proof that a particular priest is their
hereditary panda. This usually happens
when many years have elapsed between
visits, and the pilgrims may never have
met their panda in person. A panda’s
bahis are thus the sole proof of his rights
to a particular pilgrim group, which
makes these registers extremely valu-
able documents. Most pandas zealously
safeguard their bahis, since anyone with
a copy can claim the pilgrims therein.
The bahis’ importance also gives them a
high market value. They may be used as
collateral to gain a loan and can even be
sold outright. This latter course is
extremely unusual, since for working
pandas their bahis are not only the
source of their livelihood, but also their
family inheritance.
Bahina Bai
(1628–1700) Poet and saint in the
Varkari Panth, a religious community
centered around the worshipof the
Hindu god Vithobaat his temple at
Pandharpur in the modern state of
Maharashtra. Bahina Bai ran counter to
contemporary assumptions not only
because she was a female religious fig-
ure, but also because she was a brahmin
disciple of the shudra poet-saint
Tukaram, an association that inverted
the usual patterns of social status. This is
because a brahmin is someone of high
social standing while a shudra is of the
lowest and least influential class in
Hindu society. According to tradition,
Tukaram initiated Bahina as his disciple
in a dreambecause Bahina’s husband—
a learned brahmin who was highly con-
scious of brahmin status—had
forbidden her to meet with him. Aside
from her devotional poetry, Bahina also
wrote an autobiography, whose content
was heavily influenced by her religious
beliefs. Bahina is notable as one of the
only women bhakti(devotional) figures
who was able to reconcile the demands
of her marriage with her commitment to
God, although these issues were not
resolved without considerable trouble
and heartache. For further information
see Justin E. Abbott (trans.), Bahina Bai,
1985; and Anne Feldhaus, “Bahina Bai:
Wife and Saint,” in Journal of the American
Academy of Religion, Vol. 50, 1982.Bahiryaga
(“external sacrifice”) In Hindu worship,
especially in esoteric ritual tradition
known as tantra, bahiryaga refers to any
type of religious practice involving
actions, words, or the manipulation of
concrete objects. This is the only kind of
worship that most people perform. The
ultimate goal in tantra, however, is to
internalize these acts through repeated
practice and to transform them into
antaryaga (“internal sacrifice”), in
which all external actions have been
replaced by mental acts.Bahudaka
(“having much water”) The name for
one of four particular types of Hindu
ascetics. Each of these four types
reflects the ascetic’s supposed means of
livelihood, which in practice has been
much less important for ascetic identity
than organizational affiliation. The
Bahudaka is an ascetic who begs for his
food at sacred bathing places. The other
three types are the Kutichaka, which
has lower status than the Bahudaka, and
the Hamsaand Paramahamsa, which
have higher status.Bahula Chauth
Religious festival celebrated on the
fourth day(chauth) of the dark, or wan-
ing, half of the lunar month of
Bhadrapada, the sixth month of the
lunar year, which usually falls within
August and September. On this day
mothers perform duties for the welfare
of their sons. They should refrain from
all activity and from eating wheat or rice
(the staple food grains). As a symbolic
indication of allowing mothers to care
for their children, on this day cowsare
not milked, and their calves are allowed
to suckle as much as they want.Bahula Chauth