GITAGOVINDA

(Sanskrit: The Poem in which the Cowherd Is Sung), lyrical poem celebrating the romance of the divine cowherd Krishna and his beloved, Radha, renowned both for its high literary value and for its expression of religious longing, and popular particularly among Vaisnavas (followers of Lord Vishnu, of whom Krishna was an incarnation) of India. The poem was written in Sanskrit by Jayadeva, who was attached to the Bengali court of King Laksmana Sena (late 12th century). The highly original form of the poem, which inspired many later imitations, intersperses the recitative stanzas with 24 eight-line songs. The religious drama of the worshiper's yearning for god is expressed through the idiom of human courtship and love. The Gitagovinda is the earliest-known poem dealing with the theme of the divine lovers, Radha and Krishna, and in it Radha is treated as the mistress, not as the wife, of Krishna. Its verses were popular with Caitanya, the 14th15th-century Bengali saint, and continue to be sung even today at bhajanas and kirtanas (gatherings for devotion through song) throughout India. The Gitagovinda was also the inspiration for many beautiful miniature paintings of the Rajasthani and Pahari schools in the 17th and 18th centuries.