BHAIRAVI BRAHMANI

Bhairavi Brahmani, also known as Brahmani or the Bhairavi, was a wandering nun whose birth name was Yogeshvari.  "Bhairavi" means a nun of the Tantric sect.  "Brahmani" means a Brahmin woman; she was from a Brahmin family from the district of Jessore in Bengal.

It is not known if the Bhairavi was ever married, or under what circumstances she decided to renounce the life of the world and become a wanderer. 

In 1861, she initiated Sri Ramakrishna into the disciplines of Tantra and was the first to proclaim him an avatar.  In this way, she played an important part in the initial spiritual development of Ramakrishna.