Neela

Neela, alternatively spelt as Nila, was a Neela Ghora ("blue horse") that belonged to Guru Gobind Singh. Similar to how Indic deities are associated with a mount, known as a vahana, some have connected Neela as being a vahana of the Sikh guru.

History Guru Gobind Singh learnt horsemanship at an early-age from his maternal uncle, Kirpal Chand. It is unknown how Neela came into the possession of the Sikh guru, the horse may have been a gift from a royal dignitary or a devotee. Neela was a dark-coloured stallion that was favoured and loved by Guru Gobind Singh. Neela can be found in Sikh legends, forming part of the archetypal imagination of Guru Gobind Singh, seated on him. The horse earned Guru Gobind Singh the Neelay Ghoray Walla (nīle ghoṛe vālā) and Nile Ghore da Asvar appellations, both meaning "rider of the blue horse". Neela would have been similar to blue roan horses. Sikh lore claims that when Guru Gobind Singh was riding Neela whilst returning from Anandgarh, it would not enter a tobacco field and reared up in front of it. The guru tried to entice the horse to continue onward, but it refused to do so, leading to the guru to put his heels into the body of the horse, but it remained at a stand-still.

There are historical Sikh paintings which depict Guru Gobind Singh mounted on a blue-coloured horse.

Some of the horses kept in the stables of Hazur Sahib in Nanded are said to be descended from Neela's lineage. However the original blue colour has been diluted over the generations to a grey-white colour.

Popular culture In a work emulating one by the poet Pilu by Kishan Singh Arif, he includes Neela as one of the seven horses that are descended from Heaven, alongside the mare from the Mirza Sahiba folktale known as Bakki.

In the aftermath of Operation Blue Star, many Sikhs refused to accept that Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale had been killed in the ensuing violence, believing that a blue-horse from Heaven had come down to take him away.