I have been reading about powerful female characters lately, and the next famous woman that I have read about is Mirabai. What is interesting about Mirabai is that she was a real person, a princess who lived during the 16th century (at the time when King Akbar was ruling over the Mughal empire). She was a poet and devotee of Lord Krishna. Out of curiosity, I googled when Krishna was alive, and found that he was born in 3227 B.C.E and died in 3102 B.C.E (this means he lived for 125 years!!). By the 16th century (1500s), Lord Krishna had been worshipped for approx. 4600 years!
Here are some of the major events of her life:
- Mira was forced to marry Bhoj Raj in 1516; she had always believed that Krishna was her true husband, and no one else could be her husband
- Bhoj Raj died 5 years after their marriage after accumulating battle injuries
- Her father and father-in-law also died after a few years
- Vikram Singh assumed her father-in-law's position and became the king of Mewar (the kingdom into which Mira was married)
- He, along with Mira's other in-laws, tried several times to kill Mira because they were angered by her devotion to Krishna:
- Vikram Singh asked Mira to drown herself (she survived because she floated)
- She was given a glass of poison and told it was nectar (she wasn't harmed after drinking)
- She was given a basket with a snake instead of flowers (the snake turned into a garland or a Krishna idol, depending on the version)
- Near the end of her life, Mira went on pilgrimages to Dwaraka (Krishna and Balarama's kingdom) and Brindavan (where Krishna grew up)
- She was last seen in 1547 --> some people say that she disappeared miraculously by merging into a statue of Krishna
- Mira dedicated her life to Lord Krishna, and composed many songs celebrating his name
Bibliography: Meera (Mirabai), Wikipedia page, Link.
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