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Sacred Poetry from Around the World

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Yoga / Hindu : Vaishnava (Krishna/Rama)

16th Century

India
(Indian Subcontinent)

Mirabai

Timeline (1498 - 1565?)

Poems by Mirabai
Books - Links

Mirabai, Mirabai poetry, Yoga / Hindu, Yoga / Hindu poetry, Vaishnava (Krishna/Rama) poetry, poetry, poetry

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Mirabai is one of India's most beloved poet-saints. Her devotional poetry -- directed toward Giridhara, a form of the great God-man Krishna -- is so intensely personal that it borders on the erotic while, at the same time, it remains transcendentally spiritual.

Mirabai was born into a noble Rajput family in Northern India. She was married to the crown prince of Mewar, but she made it clear that her love was for Giridhara alone.

Many of the tales of Mirabai's life focus on her struggles with her husband's royal family. They apparently did not approve of her constant devotion to God to the neglect of her husband and family. And her preference for the company of wandering holy men was not considered proper for a princess. These conflicts grew to such a point that it is said they attempted to kill her, once with a deadly snake, another time by poison, but she was miraculously saved both times.

When her husband died, Mirabai refused to throw herself on his funeral pyre and eventually took up the life of a wandering mendicant and poet, immersing herself in her love for God alone.

Poems by Mirabai

	All I Was Doing Was Breathing
	Clouds
	Dark Friend, what can I say?
	Friend, without that Dark raptor
	I am pale with longing for my beloved;
	I am true to my Lord
	It's True I Went to the Market
	No one knows my invisible life
	O I saw witchcraft tonight
	O my friends
	Out in a downpour
	The Dagger
	The Heat of Midnight Tears
	The Music
	Unbreakable, O Lord
	Why Mira Can't Come Back to Her Old House

Recommended Books

	The Enlightened Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry, by Stephen Mitchell Amazon.com
	For Love of the Dark One: Songs of Mirabai, Translated by Andrew Schelling Amazon.com
	Holy Fire: Nine Visionary Poets and the Quest for Enlightenment, Edited by Daniel Halpern Amazon.com
	Love Poems from God: Twelve Sacred Voices from the East and West, Translated by Daniel Ladinsky Amazon.com
	Mirabai: Ecstatic Poems, Translated by Robert Bly Amazon.com
	Songs of the Saints of India, Translated by John Stratton Hawley / Translated by Mark Juergensmeyer Amazon.com
	The Soul is Here for its Own Joy: Sacred Poems from Many Cultures, Edited by Robert Bly Amazon.com
	To Touch the Sky: Poems of Mystical, Spiritual & Metaphysical Light, Translated by Willis Barnstone Amazon.com
	Upholding the Common Life: The Community of Mirabai, by Parita Mukta Amazon.com
	The Winged Energy of Delight, Translated by Robert Bly Amazon.com
	Women in Praise of the Sacred: 43 Centuries of Spiritual Poetry by Women, Edited by Jane Hirshfield Amazon.com
	Women of Wisdom: A Journey of Enlightenment by Women of Vision Through the Ages, by Paula Marvelly Amazon.com

Related Links:

	Mirabai and the Pathway of Love http://www.gitananda.org/mirabai/mirabai.html A brief article on Mirabai as an embodiment of the ideal of perfect love for the Divine.

Please support the Poetry Chaikhana, as well as the authors and publishers of sacred poetry, by purchasing some of the recommended books through the links on this site. Thank you!

Poetry Chaikhana Sacred Poetry from Around the World

Mirabai

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Support the Poetry Chaikhana

Poetry Chaikhana
Sacred Poetry from Around the World

Support
the Poetry Chaikhana