Bahinabai

Devotion through constraint

Bahinabai’s abhangas reveal a mind wrestling with duty, devotion, and social constraint. Married young, she persisted in her devotion to Tukaram despite domestic disapproval, carving out a space for spiritual autonomy within the boundaries of her life.

Her work remains grounded in lived complexity rather than romanticized transcendence. She explores the difficulties faced by women seeking spiritual fulfillment, using her verses to glimpse an interior life where domestic labor and spiritual aspiration are inextricably intertwined.