MIRABAI

Zehui Chen
Doctor Weiland
EN 207
November 5th, 2014
MIRABAI
As one of the famous female poets in the world, Mirabai creates many wonderful poems for us. Almost all of her poems are written about her feeling to Krishna. Krishna, an avatar, a young erotic god, is adored by lots of people in India as their belief. Obviously, Mirabai is one member of those devotees. However, in Mirabai’s mind, Krishna is not just a god. To her, sometimes, Krishna is more likes a lover, or a man who she believes she should be married to. Actually, because there are also some sentences that eulogize the strength of Krishna, he should be considered as a mixture of both god and lover in Mirabai’s heart.
Before Mirabai looks at Krishna as a lover, he is a god. The words that describe the strength of Krishna appear more than one time in the poems. After reading all the poems in the book, we can find that Mirabai likes to use the mountains to give people an image that show Krishna is strong. In the poem The Cowherd Who Carries Mountains, the sentence “The cowherd who carries mountains is one for me--I want no one else”（Mirabai, 113), appears as the first part. Here, the cowherd is a stand of Krishna. A cowherd can be considered as a kind, hard-working man. And the expression of “carries mountain” is from an episode. In that episode, Krishna saved the people of Braj from deluge by uprooting and lifting an entire mountain. So, this sentence can be understood as that Mirabai is praising Krishna with his good quality and strength as a god. Then, in the poem I’m Steeped, “I’m steeped, steeped in the dark one’s color”(Mirabai, 114), can also be considered as a description of Krishna’s identity of god, because in Hindu mythology, Krishna in his anthropomorphic form is dark-completed. The skin color of Krishna as a god is different from common humans. Furthermore, in the same poem, I’m Steeped, Mirabai shows her worship and loyalty to the god Krishna directly. For example, the sentence, “Gave up reason, went crazy, kept the company of holy men, found the true form of a devotee”(114), is one of the sentences that Mirabai writes to express her worship. Here, she ensures her position as a devotee of Krishna. And the sentence, “Mira asks her lord who lifts mountains to give her the kind of devotion that seeps with sweetness--that’s luscious, flavorful”(Mirabai, 114) is also has the same meaning. Mirabai gives all her devotion to Krishna, and feels very comfortable in this world that is filled by her belief. In this sentence, the statement that calling Krishna a god who lifted the mountain and showing his strength to the readers appears again.
A woman always hungers for love, and so does Mirabai. In the poem My Sleep’s Rotten, My Friend, she says, “I’ve spent my nights staring at the path my lover will take when he comes me”(112). This sentence tells her readers that she is waiting for her lover and she is hungry,so that she cannot wait anymore. As long as she is married to a man, she still wants to belong to Krishna. She loves Krishna, just like any other woman loves her man. She believes that she should be married to Krishna, and that is her right density. She writes this kind of feeling into her poems. The poem, My Lord Who Lift Mountains is that kind of love letter. In this poem, Mirabai writes down that, “He’s my one true love. The moment I see his form, I’m entranced”(115), and “Our love’s an ancient love. I can’t survive a single moment without him”(116), and “Mira’s master is the lord who lifts mountains--again and again, she sacrifices herself to him”(116). These three sentences directly describe how much she loves him as a man, or her beloved husband. She even wants to stay with Krishna for every second she lives. It seems like without Krishna’s love, Mirabai cannot live anymore. There are also some words that show the readers Mirabai’s love by describing what she would do when she is with Krishna. For instance, “Night and day, I play with him. I keep him happy any which way I can. I wear whatever he asks me to wear--I eat whatever he gives me to eat”(Mirabai, 116), and “I sit wherever he tells me to sit--if he were ever to sell me, I’d be willing to be sold”(Mirabai, 116). Like what she has written down, Mirabai would like to do anything she can for Krishna. These actions are different to the situation that your god calls you to do something for him, and you do it because of your belief or loyalty. It is more similar to the moment that when you find a lover, you try to do something to please him or her.
Besides the mental love that Mirabai has, she also needs Krishna for her body. She desires Krishna’s flesh. She wants Krishna to touch her and sleep with her. This kind of emotion is expressed in the poems too. In Darling, Come Visit Me, Mirabai writes that, “What shall I say? What’s said is no use. Come visit me--quench my body heat”(115). This sentences is a straightforward desire. But in another sentence, there is a metaphor. That is, “A lotus without water, a night without the moon. That’s what you look like without your beloved--me”(Mirabai, 115). Lotus and water, these two things are both the symbols of sex in ancient time. And the moonlight is also like a drug or catalyst that makes Mirabai feels hot in her body at night. So, here is a kind of hidden desire. Whatever the hidden desire or the directly one. The level that how much Mirabai wants Krishna cannot be ignored.
Maybe in some people’s minds, looking at the god they believe as a lover to be fantasized is a disrespectful action. However, it seems like no problem for Mirabai to think so. She divides herself into two parts living in two different periods a day. Just like what she says, “When night falls, I get up and go to him--when day breaks, I get up and return”(Mirabai, 115). She has two characters, in the daytime, she is a common human, a common devotees of Krishna like others. Krishna is just a god during this period. She steeped in his power and talks with other devotees about why she follow Krishna. When the sun goes down, the other Mirabai wakes up. At night, Krishna is her lover both in mind and body. Mirabai cannot tell other people this idea. At this time, she enjoys their love by herself without the distribution from real world. These two identifies of Krishna can be exchanged and controlled by Mirabai. Two feelings are both strong, that’s why she could have so much inspiration to create her poems.
The feeling that Mirabai to Krishna is complex. Krishna is not just a god or just a man in Mirabai’s mind. He plays two roles, sometimes he is the god, the belief, but sometimes he becomes a sexy lover who can comfort both heart and body for Mirabai. Whatever way Mirabai looks at Krishna, she is still a good poet. When she writes down the Krishna as a belief, it looks like the emotion is sacred, solemn and pure. However, when she describe her desire of love to Krishna, the style of poems become sexy and hot. The two different styles brings readers double enjoyment. Meeting Krishna, the mixture of god and lover, seems that there is a new gate opened for Mirabai. Like what she mentions in her poem, “Mira, you’ve found your true attachments--whatever happens now, O let it happens now”(Mirabai, 114). Krishna gives her two bites of poison drink, one bite is faith and the other is love. She gulped them down, then keep both of them in her heart.

Works Cited
Puchner, Martin., and Akbari, Suzanne, eds. “MIRABAI.” The Norton Anthology Of World Literature. New York: W. W. Norton&Company, Inc., 2012. 111-116. Print.

Cited: Puchner, Martin., and Akbari, Suzanne, eds. “MIRABAI.” The Norton Anthology Of World Literature. New York: W. W. Norton&Company, Inc., 2012. 111-116. Print.