THE NATIONAL LAW INSTITUTE UNIVERSITY,

BHOPAL

History I Project
‘Gendered Bhakti- The Woman Experience during the Bhakti
Movement’
Academic Year 2015-16

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:

Prof. Uday Pratap Singh Manasvi Tewari
2014BALLB75

Vth Trimester

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 INTRODUCTION

One of the major events which helped shape India’s narrative was the Bhakti movement. It is
believed to owe its genesis in the South of India in the 6 th century CE. It is characterized by
the rejection of the Dharamshashtras as well as social norms and the writings of poet-saints.
There was an overall rejection of any institionalised religion and there was stress on an
individual relation with the divine. It also led to more egalitarian treatment of women and
Shudras who were supposed to be at the bottom of the hierarchy ladder. Female poet-saints
also played a significant role in the bhakti movement at large. Nonetheless, many of these
women had to struggle for acceptance within the largely male dominated movement. Their
struggle attests to the strength of patriarchal values within both society and within religious
and social movements.

RESEARCH PROBLEM

The project restricts itself to the study of the woman experience during the Bhakti movement.
It also attempts to study the lives and contribution of two famous female poet saints and their
struggle to carve out their own niche.

OBJECTIVES

1. To study the life of two female poet saints. (MeeraBai and Akka Mahadevi)
2. To examine their contribution to the Bhakti movement.
3. To analyze and elaborate on the experience of a woman during the Bhakti movement.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

I would be mainly referring to these two books throughout my project also.

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1. Walking Naked: Women, Society, Spirituality In South India by Vijaya
Ramaswamy

This book attempts to maps the spiritual history of women in the context structures through
historical time and space. The study looks at the issues of gender inequalities in the context of
dominance and power and the debates over female sexuality and salvation.

2. Upholding the Common Life: The Community of Mirabai by Parita Mukta

This book attempts to unravel the story of Mirabai, the poet, saint princess of Rajasthan, is
seen in this book as a solitary figure, fighting the might of the Rajput princes by refusing to
accept the king as her husband and conform to the behavior pattern appropriate to a queen
with special reference to use of devotional songs.

REASON FOR CHOOSING THIS TOPIC

Throughout history we have seen women being oppressed and being forced to stick to
societal norms. Women have always been treated as second grade citizens in their own
bodies. It was during the Bhakti movement that for the first time when women were able to
break away from their gender roles. They stopped being a wife, a mother, a daughter and
instead embarked on their own personal journey towards spirituality. I want to analyze the
concept of gendered Bhakti and how an experience of a woman differed during the bhakti
movement.

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