Mirabai — The Princess Who Chose the Divine Beloved

Mirabai was born around 1498 in Kudki, Rajasthan, into the Rathore clan of Pali. From earliest childhood she was devoted to Krishna. A merchant once passed through her village carrying a wedding procession with a beautiful idol of Krishna. Young Mira, entranced, asked her mother: "Who is my groom?" Her mother, perhaps in jest, pointed to the Krishna idol. Mira took this with complete seriousness — she had found her husband.

She was married into the powerful Sisodia clan of Mewar as the wife of Crown Prince Bhoj Raj around 1516. But Mira refused to worship Kul Devi — the clan goddess — saying she had already given herself to Krishna. She continued to visit the Krishna temple, to sing and dance in devotion, to welcome wandering saints and sadhus into her presence.

Her husband died within a few years, likely from war wounds. The court expected her to perform sati — the practice of a widow immolating herself on her husband's funeral pyre. Mira refused. She said she had only one husband: Krishna. Her refusal enraged her in-laws. Her brother-in-law Vikramaditya sent her a basket with a cobra, telling her it contained flowers. Mira opened it, prayed, and found — according to tradition — not a snake but a Krishna idol. He sent her a cup of poison. She drank it, singing a prayer, and suffered no harm.

Mira's bhajans — devotional songs — were composed in Brajbhasha and Rajasthani, simple enough for anyone to sing, deep enough to carry the weight of pure longing. "Paayo ji maine Ram ratan dhan paayo" — I have found the jewel of Ram's name — became a song of millions. She wrote of her pain, her joy, her longing for Krishna with a directness that no court poet could match because it was not composed — it was felt.

Eventually, unable to bear the persecution, Mira left Mewar and wandered to Vrindavan — the city of Krishna's childhood — and then to Dwarka. Wherever she went, crowds gathered to hear her sing. In Vrindavan she encountered the great saint Jiva Goswami, a disciple of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who initially refused to meet her because she was a woman. She sent word back: "Is there any man in Vrindavan other than Krishna?" Jiva Goswami rushed to meet her.

The exact circumstances of her death are wrapped in devotional legend — tradition says she merged into the image of Krishna at Dwarka and was never seen again. What remains is her verse: over 1,300 bhajans that are still sung daily across India, expressing a love so complete it had no room for ego, fear, or the expectations of the world.