by Śrīchand, the eldest son of Guru Nānak. The Udāsīs travelled all over India, Pakistan, Nepal and Afghanistan to spread the message of Hindu Dharma and the Sikh Gurus.

When Bankhaṇḍī Mahārāj arrived in the Sindh region (today in Pakistan) in 1823, the area had been under Muslim rule for 1100 years. Hardly any old Hindu temple had survived. There were practically no scholars who had studied the important Hindu scriptures. Hindus were not allowed to celebrate their festivals, own land, ride horses or even wear good clothing. They were frequently harassed by the rulers, and did not have the courage to worship mūrtis. Instead, most Hindus had started worshipping Muslim holy men at their graves. Swāmī Bankhaṇḍī decided that he would spend the rest of his life teaching true Hindu Dharm to the Hindus of Sindh, who still formed 20% of the population of the region.

In the Sindhu (Indus) river which flowed in that area, there were several islands on which no one lived. Bankhaṇḍī chose a small island close to the city of Sukkur. This island was covered with plants and thorny bushes. Gradually, Bankhaṇḍī cleared the island, and started installing one mūrti after another. He lived there for 40 years, meditating, worshipping, and working hard to create small Mandirs over these mūrtis.

After a few years, the Hindus of that area gathered courage and started coming to the island to have a darśana of Swāmī Bankhaṇḍī, and also to worship the mūrtis. After Swāmī Bankhaṇḍī passed away, his students approached wealthy families practicing Hindu Dharm of the area. With their help and donations, the small shrines that Swāmī Bankhaṇḍī had constructed were expanded into proper Mandirs, with larger sanctums and courtyards for devotees. Gradually, the island came to be known as a sacred tīrtha for Sindh Hindus, and annual festivals began to be organized there. This ensured that the legacy of Swāmī Bankhaṇḍī Mahārāj continued even after his passing, and that Hindus of Sindh had a central place of pilgrimage and collective worship despite centuries of persecution.

With the donations received, beautiful Mandirs, rest houses and other structures for visitors were gradually constructed one after the other. The result was that soon, people started coming to the island in thousands, especially on festival days. The efforts of Swāmī Bankhaṇḍī, and his meditation and courage, created a new holy place of worship, who had been prevented from practicing their Dharm freely for over 1000 years.

In 1947, Sindh became a part of Pakistan and most Hindus fled to India. But even today, there are 2.5 million Hindus in Sindh. On festival days, more than 20,000 Hindus come to celebrate, taking boats from the banks of the Sindhu river. Many Hindus from India too go to worship at the Mandirs on the island, and offer their respect to Swāmī Bankhaṇḍī Mahārāj, who had spent many years of his life to create a center of worship for the Hindus of Sindh.

Did You Know? Nepal is a beautiful country containing some of the highest mountains in the whole world. It has contributed a lot to the growth of Hindu Dharma. Devī Sītā was a Nepalese princess. Her father Sīrdhvaja Janaka ruled the kingdom of Videha, whose capital Mithilā was located in Nepal. Today, this city is called Janakpur. There is a beautiful Mandir to Devī Sītā called ‘Jānakī Bhawan’ located in Janakpur.

Bhagavān Buddha too was born in Nepal at a place called Lumbinī. In the 18th century, the Nepalese ruled large portions of the states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand in northern India. At that time, the Nepalese soldiers constructed many famous temples in northern India. For example, the Gaṅgotrī Mandir at the source of River Gaṅgā was constructed by a Nepalese army commander.