NUMBER 50-51-52 (January-June 1989)

ThreeWomenSants ofMaharashtra

Muktabai, Janabai,Bahinabai

by Ruth Vanita

Page from a handwritten manuscript ofSant Bahina’s poems at Sheor f”kÅj ;sFkhy gLrfyf[kukP;k ,dk i~’Bkpk QksVksf”kÅj ;sFkhy gLrfyf[kukP;k ,dk i~’Bkpk QksVksf”kÅj ;sFkhy gLrfyf[kukP;k ,dk i~’Bkpk QksVksf”kÅj ;sFkhy gLrfyf[kukP;k ,dk i~’Bkpk QksVksf”kÅj ;sFkhy gLrfyf[kukP;k ,dk i~’Bkpk QksVks

46 MANUSHI

An ant flew to the skyand swallowed the sunAnother wonder -a barren woman had a son.A scorpion went to the underworld,set its foot on the Shesh Nag’s head.A fly gave birth to a kite.Looking on, Muktabai laughed.

-Muktabai-

NUMBER 50-51-52 (January-June 1989)

THE main trends in bhakti inMaharashtra took the form of a number ofsant traditions which developed betweenthe thirteenth and the seventeenthcenturies. The sants in Maharashtra weremen and women from different castes andcommunities, including Brahmans,Vaishyas, Shudras and Muslims, whoemphasised devotion to god’s name, tothe guru, and to satsang, the company ofthe good, as the path to self realisation.

By teaching in Marathi, the santscontributed to developing a culture andits language. They composed verse in theabhang form, based on an old folk songform called ovi. Most sant poetry wastransmitted orally until the earlyseventeenth century.

There are five main sampradays or santtraditions in Maharashtra. TheMahanubhav Sampraday, established inthe thirteenth century in Vidarbha byChakradhar Swami, acknowledged no deityother than Krishna. They establishedmaths, and encouraged devotees toundertake the life of a wandering ascetic,living on alms, although they also hadhouseholder sants.

The first woman poet in Marathi,Mahadamba (1233-1308) belonged to thistradition. She was a Brahman child widow,granddaughter of a learned woman priest.She became Chakradhar Swami’s discipleand composed two narrative poems on thewedding of Krishna and Rukmani.

The Nath tradition was an ancientShaiva cult, very popular, especially amongthe lower castes. Today, it survives incertain regions. The Datta traditioncombines Shiva and Vishnu worship in theform of the deity Dattatreya, an incarnationof the three gods, Brahma, Vishnu andShiva. The Samarth tradition was foundedin the seventeenth century by Ramdas, aBrahman, devotee of Ram, who becameShivaji’s guru. His spiritual successorAkkabai was a woman, and so was one ofhis chief disciples, Venabai (1627-1678),also a poet. Both were Brahman childwidows. Venabai herself was a guru tomany, including another woman poet,Baiyabai, Thus, the sect has a tradition ofinitiating women.

By far the most popular tradition in

Maharashtra is the Varkari tradition whichstill has the largest mass following.Founded in the late thirteenth and earlyfourteenth centuries1 by Namdev (a santof the tailor community, and Jnaneshwar,son of a socially outcasted Brahman) whowrote the famous Jnaneshwari, a versifiedcommentary in Marathi on the BhagwadGita, the Varkari (pilgrim) tradition, like theMahanubhav, practises nonviolence andvegetarianism. In addition, they alsoprescribe certain other practices,especially an annual pilgrimage toPandharpur, a practice said to have beenstarted by Jnaneshwar. Their emphasis onleading a devoted life while living as ahouseholder, and their use of musicaldevotion (bhajari) and congregationalgatherings (kirtari) attracted ordinarypeople. Maharashtra’s major sants,Chokhamela (Mahar), Savarta (gardener),Eknath (Brahman) and Tukaram (Shudra)belonged to this tradition. It also had anumber of women sants, as well as manywomen followers.

