Bhakti Beyond Barriers : The Spiritual Partnership of Chokhamela and Soyarabai

This paper focuses on the enlightening partnership of prominent saint poets of the warkari sect of the bhakti movement, i.e., Saint soyara Bai and Saint Chokhamela. Many couples practised bhakti together, but Saint Soyrabai and Saint Chokhamela's partnership brought an accepted practice of feminism among a couple of the Maharashtrian bhakti movement. Their poetry and life trajectories will be analysed with respect to equality and feminism, as reflected in their place within the bhakti movement. The warkari sector of the bhakti movement had a unique understanding of devotion. The story of their deity will also be decoded, along with highlighting the abundance it brought to the bhakti sect of Maharashtra. The spiritual partnership of this specific couple and its relationship with the liberating Padharpur pilgrimage will also be sought after, along with the poetry and life trajectory of the couple. This approach brings a new perspective to the field of Bhakti thought. It further explores the contributions of male and female saints in shaping ideas of gender and the lived realities of a gendered self.