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DI:Personality
Meerabai
Introduction
One of the greatest devotees of Lord Krishna. The daughter of a prince and the daughter-
in-law of a prince, she gave up every thing and faced persecution. Her songs live on the
lips of people to this day.
Mira Bai
Sree Giridhar aage nachungi nach nach piva rasik rizhavu, premi jan ko jachungi!
prem, preeti ke bandh ghungharu, surath ki kachani kachungi !!
Lok laj kul ki marjada, ya me ek na rakhungi!
Piya ke palanga ja powdungi Mira Hari rang rachungi !!
"I shall dance before Giridhar Gopal, I shall dance till he is supremely delighted. I
honor even those who love him. I shall tie round my ankles the tinkling bells of love and
compassion, and wear the dress of His remembrance, and dance. I do not care for honor or
the good name of the family which people consider important. I go and lie in the bed of
my lover, Hari, and enjoy the bliss of His love.
"Sri Krishna alone is my lover. I ha gone mad with grief."
"I will have no peace of mind unless Sri Krishna comes to me."
"Mira is the bond slave and the L is He, Sri Krishna."
The woman who composed this song, who was thinking always of Sri Krishna and desired only
His love, was not a character in a story nor was she a Gopi from Gokula, but a historical
figure who lived about four hundred years ago. She was Mira Bai, the daughter of a king
and the daughter-in-law of a king.
She dedicated her entire life to God and endured all the difficulties of life. Awake or
asleep, all the time she thought only of Sri Krishna. Thus Mira lives in the hearts of
the people of India as the very embodiment of Bhakti (or devotion to God).
Even today people sing the songs of Mira whom, forgetful of everything, was in love with
Giridhar Gopal and offered herself entirely to Him. 'Mira Bhajan' has developed into a
unique tradition in Indian Music.
She was a princess. She lost her mother in her childhood. She married a prince, but she
lost him also when she was young. Her husband's family objected to her worshipping
Krishna. Even the king was against it. They attempted to murder her. But whatever
happened, the same words lived in her heart and on her lips: 'Giridhar is the Lord and
Mira in His servant.'
This is all that we know for certain about her.
People narrate several stories about Mira Bai's life. It is difficult to distinguish
facts from fiction in such narration. Such stories get changed as they descend from
generation to generation. It is not fair to dismiss all the stories as mere legend. Some
details may be wrong but from these tales we can get at least a clear idea about
achievements.
Mira was a devotee of Sri Krishna. She is worthy of being ranked with the mystic; poets.
The mystics give no importance to their personal lives. They see only God in everything
and forget themselves. That is why not much is known about them. Mira too has not said
about her life. She has mentioned in some of her songs that she was from Medatha and
belonged to the family of Doodaji. She has also described in her songs how she suffered
at the hands of the Rana.
We wish we had more informants about this great devotee.
Sri Krishna's Idol in Child's Hands
There are no two opinions about the fact that Mira belonged to Medatha in
Rajasthan. She calls herself in one of her songs a 'Medathani' (a woman who belongs to
Medatha). She has also stated that she is a Doodajini (one of Doodaji's family) of the
Rathod royal dynasty. There were several petty feudal states in Rajasthan. Medatha was
one of them. Rao Doodaji was its Rana. Princes in Rajasthan were usually called Ranas.
Rana Rao Doodaji had four children. The eldest was Beerama Dev and the youngest, Ratan
Simha. Ratan Simha was "a brave warrior. For a long time he did not have children. At
last, by the grace of God, a daughter was born to him. She was named Mira. She was
probably born in 1498. When she was only a child she lost her mother. At that time
there were several kingdoms in India, some large and some small. Besides, it was the
age of the Moghals. Wars were frequent. Since Ratan Simha, the father of Mira, had to
spend most of his time in wars,the child had to grow up in the palace of its
grandfather. Doodaji.One day a procession was passing in front of the palace. Mira was
yet a small girl. People in the procession bowed to the Rana and proceeded.
It was a wedding procession. The bride- groom was very attractively dressed.
Mira saw him. He might have looked like a big doll to those innocent eyes.
"What is that?" She asked her grand father.
"He is a bridegroom," replied he. But the little girl could not quite understand the
meaning of the word bridegroom.
"I too want one like that to play with. Please get me one" the girl said.
What could any one say to such a request of the child? It is but natural of children to
ask for every new thing they see. Without a second word the grandfather brought out a
lovely idol of Sri Krishna and placing it in her hands, said, "Look, my dear, here is
your bridegroom. Take good care of him."
Mira got what she had asked for; what else did she care for? She played with that idol
and behaved as if Krishna was her husband.
This is one story about Mira. There is nothing improbable in it. But it cannot be said
for certain that this is what really happened.
One more story about how Mira got the idol of Sri Krishna is worth considering.
Rao Doodaji had much respect for monks and saints. Almost every day some monk or the
other came to the palace as a guest of honor. Once a hermit called Raidas came to the
palace. He was prominent among the disciples of Saint Ramanand who had spread the
Vaishnava cult in North India. He had a beautiful idol of Sri Krishna. He used to worship
it as his personal deity. Mira saw it and wanted it. She asked for it. She would listen
to no one. She was stubborn and insisted on having it. Who would be prepared to part with
his personal deity just to pacify a child? The hermit left the palace after enjoying the
king's hospitality.
Mira did not stop crying. She gave up food and drink and went on crying for the idol.
Next morning Raidas returned to the palace and placed the idol of Sri Krishna, so dear
to him, in Mira's hands. Her joy knew no bounds.
Greatly surprised, "What is this?" asked Doodaji. The hermit said, "Last night Sri
Krishna appeared in my dream and said: "My beloved devotee is crying for me. Go and give
the idol to her.' It is my duty to obey my Lord's command, that is why I came back
running. Mira is a great person." So saying the hermit blessed Mira and went away.
This is another story. Some scholars say that this happened about the year 1501-2. There
are also people who say that the sanyasi was not Raidas but somebody else. Mira herself
has said in a song:
"My mind has become one with Hari. I can see my path clearly. My master Raidas himself
has given me the pill of wisdom. The name of Hari has been deeply inscribed on my
heart.
Thus Mira has clearly stated that Raidas was her spiritual master. So the story narrated
earlier may be believed. The problem lies not so much in the story as in the name of
Raidas mentioned in it.
Raidas, the disciple of Ramanand, was born in or about the year 1400. The story can be t
rue only if Raidas lived for more than a hundred years. One other important point is
that Raidas was a devotee of Rama. Therefore many persons do not believe that he had an
idol of Lord Krishna. But it cannot be said that he never wor- shipped Krishna and that
he did not have an idol of Krishna at all. Brindavana, Dwaraka, and the banks of river
Jamuna, which are associated with Krishna's life, are places in North India. So naturally
the people there were particularly devoted to Sri Krishna. In such circums- tances, it
would not have been unusual even if Raidas had an idol of Sri Krishna.
Some scholars say that the hermit of this story was only a disciple of Raidas. It was a
tradition to give the same name of the Guru to the disciple succeeding to the Guru's
position. So this view may be correct.
Somehow or the other, the idol of Sri Krishna came to the great tiny hands of little
Mira, as a gift from some holy man.
Sri Krishna became her companion all through her life.
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