Bhakti Practices from the Subaltern Margins

Indian religious traditions are multidimensional and multi-layered. Though the Sanskrit texts often try to make Brahminical hegemony sacrosanct, some voices from the margins challenge exclusivity. Vernacular medieval *bhakti* poetry has provided a literary platform for the subalterns to articulate their grievances, express spiritual musings, and assert themselves.  Cokhāmelā and his family belonged to an untouchable caste in 14th-century Maharashtra, and their poetry records the discrimination and humiliation they faced. They are assertive about their identity as devotees of Viṭṭhala, the God at Phandarpur, as Cokhāmelā proudly says that he may be of lower caste, but his devotion is not in any way inferior. Given the socio-cultural situation of the medieval period, he could not free himself from the psychological fetters of the tradition altogether and found consolation in internalizing the doctrine of *karma*, which he believed to be responsible for his degraded position.

As a half-male and half-female figure, Ardhanārīśvara has garnered significant academic attention. There is ample scholarship on its iconography, its place within poetry and mythological narratives, and its relationship to philosophical thought. However, content concerning the figure in living contexts is largely omitted. In this connection, academic works have hypothesized, theorized, and/or passingly referenced links between Ardhanārīśvara and peoples affiliated with “third gender” categorization but done little to investigate these purported connections further. To address these lacunas and shortcomings, I analyze Ardhanārīśvara within the devotional lives of related populations; this includes examining its incorporation into Durgā Pūjā festivities by gender and sexuality rights activists and its place within the Kinnar Akhāḍā, a “transgender religious order.” Accordingly, I demonstrate that Ardhanārīśvara is framed as having vindicating ties to tradition while also being innovatively advanced in the pursuit of upward social mobility by those aiming to rectify their marginalization.