Mirabai: Ecstatic Poems

by Mīrābāī, Robert Bly (Translator), Jane Hirshfield (Translator)

Afterword by John Straton Hawley
A stunning collection of poems by Mirabai, the fifteenth-century female Indian ecstatic poet. Like Coleman Barks’s translations of Rumi, this collection of poems by Mirabai will appeal to anyone interested in spiritual poetry. Translator and renowned poet Robert Bly has teamed up with Jane Hirshfield, a leader in the field of feminine spiritual poetry and a highly respected poet herself, to bring us a passionate and inspiring collection of the ecstatic poems of Mirabai.
Mirabai was a figure of legendary proportions. Born a princess in Rajasthan, India, in 1498, Mira (as she was commonly known) fought tradition and celebrated both the body and the spirit in her work. After leaving her royal family, Mira wandered the land and developed a following as a kind of martyr, a poet-saint. She died in 1550 in Dwarka, India, a well-known and well-loved poet throughout her country.
Now, Bly and Hirshfield brilliantly translate this sage’s work so we may enjoy and learn from her wisdom and devotion. Full of drama, passion, and yearning, any reader will appreciate Mirabai’s language and will easily become entranced and inspired by the simplicity with which she expresses deep emotion.

Genres: Poetry, Classics, India, Religion, Hinduism, Mysticism, Spirituality

124 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 1974

About the author

Meera [(ca. 1498-1547)], also known as Mira Bai, was a 16th century Hindu mystic poetess and devotee of Krishna. She is celebrated as a poet and has been definitively claimed by the North Indian Hindu tradition of Bhakti saints.

Meera was born in a royal family of Rajasthan, and her education included music, religion, politics and government. She married Bhojraj the crown prince of Mewar in 1516, her husband was wounded in 1518 and died in 1521 after a Hindu-Muslim battle, her own father died in a war with Babur's army in 1527, and little else is known about her life with any certainty. She is mentioned in Bhaktamal, confirming that she was widely known and a cherished figure in the Indian bhakti movement culture by about 1600 CE. Most legends about Meera mention her fearless disregard for social and family conventions, her devotion to god Krishna, her treating Krishna as her lover and husband, and she being persecuted by her in-laws for her religious devotion. She has been the subject of numerous folk tales and hagiographic legends, which are inconsistent or widely different in details.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Ken]

Truth be told (even if it isn't much in fashion these days), I chose this book despite knowing nothing of the Indian poet-saint Mirabai. It was the names of the "translators" (quotes because they are more correctly called "interpreters" creating "versions"), Robert Bly and Jane Hirshfield.

Mirabai, apparently, was a real woman born in the north of India around 1498. And though she married a mortal, that's about the only acceptable thing she did in the eyes of society, for it was all downhill after that.

Turns out, Mirabai's true "husband" was Giridhara, the Mountain Lifter, the Dark One, better known to you and me as Krishna. To celebrate her love, Mirabai chose song and ecstatic dancing.

Rather than literal translations, then, Bly and Hirshfield go for the spirit of this otherworldly love by offering up versions that show this Ur-Woman's utter devotion to Krishna and disregard for her husband, family, fellow Indians who were appalled.

Here's one by Bly:

The Fish and the Crocodile

When Nand's son with his dark face appeared to me,
I forgot about the world and its duties. I went out of
my mind.
A crown of peacock feathers opened on his forehead,
And I saw the spot of saffron which made my eyes
glad.
Light caught on his earring; his hair curls fell over his
cheek,
Like fish who crawl out of a pond to meet a crocodile.
My Lord has entered the play, and the world is
amazed.
Mira says: I dedicate myself to every arm and leg of
this Lord.


And here's one by Hirshfield:


Awake to the Name

To be born in a human body is rare,
Don't throw away the reward of your past good
deeds.
Life passes in an instant---the leaf doesn't go back to
the branch.
The ocean of rebirth sweeps up all beings hard,
Pulls them into its cold-running, fierce, implacable
currents.
Giridhara, your name is the raft, the one safe-passage
over.
Take me quickly.
All the awake ones travel with Mira, singing the
name.
She says with them: get up, stop sleeping---the days
of a life are short.

[Malvika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, I am a sucker for Bhakti and Sufi poetry. Perhaps because it's one kind of poetry I can really understand or perhaps it's the raw emotions these poems evoke.
As someone who has studied the Bhakti movement, I have been reading Mirabai's poetry for a while now. I particularly enjoyed this version because of Bly and Hirshfield's translations. They are easy to understand and use vivid imagery, the way Mira's poems did in her language. I might not have read Mirabai as extensively as a research student, but I have read enough to say that this is a good one to start with.

[Nuri · Rating 4 out of 5]

The way bhakti works —
you just LOVE
until you and the Beloved
becomes ONE.


