#meera bai

[hum-suffer]

"You never loved me." She wails, her eyes a bleeding red that he can't face. She's kneeling at his feet and he's frozen in the light of the accusation that marks his skin whipped with every word.

She doesn't see it, of course. Her grief and ache blinds her.

He kneels, eyes burning with tears as he holds her as desperately as she sobs. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

His and her pain are both entwined and it's a physical ache in his heart.

"You are the perpetrator of the universe," she says,"Help me. I beg of you. Please."

He holds her tighter still, for she needs to be held together as she breaks apart. "I am here. Here. I won't leave you. I will never leave you. I will always, always be with you."

"Then love me!" She screams, and the kaustubh jewel on his chest leaves an impression on her forehead as she slumps in his arms. "Protect me! Let me be happy. Please, just love me, please, please. Please. Love me."

She's sniffling as he begs her to believe him. Believe in him. "I do. I've loved you for yugs, I've loved you since before you were born, I've loved you before you knew of me and I will love you even if you never love me. You are a part of me. I love you, beyond illusions and beyond doubt."

Her nails are leaving tiny red scraps down his arms but she's trembling still. "You are a God. How can you ever love me?"

"I am your Krishna first." He says and she sobs harder.

It's guilt instead of grief now, but he holds her all the same.

[janaknandini-singh999]

Meera Ke Prabhu Girdhar Naagar

Krishna looked on

As he had looked on when she had been given poison which turned to nectar when she offered it to him

As he had looked on when snakes were thrown at her but again she offered it to him like flowers and it turned into a garland

It was just his murti that looked on

But for Meera it was really him

How else would she be saved from death's grasp every time if it wasn't Krishna himself looking out for her?

She sang to him as she always did but tonight there was a sad undertone

She had had enough

Despite being the queen, she was constantly harassed by her devar

She remininsced about her husband who she respected. He let her do her duties and then spend the rest of the time in the temple of the Mahal with her beloved Krishna. But after his death, she was being tormented by his brother.

She folded her hands to Krishna's murti and then at the jauhar kund where her mother in law, the late Maharani, had done jauhar with thousands of other women when Akbar had attacked Chittorgarh

"Mother, not everyone can do what you did. Not even me. You held on to your honour till your very last breath. But jauhar is done by those when the invaders close in with their egos. What about those who are attacked by their own family? There is no such pratha that can save them. My husband, your son, was a benevolent king. But your other son.. If I commit Jauhar my image will be tarnished forever because there are no invaders. Jauhar is done by those who have no other hope, mother. But I have one." she turned to look at her Krishna with teary eyes

"The only element I'd let myself to be consumed by is him. My only hope since birth, to death, is him."

"Maharani" a daasi entered the temple and curtsied "I apologize for interrupting your prayers."

Meera didn't turn around but she closed her eyes and nodded as the tears rolled down

"Your highness, you really need to leave. He is on his way back to the palace. I can't see you-" she stopped herself as she was about to mention Meera's bruises and scars caused by her brother in law's abuse

It was a wonder indeed because when the daasi had seen them for the first time and pointed it out Meera had calmly replied that she didn't feel a thing because she was thinking of Krishna

"Why does your Krishna allow so much pain in your life?" the daasi's voice cracked on seeing her queen like this so she looked away

"No. Not a word against him. I would've been long dead if it weren't for him." Meera put a hand on her shoulder and smiled

"You should ask him to hold you with him forever, away from it all"

"Maharani!" A soldier came huffing and curtsied rigidly "Sincere apologies but they're on the horsebacks and can arrive any moment now."

Meera stood up hurriedly and collected her pooja samagri, dashing. But just at the gate, she stopped

"Does running away make me a coward?" She whispered

"No, maharani. You are going to your lord." the daasi said

"No no no wait! What about YOU ALL?" Meera's voice rose and suddenly an arrow whizzed past them

"DON'T worry about us, Maharani! Just GO PLEASE AAPKO SHRI KRISHN KI SAUGANDH!"

