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...
6. Background of Krishna literature
All the Vaisnavas and the poet Jayadeva also believed in the slaying of the demons in the Bhagavata and that Krsna is the almighty and the Lord of all prosperity. 44 The epics and Puranas frequently describe about Srikrsna and his divinity. The Bhagavata Purana is a prominent source of Krsna literature. The other two epics are the Mahabharata and the Khila Harivamsa. In the Bhagavata Purana the incarnations of Visnu and the play of Krsna are described. The Gopalila, Dvarakalila and the end of the Yaduvamsa (anihilation of the Yadus) are explained there. The Mahabharata explains the friendship, technics, advice and crisped policy of Krsna. Among all the characters it proves the glory and greatness of the character of Krsna. The eighteenth part of the Mahabharata is known as the Pancaratra Gita in which the dialogues, answers and conversations of Krsna are described and for this, these portions got the highest respected place of the epics throughout the world. 45 In the Harivamsa text there are the explanations about Srivisnu and Srikrsna. Here a detailed 46 description of Srihari and the Yaduvamsa are found. These texts are the 43. Sahu, N. K., Jayadeva, the poet of the Gitagovinda, his date and place, Souvenir on Jayadeva, 1968, p.16 44. Srimad Bhagavatam, 1.26-30 45. Dhara, Jasovanta narayana, Purusottama Srikrsna O Purana sahitya (Odia).Srikrsna, 2008-09, p.25 46. Sriman mahabharatam, Svargarohanaparva, (Phalasruti), pp.1-6 20
foundations for the creation of Krsna literature. On this background many texts are written on Krsna and his qualities. The Padmapurana, the Brahmavaivarta Purana also provide information about Krsna and his lila. Some other texts like the Brahmapurana, Vayupurana, Agnipurana, Lingapurana and the Devi bhagavata also present the character of Krsna in brief. 47 B.S. Miller states that Krsna's mythology is ancient and complicated, emerging in the earliest levels of the epic Mahabharata and developing through the various phases of Puranic literature. The history and significance of the Krsna legend has been analyzed in numerous scholarly studies.4