Did Meera Bai Actually Die? Mystery Unfolded
Meera bai was Lord Krishna’s greatest devotee during Bhakti Movement. There are many stories which have different beliefs about Meera bai’s end.
Story 1
According to one story, Meera bai faced numerous allegations and was sentenced to leave Mewad. Fearless Meera bai accepted the punishment and fleed Mewad by chanting Lord Krishna’s name.
As soon as she left Mewad state, the entire Mewad state experienced a heavy and huge drought, and all of its residents were in great distress. Everyone asked the king for help, but even the king couldn’t help. One of the sages of Mewad told the king that because Meera bai had left Mewad, we are all in this problem.
The Sage further told that she was a true devotee of Lord Krishna, and all of the allegations against her are baseless; she has never had a negative perception of Mewad or anybody else.
The King then decided to bring Meera bai back to Mewad, but it was impossible to do so because Meera bai left Mewad a long time ago and no one knows where she was.
The Sage told the king that devotees can only be found at the Lord’s doors. King ordered his men to seek Mira Bai in Lord Krishna’s temples.
Later, Meera Bai was discovered performing bhajans with other devotees in the surrounding village after several days of seeking. The soldiers then asked Meera bai to accompany them because King had summoned her and described the situation in Mewad.
Meera Bai accepted their invitation and began walking back towards Mewad. She was near the main entrance of Mewad. And as soon as she set her first foot within the trunk’s gate, very stormy weather occurred, with loud electric lighting, the severe wind blowing, and rain beginning to fall.
Because of the rain, everyone in Mewad, including the animals and birds, came together and began dancing joyfully. Meera bai was dancing joyfully while singing the Lord’s name, Krishna.
However, one of the villagers noticed that Meera bai was suddenly missing; it seemed that she had vanished or had become invisible. They discovered Meera bai’s Ektara (one string) and Kartaal (cymbal) on the ground.
It was then believed that she merged with Lord Krishna, which is the goal of every devotee. Meera obtained moksha as a result of her constant devotion to Lord Krishna.
Story 2
In another story, Meera bai’s father-in-law (Maharana Sangram Singh) punished her by making her drink poison. Meera bai drank the entire bowl of poison but remained healthy, so Meera bai’s father-in-law became enraged and ordered Meera bai to be imprisoned in her room. The next morning, when her maid opened the door of Meera bai’s room to give her a meal, Meera bai was not present.
As in the first story, it was then believed that she merged with Lord Krishna, which is the goal of every devotee. Meera obtained moksha as a result of her constant devotion to Lord Krishna.
Story 3
In the third story, at the end, when Meera bai drank poison and was released from prison by her father-with-law Meera bai walked towards Lord Krishna’s temple, where she became involved in the idol of Lord Shri Krishna. Ektara and Kartal were on the feet of lord Krishna’s statue.
Again, it was believed that she merged with Lord Krishna, which is the goal of every devotee. Meera obtained moksha as a result of her constant devotion to Lord Krishna.
Scholars can argue over Meera Bai’s location, time, and age, but what counts to Hindus is that she demonstrated to the world what can be accomplished with unflinching dedication even in this Kali Yuga.