| Gita Govinda | |
|---|---|
_written_by_Jayadeba_(Jayadeva)%2c_Odisha_state_museum%2c_Bhubaneswar_2013.JPG) Original palm leaf manuscript of theGita Govinda inOdisha State Museum | |
| Information | |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Author | Jayadeva |
| Language | Sanskrit |
| Period | 12th CE |
| Chapters | 12 |
TheGita Govinda (Sanskrit:गीतगोविन्दम्;IAST:gītagovindam) is a work composed by the 12th-centuryHindu poet,Jayadeva. It describes the relationship betweenKrishna,Radha andgopis (female cow herders) ofVrindavan.[1]
TheGita Govinda is organized into twelve chapters. Each chapter is further sub-divided into one or more divisions called prabandhas, totalling twenty-four in all. The prabandhas contain couplets grouped into eights, calledashtapadis. The text also elaborates the eight moods of Heroine, theAshta Nayika, which has been an inspiration for many compositions and choreographic works inIndian classical dances.[2] Every night in theJagannatha temple, theGitagovinda of Jayadeva is sung in the style ofOdissi music, a tradition that has continued unbroken since the time of Jayadeva himself.[3][4] Musicians of Kerala have adapted theashtapadis into a musical form performed in temples calledsopana sangeetham.[5] Jayadeva's hymns are also included in theGuru Granth Sahib.[6][7]
The work delineates the love of Krishna for Radha, the milkmaid, his faithlessness and subsequent return to her, and is taken as symbolical of the human soul's straying from its true allegiance but returning at length to the God which created it.[8]
A large number of commentaries have been written on the text, elaborating on its meaning and music. Scholar Thomas Donaldson mentions that the Gitagovinda was known at Puri not long after its composition, for the earliest commentary on it was written in Odisha around 1190 by Udayanacharya, theBhavavibhavini Tika.[9][10] Some of the notable commentaries are Kaviraja Narayana Dasa'sSarvangasundaritika, Rana Kumbha'sRasikapriya Tika, Krsna Das'sSarvangasundaritika, Dhananjaya Bipra'sNutana Sarvangasundaritika, Lakshmana Suri'sSrtiranjani Tika, Lakshmana Bhatta'sRasikarangadatika and Dharanidhara's OdiaPadyanuvadatika.[11]
Within the school ofGaudiya Vaishnavism, there is a medieval commentary known as theSri-Gita-Govinda-Vyakhayana byPrabhodananda Sarasvati.[12] Another well-known medieval commentary is theBalabodhini-tika of Chaitanyadasa, also known as Sri Pujari Goswami (late 16th–17th centuries).[13][14] A contemporary commentary from the Gaudiya Vaishnava school, drawing largely from theBalabodhini-tika, is theBalabodhini-prakasa of Bhaktivedanta Narayana Goswami.[15]
The poem has been translated into most modern Indian languages and many European languages. There is a German rendering whichGoethe read by F. H . van Dalberg. Dalberg's version was based on the English translation done byWilliam Jones published in the Transactions of theAsiatic Society,Calcutta in 1792. A verse translation by the German poetFriedrich Rückert was begun in 1829 and revised according to the edited Sanskrit and Latin translations of C. Lassen in Bonn 1837. There's also another manuscript at the Guimet Museum in Paris in Devanagari script narrating the love between Krishna and Radha. This oblong work is printed on paper innagari script on seven lines per page, and has a foliation located in the left margin on the reverse. It is made up of 36 folios. This volume is decorated with a snow crystal motif scattered throughout the text, a practice typical of the Indian publisher Baburam. This edition was produced in Calcutta in 1808, in imitation of the manuscripts; devoid of title page, it is accompanied by a colophon. The present binding, executed at the museum in 1991, constitutes a reproduction very faithful to its original appearance.[16]
Notable English translations are:Edwin Arnold'sThe Indian Song of Songs (1875); Sri JayadevasGita Govinda: The loves of Krisna and Radha (Bombay 1940) byGeorge Keyt andHarold Peiris;[17] S. Lakshminarasimha SastriThe Gita Govinda of Jayadeva, Madras, 1956; Duncan Greenlee'sTheosophical rendering The Song of the Divine, Madras, 1962; Monica Varma's transcreationThe Gita Govinda of Jayadeva published by Writer's Workshop, Calcutta, 1968; Barbara Stoler Miller'sJayadeva'sGitagovinda : Love song of the Dark Lord published by Oxford University Press, Delhi,1978; Lee Siegel'sGitagovinda: Love Songs of Radha and Krishna published in the Clay Sanskrit series.[citation needed]
The first English translation of theGita Govinda was written bySir William Jones in 1792, whereCenduli (Kenduli Sasana) ofCalinga (Kalinga, ancientOdisha) is referred to as the widely-believed to be the place of Jayadeva's origin and that the poet himself mentions this.[18] Since then, theGita Govinda has been translated to many languages throughout the world, and is considered to be among the finest examples ofSanskrit poetry.Barbara Stoler Miller translated the book in 1977 asLove Song of the Dark Lord: Jayadeva's Gita Govinda. The book contains aforeword by John Stratton Hawley and includes extensive commentary on the verse and topic of the poem.[19]
| Oṛiśī Sangīta |
| Odissi music |
|---|
 MahāprabhuJagannātha |
| Composers |
| Shāstras |
| Compositions |
| Instruments |
Gita Govinda is one of the earliest musical texts in which the author indicates the exactraga (mode) andtala (rhythm) in which to sing each of the songs. These indications have been compiled below according to theashtapadi number, based on the important ancient copies of the Gita Govinda and its commentaries such asSarvangasundari Tika of Narayana Dasa (14th century), Dharanidhara's Tika (16th century), Jagannatha Mishra's Tika (16th century),Rasikapriya of Rana Kumbha (16th century) andArthagobinda of Bajuri Dasa (17th century).[3]
Most of the ragas and talas indicated by Jayadeva, continue to be in practice in the tradition ofOdissi music.[3] Theragas andtalas prescribed by Jayadeva are unique to the tradition of Odissi music.[4] It is noteworthy that in Odisha, theseragas andtalas have remained in continued usage for several centuries after Jayadeva, and enjoy extreme popularity in the state till date.[20]
Every night during theBadasinghara or the last ritual of theJagannatha temple of Puri, theGitagovinda of Jayadeva is sung, set to traditional Odissi ragas & talas, such asMangala Gujjari. Jayadeva mentions many ragas and talas unique to Odisha, such asaṣṭatāli orāṭhatāli.[3][21] This tradition has continued unbroken since the time of Jayadeva, who himself used to sing in the temple. After the time of the poet, the singing of the Gitagovinda according to the authentic Odissi ragas & talas, (such as the RagaMangala Gujjari) was instated as a mandatory sevā at the temple, to be performed by the Maharis orDevadasis, systematically recorded in inscriptions, theMādalā Pānji and other official documents that describe the functioning of the temple.[4]
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VariousGita Govinda Miniature paintings in museums:
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