Gurudwara Bal Lila Maini

Gurudwara Bal Lila Maini is also known as Maini Sangat. This Gurudwara is considered very important because it is connected with the childhood of Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th Guru of Sikhism. This Gurudwara is few meters away from Takhat Patna Sahib, which is very popular.

A wood carving at the front door of this Gurudwara has a date marked as Assaidi 1, 1725 Bikrami which corresponds to 28th August 1668, so it gives an estimate about when this Gurudwara was built. However, the hall where the sanctum is situated and other rooms in the inner compound have been constructed only during recent times.

History

The narrow lane where Gurdwara Bal Lila Maini is in the lane where the house of Raja Fateh Chand Maini was situated.

Raja Fateh Chand Maini was a local chieftain and his queen was one of the great admirers of Gobind Rai, who became Guru Gobind Singh in later period.

As the legend goes, the Royal couple had everything of worldly satisfaction but they were childless. King Fateh Chand and his queen therefore shared the sad situation of their life, for solace, to Pandit Shiv Dutt, who was a pious person and known by the King. The Pandit prophesied the King that a heavenly child Gobind Rai might come to them and would change their state of depression into a happy and normal life. One day when the queen was doing meditation in her room, she saw Gobind Rai entering the room, along with his playmates, sat in her laps and addressed her in a lovely voice 'mother'. The child also demanded some food, responding to which the Queen gave him and his playmates boiled and salted gram which was available at home at that time. In allusion to this practice, even today boiled and salted gram is served as Prasad (the consecrated food) in this Gurdwara.

How to Reach

For reaching Patna city good transport facilities are available through rail, road and air, as this place is well connected with all the three modes of transport.

By Road, the City of Patna is located along the National Highway No.31 which passes through Dinapur, Patna and Patna City. BSRTC operates buses to this place in large numbers, while roads are well maintained for one to drive one's car or to reach by a taxi.

Patna Railway Station has rail links to various junctions in Eastern Railway sector, three railway lines passing through the district from north to south viz., the Patna Gaya Branch line, the Bakhtiarpur-Rajgir Branch line and the Fatwah-Islampur Light Railway line.

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