Meera Bai — The Queen Who Danced for Krishna

Woh Mewar ki rani thi. Mahal mein rehti thi, resham pehenti thi, daasiyan aage-peeche ghumti thin — lekin uska dil wahan kabhi nahi tha. Uska dil to Vrindavan ki galiyon mein tha, jahan uska Giridhar rehta tha.

Meera ka janm Merta mein hua tha — Rathore rajgharane mein, Rao Duda ke parivaar mein. Bachpan ki ek shaam usne dekha — saamne se dulhe ki baraat nikal rahi thi, dhol-taashe baj rahe the. Nanhe man mein sawaal utha — 'Maa, mera dulha kaun hai?' Maa ne hanste-hanste saamne rakhi Krishna ki moorti ki taraf ishaara kar diya — 'Yehi — tere Giridhar.' Bas — usi din se Meera ne apna var chun liya. Gudiyaon se khelne ki umar mein woh moorti se baatein karti — khilaati, sulaati, gaana sunaati.

Vivaah hua Chittor ke yuvaraaj Bhoj Raj se — Rana Sanga ke bete se. Bhoj Raj swayam samajhdaar the — unhone Meera ki bhakti ka sammaan kiya. Lekin mahal ne socha tha — rajkumari aayi hai, rani banegi, maryada nibhaayegi. Aur Meera? Woh mandir mein jaakar ghungru baandh leti — ektara lekar gaane lagti: 'Mere to Giridhar Gopal, doosro na koi.' Rani ka sar-e-aam naachna-gaana — raaj-parivaar ki naak kat gayi.

Raaj-parivaar ne use samjhaaya — 'Rani, ghoonghat mein raho, mahal mein raho.' Meera ne kaha — 'Jisne Giridhar ko dekh liya, use duniya ka ghoonghat kaisa?' Woh sadhuon ke satsang mein jaati — raaj-mahilaon ke liye varjit tha. Kehti — 'Mere to Giridhar Gopal' — aur mahal ki deewaarein uske bhajanon se goonj uthti.

Bhoj Raj ke swargwaas ke baad sthiti bigad gayi. Gaddi par baithe Rana Vikramaditya ko Meera ka bhajan-gayan kul ki maryada ke khilaaf lagta tha. Pehle taane aaye — 'Rani hokar sadhuon mein baithti ho!' Phir saazishen shuru hui. Ek din use zeher ka pyaala bheja gaya — kehlaaya gaya, 'Charanamrit hai.' Meera ne use haathon mein liya, 'Giridhar' keh kar pi liya — zeher amrit ban gaya. Phir phoolon ki tokri mein saanp bheja gaya — tokri kholi to andar shaaligram nikle. Kehte hain — jis par Bhagwan ki kripa ho, uska koi kya bigaad sakta hai?

Aakhir mein Rana ne aadesh diya — 'Ya to bhakti chhodo, ya mahal chhodo.' Meera ne ek pal nahi socha. Usne apne gehne utaar diye — ektara uthaaya — aur mahal ke dwaar se nikal padi. Peeche mud kar nahi dekha. Kehte hain, us raat Chittor ke mahal mein sannata tha — aur raaste mein Meera ke ghungru baj rahe the.

Lekin apmaan ka zeher, zeher ke pyaale se gehra hota hai. Roz ke taane, rok-tok, pehre — Meera ka man tootne laga. Ek raat usne apne Giridhar ko god mein liya — aur Chittor ka mahal chhod diya. Na rath liya, na daasi — bas ektara aur bhajan. Pehle Vrindavan gayi — jahan uske prabhu ki leela-bhoomi thi.

Vrindavan mein us samay prasiddh sant Jeev Goswami rehte the. Meera unse milne gayi — sant ne kehla bheja: 'Main striyon se nahi milta.' Meera ne muskurakar jawaab bhijwaaya — 'Maine to suna tha Vrindavan mein ek hi purush hain — Shri Krishna. Baaki sab to gopiyan hain. Aap kaun se wale hain?' Sant ka ahankaar choor ho gaya — ve nange pair daud kar aaye, Meera ko pranaam kiya. Us din Vrindavan ne seekha — bhakti mein na stree hai, na purush.

Phir woh Dwarka gayi — apne Ranchhod ke dwaar. Kehte hain, ek din woh mandir mein bhajan gaate-gaate moorti mein samaa gayi — bas uski odhni moorti se lipat kar reh gayi. Koi kehta hai — yeh shraddha ki kahani hai, itihaas nahi. Lekin uske bhajan? Woh aaj bhi har ghar mein goonjte hain — 'Paayoji maine Ram ratan dhan paayo.' Kehte hain, Akbar bhi Tansen ke saath bhes badal kar uske bhajan sunne aaya tha — itni prasiddh ho gayi thi Meera.

Uske bhajanon mein virah hai — 'Mere to Giridhar Gopal' mein milan ki pyaas, 'Paayoji maine' mein paane ki khushi. Woh Krishna ko apna pati maanti thi — isiliye use 'prem-deewani' kehte hain — deewangi jo bhakti ban gayi, bhakti jo itihaas ban gayi.

Meera ne rani ka taj chhod diya — aur prem ka taj pehen liya. Mahal ne use pagal kaha — aaj mahal khandhar hain, aur Meera ke bhajan amar. Duniya yaad rakhti hai taj waalon ko — lekin poojti hai prem waalon ko.