Bharud

The name for a specific genre of bhakti
(devotional) poetry, found particularly
among the Varkari Panth, a religious
community centered around the worship of the Hindu god Vithoba at his
temple at Pandharpur, in the modern
state of Maharashtra. The bharud is
essentially a dramatic poem in which
the speaker takes on one or more roles
to convey the message of devotion to
God. It was especially favored by the
poet-saint Eknath, who used the genre
to adopt the personae of women,
untouchables, Muslims, and other marginal people. In modern times these
bharuds have become the basis for popular dramas, usually performed during
the biannual Varkari pilgrimage to
Pandharpur. While singing the songs of
the earlier saints during a pilgrimage is
an important religious act, these modern renditions are mainly for entertainment. The actors playing the roles in
these bharuds frequently add in their
own words and actions, which are often
quite bawdy.