The soldier winced in pain as an arrow was shot again which lodged itself in his arm.

The daasi almost shrieked but carried him over and dragged him outside.

Meera saw a lover's spark between the two and despite the situation she smiled. She silently prayed to Krishna for their protection

And then she ran

She ran and ran and ran throughout the villages, the jungles, her feet and knees getting scraped, she went on for days without food or water and she ran

"I'm waiting, sakhi" a voice breathed in her ear

Finally she reached Dwarka and broke down at Dwarkadheesh's feet

A few days were spent in bliss as she became the poet she was meant to be

But not for long because they followed her even there

The time had come

She took a last, long breath in front of the murti

And closing her eyes, she folded her hands

"Swami. The world has never understood me. It has only given me agony until I met you. The only love I've ever felt is when I've thought of you. So I did. Until you became every thought of mine, written on every breath of mine. The only thing I've ever longed for is to be associated with you for as long as the kaal chakra goes on, my name be taken in the same breath as your name. But who am I? I'm not your lover who you'd playfully burst the maakhan matki of, I'm not your wife who you'd immediately, fiercely, desperately ride on your chariot to rescue. I'm not even a devotee like Hanuman ji who had the opportunity to be alive in the same yug to serve his God. Who am I to be yours? But where else am I to go? I can't survive in any place which isn't your heart.

The world has come to get me again so I come to you. And I won't breathe until I reach you"

She started walking to the murti, holding her hands out as alms

The tyrants were upon her now but suddenly they were dazzled by a bright light

And then a divine hand extended out to her, he smiled with tears streaming all the way as Meera immersed herself completely in Krishna

The light vanished. They opened their eyes again and were baffled to see Meera gone.

Except her dupatta that swayed peacefully from the side of the murti

Centuries later

"Mother! Whose is that?" a small voice pointed excitedly

The woman looked on and recognized Meerabai's dupatta

"The legendary poet bhakt of Krishna, child. Her name was Meerabai."

"Was she married to him?" curiosity sparked in her eyes

The woman thought for a bit. It wouldn't be that simple to explain to her little daughter the leelas of Shri Krishna with his many wives and lovers.

The girl looked at the murti now "Did they both love each other?"

"Yes" the woman answered, smiling

"Of course" her daughter nodded, completely satisfied "Just look at him! Who wouldn't fall in love with him?" as she laughed and swooned, swinging around a nearby pillar as Meerabai's dupatta swayed higher and touched the little girl's head

Meanwhile, Krishna grinned at the whole scene as Meera joined her, laying her head on his lap as she whispered

"It feels like I've waited for you since forever."

"I know, love. And I have, too. But I've been with you all the way. It broke my heart to see what they did to you." He kissed her forehead

"You are safe now" As he held on tight to her for eternity

Not just two lovers, but the union of two forms that go back to the same source to begin with. The river finally meeting the sea, the rain kissing the soil, incense embracing the ambience and far away just a besotted finally flying to the muse

Meera uniting with Krishna

[teaah-art]

Desi LGBT Fest 2023 (hosted by @desi-lgbt-fest)

Day 7 : Faith/Rituals of Love

Definitely geared heavily towards the 'Faith' part of this prompt as soon as I read it!

If being Queer is defying conventions and if being a part of the Queer community means going against heteronormativity and gender conformity, is it not Queer to forego materialistic ties and the love of a human partner and embrace the love of a greater being you have only heard about in stories?

All four individuals featured here were integral part of the Bhakti Movement and/or Sufism in South Asia. None were married other than Meerabai.

(Panel order from top to bottom)

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486-1534) : A key name of the Bhakti Movement and the Gauriya Vaishnav tradition in 15th Century Bengal, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was believed to have been a vessel for both Radha and Krishna. Bengali doesn't use pronouns or gendered language and we may never know what they would have preferred to be identified as in a language they didn't know (English), I will simply resort to using They/Them for them. Their written teachings are few and far between but the verse mentioned here is the seventh verse of the only written record of their teachings, the Shikshastakam - a collection of 8 total verses. The translation here is my own and quite literal so that the interpretation is left to the reader.

