The discussion in this paper seeks to understand this phenomenon in the background of the social atmosphere of the times these women lived in and the impact they seemed to have made, the legacy they seemed to have left behind for the many after them. The complexity of the then exisiting social order, the tensions in the understanding and imagination of spiritual ideas and their s=translations in the structure of the emerging languages, the already existing role of women in the spiritual sphere- all play very significant roles in understanding the lives, the works and the resolve guiding these women. In the course of the study the relations of gender and sexuality with spirituality shall be looked into in greater detail, while also trying to grasp the understanding of the gender in some prominent Bhakta traditions as well. There shall be the use of verses from major figures in these traditions to augment the arguments put forth and some time shall also be spent in understanding how spirituality, or the quest for release, was and continues to be different for women than for men.
Meena Khandelwal, in one of her seminal works on the idea of sanyasa, addresses the questions of gender and renunciation rather comprehensively. She highlights the idea that the woman's role is perceived to be confined to the household, as the wife and the child-bearer or the mother. For her, therefore, renunciation has two meanings- one in terms of the spirit and the other in terms of the political statement. Khandelwal's woman renunciate sends out a strong political statement and flouts her societal duties by choosing the path that steers away from the household- from motherhood. For her, it is therefore glaringly true that even though transcendence from the superficial ideas of gender is sought in traditions such as Bhakti, men and women look at spirituality differently and embark on the spiritual journey in different ways.