Bahuchara was born in the Detha clan of Maru-Charanas in Ujala (Ujlan) village in present-day Jaisalmer district.

Bahuchara was one of the eight sisters, thus named: Bahucarā, Būṭa, Balāla, Vīru, Hīru, Rāmeśvarī, Khetū, Pātū.

Her mother Deval is herself considered a sagat and worshipped as a patron goddess by Detha Charanas and Sodha Rajputs.

Enraged at the attack, Bahuchara and her sisters proceeded to commit trāgā, a Chāraṇa practice of suicide by ritual mutilation, and thus cursing Bapiya to lose his manhood and become a eunuch.

[8] Thus, Bahuchara came to be worshipped in the Chunwal town, now known as Becharaji; Būta-Bhavānī at Arnej, near Kot; and Balāla Devī at Bakulkoo, near Sihor.

[9] The sacrifice held annually on Ashvin Vad 14 was described thus: "The Kamalias used to bring the buffalo in front of the temple to a stone altar ... Kumkum was applied to the forehead of the sacrificial beast and it was worshipped with flowers.

A white cloth was spread over the back of the beast and a garland of flowers from the angi of the goddess was put around its neck.

The buffalo was then let loose and if it smelt the lamp, it was considered to be acceptable to the goddess, and was at once slain, if possible at one stroke of the sword by one of the Kolis of the temple villages.

She stopped by a pond and then took a dip, and by goddess Bahuchara’s blessing, was transformed into a man and was able to fulfill her marital and Rajput duties.

However, both before and after the Gaekwad conquest, local land control was in the hands of powerful landholders or garasiyas including Kolis, Solankis and Thakardas.

In 1859, Sayajirao Gaekwad of Baroda appointed a southern Brahmin, Narayanarao Madhav, to conduct temple rituals instead of a Rajput.

While the main worshippers of goddess were non-Brahmin groups, literature used by the temple in modern times is mostly written by Brahmins.

However, he also relates that the first shrine on the site was built by local pastoralists:Where Bahuchara’s temple now stands used to be a jungle, in which a mahant (religious mendicant or priest) lived.

This iconography symbolizes a balance between violence (sword), creation trinities (trishul), knowledge (Shri scripture), and blessing (abhay hasta mudra) in Bahuchara Mata's mythology.

The sword signifies her self-sacrifice, the trishul represents the balance of creation principles, and the scripture reinforces her legitimacy in the Charana caste.

Moreover, the pseudo-divine status of the Charana community meant that Bahuchara’s curse was legitimized by virtue of her being a Charani and not only, in fact, because she was a Goddess.

Adjoining this is another small temple, the madhya sthan (second or intermediate place), which houses an incised plaque representing the goddess and has a locked silver door at its entrance.

In 1779 CE, Manajirao Gaekwad, the younger brother of the Maratha ruler of Baroda, built a third structure close to the original shrine after the goddess cured him of a tumor.