Meerabai (1498-1597) : [CW : IMPLIED QUEERPHOBIA/APHOBIA] Meerabai was born into Rajput royalty and was married off, also to Rajput royalty, in likely an arranged marriage. While most of the stories surrounding her are folklore whose historicity is yet to be confirmed, her marital status can be confirmed, and so can her devotion and affection for Krishna and the divine, which she has herself penned in numerous poems and songs. Folklore does strongly imply that she was non-committal to her marriage and that her in-laws tried to poison her to death multiple times for it.

Kabir (1398–1448 or 1440–1518) : Found as an orphan by a Muslim weaver couple, Kabir's religion grew to become somewhat of an enigma for future generations. His stance, however, on the topic romance and marital relationships is quite clear - he looked down upon them and a huge chunk of his couplets strongly imply that romantic and sexual relations simply obstruct spiritual enlightenment.

Bulleh Shah (1680-1757) : Bulleh Shah, though an ardent proponent of loving the divine, was declared a Kafir, a non-believer/non-Muslim by a quite a few Muslim clerics of the time. He was known for speaking up against existing power hierarchies of the time and used vernacular speech for his writings (Punjabi, Sindhi) which not only served to popularize his works, but also let people connect to his words.

A personal note on my motivations under the cut.

A while back when I was actively going through the anxiety of finding out that I am ace and that I will never fit into the current South Asian society that the wedding industry has a chokehold on, I desperately wanted to see people from my own culture living happily without a partner. During one of my history rabbit hole escapedes, I restumbled upon the story of Meerabai, how she always insisted on loving and devoting herself towards Krishna, despite being married into a normative and wealthy household and despite her in-laws repeatedly attempting to poison her for not committing to her husband. Most of us from India grow up hearing about Meerabai, her spiritual connections to Krishna, and her struggles. The moral of those stories is always framed as 'believe in god, he will help you through tough times'. But this was the first time I was making a different connection, I was drawing different morals. And when I took Meerabai's non-conformity to her married life and started looking for more examples like hers, I was overwhelmed by how many more individuals existed without a partner, condemned being in a normative, married relationship, admitted to having lost human connections and faced resistance even, and yet stayed true to their orientation and sounded HAPPY! It was extremely hard to narrow it down to these four, but these do make my point! Labels are hard to transpose across cultures and history. But if being queer means being nonconforming of marital structures and being aspec/arospec implies neutrality, indifference, or aversion to romance and intercourse, then no one fits the label if they don't.

[krishna-premi]

Want to be her so bad sometimes

[krsnaradhika]

Gopissssss hear this if you haven't already. My soul literally descended into another realm I AM FREAKING OBSESSED THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN WAYYY LONGER ARGHHHHHHH—

[jayshriram2947]

मीरा के प्रभु गिरिधर नागर हर्क हर्क जस गायो पायो जी मैंने राम रतन धन पायो

श्री कृष्णा गोविंद हरे मुरारी हे नाथ नारायण वासुदेवा

एक मात्र स्वामी सखा हमारे हे नाथ नारायण वासुदेवा

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय🦚ᕫ🙏

[wewaitinthatspace]

ok but meera bai was the og fangirl

[khudrang]

Mirabai and Krishna

(click for better resolution)

Hark! The Dark One speaks of his most beloved:

O Meera! The bounty of love, the chalice of desire,

Why, pray, do you beg for the nectar from my lips?

Your words, through the centuries, have carried more nectar

Than could ever suffice inside this humble cowherd

Why then, must you await my footsteps

When your strains have brought milllions of them to my threshold?

O Devotee! Some may call you deranged, mistake your courtship for madness

But who else would give up the body adorned with jewels

Sitting on a throne, but the wisest of all?

Know this, Dear One,

that love that you wait on

the one needed to unfurl yourself,

is ever-present

sometimes beside you, sometimes inside you.

