Mirabai: Ecstatic PoemsMirabai is a literary and spiritual figure of legendary proportions. Born a princess in the region of Rajasthan in 1498, Mira (as she is more commonly known) fought tradition and celebrated a woman's right to an independent life in her ecstatic poems. Her royal family arranged an early marriage for her, but she felt a marriage to Krishna was more important. As a result, her life became a model of social defiance and spiritual integrity. During her lifetime, Mira's reputation spread across her country. She was known as a woman of immense talent and devotion. By the time she died in 1550, she was considered a saint. People across India recited and danced to her poems, and they still do today. In this collection, Robert Bly and Jane Hirshfield, two of America's best poets, have created lively English versions of Mirabai's poems, using fresh images and energetic rhythms to make them accessible to modern readers. Their work makes clear that Mirabai's poetry transcends her time and culture. Columbia University professor of religion John Stratton Hawley provides an afterword to the volume that discusses what is known of Mirabai's life and reputation. With a historian's precision, he shows how Bly and Hirshfield's versions belong to a tradition of reinterpretation and rephrasing that is already centuries old. Mirabai comes to life through the impressive interpreting of her poems by Bly and Hirshfield. The poems feel as fresh today as they must have felt when this amazing woman sung them herself five centuries ago. |
Contents
I | 3 |
Not Hiding Not Seeking | 19 |
Dont Tell Me No Mother | 28 |
Copyright | |
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absence Amar Chitra Katha ankle bells beauty Beloved Bhaktamal Bhaktirasabodhini Bhojraj Blossoming Bly and Hirshfield Bly and Jane body Braj called claim clouds colors cowherds Cuckoo dance door Dream drum drunk earthly Ecstatic Poems Energy eyes fearlessness feet fish flute gold Gooseberry gopis Gujarat hair Hari's hear heart Heat of Midnight Hindi Hindu holds up mountains holy husband in-laws India Jane Hirshfield Jasmine jewels Jodhpur Kabir Krishna Lifter of Mountains Lifts Mountains lover manuscript dated marriage married Mewar Milkmaid Mira Asks Mira says Mira's Lord Mira's name Mirabai says moon Mount Govardhan Mountain-Lifter Nabhadas night ocean offers peacocks Plums poet-saint poetry poets poison praise Prem Abodh presence Priyadas rain Rajasthan rana readers religious Robert Bly royal sadhus saints sang shame singing Snake Giridhar song spiritual Surdas sweet takes Tansen tell Three Bhakti Voices turns versions Vrindaban Yogi की