(109) (Meera) Family Life Or Devotee Life Poem by Rajaram Ramachandran

Meera was in the temple,
Along with common people,
Who also sang with her
Closely following her.

Her every divine song,
All the rural folks sang.
Thus these songs became
Popular in course of time.

Rana failed to bring her
To the family life forever.
His mother felt it a disgrace
To the entire Rajputs race.

His disgruntled widow-sister
And hard hearted mother,
Plotted against Meera then
To kill her with cobra poison.

A cup of milk with poison,
They gave her one fine morn,
In the temple, when she was
Alone offering her prayers.

It was poison, she knew well,
But she drank the cup full.
And continued her prayers.
What a surprise it was!

It didn’t act on Meera.
But the face of Krishna
At Dwaraka turned blue
Suddenly with no clue.

As an unexpected miracle,
The doors of the temple,
Both got themselves shut
And stuck up too tight.

As if nothing had happened,
Before Krishna she remained.
Her in-laws were desperate,
As even poison didn’t act.

Devotees from all corners
Rushed there to see her,
And the crowd was so thick
It threw also some risk.

Spies dressed like sadhus
Studied the strategic points
Thus weakening the position
On the defensive front-line.

One day two sadhus came
And gave Meera that time
A pearl chain as a gift
Which she did accept.

To Krishna she offered it,
The one that was a gift,
To the war-captive Allaudin,
When he was given a pardon.

Rana released him gracefully,
On an agreement mutually,
Offering him this chain,
Just a gift, as a token.

When the same chain
To Rana was shown,
He got terribly wild,
That he was being spied.

Immediately he ordered
The temple be destroyed
Which brought this crisis
To the very palace doors.

Devotees, not even a single,
Came out of the temple.
Even the elephants sent
To break, back they all went.

No damage could be done
To the temple or anyone.
For this incapable blame,
Too wild Rana became.

He sent cobras to bite her.
They did no damage to her.
As disgrace only she brought.
She was a witch, he thought.

Meera blamed only Krishna,
For changing the mind of Rana,
Who was so nice to her earlier
But now bitterly hated her.