« Elle lui parlait comme s’il était un enfant » : la voie de la dévotion maternelle dans les récits des vies des saints vishnouïtes

Abstract

A rereading of selected episodes in the hagiographic literature on the lives of Vaiṣṇava saints through the lens of motherhood reveals the peculiarities of a particular devotional mode, that of parental or, precisely, maternal – not just feminine – love ( vātsalya bhāva). This article considers maternal figures in a selection of narratives from two hagiographic collections in Braj language, the Caurāsī vaiṣṇavan kī vārtā (84VV) and the Do sau bāvan vaiṣṇavan kī vārtā (252VV), which feature, respectively, 84 and 252 members of the Vallabhācaryā community (1479–1531) and their entourage. These exemplary accounts of bhakti (devotion) were likely compiled in the century following the death of the founder of the “path of grace” ( puṣṭimārga). In particular, the analysis focuses on the story ( vārtā 83 of 252) in which a young girl, a childwidow, practices her devotion in the maternal mode, considering the god as her son. From the moment she deviates from this to recall Krishna’s omnipotence, the relationship is shattered. The hagiographic account of the life of the young woman in the story is then contrasted with that of other feminine saints of bhakti who have privileged love in the erotic mode for their male god who is, more often than not, a lover. This opens up broader considerations about women who reject the traditional roles assigned to them in order to enter into a devotional relationship with a god as a lover, rather than as a child. The article concludes that the relationship in the mode of motherly love is one of several possible ways, valued in the devotional expressions of Hinduism, of relating to the god and that while motherhood is not in itself an obstacle to devotion in this community, it is not exempt from difficulties either.