25. The Legacy of Jayadeva Goswami

25. The Legacy of Jayadeva Goswami...💖💖💖

Jayadeva Goswami's Gita-govinda is a lyrical dance drama that has had a profound impact not only on the worship of Lord Jagannath in Puri but on the development of literature, art, and culture worldwide.

With its emotive literary ornaments, Gita-govinda paints a picturesque canvas of divine landscapes, scenes and characters. Its captivating lyrics have inspired innumerable artists in the mediums of music, dance, literature, painting, sculpture, engraving, etc.

Gita-govinda is comprised of 24 songs, presented in 12 acts. Every song is composed in a different classical raga (melody) and tala (rhythm), which reveals the author's vast depth of knowledge in music theory, and the science of drama and mellows.

In the Gaudiya tradition, Jayadeva Goswami is regarded as the adi-pada-karta, the earliest composer of vaishnava songs. The form and musical style of Jayadeva's composition became a model for kavyas, recited narrative poems, on the topic of Sri Sri Radha and Krishna. According to the Oriya research scholar Gadadhar Mahapatra, between the 14th and 19th centuries about 152 literary works were printed following the theme, form, and musical style of Jayadeva's poem. He also states that more than 1,500 unpublished manuscripts of various kavyas that follow the mood and style of Gita-govinda are still to be found with various collectors, libraries and museums in India and abroad. 

Some of the more famous poetic works that are clearly influenced by Gita-govinda include 

1. Gajapati Purushottama dev's "Abhinava-gita-govinda"

2. Srila Ramananda Raya's "Jagannath-vallabha-natakam"

3. Dina Krishnadas' "Amrta-sagara". 

Many scholars consider that the influence of Jayadeva is also seen in the writings of both Chandidas and Vidyapati. Chandidas' Sri Krsna-kirtana incorporates a few padas of Gita-govinda, and Vidyapati's Vasanta-lila is said to echo some of the lyrics of Jayadeva.

More than anywhere else, the influence of Gita-govinda is seen in the poetry, drama, sculpture and dance of Orissa, the land of Lord Jagannath. In Orissa, literary works reflecting the characteristics of Gita-govinda were written even before the time of Sri Chaitanya. Three decades of searching and counting palm-leaf manuscripts in Orissa has found Jayadeva's masterpiece to be second in circulation only to the Oriya rendition of the Bhagavata by Jagannath das.

In his purport to Caitanya-caritamrta, adi 13.42, Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada mentions, "There are many commentaries on the Gita-govinda by many vaishnavas. To date, scholars have documented about 40 commentaries, the earliest two of which are from Orissa. 

The following are some of the most prominent ones.

1. "Bhavavibhavini-tika" by Udayan Acharya. This is the first known commentary on Gita-govinda, it was written by a contemporary of Jayadeva goswami who hailed from the same Prachi valley in Orissa (compiled in the 1190s).

2. "Sarvanga-sundari" by Kaviraj Narayan das. This is the second known commentary. The author was a court poet of the Puri king Narasimhadev II (Reigned 1297-1307).

3. "Sara-dipika" by the great Maithili poet Jagaddhar (around 1320).

4. "Rasika-priya-tika" by Kumbhakarna Mahendra, the king of Mewar (early 14th century).

5. "Dipika" by Gopal Acharya (unknown date).

6. "Padadyotanika" by Narayan Bhatta (unknown date).

7. "Sanjivani" by Vanamali Bhatta, assumed by some to be in the line of Vallabhacharya (unknown date).

8. "Rasa-manjari" by Maha-mahopadhyay Shankar Mishra (some time in the 15th century).

9. "Gita-govinda ki tika" by Mira Bai, the famous poet and Rajasthani princess (early 16th century).

10. "Balabodhini-tika" by Chaitanya das, a Gaudiya commentator, also known as Sri Pujari Goswami (about 1600 AD).

Other persons who wrote on Gita-govinda include Dharanidhar, who first translated the book into the Oriya language. Scholars date his immensely popular work as being completed around the middle of the 16 century. The Oriya poet Dina Krishnadas wrote Amrta-sägara some time in the late 17 or early 18 century. Therein he explains through song the 24 padas of Gita-govinda. Dina Krishnadas says that he wrote this explanation on the order of Lord Jagannath."

Gita-govinda was first translated into Bengali by the poet Giridhar das in 1736. This extraordinary literary work has been rendered into every regional language of South Asia, where it has been produced in about 180 editions.

Aside from the Indian language translations, beginning from the 18th century, Gita-govinda has been translated and published in many languages including English, German, French, Latin, Dutch, and Hungarian.

And the above is only a partial list. Volumes of articles have been written simply describing the many commentators, translators, and writers influenced by Jayadeva's immortal Gita-govinda.