Mirabai - Usha S. Nilsson (essay date 1969)
Usha S. Nilsson (essay date 1969)
SOURCE: Nilsson, Usha S. “Mira Bai's Poems.” In Mira Bai, pp. 29-36. New Delhi, India: Sahitya Akademi, 1969.
[In the following chapter from a treatise on Mirabai's life, legend, and poetry, the author categorizes Mirabai's padas (sung poetry) into poems of entreaty and salutation and poems of love. The author provides a close reading of several padas.]
The poems of Mira Bai do not cover a wide range of subjects. They are strictly a form of self-expression, completely dedicated to Krishna. It is difficult to gauge from her poetry that she had lived in a time of political upheavals, and internal intrigues. She did not use her poetry to criticize religious rituals like Kabir, nor did she present a highly idealized portrait of her deity like Tulsi Das. She regarded herself first and foremost a devotee completely absorbed in Krishna. That is why she sang of him, not of human beings. All the...
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