-destiny

edit and poem by me

(text at the bottom right reads:

mere toh giridhar gopal doosro na koi

jaake sir mor mukut mero pati soyi

mine is giridhar gopal, no other is mine,

the one who bears the peacock feather on his head is my husband)

[krishpremi]

Mero to girdhar gopal dusro na koi.......

Prem se bolo Radhe Radhe

💛❤️💛❤️💛

[thehindudeities]

The Power of Bhakti: Devotion and Worship in Hindu Mythology

Devotion, or Bhakti, is a fundamental aspect of Hindu mythology and plays a significant role in the lives of millions of people worldwide. It is a deep and profound form of love and reverence towards the divine. In this blog post, we will explore the power of Bhakti, its significance in Hindu mythology, and how it influences the lives of devotees. Join us on this spiritual journey as we delve…

[theartvedas]

Meera Bai's unconditional love & devotion towards Lord Krishna has been an inspiration for generations .... dive deep into bhakti like Meera.

Adorn your home with religious divine figurines that will brighten up your ambience with utnost positivity!

[kalyanix]

[krishna-premi]

made kanha lunch yesterday for gokulashtami it made me so happy 😭

[reverseswing]

GUJARATI POEM - Gujarati language is slowly and steadily losing its sheen and shine. Through the poem, the language narrates her pain, and appeals to the Gujaratis to help her survive the test of time.

હું, ગુજરાતી ભાષા.

શું મને જોઈ મલકાયા? 

કે મને જોઈ શરમાયા?

હું, તમારી માતૃભાષા.

શું મને જોઈ અચરજ પામ્યા?

કે મને જોઈ ગુંચાયા?

હું, તમારી રોજિંદી ભાષા.

હું, ગુજરાતી ભાષા.

હું, તમારી માતૃભાષા.

નરસિંહની વાણી,  નર્મદની કહાણી.

મીરાનું ભજન, બાપુનુ કથન.

અખાના છપ્પા. કલાપીની કવિતા.

હું, ગુજરાતી ભાષા.

હું, ગુજરાતની ભાષા.

હું, ગુજરાતીઓની માતૃભાષા.

હું તો થઈ જૂની વાણી.

હું તો થઈ જૂનવાણી.

મને બોલવા, મને સમજવા,

મને વાંચવા, મને સાંભળવા,

ના કોઈ ઉત્સુક, ના કોઈ ઈચ્છુક.

હું, ગુજરાતી ભાષા.

હું, ઍક ઝબૂકતી જીજ્ઞાસા.

હું, પળ પળ બૂઝતી આશા.

હું, તમારી માતૃભાષા.

ક્યાં ગયા મને વખાણનારા?

ક્યાં ગયા મને બિરદાવનારા?

કયાં ગયા મને પ્રેમ કરનારા?

ક્યાં ગયા મને સાચવનારા?

હું, ગુજરાતી ભાષા.

ગઈકાલની સંસ્કૃતિ.

આજે બની ગઈ આકૃતિ.

 શું આવતીકાલે બસ યાદગીરી?

હું, ગુજરાતની ભાષા.

હું, તમારી માતૃભાષા.

અમીર ગરીબમાં નથી કર્યો ભેદ.

સહુને આપ્યો છે સમાન પ્રેમ.

સમયનો આ છે બધો ખેલ.

વીસરાઈ જવાનો છે મને ખેદ.

હું, ગુજરાતી ભાષા.

છે મને આજની પેઢીથી આશા.

નહીં કરે ઍ મારી ઉપેક્ષા.

રાખશે મને જીવંત હંમેશા.

હું, ગુજરાતની ભાષા.

હૂ, ગુજરાતીઓની માતૃભાષા.

[anju-1]

[jayshriram2947]

उनकेलिये विस भी अमृत बनजाते हैं जिन पर कृपासिंधु भगवान की दया दृष्टि पडजाति है🙏

हे गोविंद हे माधव मुकुंद हरि🦚ᕫ🙏