Bahinabai was born in 1628 in a town named Deogaon near Ellora in Maharashtra.
Her father was a village scribe and he married her off at the age of five to a man who was much older than her.
They faced difficult times when Bahinabai’s father ran into debt and the family moved to Kolhapur.
Jayaram Swami, a well-known kirtankar who had closely observed her, told her husband that she was no ordinary mortal but a saintly woman. That was an eye-opener for her husband who had till then ill-treated her.
The couple then moved to Dehu near Pune and stayed in a temple dedicated to Tukaram. Bahinabai felt blessed as she could listen to his abhangs and kirtans all through the day. Legend has it Bahinabai meditated for three days at the end of which Tukaram appeared before her and blessed her. That changed the course of her life.
She transformed as a saint poet and started composing devotional songs. Her fame spread far and wide and she got many disciples. Her poems speak of her troubled life and her regret at being born a woman. Bahinabai died in 1700 in Shirur at the age of 72 years.