Jayadeva | |
|---|---|
 Stone idol of Jayadeba at Akhandaleswara Temple, Prataparudrapura, Odisha | |
| Personal life | |
| Born | c. 1170[1] |
| Died | c. 1245[1] |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Philosophy | Vaishnava |
| Religious career | |
Jayadeva (pronounced[dʑɐjɐˈdeːʋɐ]; bornc. 1170 CE), also speltJaideva, was aSanskritpoet during the 12th century. He is most known for his epic poemGita Govinda[2] which concentrates onKrishna's love with thegopi,Radha, in a rite of spring.[3] This poem, which presents the view that Radha is greater than Krishna, is considered an important text in theBhakti movement ofHinduism.[4][better source needed]
Little is known of his life, except that he was a loner poet and a Hindu mendicant celebrated for his poetic genius in eastern India. Jayadeva is the earliest dated author of hymns that are included in theGuru Granth Sahib, the primary scripture ofSikhism – a religion founded in theIndian subcontinent centuries after his death.[2][1]
He was born in aBrahmin family but the date and place of Jayadeva's birth is uncertain. TheGitagovinda suggests that he was born in the "Kindubilva" village. Scholars have variously identified this place with a present-day village in their own region, includingKenduli Sasan near Puri in Odisha,Jaydev Kenduli inBirbhum district in West Bengal, and the village of Kenduli nearJhanjharpur in Mithila (Bihar).[5] Several sixteenth-century texts declare Jayadeva was from 'Utkala', another name of Odisha.[6] The maximum number of Gita Govinda manuscripts are available in Odisha, in a variety of shapes and sizes, where the tradition of the Gita Govinda is an integral part of regional culture.[7] Jayadeva, a wanderer, probably visitedPuri at some point and there, according to tradition, he married a dancer named Padmavati though that is not supported by early commentators and modern scholars.[8][page needed] The poet's parents were named Bhojadeva and Ramadevi. From temple inscriptions it is now known that Jayadeva received his education inSanskrit poetry from a place called Kurmapataka, identified nearKonark in Odisha.[9][10]
Inscriptions atLingaraja temple, and the more recently discovered Madhukeswara temple and Simhachala temple that were read and interpreted byPadmashri Dr.Satyanarayana Rajguru have shed some light on Jayadeva's early life. These inscriptions narrate how Jayadeva had been a member of the teaching faculty of the school at Kurmapataka. He might have studied at Kurmapataka as well. It must have been right after his childhood education in Kenduli village that he left for Kurmapataka and gained experience in composing poetry, music and dancing.[9][10][11]
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. The village of Kenduli Sasana is a location "teeming with Vaishnava ruins and temples, perhaps more than any other site in India", notes Donaldson. He also notes an upswing in Krishna images in Odishan sculpture from the late twelfth century on, "long before such images became popular in Bengal or elsewhere in India."[12][6][13] In the Jagannatha temple of Puri, the Gita Govinda is ritually sung every night during theBadasinghara ritual from the time of Jayadeva himself.[14] Themaharis ordevadasis were instructed to faithfully render and perform the Gitagovinda according to the ragas ofOdissi music, as known from inscriptions. During theBadasinghara Besa, the nighttime attire, the deities wear a special kind of fabric known as theKenduli Khandua orGita Gobinda Khandua, in which lines of the Gita Govinda are woven into the fabric using the ikat technique. The weavers of Kenduli Sasana used to provide these fabrics and this is also a ritual in vogue from the time of the poet himself.[13]
Odisha has a tradition of writing the Gita Govinda in different forms, like in the form of a manuscript designed to look like a fish, or one that is made as a garland made of small round pieces of palm leaf, used as a portable text for memory. Manuscripts of the Gita Govinda have been written and illustrated in Odisha in large numbers, some of them counting among the finest pieces of Indian art.[7] Dr. Bhagyalipi Malla, curator of the manuscripts section of the Odisha State Museum, writes :[13]
An exceptionally large number of Gitagovinda manuscripts are preserved in the Odisha State Museum, numbering two hundred and ten. These include twenty one illustrated, one hundred and eighty non-illustrated and nine manuscripts of various shapes like garland, fish and dagger. Apart from the aforesaid palm leaf manuscripts, there are several versions of the Gitagovinda written in ivory, bamboo leaf and even handmade paper. There are eighteen different commentaries preserved in the museum.[13]
Even today, traditional craftsmen and scribes come together in Odisha to finely stitch together leaves of the palm at one end for the manuscript to open up and fall like a chart made up of folios, on which the text of the Gita Govinda is written, complete with illustrations.[7]
A few poems of Jayadeva written in archaicOdia have been published by the Directorate of Culture, Odisha. They describe the romance of Radha-Krishna and contain ideas very similar to those used in the Gita Govinda.[15] Jayadeva is widely considered one of the earliest musicians ofOdissi music. 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. 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 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. To this date, the Jagannatha temple remains the fountainhead ofOdissi music and the most ancient & authentic compositions (including a few archaic OdiaChhandas andjananas by Jayadeva himself) survive in the temple tradition, although the Devadasis are no more found owing to their systematic eradication by the British government.[16][17]
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 MahāprabhuJagannātha |
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Two hymns of Jayadeva, have been incorporated in theGuru Granth Sahib, the holy book of theSikh religion.[2][1]
The hymns are written in a mixture ofSanskrit and easternApabhramsha.[18] There are records narrating how Jayadeva's work had a profound influence onGuru Nanak during his visit to Puri.[19][20][21]
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