I am continuing from the previous posts. My earlier posts on Meera Bai are here:
Meera reaches Brindavan which is also known as Vrindavan. Here she lives by Onchcha Vrutti(begging for alms for living as done by a Sanyasi), worshipes Lord Krishna in the (now) famous Govinda Mandir. Here she once again meets Sant Raidas who inspires her more towards the path she has chosen. She called Raidas as her Guru.
Once when in Brindavan. Meera seeks the audience of Jiva Gosain, the head of the Vaishnavites in Brindavan. But he declines to see her as he would not allow any woman in his presence. Mirabai retorts saying that everyone in Brindavan is a woman. Only Giridhar Gopala is Purusha. Jiva Gosain thus put to shame, at once goes to see Meera and pays her due respects.
Meera’s fame spreads far and wide. She was immersed in satsang day in and out. She keeps on singing in praise of Lord Krishna.
Rana Kumbha, her husband, now repentant, feeling that her wife was actually a real saint, visits Meera at Brindavan and requestes her to return to Chittorgarh. Mirabai agrees, much to the displeasure of the rest of her family and returns to Chittorgarh.
She resided in the Krishna temple and Rana Kumbha placed no restrictions on her activities as he now understood her devotion.
However soon after, Rana Kumbha dies at a very young age (1520s) in a battle with the Moghuls. This worsens the situation for Mirabai. She is forced to commit sati but she refuses saying that Lord Krishna, her real husband had not died.
After the death of Rana Kumbha, his younger brother, Vikramaditya Singh or Vikram Singh became the king. He was very cruel towards meera. He was also influenced by the rumours and sister's complaints against Meera and attempts to kill Meera many times.
Once he sends her a basket of flowers with a poisonous snake inside. But when Meera opens it she finds a beautiful idol of Lord Krishna with garlands. She was asked to lay down on a bed of nails, but it turns out to be a bed of roses for her. He sends her a cup of poison but it turns out to be nectar.
Tired of their tortures, Meera left Mewar and went to her childhood home Merta.But here her father had died and one of her uncles was ruling the kingdom. He too objected to Meera's ways of living and public display of her devotion. She again fled to Brindavan. Here she is said to have joined a religious groups of sants and sadhus and wandered from place to place on a series of pilgrimage.
Eventually she is said to have settled in Dwaraka. Her devotion to Krishna and her songs became very famous.
Around 1546-47, Udaya Singh (father of Maha Rana Pratap) who succeeded Vikramaditya Singh sent a delegation of Brahmins to bring her back to Mewar. The Brahmins, went to Meera and requested her to come back. When she refused, they sat on hunger strike. so Meera not wanting any harm to be done to the Brahmins, told them that she would seek permission of Krishna. She entered the Krishna's temple in Dwarka.
According to a legend, when Meera entered the temple, and laid her head on the idol of Krishna's feet, there was lighting and the doors of the temple closed on their own. When the doors were opened in the morning, her sari was found enveloping the idol. No one knows what happened to her. It is a popular belief that Meera merged with Lord krishna.
To be continued......
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