09/07/2025 14:00
- 16:15
HALL: Personalentwicklung Seminar Room
Chair:
Boisvert M.
Proponent:
Boisvert M.,
Dimitrova D.,
Pasche Guignard F.
Speaker:
Boisvert M.,
Dimitrova D.,
Pasche Guignard F.
In 16th-century Braj, Northern India, a profound shift in Hindu devotional practices and attitudes emerged: the divine began to be approached through anthropomorphic modes modeled on human relationships. Friendship and romantic/erotic/amorous bonds became considered as potent ways of connecting with the divine. Authors, philosophers, theologians and poets, such as Vallabhacarya, Surdas, Mirabai and Agradas advocated for cultivating a feminine identity to establish either a deep friendship (sakhi with Radha (Krishna's principal lover) or Sita (Rama's wife)—a practice aligned with the homosocial norms of the time, where friendships were formed between those of the same gender—or an intimate romantic relationship (madhurya-bhava) with Rama or Krishna. Here too, adopting a feminine identity was crucial for maintaining a socially accepted connection with a male deity.
This panel aims to explore, first, the historical context and devotional literature linked to these new models of devotion, especially texts attributed to the Vallabha tradition, Surdas, and Mirabai, to better understand the rise of these practices in the 16th century. Second, it seeks to examine contemporary "sakhi" practices and figures, aiming to determine whether we can speak of a third and devotional gender in modern Hinduism.
Florence Pasche Guignard, Universite Laval, Faculty of theology and religious studies, Quebec, Canada
Title: "When the devotional and embodied genders do not match in the varta of the Vallabha tradition"
Diana Dimitrova, Universite de Montreal, Institut de theologie et de sciences religieuses
Title: "Gender Fuidity in the Devotional Poetry of Surdas and Mirabai and in the Poetic Imaginary of the Sakhi Sampradaya"
Mathieu Boisvert, Universite du Quebec a Montreal, Departement de sciences des religions
Title: "Contemporary 'Sakhi' of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh"