
In another version of these legends, she is asked by Vikram Singh to go drown herself, which she tries but she finds herself floating on water. According to the hagiographic legends, she was not harmed in either case, with the snake miraculously becoming a Krishna idol (or a garland of flowers depending on the version). According to a popular legend, her in-laws tried many times to assassinate her, such as sending Meera a glass of poison and telling her it was nectar or sending her a basket with a snake instead of flowers. Both her father and father-in-law ( Rana Sanga) died a few days after their defeat in the Battle of Khanwa against first Mughal Emperor Babur.Īfter the death of her father-in-law Rana Sanga, Vikram Singh became the ruler of Mewar. Her husband was wounded in one of the ongoing wars with the Delhi Sultanate in 1518, and he died of battle wounds in 1521.

Meera unwillingly married Bhoj Raj, the crown prince of Mewar, in 1516. Meera's temple to Krishna at Chittor Fort, RajasthanĪuthentic records about Meera are not available, and scholars have attempted to establish Meera's biography from secondary literature that mentions her, and wherein dates and other moments. Legends about Mirabai's life, of contested authenticity, have been the subject of movies, films, comic strips and other popular literature in modern times. Hindu temples, such as in Chittorgarh fort, are dedicated to Mirabai's memory. These hymns a type of bhajan, and are popular across India. Many poems attributed to Meera were likely composed later by others who admired Meera. Millions of devotional hymns in passionate praise of Krishna are attributed to Meerabai in the Indian tradition, but just a few hundred are believed to be authentic by scholars, and the earliest written records suggest that except for two hymns, most were written down only in the 18th century. She has been the subject of numerous folk tales and hagiographic legends, which are inconsistent or widely different in details. Most legends about Mirabai 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. She is mentioned in Bhaktamal, confirming that she was widely known and a cherished figure in the Bhakti movement culture by about 1600 CE.

Mirabai was born into a Rajput royal family in Kudki (modern-day Pali district of Rajasthan) and spent her childhood in Merta. She is a celebrated Bhakti saint, particularly in the North Indian Hindu tradition. Meera, better known as Mirabai and venerated as Saint Meerabai, was a 16th-century Hindu mystic poet and devotee of Krishna.
