Pandharpur Wari, the annual pilgrimage procession to honour the Hindu god Vitthal, reaches Pandharpur, Maharashtra, today during the Ashadi Ekadashi. This event involves the placement of the padukas—ancient forms of footwear—representing the saints Dyaneswar and Tukaram from their respective shrines in Pandharpur. Lakhs of devotees of Vitthal, called Warkaris, undertake this deeply personal and passionate yatra by foot.
When examining the contributions of Dalits in the Bhakti and Warkari movements, a recurring theme emerges: their ability to overcome oppression and excel in various areas of social impact, including law, politics, and education. Two Dalit Bhakti women, Sant Soyarabai and Sant Janabai, were integral to this movement along with Sant Dyaneswar and Tukaram. In the 13th century, Soyarabai was writing devotional poetry about Vitthal whose temple she was not allowed to enter because she was a Dalit. Their importance and contribution to the Bhakti movement is immense.
In our book, Makers of Modern Dalit History, we have extensively researched these remarkable women. Their lives offer valuable contemporary lessons for India in its pursuit of liberty, equality, justice, and fraternity. Both these women were not, directly or indirectly, involved in any grand initiatives of change; nor were they equipped or empowered with worldly skills or education to do so.
Nevertheless, their unmatched contributions to the Bhakti movement have been immortalised. Although the epithet ‘Sant’ was largely used for male spiritual ideals, both Soyarabai and Janabai have been revered as ‘Sants’ due to their significant contributions.
Also read: Saints, bhakti movement played major role in laying foundation of the freedom movement, says PM Modi
Sant Janabai and her poems
The advocates of the Bhakti movement placed more emphasis on reverence than resistance, yet the subtle undercurrents of a movement against the prevailing system were present throughout their words and actions. These religious revolutionaries, in their own way, provided opportunities for the depressed classes to feel as comfortable paying obeisance to God as the privileged classes did.
According to Sandhya Mulchandani’s book, For the Love of God: Women Poet Saints of the Bhakti Movement, Sant Janabai expressed in one of her poems: “Let me undergo as many births in this world as you please, but grant that my desires are fulfilled. My desires are to see Pandharpur and serve Namdev in every birth. I do not mind if I am a bird or a swine, a dog or a cat, but my condition is that in each of these lives, I must see Pandharpur and serve Namdev. This is the ambition of Namdev’s maid.”
These saints wrote poems and songs about God, and their works also shed light on the discontent and misery felt by the ‘lower castes’. Sant Janabai, for instance, voiced through her poems ‘the double injustice of being a woman and a shudra.’ She was excluded from receiving knowledge of the scriptures.
However, if one were to study and research her poems today, they would serve as a collection of her life experiences and her interactions with other saints. Janabai wrote over 300 abhang (devotional poems), many of which are still sung today, often during foot processions to Pandharpur. People consider singing her bhajans as a way to remember God through their activities.
Sant Soyarabai, Chokhamela, Vitthal
Another inspiring devotee of Vitthal of Pandharpur was Sant Soyarabai. Her story speaks of how even ruins can lead to transformation. Not only was she instrumental in Sant Chokhamela’s life, but she also instilled noble virtues in their son, Karmamela. Soyarabai was a powerful example of leading one’s life with integrity and honesty. In offering their devotion to Vitthal, Soyarabai and Chokhamela formed a special bond.
Soyarabai used to accompany Chokhamela on his yatras to Pandharpur. It was during one of these yatras that she met Janabai, who became not only her mentor but also her sister. What stood out about Soyarabai was her calmness and her ability to experience the divine in everyday life. One story from her life is that once while returning from Pandharpur, Chokha and Soyarabai saw an elderly couple walking wearily and unsteadily with loads on their heads. Soyarabai rushed to help, not thinking of what others around them would say. After all interacting, with someone from a lower caste was considered taboo. She gave them water and comforted them, seeing the divinity in them. The mark of a true devotee.
She too began writing poems after her visits to Pandharpur and her impressions thereof. According to Leela Gole’s book on Sant Chokhamela, Chokha Bhakticha Soyara, when an upper-caste Vaishnav visited Soyarabai’s house and stood at its entrance, having heard her singing bhajans, he thought he would ask her for something to eat or drink. Soyarabai found it unusual to offer something to an ‘upper-caste’ man but rushed to get him some curd rice. Before he left, the man blessed her and placed some of the rice on her open palm. It turned out that she was pregnant during the next Ekadashi.
It was something she had wished for a long time, and she believed that this was nothing but Vitthal’s grace showered upon Chokhamela and her. According to her, Vitthal had come to her place disguised as the Vaishnav and had given her his blessings. In her life, she drew tremendous inspiration from Namdev and Janabai. Her conversations with them and Chokhamela enabled her to experience God in various ways.
The contributions of both these women saints to the overall Dalit movement cannot be overlooked. Their lives offer lessons for all. They were catalysts for social equity through bhakti (devotion). The practice of ethical values, the perception of universal equality, bhakti, and love became the four tenets of the Warkari movement. Both believed that these values would inspire and guide individuals on the path of personal growth.
They challenged the popular notion that only certain castes had the privilege to worship God, asserting that all were considered fit for this privilege. Their love for Vitthal was unparalleled. Their lives epitomise hope, faith, and justice for all. They both positioned devotion as an equal alternative to ritual and philosophy. The Warkari movement, as we know it, has been a tremendous social enabler for Dalits. Essentially, their lives signify a lifelong peaceful struggle against caste-based discrimination at the grassroots level. They led from the front to overcome social divisions solely through unwavering devotion.
Sudarshan Ramabadran is an author and researcher. Guru Prakash is the national spokesperson of BJP. Views are personal.
(Edited by Ratan Priya)