Sri Jayadeva's Gita Govinda (With Illustrations and Commentary by Dhananjaya)

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Gitagovinda, Sri Jayadevi's 12th century classic, represents what is best in both the sacred and profane dimensions of love in Indian literary tradition. Apart from endearing itself to the connoisseurs of ornate poetry, the style that dominated the medieval courtly compositions, it became the iconic text of the Vaisnava faith, for its ability to Inspire devotion. The source of devotional inspiration is the love between the divine and the human Krsna, the supreme Vaisnava deity and his human consort Radha. Of course the love is depicted through such frank eroticism that it has sometimes attracted adverse criticism. But its lyricism, mellifluous poetic sweep has earned it an admiration which has lasted more than eight centuries. Moreover, its influence has spread far from its origin from Orissa to distant places like Gujrat, Badrinath and Karala as evidenced from the motifs of temple inscriptions. The extent of its popularity can also be gauged from the number of illustrated manuscripts which themselves are finest examples of Indian painting tradition that are available in Orissa, its place of composition.

Some illustrations look at the text as a joyous celebration of love-making while others view it reverentially, as a ft subject for devotional meditation. The current manuscript captures both the sacred and profane dimensions of love. A strong tenor of devotion seems to underlie the apparent show of rapture in the composition. One example will suffice to prove the point At the very beginning. Krsna is depicted as a small boy who needs to be escorted to home. Radha who has been asked by Nanda to lead him home, towers above him physically. But subsequently, the illustrations undergo a change in a manner that makes the scene of love-making convincing The artist seems to be as playfully competent as the master poet whom he is trying to etch in figures.

There are two hundred and ten manuscripts of Gitagovinda by Jayadeva preserved in Orissa State Museum These include twenty-one illustrated, one hundred eighty non-illustrated, and nine manuscripts of various shapes like garland, fish and dagger, Apart from these there are several versions of Gitagovinda written in Ivory, bamboo leaf and even hand-made paper There are some Gitagovinda versions in both Oriya language and script and some others in Sanskrit language but Oriya script along with commentaries of eighteen different commentators preserved in the museum. The manuscripts of those thirteen commentators that are preserved in the museum are, four versions of Kaviraja Narayana Das's Sarvangasundarițika, two versions of Krsna Das's Sarvangasundarhika Dhananjaya Bipra's Nutana Sarvangasundarițika, three versions of Laxmana Surf's Sptiranjanitka, seven versions of Laxmana Bhatta's Rasikarangadagika, one version of Laxmana Bhatta's Navinasarvangasundarfjka, forty-four versions of Dharanidhara's Oriya Padyanuvadatika, two versions of Uiddhaba Das's Oriya Padyanuvadatika, Dwija Chaitanya Das's Oriya Gadya and Padyanuvadajka, Bajari Das's Oriya Gadya and Padyanuvadatika, Prabodhananda Goswamfs Bengali Padyanuvada and the tikaty Pindika Srichandana.

There are two manuscripts of Gitagovinda one in palmleaf (Cat. No B/S-41) with the commentary of Chaitanya Das which is in Sanskrit language using Bengali script and the other one (Cat. No B-86) in Bengali language using Oriya script and written on hand-made paper that are available in the State Museum

However, it was decided unanimously to publish this manuscript Cat No EXT-166 out of the twenty-one illustrated ones preserved in the State Museum because it is a manuscript complete in all respects.

Prelude

The greatness of a nation lies in its multi-dimensional culture, which generally comprises religion, morals, belief pattern, customs and manners, dress and costumes art and architecture, literature and philosophy, music and dance and any other capability of a man that make him a member of the socio-cultural community in a sense, culture is a parameter through which functioning and continuity of the society are envisioned. Thus, it acts as a binding force in reflecting a nation's pride, dignity, honour and prestige and finally its contribution to the stages of civilization, it will be appropriate to note here that however powerful and prosperous a country or nation may be, its sustainability fundamentally depends on the cultural properties in shape of temples, sculptures, paintings, traces of music and dance, the vast mass of literature etc the ethos and on the invaluable contribution of the great personalities who leave behind an indelible impress as legacy to the posterity. The lustrous luminanes contributions remain over the ages even when kings, Governments and institutions change.

Sri Jayadeva was one such celebrated luminary of the 12th century, who not only dazzled the field of Sanskrit Literature and music but also the whole cultural syndrome of India, by composing the famous lyric Gitagovinda. No other poet of medieval India can claim to have achieved such abiding immortality and imperishable distinction as Sri Jayadeva. The Gitagovinda is considered as an invaluable gem in the Sanskrit literature. The world over its impact on the works of his contemporaries and the writers of the subsequent period is immense One can assess the significance of the sacred and devotional lyric, from as many as forty commentaries, imitation in Indian languages (the earliest being Sarvangasundarițikal and its translation into several foreign languages like English, French, German, Russian and several other foreign languages. The poet combined in his work the idea of dance-drama prevalent in those days accompanied by music, songs and drama, he foresaw the possibility of its use in the temples and festivals. Being a charming singer of the erotic love of Krsna and Radha sublimated to a mystic and spiritual plane, sri Jayadeva came to be regarded as an illustrious poet, who revealed to us the divine love in a human gart. Gitagovinda gained the status of a superb religious work and the poet, a Vaisnava devotee and saint, received the grace of Kirsnis-Jagannitha As such, he absorbed himself in the Vaisnava tradition with an honoured place in Vaisnava hagiology.

Sri Jayadeva's Gitagovinda, though smaller in magnitude, is rightly comparable to the work of Kalidasa, the celebrated poet of the Gupta age. Sri Jayadeva exuberantly Imbibed in him the spirit of the past age and heralded a new cultural epoch in Indian literature. As such, he is rightly acclaimed as the last of the 'Ancients' and first of the "Moderna in the Indian poetry. He happens to be the last of the ancient and medieval great poets in Sanskrit literature in the line of Alvaghosa, Bhasa, Kalidasa, Bhavabhuti, Magha, Somadeva, Bihlana, Srinatha and so on in the words of Hilde Bach, author of Indian love paintings has beautifully commented upon. "He (Sri Jayadeval wrote ecstatically of the love of Radha and Krana, which symbolised the love of the soul for God, personified in Krsna. The poem is regarded as an allegory of the soul striving to escape the allurement of the senses to find peace in mystical union with God.