Literary Aspects of GitaGovinda by Jayadeva, the 12th century poet

Jayadeva was a well known Sanskrit poet and lyricist who was born in Kenduli, Orissa circa 1200 AD. The works of Jayadeva have had a profound influence on Indian culture. It forms the basis of the east Indian classical dance form, Odissi, and has strongly influenced the Bharatanatyamclassical dance as well as Carnatic music. Jayadeva's composition, 2 hymns, has also been incorporated in the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of the Sikh religion.The Gita Govinda is the best known composition of Jayadeva, ranks among the finest examples of Sanskrit poetry. Jayadeva was instrumental in popularizing the Dasavatara, the ten incarnations of Vishnu in another composition, Dasakritikrite.Additionally, the Gita Govinda begins with a Dasavatara stotra. In July 2009, the government of India's Department of Posts released 11 stamps in Bhubaneswar to commemorate the birth of Jayadeva. One stamp depicts the poet himself, while the other ten depict the Dasavatara {This introduction part is collated from Wikipedia}

During a Mohiniyattam dance performance in London, I heard this song(translation and links below), which is a composition done for the dance. The lyrics are of an "Ashtapadi" from GitaGovinda, the 12th century sanskrit poetry by Jayadeva. I was doing some photography for the dance performed by Padmini Parameswar &Shiju Menon, friends I've known from here.

Those in the music and dance world might be quite familiar with GitaGovinda. 

Since i felt it as quite beautiful song to listen to,..  and with quite a soothing rendition, may be to do with its intricate details of poetic qualities as well.. (and the dance I saw was also very beautifully and gracefully done!! ), May be due to "the whole experience of it", the song quite influenced me.. Even though I couldn't get some of the sanskrit words, but could only make broad sense in those instances, There was something deeply touching, drawing me into it deep,  and was trying to find more about it.

That's when I landed on this very interesting essay on the Literary Aspects of Gita Govinda, some excerpts from it are collated in a section below.

For me, it was interesting to read that : Gita-govinda was composed at a time when Indian classical music was not divided into two regional streams, namely Hindustani and Karnatic, and thus was one single tradition.

About Gita Govinda /wiki:

The Gita Govinda ( गीत गोविन्द) (Song of Govinda) is a work composed by the 12th-century poet, Jayadeva, who was born in Kenduli Sasan near Puri in Orissa. It describes the relationship between Krishna and the gopis (female cow herders) of Vrindavana, and in particular one gopi named Radha. This work has been of great importance in the development of thebhakti traditions of Hinduism.

The Gita Govinda is organized into twelve chapters. Each chapter is further sub-divided into twenty four divisions called Prabandhas. The prabandhas contain couplets grouped into eights, called Ashtapadis. It is mentioned that Radha is greater than Krishna. The text also elaborates the eight moods of Heroine, the Ashta Nayika in its verses, which over the years has been an inspiration for many a compositions and choreographic works in Indian classical dances.^[1]

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The translation of the Ashtapadi I heard is added below, with the link to the Original Sanskrit lyrics ( all digged out separately through google) 

Original Sanskrit Lyrics of the Ashtapadi song at  http://www.karnatik.com/c1522.shtml

Translation from the book: 
 [ # Love Song of the Dark Lord - Jayadeva’s GitaGovinda, 

 by Barbara Stoler Miller, Columbia University Press, New York, 1977. ]

# {Introduction }

On the banks of the river Yamuna in a bower of flowers
Krishna was sitting brooding immersed in his thoughts about Radha
when her dear friend appeared before him
And she begins to narrate the plight of Radha

{ 1 }  Anything cool, she rejects be it sandalwood paste or the moonlight
and she considers the cool breeze from the south as laden with poison
Smitten by the arrows of Eros the poor girl is in anguish
In her separation Radha pines for you    … 1

{ 2 }  In her heart of hearts she has put you on a pedestal
and she tries to protect that image with the shield of tender lotus blooms
Even as the Love God is relentless
she still tries to keep you away from his sharp arrows    … 2

{ 3 }  The bed of flowers she so carefully made,
to be with you and to forget herself in your fond embrace,
is now piercing her like arrows  … 3

