Bhagat Baba Kalu
Baba Kalu | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal life | |
| Born | 16th - 17th Century Barial, Hoshiarpur, Punjab, India |
| Died | Panch Nangal, Hoshiarpur, Punjab, India |
| Region | Punjab |
| Known for | Bhagat, Religious Teacher |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Hinduism/ Sikhism |
| Founder of | Kalupanth |
| Senior posting | |
Disciples
| |
Bhagat Baba Kalu is a local Bhagat revered by the people of the Hoshiarpur and Phagwara areas within Punjab, India.[1]
History
Bhagat Baba Kalu was born in the village of Barial, located in Hoshiarpur district, during medieval India.[2] Baba Kalu belonged to the Hindu Jhir community.[3] He was of the Manauti surname and had two sons: Ganesha and Mehesha. The latter left issue who are styled Bawas and live in the villages of Panshta, Barial, Panch Nangal, Khutiar and Kahnpur.[4]
Baba Kalu had four disciples: Lachhmi Chand, Sri Chand, Megh Chand, and Tara Chand, among whose descendents a priest is elected. He spent his final days in the village of Panch Nangal near the village Khushalpur in Hoshiarpur, where his wooden sandals are still kept.[5] Baba Kalu is regarded as the founder of Kalupanth.[2] Kalu Baba's devotees, known as Kalupanthis, come from the adherents of Hindu and Sikh religion.[6][7][8]
Festivals
The main shrine of Baba Kalu is located in village of Panshta (also known as Panchhat).The shrine in Panshta hosts the annual Baisakhi Mela.[9] A representative of the shrine travels to the villages that attend the Mela to gather contributions.
People from several villages attend the mela including people from the adjoining villages of Narur and Jalwehra as well as people from Lakhpur and Sahni. Annual processions commemorating the birth anniversary of Baba Kalu are held in various regions of northern India especially Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.[1][10]
Photo gallery
Shrine of Bhagat Baba Kalu Ji Panchhat
Shrine of Bhagat Baba Kalu Ji
References
- 1 2 "महर्षि कश्यप कालू बाबा की जयंती पर निकाली शोभायात्रा" [Procession taken out on the birth anniversary of Maharishi Kashyap Kalu Baba]. Amar Ujala (in Hindi). 2022. Retrieved 2026-04-21.
- 1 2 Singh, Deepak K (2014). Social Sciences Research Journal (Research Paper). Panjab University, Chandigarh. pp. 27, 28.
Kalu Bhagat, the founder of Kalupanthi sect was of Jhinwar (Kahar) caste. He was supposed to be blessed with supernatural powers that he received from an ascetic. Some say that he was the follower of the Sikh Guru, Guru Arjan. Kalupanthis worship Hindu God as well as respect the Guru Granth Sahib.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ↑ Singh, Jagpal (2020-10-07). Caste, State and Society: Degrees of Democracy in North India. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-000-19606-1.
According to the Dhinwars, there had been one Kalu Baba, who was so known because of his dark complexion. He was a vichlit pravravrati (ascetic nature) and would listen to debates among Brahmins.
- ↑ Oberoi, Harjot (1994-12-15). The Construction of Religious Boundaries: Culture, Identity, and Diversity in the Sikh Tradition. University of Chicago Press. p. 212. ISBN 978-0-226-61592-9.
- ↑ A Glossary of the tribes and castes of the Punjab & North-West Frontier Province, H.A.Rose, Ibbeston, Maclagan
- ↑ Thapar, Romesh (1999). Seminar Issues 473-484. R. Thapar. p. 12.
- ↑ Singh, K. S. (1998). People of India: India's communities. Anthropological Survey of India. p. 3258. ISBN 978-0-19-563354-2.
- ↑ Singh, Joginder (2017-08-22). "HINDUS". Religious Pluralism in Punjab: A Contemporary Account of Sikh Sants, Babas, Gurus and Satgurus. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-351-98634-2.
- ↑ http://panshta.com/index_files/Page1164.htm
- ↑ "सरसावा में धूमधाम से मनाई महर्षि कालू बाबा की जयंती" [Maharishi Kalu Baba's birth anniversary celebrated with great pomp in Sarsawa]. www.livehindustan.com (E-Newspaper) (in Hindi). 2025-05-12. Retrieved 2026-04-21.
