Jīva and Mīrā

The Meeting in Question

Abstract

This article critically examines the popular narrative of a meeting between the revered Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava theologian Jīva Gosvāmī and the poet-saint Mirabai. Despite its widespread retelling in scholarly and devotional circles, the author expresses skepticism about the authenticity of this encounter, noting its absence from early, authoritative Gauḍīya scriptures and biographies. The investigation traces the detailed version of the story, where Jīva Gosvāmī initially refuses to meet Mirabai due to his vow of celibacy, only to be challenged by her famous retort about Krishna being the only male in Vrindavan, leading to a change of heart. The article reveals that this elaborate narrative does not appear in Nābhādāsa's Bhaktamāla or Priyādās's Bhaktirasabodhinī, but rather originates and is popularized by Bhagavān Prasāda Rūpkalā in his early 20th-century Vārtik Tilak. The author highlights Rūpkalā's background as a Rāmānandī scholar, suggesting that the story, with its pointed wordplay and subtle defamation of Jīva Gosvāmī, might be a product of historical sectarian tensions between the Gauḍīya and Rāmānandī traditions. Ultimately, the article concludes that the detailed Jīva/Mirabai meeting is likely a later "myth" or "performance tradition" rather than a historically verifiable event.