Key Ideas
The ten avatāras of Viṣṇu, sung as a hymn — with the Buddha among them.
Spring in Vṛndāvana, and Kṛṣṇa’s dalliance with the other cowherd women.
Rādhā’s jealousy and grief, and her friend’s mediation.
Kṛṣṇa’s remorse — and the verse where God bows to Rādhā’s feet.
The Gītagovinda (“Song of Govinda”, i.e. Kṛṣṇa the cowherd) is a Sanskrit poem by Jayadeva, composed in the twelfth century in eastern India. In twelve cantos of songs (prabandhas), each set to a named rāga and tāla, connected by narrative verses, it tells of the love of Kṛṣṇa and Rādhā in the groves of Vṛndāvana: Kṛṣṇa’s dalliance in spring with the other cowherd women (gopīs); Rādhā’s jealousy and anguish; her friend’s messages between them; Kṛṣṇa’s remorse and longing; and their passionate reunion. It is the most musical poem in Sanskrit, and was read by devotees as an allegory of the love between the soul (Rādhā) and God (Kṛṣṇa). It opens with a famous hymn to the ten avatāras of Viṣṇu — notable for including the Buddha, praised for condemning animal sacrifice. Its most famous verse has Kṛṣṇa beg Rādhā: “Place your foot on my head, the beautiful flower that destroys the poison of love” — God bowing to the devotee. The Gītagovinda became central to the worship at Purī, to Bengali Vaiṣṇavism, to Odissi dance, to Rājput and Pahāṛī painting, and was among the first Indian poems translated into English and German.
Curiosities
did you know?- Its songs are still sung nightly at the Jagannātha temple in Purī, and are part of the Odissi dance repertoire.
- Goethe read it in German translation and admired it; Sir William Jones translated it into English in 1792.
Questions to Argue About
debate club →- Is erotic love a fitting image of the love between soul and God?
Explore Next
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Sūrdās
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Āṇṭāḷ
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Jñāneśvar
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