Mahadevi Verma was born in Farrukhabad, Uttar Pradesh in a family of lawyers. She was educated at Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh. She was the eldest child and had two brothers and one sister. She was married in 1914 with Dr. Swarup Narain Verma in Indore at a tender age of 9. She stayed with her parents while her husband studied in Lucknow to complete his education, during which time, she received her higher education at the Allahabad University and completed her M.A. in Sanskrit. She later joined her husband in the princely state of Tamkoi around 1920 and later moved to Allahabad to pursue her interest in poetry with agreement from her husband. Mahadevi Verma and her husband mostly lived separately pursuing their respective interests and use to meet occasionally.
After the death of her husband in 1966, she moved permanently to Allahabad and lived there until she died. Mahadevi Varma was deeply affected by Buddhism and also contributed to the Indian freedom movement.
Mahadevi was appointed as the first headmistress of Allahabad (Prayag) Mahila Vidyapeeth, which was started with a view to imparting cultural and literary education to girls through Hindi medium. Later, she became the chancellor of the institute.
The principle theme of her poetry is pain, the pain of separation from the beloved Supreme Being. Many critics compare her to Meerabai, the 16th century Saint Poet. Like Meera, Mahadevi also decided at an early age of fifteen to turn her back on the traditional married life and devote herself to writing. In spite of these two overwhelming similarities, there are striking differences between these two poets. Mahadevi moved Chhayavaad movement one step further by introducing the elements of mysticism in her poetry.
Mahadevi’s prose works show no signs of this painstricken personality. She was a social reformer, a women’s advocate, a cultural and political leader. Her prose reflects her strength in all these areas. The original editor of Mahadevi Sahitya Samagra, Omkar Sharad remarks about her in the introduction: “…being close to Mahadevi, I have also seen the images of Lakshmibai and Meerabai together in one form.” Lakshmibai was the eighteenth century queen of Jhansi, who is well known for her fierce fighting spirit, who struggled against British to save her empire. This dual personality is the key to the meld of mysticism and optimism in her poetry. This becomes evident as we follow her poetic journey. Having rebelled against the tradition and having devoted her life to the quest for learning, eventually this quest became a form of abstract worship for her.
Mahadevi Verma’s creative talents and sharp intellect soon earned her a prominent place in Hindi literary world. She is considered among the four pillars of the Chaayavad movement. Her poetry collection Yama (1940) received Jnanpith, the highest Indian literary award. In 1956, Indian Government bestowed her with the title of Padma Bhushan. She was the first woman to be made a Fellow of the Sahitya Akademi, in 1979. In 1988, Indian Government bestowed her with the title of Padma Vibhushan posthumously. She passed away on September 11, 1987.
