Bahinabai

Bahinabai (1628–1700) was the great woman Varkari saint of Maharashtra — poet of the abhang and autobiographical atmanivedan, whose verses record both her devotion to Vithoba and her discipleship under Tukaram.

Background

Born in Devgaon? — of a Brahmin family, married young (as the custom), abused and constrained by her marriage; hearing Tukaram’s abhangs she took him as guru (the eka-dasha? — the Varkari guru-tradition), against family resistance; her autobiography (the Atmanivedana in abhangs) is the first female first-person spiritual narrative in Marathi.

Spiritual Contribution

The abhang corpus (300+ surviving) on Vithoba, the guru’s grace, and a woman’s spiritual struggle; the Pundalika-Wari devotion; her literary self-consciousness (poetry about her own life’s journey as poetry) is singular for the era.

Legacy and Impact

A foundational woman voice in Marathi bhakti (with Janabai and Muktabai); the Varkari tradition’s women sing her abhangs on the Wari to this day; feminist scholarship on pre-modern India treats her autobiography as a primary source.

Verification notes

• Dates and the Tukaram discipleship are documented in the Varkari tradition’s records.
• Audited against Wikipedia (September 2026).