Gita-govinda of Jayadeva (comparative study)
by Manisha Misra | 2012 | 56,963 words
This essay contains an English study of the Gita-Govinda by Jayadeva and the “Kishore Chandrananda Champu� by Kabisurya Baladev. (1) The Gitagovinda is a Sanskrit Kavya poem of 12th century composed by Jayadeva, who was a devotee of Lord Krishna/Jagannatha and a patron of Odisha culture. The Gitagovinda had widespread influence on Indian art and li...
3. Brief account of Jayadeva
Jayadeva, the poet of Odisha belongs to the twelfth century and his birth place is agreed as Kenduli/ Kenduvilva the village near Puri district. The son and successor of Bhojadeva and Ramadevi/Bamadevi was a devotee of Madhava and for this he was praised by the poet Chand Bardai, the court poet of Pruthviraj Chauhan that Jayadeva the Chief of poets always sings the glory of Govinda only. Jayadeva's contribution to the religion and philosophy for popularizing the Madhavism is very significant. His Kavya has inspired the authorities to develop the definition of PrabandhaKavya in the Sangita literature. He was married to Padmavati and lead the life of a saint in his village and later in Puri. He sung his poem in the temple of Lord Jagannatha and that was associated with the dancing steps of his wife. Jayadeva's Gitagovinda is exceptional and has the quality to justify its uniqueness. At the sunset of his life he visited Vrndavana a holy place in Uttar Pradesh and stayed there. He was always accompanied by Padmavati in service of God. Jayadeva's Kavya has philosophised the Madhavism of Odisha. He attempted successfully to renovate the older form and substance by observing new ideas and spirit. This might have been the result of a widespread tendency of his time, but he was very successful to present the spirit of his time distinctly. Many researchers provide different opinions regarding Jayadeva's life. Some legends of his life are: In the process of writing Gitagovinda Jayadeva described the surrender of Krsna to Radha and requesting her to place her foot on Krsna's head. But the poet hesitated to write this expression and went to bathe. In his absence �
Krsna appeared in his guise and wrote that step of poet (dehipadapallavamudaram). He ate the food prepared by Padmavati for Jayadeva and left. Jayadeva returned and realized that he had received divine grace in narrating the loving relation of the divine lovers. Once Jayadeva wanted to go Vrndavana with his wife Padmavati and their adorable lord Radha-Madhava idol turned into a small black pebble so that they could easily carry it in their small cloth bag. When they stepped in Vrndavana it regained the previous form. From the text "Bhaktamala" it is known that a green seller lady while plucking brinjals from her field, sang in absorbed mood the following stanza-dhira samire yamuna tire vasativane vanamali] The song touched the heart of Lord Jagannatha and while following the women the yellow silk cloth torned by the thorns. Jayadeva was returning from a discipline home with full of gifts and gold. Some robbers full upon him and Jayadeva gave all his belongings but still they dropped him in a big hole cutting his hands and legs. He was escaped by a king and later his hands and legs again grew up by the power of his prayer. Till the last breathe of his life Jayadeva lived at Vrndavana with his wife and engaged in the service of his adorable lord Radha Madhava.