Bahiṇa Bai was a female poet-Saint whose participation in the Maharashtrian devotional movement known as the Varkari Panth transformed the image of female devotionalism in the region. A collection of her poetic writings, the Samta Bahiṇabaica Gatha, demonstrates her struggle to reconcile the demands of domesticity with those of devotionalism. Bahiṇa Bai simultaneously extols the roles of the pativrata, devoted wife, and the bhakta, the devotee, in her lyrical compositions, and resolves the tensions between domesticity and devotion by merging her husband's identity with that of Viṭhoba, a localized force of Viṣṇu. This thesis argues that Bahiṇa Bai's rebellion against a parochial vision of female spirituality integrates elements of Brahmanic orthodoxy, non-dual philosophy and bhakti practice.

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