Lyrics and meaning of Meerabai's "Ai Ri Main Toh"

[Rajani]

I'd be grateful for the lyrics and meaning of Meerabai's "Ai Ri Main Toh Prem Divani".

[Lakshman]

he rI main tO prema-divAnI mero darada na jANai koya
ghAyala kI gati ghAyala jANai, jo koI ghAyala hoya
jauhari kI gati jauharI jANai, kI jina jauhara hoya
sUlI Upara seja hamArI, sovaNa kisa bidha hoya
gagana maNDala para seja piyA kI kisa bidha milaNA hoya
darada kI mArI bana-bana DolUn baida milyA nahin koya
mIrA kI prabhu pIra miTegI, jada baida sAnvariyA hoya

[rshankar]

Rajani - here you go - a few corrections, and the meaning:
hE rI main tO prem-divAnI mEro darad na jANE kOya
ghAyal kI gati ghAyal jANE, jO kOI ghAyal hOya
jauhari kI gati jauharI jANE, kI jina jauhar hOya
sUyI Upar sEj hamArI, sovaN kis bidh hOya
gagan maNDal par sEj piyA kI kis bidh milaNA hOya
darad kI mArI ban-ban DOlUn baid milyA nahin kOya
mIrA kI prabhu pIr miTEgI, jad baid sAnvariyA hOya

A lovely bhajan where mIra says: Hark (hE) my friend (rI)! I am (main tO) mad (divAnI) with love (prEm), but no one (kOya) understands/knows (jANE) my (mErO) pain (darad). Only a wounded person (ghAyal) will know (jANE) the state (gati) of (kI) another injured (ghAyal), one (jO kOi) who has sustained (hOya) a wound (ghAyal) [1]. Only someone who has become a sati (jauhari) will know the feelings of another sati, only one (kI jina) who has become (hOya) a sati (jauhar) [2]. My (hamAri) bed (sEj) seems to be atop (Upar) a set of needles (sUyi), how (kis bidh) on earth will I be able to (hOya) to sleep (sOvaN)? My beloved's (piyA kI) bed (sEj) is in the heavens (gagan maNDal par), by what means (kis bidh) can I engineer (hOya) a meeting (milaNA)? Suffering (mAri) from unbearable pain (darad kI) I have been roaming (DolUn) several forests (ban ban), but I have not (nahin) found (milyA) any (kOya) physician (baid) to cure me. Oh lord (prabhu) of mIrA (mIrA kI)! I declare that my pain/suffering (pIr) will cease (miTEgi) only when (jad) my beloved kRshNa (sAnvariyA – the dark one) becomes (hOya) the physician (baid).
FOOTNOTES
[1] The poetess take full advantage of the fact that in hindi and its dialects, the word ghAyal can be used both as an adjective and a verb
[2] sati - the act of self-immolation that was very prevalent among rAjput women

[Rajani]

Thanks a lot, Lakshman Sir and Ravi. A colleague has been teaching us this and now I can soak in the experience fully.

[krishnaa]

One of the most famous meera bhajans...
Ravi, well done!!!

You should here this song when sung in the rAga mAnD.... oh! it just touches the soul!

[rshankar]

Thank you Krishnaa - can you provide a link to listen to this in mAND?

[smala]

A heavenly classic in the exquisite voice of Vani Jayaram with music from Pt. Ravi Shankar in movie Meerabai (1979) with short different lyrics.

Stunning, hand-drawn stills :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msSKso9e1as

The actual scene in the movie. (Hema Malini/ Gulzar-Director)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TURYQYBY ... sponse_rev

Same Geeta Dutt, part 2 upload has this line "ghayal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQZEEuAPOJs&NR=1

[rshankar]

S-P, I remeber this from the movie, but it is not the one that Rajni requested...

[rshankar]

The fantastically versatile Geeta Dutt has sung the bhajan under discussion (or atleast a part of it) in the film jOgan...

[smala]

Here's Geeta Dutt with the same start line, then the line "gagan mandal par sEj...

Looks like there are several versions of -- ae ri main toh....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdxjtYcqGCU

Same Geeta Dutt version, part 2 upload, has this line "ghAyal ki gati ghAyal janE..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQZEEuAPOJs&NR=1

[rshankar]

Here's Geeta Dutt with the same start line, then the line "gagan mandal par sEj...
Looks like there are several versions of -- ae ri main toh....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdxjtYcqGCU

I posted the same link in post #9....

[smala]

Looks like our posts crossed, rshankar.

[krishnaa]

cant find it in rAga mAnd online...
Ravi, i have a version from a live program in India... ill try to capture the audio and upload it

[smala]

koi kachu kahE man lAgA...this meera bhajan in rAg mand...

The very sweet voice of Prof Basavi Mukherjee.

http://www.ragaculture.com/meera_bhajan.mp3