Sant Bahinabai (1628 AD (1551 CE) – 2 October, 1700) was a Marathi woman saint poet and disciple of Saint Tukaram, belonging to the Warkari sect. His maiden name was Kulkarni. Bahinabai, who had a penchant for altruism since childhood, did many pilgrimages with her husband and Maher’s men. Once she heard Tukaram’s abhang in Vadgaonkar’s kirtan and she was stunned. Tukaram gave him a vision in a dream. Later, when he saw Tukaram in person, he accepted his discipleship. However, the idea of a Brahmin woman becoming Tukaram’s disciple was not acceptable to the orthodox. Mambaji tortured him a lot but he did not give up his devotion. The sister used to mention her guru in her abhang. The sister says ‘I met you Sadhguru Sadohar, I am very happy to meet you, I am blessed to have met Tukarama, who made my actions easy.’
Life
Bahinabai was born in 1551 CE at Devgaon (of Rangarya) on the banks of the River Ganga in Kannada taluka , west of Ghrishneswara, north of the Godavari . Her mother’s name is Janaki and her father’s name is Auji. Her parents married her at the age of five to a 30-year-old Bijwara named Ratnakar Phatak, five kosas from the same village. They had two previous children.
Saint Bahinabai had a penchant for altruism and devotion from childhood. Katha – Saint Bahinabai was engrossed in kirtans, listening to Puranas and serving good men. But her attachment to the world decreased and her transcendental attitude increased. The poverty of the home, lack of education, yet the contented attitude and saintly attitude of Panduranga was in mind. The remembrance of names continued. Even while working in the fields, this devotion came out of her mouth in the form of Abhanga. Later, in Kolhapur, Jairam Swami’s Katha Kirtana influenced Sant Bahinabai’s mind. She started chanting Tukarama’s abhang everyday and became obsessed with Tukarama’s darshan. She wanted to seek Tukobaraya’s grace and blessings. So day and night she started meditating on Tukoba. Due to Tukobaraya’s absence before the meeting, they could not meet in person. Finally, after Tukaram Maharaj’s departure, seeing the loyalty of Bahinabai, Tukobaraya came in a dream on Kartik Vdya 5 Saka 1569 and gave her darshan and Gurupadesh in person. Bahinabai’s whole life changed because of Gurubodha. She has described her Guru Sant Tukaram Maharaj and his Guru tradition in her Abhangs. These are abhangs of a poetess who has direct knowledge about Tukaram Maharaj, so these abhangs are of special importance. Describing him, Santkavi Dasganu Maharaj , a great saint of the last century, saint biographer and ‘Shri Gajanan Vijaya ‘, writes, “Look how much authority .. owe her Lord…”. Amongst his abhangas, ‘Sant was graced. The building came to fruition. This very famous Abhang and ‘Ghat Futliavari. The gap between the navel and the navel. After reciting this last abhang, she became samadhi. The Samadhi of this Sadhvi is in the village of Shiur .
732 poems including Abhang, Ovya, Shloka, Aartya etc. are in his name. His poetry is a spontaneous invention of devotion. The exposition of Vedanta is also found in it. Their fragments give an authentic glimpse of Tukaram’s character. Bahinabai raised the issue of ‘Who is a Brahmin’ from her abhang and severely criticized the Brahmins and Brahmins’ orthodox attitude, being a Brahmin herself during that time. Its origins date back to the 17th century, but it became famous in the 20th century. His poetic style is simple and touching.