Mira is the epitome of Bhakti. She had the Grace to see the Absolute for what it was, and defied the worldly roles asked of her.

"The ocean of life—that’s not genuine; the ties
of family, the obligations to the world—they’re
not genuine.
It is your beauty that makes me drunk."

Mira remained drunk on this elixir of Life, that is LOVE and sought her eternal Beloved throughout the years, and through many lifetimes.

Mira says, My love for Giridhara has lasted
through many rebirths,
Without him I scarcely breathe.
She offers herself to him in all of her lives.

Krishna ultimately merged her in his image. And thus, love sought it's own fulfillment by dissolving the lover of all the worldly obligations.

Reading the Afterword first, would be the right step in approaching this book. I also liked the Foreword by Jane Hirshfield.

These poems are not literal translation, but versions, to more aptly suit the Western readers.

Yet, it's safe to say that the Indian readers will still be able to connect to Mirabai.

True Love is human passion, enlightened with spiritual realizations. It wavers between the oceans of bliss and longing. The Beloved is always there, and yet, not.

Thus, the editors are right in inferring that anyone who has loved beyond reason knows what Mira lived, as anyone who has loved beyond self-interest knows also what Love is. The poems should strike a nerve, more poignantly, with a spiritual seeker, who has risen and fallen in love. In reading Mira, the fallen lover also finds solace and hope.

The structure of the book deals with three parts —
First one celebrates the songs of love for Krishna;
Second part is about lamenting and longing for Krishna;
Third one celebrates the Beloved returns.

As Jane writes, "longing and grief are simply the other face of a love that depends on nothing outside itself, not even its own reciprocation. When the Beloved is present, Mira loves. When the Beloved is absent, she loves."

Her love was endless and unwavering.

Mirabai says: Hari, you keep stealing away. You know Once lovers come together, they should not be kept apart.

In her grief, Mira desires that the Beloved would come to know her pain, only if he became a Lover himself. Mira says :

I will go throw myself into the ocean,
And then I’ll be reborn as Kana.
Krishna will then be reborn as Radha
And learn what it is to be abandoned.

There's a lament in loving a Yogi, for they come depart, and leave behind only sorrow. Meanwhile, the lover grieves for having lost the jewel, and the knife of abandonment pierces their heart.

A deep, divine love chains your mind from wandering to the thoughts of anything else, but love itself.

When you offer the Great One your love,
At the first step your body is crushed.
Next be ready to offer your head as his seat.

And yet, only such a lover is capable of reaching the eternity of love, and transcending the cycles of birth and death.

It is true, Mira has no sense: she is lost in the sweetness.
To take this path is to walk the edge of the sword;
Then the noose of birth and death is suddenly cut.
Mira lives now beyond Mira.
She swims, deep mind and deep body, in Shyam’s
ocean.

Anyone who has borne the brunt of love unreturned, will know of the saving grace, when a certain warmth breathes over them. "The heat of midnight tears will bring you to God.."

The Lover, throughout centuries, has asked of their object of affection, only this —

"She who offers herself completely asks only this: That her Lord love Mira as fully as he is loved."

Another poem that doesn't form a part of this collection —

My love for Krishna is deep
it can never cease to be;
like a withered leaf
grief has made me yellow
but my people feel
jaundice makes me so!

They called a physician
who felt my pulse
and to relieve me
he gave me drugs;
but what can drugs do
when the sickness is love?

Friend, parting's fire makes
my heartburn,
it seems it will break
if Krishna does not come.

Hasten, O Lover,
for I know no peace,
only your coming
can end my grief.

___________________________________

I'm giving this book 4 stars, because I appreciate what Robert and Jane achieved through this book, and also, because their compilation provided inner nectar for me to feast upon. It would be a "3" if I learnt nothing and reviewed only the book for what it looks — simple, readable poems.

But then, it's Mira and one can't dive into the river of spirituality, and not be soaked in wisdom and love.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

If you are new to poetry, this is one of the best books with which you can start.

If you have studied poetry all your life and yet never heard of this book, then make it the next collection you read.

The images are vivid, complex, and internally consistent. He does not shy away from suffering, nor is it simple. Neither does he avoid joy - it also is shown in its complexity. The vernacular is captured lovingly, from "the inside." The characters contained in this poetry are memorable and enfleshed.

Highly recommend.

[Ashok Krishna · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book simply breaks my heart with all the injustice it does to that great Mirabai's poems. Wouldn't recommend this book to anyone!!! :-(

Will share the full review soon.

[Anshika · Rating 3 out of 5]

You feel what she feels! 😇

[cecily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am mad with love, and no one sees

[Shrihari Iyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice book. Gives some background context for Mirabai before beginning the poetry. As for all translated poetry, I think some of the original touch will be gone as a result of translating. But it was still interesting to read and to understand what Krishna meant to Mirabai. It was clear that she was a Krishna-bhakt unlike any other, except perhaps the original Gopis themselves. It also gives some further explanations in the afterword, where the book goes over historical records of Mirabai and the authenticity of poetry attributed to her.