The Varkari tradition drew upon bothShaiva and Vaishnav traditions.Jnaneshwar’s older brother and guru,Nivritti, received initiation from a Nathguru, and Jnaneshwar states that themantra transmitted by him was originallyreceived from Shiva. The Varkaris’ deity,Shri Vitthal of Pandharpur,iconographically combines Shaiva,Vaishnav and folk traditions in himself. Heis identified with Krishna but has a Shivaling on his head. Not just Vaishnavs butmany Shaivites, Buddhists and Jains alsoacknowledged him as a deity. The Varkaris’emphasis is on the name of god, andJnaneshwar states that it does not matterwhether this name is that of Shiva orVishnu.

Shri Vitthal’s defining characteristic isoverwhelming love for his devotees. Themost popular story regarding the origin ofhis name exemplifies this characteristic.This story is about Pundalik, a devoteewhose devotion took the form of tirelessservice of his parents. Hearing ofPundalik’s virtue, Krishna came to hishouse at Pandharpur to visit him. Pundalikwas busy washing his parents’ feet and,without interrupting his activity, threw a

brick towards Krishna for him to stand on.Krishna stood on the brick and was solost in Pundalik’s devotion that he forgotto return to heaven. His wife Rukmani hadto come and join him in Pandharpur whereshe stands as Rakhumai beside Krishna inthe form of Vitthal (said to be derived fromvitha or brick).

The Maharashtrian sants’ relationshipto Vitthal is one of tender and intimate love.They scarcely ever use the erotic or bridalmetaphors prevalent in other regions anddo not dwell on Krishna the lover of thegopis or of Radha, as northern bhaktasdo Instead, they relate to Vitthal as lovingfriend and companion. Intimacy with godresults in an inability to distinguishbetween self and god. One striking imageused is that of two mirrors facing each other— which reflects which? The identity ofthe self with god often results in the santas guru being reverenced by otherbhaktas as god. The numerous legendsof Vitthal coming in different shapes toperform lowly service for differentdevotees reinforces this notion.

Conversely, service of other devotees,indeed of all living creatures, is seen asthe highest form of devotion, since god isindistinguishable from the universe.Almost all the sants have stories attachedto them about their impoverishingthemselves and distressing their familiesby their generosity to others. One suchstory told of Namdev is that he ran after adog that had stolen his bread, in order tooffer it his curds as well.

Another metaphor these sants verycommonly use is that of Vitthal as lovingparent, especially mother. Vitthal isfrequently addressed as a female, Vithai.Vitthal’s yearning for his devotees isfigured as often greater than his devotees’yearning for him. One of Janabai’s mostpopular verses gives a charming depictionof Vitthal as a loving parent of the devotees— men and women from different castes,including the untouchable Chokhamela,thus imaged as equals, brothers andsisters:

“My Vithoba has many children — acompany of children surrounds him. Hehas Nivritti sitting on his shoulder, andholds Sopan by the hand. Jnaneshwar

48 MANUSHI

A sage lives on the temple dome:of him, the great yogi asked :Moonlight by day, heat by night -how can this be brought about?

Said the sage : Death quakes before a champak bud,knowledge and madness are one.That one is threaded through the universe,Easily Vitthal sets it free.The unexpressed, without form, is revealed inVaikunth,Mukiai says, yet people seek wrong ways.

Muktabai -

NUMBER 50-51-52 (January-June 1989)

walks ahead, and beautiful Muktai behind.Gora the potter is in his lap, and with himare Chokha and Jiva. Banka sits on hisback, and Namdev holds his finger. Janisays, look at this Gopal who loves hisbhaktas.” (30)2

Legends relating to the Varkari santsoften depict them as coming into conflictwith religious authorities the priestlyBrahmans, because of their heterodoxstyle of devotion, such as Chokhamela theuntouchable coming to the temple, orNamdev singing and dancing in publicamongst a crowd of devotees of differentcastes, thus disturbing ritualisticobservances. The legends always end withgod in person coming to the aid of thedevotee or making some sign, such thetemple swinging round to Namdev whowas sent by the priests to the back of thetemple. Brahmans are compelled to giveway and recognise the bhaktas’ devotionas legitimate. Brahmanical hostility almostnever reaches the point of the devoteebeing martyred.

