Mirabai

(early 16th c.?) A poet-saint who was a
devotee (bhakta) of the god Krishna.
Although little is known about her,
Mirabai’s songs remain some of the
best-known devotional (bhakti) poetry.
According to tradition, Mirabai was
born into a royal family in a small kingdom in Rajasthan. From her earliest
days, she was passionately devoted to
Krishna. Although her parents arranged
a marriage with the scion of another
439
Mirabai
ruler, she considered Krishna to be her
true husband. After extended conflict
with her in-laws—in which they reportedly attempted to poison her—her
release came with the death of her husband, after which she was allowed to
leave her marital home. She spent her
later years visiting places associated
with Krishna and sharing in the “good
company” (satsang) of other devotees.
She went to Dwaraka, the city over
which Krishna is said to have ruled, and
met her end by being absorbed into the
image of Krishna at his temple there.
Mirabai’s poetry is marked by her
expressions of longing for Krishna. She
often speaks of herself either as his wife
or his waiting lover, seeking physical and
mystical union with him. Her poetry is
an intensely personal expression of her
religious fervor; the power of this longing has made her a symbol of religious
devotion. For scholars, Mirabai’s poetry
raises perplexing questions of authorship, for the earliest manuscripts are
several hundred years older than when
she is supposed to have lived, but for
common people the songs bearing her
name are widely popular even today.
She has also been featured in at least ten
feature films, showing the staying power
of devotion even in the modern age. For
further information see A. J. Alston
(trans.), The Devotional Poems of
Mirabai, 1980; and John Stratton Hawley
and Mark Juergensmeyer (trans.), Songs
of the Saints of India, 1988.