Mirabai (1498-1547) is a mystical poetess, singer and saint of the sixteenth century. Her compositions are popular allover India. She was a disciple of Shri Guru Ravidas and composed between 200 to 1300 devotional songs called bhajans. Her bhajans are in the bhakti tradition, and passionately praised Lord Krishna.
Mirabai was born in an aristocratic family of Rajputs at Merta in Nagaur District of Rajasthan. Her mother gave her a figurine of Lord Krishna when she was six years old, with which she always played, sang and talked. In 1516, she was married to the Prince of the Rajput kingdom of Mewar, Raja Bhoj.
Her devotion to Lord Krishna was not acceptable to her husband and his family. She was so engrossed towards her love to Krishna that she often neglected her responsibilities. She even refused to worship the family deity, Durga. She visited the public temples and danced and sang in praise of her Lord with members of all castes.
At the age of 30, Mirabai went on pilgrimage to Mathura, Vrindavana, and finally to Dwarka. She spent most of her time in praying and worshipping Krishna. Her soulful devotional songs are sung in India even today. She was as a saint in the tradition of the Bhakti Movement of the 16th century which followed the path to salvation by devotion. Other saints of this movement are Kabir, Guru Nanak, Ramananda, Chaitanya.
Mirabai was a follower of the Saguna class of worshippers of Brahman. They believed that after death the Aatma (our soul) and Parmaatma (the supreme Aatma or God), will combine. She considered Krishna to be her husband, lord, lover, and master. An exceptional characteristic of Mirabai’s poetry is that she completely surrendered herself to the love of Krishna with the use of subtle erotic imagery. Her writings were both, spiritual and sensual. She strongly believed that in her previous life she was one of the gopis of Vrindavan, deeply in love with Krishna. Like the gopis her sole motive of her life was the spiritual and physical union with her Lord.
Traditionally, Mirabai’s poems are called a pada, a term that was used for small spiritual song by the 14th century preachers. It is usually consists of simple rhythms and contains a refrain within itself. Her anthology of songs is referred to as the Padavali. She used Braj-bhasha, a dialect of Hindi which was spoken in and around Vrindavan in her poems. It is popularly believed that in a state of ecstasy she disappeared in the temple of Krishna in Dwarka and finally united with her lord.
