Baba Budha Ji (1506–1631)
Baba Budha Ji, also respectfully called Bhai Budha, is remembered as one of the most revered and devoted Sikhs of the Guru period. Born into the Randhawa clan, he was blessed with the service of the first six Sikh Gurus. Baba Budha Ji lived an exemplary Sikh life for more than a hundred years and became the first Head Granthi of Sri Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple). His role in Sikh history is deeply significant and unforgettable.
Birth and Early Life
Baba Budha Ji was born on 6 October 1506 in the village of Kathu Nangal, about 18 km northeast of Amritsar. His original name was Bura, and he was the only son of Bhai Sugga and Mata Gauran.
As a child, while tending cattle outside the village, he once encountered Guru Nanak Dev Ji. According to Bhai Mani Singh’s Sikh Bhagatmala, young Bura offered a bowl of milk to Guru Ji and humbly prayed:
“O savior of the poor! Today I am truly blessed to behold your holy vision. Kindly free me from the endless cycle of birth and death.”
Guru Nanak Dev Ji replied: “But you are still a child; how can you speak such wise words?”
Bura responded: “Some soldiers camped near our village and destroyed all our crops—both ripe and unripe. Seeing this, I realized that just as no one could stop them, no one can stop death when it comes—for both the young and the old.”
Hearing this, Guru Nanak Dev Ji said: “You are not a child, but wise like an elder.” From that day, Bura was called Bhai Budha (in Punjabi, Budha means “aged” or “wise”). As he grew older, people came to address him with reverence as Baba Budha Ji.
Service and Devotion
Baba Budha Ji became a devoted disciple of Guru Nanak. Even after his marriage at the age of seventeen in Achal, near Batala, he remained fully dedicated to the Guru’s path. He spent more time in Kartar Pur, where Guru Nanak resided, than in his native village.
His spiritual stature was so great that when Guru Nanak Dev Ji appointed Bhai Lehna as Guru Angad (the second Guru), Baba Budha Ji performed the tilak (ceremonial mark) on his forehead. In the same way, he had the honor of performing the tilak ceremony for the next four Gurus: Guru Amar Das, Guru Ram Das, Guru Arjan Dev, and Guru Hargobind Sahib.
Baba Budha Ji played an important role in several key projects of the Gurus:
Under Guru Amar Das, he supervised the digging of the Baoli at Goindwal.
Under Guru Ram Das and Guru Arjan Dev, he guided the excavation of the holy Amrit Sarovar in Amritsar. During this work, he would sit under a ber tree (jujube tree), which still stands in the Golden Temple complex today.
Later, Baba Budha Ji retired to a forest area, where he tended cattle for the Guru’s langar. This place is still remembered as Bir Baba Budha Sahib.
Final Days and Passing
In his final days, Baba Budha Ji stayed at Ramdass village, founded by his son Bhai Bhana. On 16 November 1631, as his end approached, Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji himself was present at his bedside. Guru Ji personally shouldered his bier and performed the last rites.
Bhai Gurdas Ji recited from the Adi Granth in his memory, and Guru Hargobind honored Bhai Bhana (Baba Budha Ji’s son) by tying a turban on him.
To this day, two Gurdwaras in Ramdass village commemorate the memory and legacy of Baba Budha Ji.
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