Mori to Giridhar Gopala doosro na koi

Anupama Nair

These are the words of a great saint Meera Bhai, who was a great devotee of my Lord Krishna. She lived and died for the Lord. Her entire life is a life of devotion and proved the “power of faith”. Most folklores about Meera Bai mention “her fearless disregard for social and family conventions, her devotion to Krishna, her treating Krishna as her husband and being persecuted by her in-laws for her religious devotion. Hindu temples, such as in Chittorgarh fort, are dedicated to Meera Bai's memory. Legends about her life, of contested authenticity, have been the subject of movies, comic strips and other popular literature in modern times”.

Meera Bai was born in 1504 at Chaukari village in Merta District of Rajputana state. Merta was a small state in Marwar, ruled by the Rathores, who were great devotees of Lord Vishnu. Her father, Ratan Singh, was the second son of Rao Dudaji, a descendent of Rao Jodhaji Rathore, who was the founder of the city of Jodhpur. Meera Bai was raised and nurtured by her grandfather. Her education included knowledge of scriptures, music, archery, fencing, horseback riding and driving chariots as was customary for a princess of her time. However, Meera Bai grew up in an atmosphere of total “Krishna consciousness”, which was responsible for molding her life in the path of total devotion towards Lord Krishna.

When she was just four years of age, she revealed her deep devotion to Krishna. It is said “Meera Bai watched a marriage procession in front of her palace. The young child, spotted the well-dressed bridegroom and asked her mother innocently, “Dear mother, who will be my bridegroom?” Her mother smiled, “and half in jest and half in earnest, pointed towards the image of Sri Krishna and said, “My dear Meera, Lord Krishna is going to be your bridegroom”. As Meera Bai grew up, her love for Krishna grew intensely and she believed that Lord Krishna would come to marry her. When she grew up, she became firmly convinced that Krishna was to be her husband.

It is said “Meera was a soft-spoken, mild-mannered, gifted, sweet, and sang with a melodious voice. She was one of the most extraordinary beauties of her time” with her fame spreading to several kingdoms in the country. Rana Sangram Singh, or Rana Sangha, the powerful King of Mewar, approached her grandfather for her hand in marriage to his son Bhojraj known as Rana Kumbha. Bhojraj expressed his desire to marry Meera for her pious nature and devotion. However, “she could not bear the thought of marrying a human being when her heart was filled with thoughts of her Krishna”. But unable to go against her grandfather’s word, she finally consented to the marriage. She left for Chittorgarh, with her husband.

Every day, Meera would go to the temple of Lord Krishna, “worship, sing and dance before the idol of her beloved Lord Krishna daily”. However, the other ladies of the palace did not like the ways of  Meera because they were worldly-minded and jealous. Meera Bai's sister-in-law Uda Bai made a plan to defame Meera and told her brother that Meera was having an affair and heard her talk to a man in the temple. The enraged Kumbha ran with a sword in hand towards Meera, but as luck would have it Meera had gone to her Krishna temple. A sober relative of the Rana counseled him, “Rana! You will forever repent for your hasty behavior and consequences. Enquire into the allegation carefully and you will find the truth. Meera bai is a great devotee of the Lord. Remember why you sought her hand. Out of sheer jealousy, the ladies might have concocted scandals against Meera Bai to incite you and ruin her”. Kumbha calmed down and accompanied his sister who persistently took him to the temple at dead of night. Rana Kumbha broke open the door, rushed inside and found Meera alone in her ecstatic mood talking and singing to the idol.

The Rana shouted at Meera, "Meera, show me your lover with whom you are talking now". Meera replied, “There he sits my Lord who has stolen my heart". Then she went into a trance. She stood unruffled in the face of accusations from the Royal Family. When questioned about her marital responsibilities, Meera responded that it was Krishna to whom she was married. At her reply, Kumbha Rana was heartbroken, but still remained a good husband to Meera until his death.

After his death, Rana's relatives began persecuting Meera in various ways, even though Meera had no desire for the throne. Meera was then sent a basket with a cobra inside and a message that the basket contained a garland of flowers. Meera, opened the basket and found a lovely idol of Sri Krishna with a garland of flowers. The relentless Rana then sent her a cup of poison with the message that it was nectar. Meera offered it to her Lord Krishna and took it as his Prasad. It was real nectar to her. The bed of nails that the Rana sent transformed into a bed of roses when Meera slept on it.

It is said, Meera sent a letter to Goswami Tulsidas and asked for his advice. She wrote, “Simply because I am constantly tortured by my relatives, I cannot abandon my Krishna. I am unable to carry on with my devotional practices in the palace. I have made ‘Giridhar Gopala’ my friend from my very childhood. I feel total bondage with him. I cannot break that bond".

Tulsidas then sent a reply “abandon those who cannot understand you and who do not worship Rama or Shyama, even though they are your dearest relatives. Prahlada abandoned his father, Vibhishana left his brother Ravana, Bharata deserted his stepmother, Bali forsook even his Guru, Gopis the women of Vraja Bhoomi, disowned their husbands to be with their Krishna. Their lives were all the happier for having done so. The relation with God and the love of God are the only elements that are true and eternal — all other relationships are unreal and temporary”.

In the next part, I am going to talk about her later life. Jai Shree Krishna

(to be continued….)