Four Poems: by Mirabai

(These translations first appeared in Wild Women: Seekers, Protagonists and Goddesses in Sacred Indian Poetry, edited by Arundhathi Subramaniam and published by Penguin Books India, March 2024.)

(1)

Rana
I won’t live
within
your walls

I left
my mother’s home
cast aside
my veil
shed
all my attachments –
the company of hermits
calls

my guru held
a mirror to my heart
now I dance
like a madwoman

Rana
I don’t want
your forts and palaces
your jewels and silks

I have seen
my true love
and he knows
my heart

my hair’s
come loose
I dance
like a madwoman

(2)

I’m dyed
the colour of
my Girdhar

I went out to play
friend
wearing a blouse
of five colours

then I saw him
and the sight drenched
my body and soul
in his hue

those whose lovers
live far apart
they write and send
them letters

but I don’t need
to come or go
my lover
lives in my heart

Girdhar’s
my master
night and day
I watch his path

(3)

struck
by beauty
I was struck
by your beauty

I went from body
to no body
the vessel I carried
fell

mother, father, brothers, kin
couldn’t shake
your image
from my heart

my true love
was manifest
but the world thought
I strayed

besides you
Girdhar
my master
who can know my heart?

(4)

I sit
awake
the world
sleeps

alone
in the palace
looking
for you

alone
in the palace
stringing
my tears

counting
the stars
waiting
for one moment of joy

Girdhar
my master
to be parted after knowing you –
I cannot