{ 4 }  Any moment her dark eyes may burst forth like the monsoon clouds
Her face is oozing ambrosia even when it sparkles
like the full moon being devoured at the time of the eclipse   … 4

{ 5 }  When she is alone she draws the picture of your likeness
She paints her hands with the flags of the Love God with the crocodile ensign
and mango leaves that are his choice arrows   … 5

{ 6 }  One moment she is lost, another moment she is pensive
One moment she cries, another moment she laughs
Her thoughts are always about you
her worship is always your image  … 6

{ 7 }  Without any inhibitions she has fallen at your feet
and repeatedly she utters your name
You ignored her, and in your separation
even the caress of moonbeams
makes her jump up as if it were fire … 7

{ 8 }  Thus spoke to Krishna, the dear friend of Radha
of her mate’s loneliness and suffering in the absence of Krishna
These words of apt description by the poet Jayadeva
are worth reading again and again … 8

Radha’s dwelling as disorderly as a forest
She considers even her close friends a distraction
Her shallow breaths have a feverish tinge
Alas, the Love god is playing with her
as a tiger ready to pounce on the hapless deer.

{ Literary Aspects of the Gita-govinda  }

(found this commentary quite interesting- you could overlook the website name and the hinduism tag there.. I was purely looking at the literary aspects, and the commetary is just that. Some excerpts below)

From    http://www.indiadivine.org/articles/208-literary-aspects-gita-govinda.html  : 

Gita-govinda was composed at a time when Indian classical music was not divided into two regional streams, namely Hindustani and Karnatic, and thus was one single tradition.

Written by the 12th century poet Jayadeva, the Gita-govinda is one of the finest specimens of love poetry written in any language. It describes the divine love and pangs of separation of Radha and Krishna. Jayadeva has masterfully interwoven a religious theme with the science of erotica. In Gita-govinda, we have on the one hand, the love of Radha and Krishna as a means of worship and devotion, (the theme of Upasya and Upasaka - of god and devotee), and on the other, the theme of Nayaka and Nayika - of the hero and heroine in love.

The poems (ashtapadis) of Gita-govinda have been set to music throughout India. They are perhaps the earliest examples of regular musical compositions, each set to a specific raga and tala. (The Tevaram and Tiruvacagam in Tamil are earlier than the Ashtapadis, but only the ragas are mentioned in these texts and not the talas.)
Some scholars suggest that Jayadeva has used a diction filled with poetic syntax as well as luxuriant growth of rhymes and inter-rhymes by which the erotic descriptions have been very cleverly sublimated, making it more acceptable and popular, and hauntingly beautiful at the same time.

One of the most distinctive features of Jayadeva’s diction is the abundant use of alliteration, the repetition of the same sound, rhymes and inter-rhymes (Antyanuprasa and Madhyanuprasa). Rhyming started around seventh or eighth century, largely under the influence of folk poems or the local vernacular and culminated with all its splendour in Jayadeva’s Gitagovinda.

It seems Jayadeva had adapted the musical moraic meters of vernacular poetry in order to create a medium of song within conventional Sanskrit poetry. No doubt the Gita-govinda is the most significant poem in the history of Sanskrit literature so far the metrical innovations and rhymes are concerned.

In many of the poems it is the sound rather than the sense that overpowers the whole poetic structure, thus creating an atmosphere of intoxication through its cadence and rhythm.

It has been a tradition of the Gwalior gharana ever since, to sing each Ashtapadi-composition along with dhrupad, khayal, tappa, etc. The Ashtapadis were composed in the raga and tala of their own choice and sung in the true khayal style.

The tradition of singing Ashtapadis on classical music platforms as well as in temples is still prevalent in Gwalior.

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Ashtapadi Singing in the Temples of Kerala:

During the 14th and 15th centuries, when Ashtapadi singing was implemented in the temples of Kerala, they were rendered in the Sopana style of singing.

 Sopanam came to prominence in the wake of the increasing popularity of Jayadeva's Gita Govinda or Ashtapadis. Sopana sangeetham (music), as the very name suggests, is sung by the side of the holy steps (sopanam) leading to the sanctum sanctorum of a shrine.