For Love of the Dark One: Songs of Mirabai

Mirabai is probably the best-known poet in India today, even though she lived 400 years ago (1498-1593). Her poems of ecstatic praise to Krishna, whom she lovingly calls "The Dark One", are set to music and sung by schoolchildren, and are frequently heard as background tracks in contemporary films. As alive today as it was in the 16th century, Mirabai's poetry is about freedom, breaking with traditional stereotypes, and trusting completely in the benediction of God. It is also some of the most exalted mystical poetry in all of world literature, expressing her complete surrender to the divine, her longing, and her madness in love. This book is a revised edition of a Shambhala Centaur book that was published in 1994 and sold 10,000 copies in the two years following its release. The new edition contains the original 80 poems, a completely revised introduction, updated glossary, bibliography and discography, and additional Sanskrit notations.