Jayadeva

Jayadeva Biography

Jayadeva is better known us the author of famous epic poem – Gita Govind. Through this wonderful creation, he gives a new reading experience and a new character, Radha that has never been mentioned anywhere in the great epic Mahabharata. Yet through this single work, romance of Radha and Krishna still lives in billions of Indian hearts! Through this work, he places Radha above Krishna and beautifully illustrates the romantic life of Lord Krishna before he leaves to Madhura. This work is considered an important text in the Bhakti movement of Hinduism. Jayadeva was instrumental in popularizing the Dasavatara, the ten incarnations of Vishnu, through another noted work - Dasakritikrite. The classic posture of Krishna playing flute also gained popularity through his works.

Life history of Jayadeva has been decoded from inscriptions at Lingaraj temple, Madhukeswar temple and Simhachal temple. Based on those facts, they are interpreted by historians. There is not clear evidence about the place and date of birth of Jayadeva. It’s widely regarded as either Jayadeva Kenduli village in Bengal, Kenduli in Mithila or Kenduli Sasan village in Odisha. According to historians, he was born in as Brahmin around 1200 AD, later wandered and reached Puri. Though told he married a dancer named Padmavati as per traditions, there are no strong proofs.  He was born to Brahmin couple, Bhojadeva and Ramadevi. He received his education in Sanskrit poetry from a place called Kurmapataka, possibly near Konark in Odisha.

Later he left for Kurmapataka and gained experience in composing poetry, music and dancing. Through a few records available, it has been confirmed that Gita Givind became popular throughout India soon after its composition. Main reason cited is its regular performance at Jagannath temple of Puri. He also institutionalized the Devadasi system in Oriya temples. He excelled in puranas and shastras at a younger age. Two hymns of Jayadeva are included in Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of the Sikh religion.

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Updated: January 24, 2014