[Aeron · Rating 5 out of 5]

“How can I abandon the love I have loved In life after life?”

Beautiful.

[Brian Wilcox · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recommend one read the Afterword first, giving introduction to Mirabai, poems linked to her name, method of rendition in this book. One finds the poetry of Mirabai is more of archetypal 'person', intoxicated with divine Love, than a historical one; Mirabai herself, while historical, becomes a tradition of verse, song, and acting that cannot be linked with her life but indirectly, as a moving-ever-changing-atmosphere of love-energy and devotion.

The renditions in this tome are rather free in nature, adapted to Western readers. Yet, such liberties is characteristic of the history of writings joined with this ever-changing tradition ~ here, we have traditions, not as fixed, but as flow, and how appropriate, for devotional love is like that. So, in that respect, we could agree with the author of the Afterword, the poems are in agreement with the fluid tradition itself.

I found the poems to be inspiring, a passionate look into the spirit of Bhakti, or love-devotion, characteristic of much Hindu spirituality. For persons who will to feel that sense of daring love, this book provides an apt resource, one offering words and passion to embody for oneself in worship in which love and Other replaces preoccupation with self, so nurturing freedom.

[Jenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book so perfectly combines all the things I love most in literature (a strong female voice; a female character who assertively takes her sexuality into her own hands and actively plays the role of initiator/seeker in her love relationships; an unstintingly vivid, sometimes-hyperbolic depiction of the painful realities of eros and longing; sexuality as a metaphor for spirituality; overtones of Eastern religion and its call to the renunciation of materialism) that it can't possibly be good for me.

[Justin P · Rating 3 out of 5]

Upon completion, I would rate this collection 3.5 stars.

I actually enjoyed the Afterwords more than the translated poems themselves. In this Afterwords John Stratton Hawley gives context for the translations. Through his commentary on the translators’ choices (chosen diction, added words, etc.) I was able to understand the historical importance of Mirabai as a person, and in a larger sense Mirabai as an ideology. This is my first taste of Bhakti literature, and it definitely will not be my last.

[Madhubrata · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a "review" but I'm so struck by the similarities that characterise the spirituality of medieval women across space/culture. Especially thinking of the immediacy (?) that an incarnationist faith offers-how that translates to navigating (often spurring) the world of domesticity. And the way it resonates with us now? A lot to take in!

[Leo · Rating 4 out of 5]

7.5/10

[Corey · Rating 4 out of 5]

15th century female poet who is both earthy and transcendent, often in the same poem.

[Randhir · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's no doubting the authenticity of the poets and the Afterword by John Stratton Hawley is worth the price of the book. Nevertheless, perhaps being an Indian, the translations didn't fully gel with me.
There is so much written about Meera (this spelling is preferred by me). It's also that fact out of the scores of poems attributed to Meera, scholars think only approximately 70 may be authentic. Those with a more rigorous approach feel only two can be directly attributed to her. I only know of 10 poems which, converted into song, are sung all over India. I wish the Authors had translated them more truly, as frankly I couldn't identify some of the poems from her repertoire. Thus while the poems are very readable they do not bring Meera any closer to me

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is erotic - forget Youtube.

[nucu · Rating 3 out of 5]

i liked these a lot but the translation style feels a bit lacking

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume is short and can easily be read in one sitting. That being said, it is better appreciated if consumed slowly, maybe one poem at a time. The structures are simple, but these simple structures support an incredible emotional energy. In the introduction, Mirabai’s poems are described very well. “Mirabai offers in her poems the sheer strength of their beauty, founded in the sharp-edged perception of a person who has opened to her own experience in every dimension. She also offers two central teachings of liberation, each grounded in her fierce and unwavering passion. One is the consummate freedom passion calls up in us, and the other is the surrender of self that passion’s fulfillment requires. In these two ways, Mira demonstrates over and over, the lover meets fully and intimately the energies of awakening. And through reading her poems, we begin to discover that these two teachings are not separate.” (xiv)

My favorites in the collection are the following:

All I Was Doing Was Breathing

Something has reached out and taken in the beams of
my eyes.
There is a longing, it is for his body, for every hair of
that dark body.
All I was doing was being, and the Dancing Energy
came by my house.
His face looks curiously like the moon, I saw it from
the side, smiling.
My family says: “Don’t ever see him again!” And they
imply things in a low voice.
But my eyes have their own life; they laugh at rules,
and know whose they are.
I believe I can bear on my shoulders whatever you
want to say of me.
Mira says: Without the energy that lifts mountains,
how am I to live? (3)

Awake to the Name

To be born in a human body is rare,
Don’t throw away the reward of your past good
deeds.
Life passes in an instant – the leaf doesn’t go back to
the branch.
The ocean of rebirth sweeps up all beings hard,
Pulls them into its cold-running, fierce, implacable
currents.
Giridhara, your name is the raft, the one safe-passage
over.
Take me quickly.
All the awake ones travel with Mira, singing the
name.
She says with them: Get up, stop sleeping – the days
of a life are short. (48)

There is only one line, however, that sticks with me from this collection. In The Heat of Midnight Tears Mirabai writes,
“The heat of midnight tears will bring you to God.” (64) For those that have experience grief, this is perhaps a shared emotional experience.