Women sants appear to be integratedin the Varkari tradition right m the start.The prominent ones usually from bhaktahouseholds do not individually have toface social slander or flout publicconvention when they express theirdevotion. Neither do they becomewandering wise women nor do they appearmiraculously at a young age. They seemto live relatively ordinary lives yet thetradition is able to make space for them asteachers and sants. They are referred towith the same honorific prefix: “SantJanabai” as are the males: “Sant Namdev.”The integration is also suggested in thateach has a clear guru parampara orlineage, which is important in sant tradition.

The paradox, however, lies in the factthat these gurus, as indeed most sants, intheir teachings strongly emphasise theneed to stay away from women. Woman,in the songs Eknath and Tukaram, is notonly symbol of worldly attachment, but isto be physically shunned lest she distractthe seeker. Eknath advises that the bhaktastay away even from a satvik or saintlywoman and even from a female doll, lestlustful desires be aroused. Yet, in practice,these sants, some of whom, like Namdev,were neglectful of, like Tukaram, in conflict

with, their wives, accepted women bhaktastheir disciples and inspired them in turnbecome teachers.

The presence of these exceptional menas sants did not substantially change theimage of women in sant teachings andtradition; indeed, the women sants

themselves sometimes endorse this image.Also, most of them remain subordinate toa male guru who is often a relative andrefer to themselves in terms of their familialrelation to him. For example, Chokhamela’swife Soyrabai signs her verses as“Chokhya’s Mahari” and Aubai signs hersas “Namya’s sister.” Muktabai, Jnandev’ssister, is an exception, signing her versessimply as “Muktai.”

We will here look at three women sants

who, in different ways, came to beespecially significant — Mukta, a founderof the Varkari tradition; Jani, a maidservantwhose devotion exemplifies the sants9

emphasis on humility; and Bahina, forwhom devotion becomes a life-line whenshe is being crushed by the humiliating

lot of the average woman.Mukta, whose name means “liberated”,

was born in 1279. She and her threebrothers, Nivritti, Jnandev and Sopan areconsidered the founders of the Varkaritradition. Her untimely death at the age of18 is not related to her being a woman butto the unusual circumstances of her family— since her brothers too were only acouple of years older than she when theydied.

“My Vithoba has many children...” Modern religious illustration of Jani’s poem.”

50 MANUSHI

The name is strong - frees even in the body.Peaceful, forgiving the mind praising Hari.Pity clothes the mind, compassion for all beings,Constant desire for Hari’s beauty.Madhav, Mukund Hari’s name fills the heart-Repeating the name all are freed.Muktai’s wealth is utterance of Hari’s name -It has set the whole world free.

Beginning to end, Hari fills all hearts.Knowing this, sants are filled with love.God’s name in their hearts, love overflows-Ever, ever content with devotion to god,Peace, forgiveness, compassion rule their minds.Sanak and the sages rejoice over them.Muktai says, linked to Shri Hari’s name,Ever find joy in serving at his feet.

Some Other Abhangs

NUMBER 50-51-52 (January-June 1989)

To be all is joy,From the ‘I’comes sorrow.Give up the poison of ‘mine’ and ‘my’.Distinguish the goal from the hindrance,Reason and search out wisdom’s path-Find all pilgrimage sites in god.Hari, the cloud, pities the chatak,*Showers down rain.Subtle the path - bhaktas give up body’s illustion,Take on truth.The story the Vedas try to tellIs one which cannot be heard -It is found in the sense of oneness.Muktai says knowing ‘I am That’fills the world.Formed, formless are filled with ‘I am That’And all is god.

They whose mind’s sole business in ParbrahmNever again come to dwell in a womb.Blessed the womb that gives birthTo those whose minds are attached to Narayan.The unsaid, the said, they experience within.Filled with god who is all, everywhere.Knowing the oneness of knower, known, knowl-edge, Their being becomes Narayan.They who know Hari to be all, beginning and end,Turn away from domestic affairs.Muktai’s mind is forever freeHari is the wealth stored up in my house.

*bird, who, in mythology, will not drink any water that hastouched the earth but only rainwater that falls through the air.Symbol of the yearning for purity.