Bhakti, dharma e vairāgya nell’agiografia di Pīpā

Abstract

Pīpā was the rājā of Gagraun in Rājashān in XV century. According to his hagiography, he went to Banāras, following a divine inspiration, and became disciple of Rāmānanda. He left his kingdom together with his youngest wife, the beautiful Sītā, for living the poor and ascetic life of a sādhu . His sādhanā consisted mainly in humble service of bhakta -s, sādhu -s and poor. Although the figure of Pīpā does not have a great relevance in the history of Indian religions, nor in Hindī literature as a sant -poet, his very adventurous life inspired the hagiographers, so that his legend is one of the more extended and widespread of North Indian hagiography. This article focuses mainly on Bhaktamāl and its two main commentaries. The critical analysis of Pīpā and Sītā’s hagiography reveals how in “ bhakti religion” the concepts of dharma and vairāgya were reformulated and entirely subordinated to bhakti . Moreover, the doctrine of the identity of bhakta and Bhagavān is a fundamental key for understanding how, in bhakti movements and, consequently, in hagiography, bhakta-sevā becomes the meeting point of bhakti , dharma and vairāgya , as in the story of Pīpā and Sītā Sahcarī.