See my other reviews here!

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fact that these poems were most likely written well after Mirabai lived makes them better. Mira's life story is so sharply at odds with the patriarchal reality (see Ramayana) in India then and now, it provides the perfect palette for discontents to use to express their own desires that it would be dangerous to put their own names to. Seeing these poems as a centuries long chain of ecstatic clamoring to flatten the hierarchy and let love dominate (in Mira's case this part would be quite literal). As we move into a new dark age where our loves will be controlled by the disgustingly wealthy and the fanatically fundamentalists, it's nice to see a candle keep burning through centuries of darkness without being snuffed out, especially a sexy, poetic candle like this one.

[Sally Kilpatrick]

As for the poetry itself, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I guess I'm in my Mystics Era what with having read Julian of Norwich last year or the year before.

If anything, the afterword kinda let me down a bit. Turns out some freedom was taken in translation, and I don't know enough to know how I feel about that--not that I could've read these poems in their original tongue.

Anyhoo, thanks to Sonali Dev who introduced me to Mirabai through a character she'd named after her. Not sure what the title of that book is going to be--it was originally There's Something About Mira--but you'll want to check it out when it's released.

[Matt Miles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mirabai made the bold choice of rejecting marriage, claiming her spirituality made her life full enough. That fullness is explored in her sparse and vivid poems, celebrating the fruits of her choice to live her life on her own terms according to her conscience. Why, she argues, should she settle for less? Or as she puts it:

The earth looked at Him and began to dance.
Mira knows why, for her soul too
is in love.

If you cannot picture God
in a way that always
strengthens
you,

You need to read
more of my
poems

[Fred Dameron · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful collection of worship poems. Mirabai has caught the essence of the love of God and brought it to another level. The problem I had with this collection is I should have read the after notes first. The notes give someone who is not very familiar with Brahmism a quick over view of both the religious, social, economic and political situation when the poems were written. Very usefull information so I reread all the poems and the breadth and feelings came through even clearer.

Good collection and well worth the time.

[Drew · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are so many things to celebrate about this collection: the way the poet bodily experiences love for god, the complementary nature of the two translators Robert Bly and Jane Hirshfield, the elevation of love itself to the heavens, the author's continual self-references even as we know that who the author is may be constantly changing over the centuries. Lust and devotion are not typical partners but in these verses they both know how to follow and both know how to lead. Consider it a forgotten tradition.

[Nadeem]

Her verses are a reminder that true devotion is a path of love, a journey that leads to the divine embrace. In her poetry, we find the echoes of our own spiritual longings, the music of our own hearts, and the boundless joy of divine love.

Her poems are imbued with a sense of transcendence, a longing that transcends the physical and touches the divine. She sees Krishna in every aspect of creation, his presence a constant, comforting presence in her life.

[Arthur Cravan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I dug her even more than Kabir... though my love for Rumi still beats them both, for now. Either way - incredible. The notes at the end made me question a lot. The translation. What they were even translating in the first place. Who was our Mira? It's hard to say. I plan on looking more into it. But however the words I read came to exist - whether I'm thanking Mira or Bly or Hirshfield - that was some real shit. I'm a better person for having come across it. Highly recommended.

[Téa Nicolae · Rating 5 out of 5]

her poetry is sown to my heart:

🕊 Mīrā dances, how can her ankle bells not dance?
“Mīr is insane,” strangers say that. “The family’s ruined.”
Poison came to the door one day; she drank it and laughed.
I am at Harī’s feet; I give my Beloved body and soul.
A glimpse of the One is water: How thirsty I am for that! 🕊

[Michael Patton · Rating 5 out of 5]

It seems Bly and Hirshfield were able to update Mirabai without altering the intention of the poems. By "update" I mean: express the work in a way that helps a modern audience understand Mirabai. I'm not satisfied with my explanation--maybe I should just say: I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in seeing spirituality expressed through poetry.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

"...Be ready to orbit his lamp like a moth giving in to the light,
To live in the deer as she runs toward the hunter's call,
In the partridge that swallows hot coals for love of the moon,
In the fish that, kept from the sea, happily dies.
Like a bee trapped for life in the closing of the sweet flower,
Mira has offered herself to the Lord."

- from "Mira the Bee," Mirabai