Born: 1500, Kudaki, India
Died: 1550, Dwarka, Gujarat
Mira Bai or Meera Bai was a princess of Rajasthan, an area in northwest India, celebrated for her lyrical poetry and compositions of bhajans (songs of worship) devoted to the Hindu god Krishna. She formed part of the bhakti movement, which advocated complete devotion as the path to the realization of God.
Mira was the daughter of Ratan Singh of Merta, in northwest India. According to tradition, she was married at the age of 13 to Bhorjraj, the king of Mewar, an ancient Rajput kingdom. Mira, however, considered herself the spiritual wife of god Krishna and refused to worship the gods of her new family. After the death of her husband, she did not follow the Indian tradition that demanded the widow to throw herself upon the funeral pyre of her deceased spouse. Instead, Mira spent her time in devotion to Krishna at the local temple. Harassed by her in-laws, she left her home and spent many years wandering Rajasthan, gaining followers and admirers through her compositions, which she often sang herself.
Mira spent her last years at Vrindaban, the legendary childhood home of Krishna. According to legend, at her death her body physically melted into an image of Krishna. Many other details of her life are also shrouded in legend, but a number of her compositions have survived. Her highly personal bhajans, which describe her yearning for Krishna, form a popular part of the oral poetry tradition of the Hindustani language.
