Gita Govinda

For 2018 Indian Telugu film, see Geetha Govindam. For 2023 Indian Malayalam soap opera, see Geeta Govindam.
Gita Govinda
Original palm leaf manuscript of the Gita Govinda, Odisha State Museum, Bhubaneswar
Original palm leaf manuscript of the Gita Govinda in Odisha State Museum
Information
ReligionHinduism
AuthorJayadeva
LanguageSanskrit
Period12th CE
Chapters12

The Gita Govinda (Sanskrit: गीतगोविन्दम्; IAST: gītagovindam) is a work composed by the 12th-century Hindu poet, Jayadeva. It describes the relationship between Krishna, Radha and gopis (female cow herders) of Vrindavan.[1]

The Gita 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, called ashtapadis. The text also elaborates the eight moods of Heroine, the Ashta Nayika, which has been an inspiration for many compositions and choreographic works in Indian classical dances.[2] Every night in the Jagannatha temple, the Gitagovinda of Jayadeva is sung in the style of Odissi music, a tradition that has continued unbroken since the time of Jayadeva himself.[3][4] Musicians of Kerala have adapted the ashtapadis into a musical form performed in temples called sopana sangeetham.[5] Jayadeva's hymns are also included in the Guru Granth Sahib.[6][7]

  1. ^ Datta, Amaresh, ed. (1988). "Gitagovinda". Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: Devraj to Jyoti. Vol. 2. New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi. pp. 1414–1423. ISBN 81-260-1194-7.
  2. ^ "Learn the lingo". The Hindu. 14 September 2007. Archived from the original on 12 February 2008.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Das, Ramhari (2004). Odissi Sangeetara Parampara O Prayoga ଓଡ଼ିଶୀ ସଙ୍ଗୀତର ପରମ୍ପରା ଓ ପ୍ରୟୋଗ [The tradition and method of Odissi music] (in Odia). Bhubaneswar, Odisha: Kaishikee Prakashani.
  5. ^ Shankar, Hari (April 1, 2019). "The Indigenous Music of Kerala, 'Sopana Sangeetham'". Retrieved January 7, 2023.
  6. ^ Max Arthur Macauliffe (2013). The Sikh Religion: Its Gurus, Sacred Writings and Authors. Cambridge University Press. pp. 4–9. ISBN 978-1-108-05548-2.
  7. ^ Pashaura Singh (2003). The Bhagats of the Guru Granth Sahib: Sikh Self-definition and the Bhagat Bani. Oxford University Press. pp. 9, 116–123. ISBN 978-0-19-566269-6.