Çréla Jayadeva Gosvämé appeared in either the eleventh or twelfth century of the Çaka era. There is a difference of opinions about the place of his birth. The majority opinion holds that he hailed from the village of Kendubilva, presently in the district of Birbhum. Others hold that he was born in Orissa or in south India.
Kendubilva is situated about twenty miles south of Siuri on the banks of the Ajay River. In the Gauòéya Vaiñëava Abhidhäna it is stated that Jayadeva Goswami found his Radha Madhava deities in this river’s waters. It is also stated there that he used to rest and worship at the temple of Shiva known as Lord Kuçeçvara, which is also on the banks of the Ajay River. His father was Bhojadeva and mother, Vama Devi.
JAYADEVA GOSWAMI’S LIFE IN NABADWIP
Jayadeva Goswami lived for a long time in Nabadvépa during the reign of the king of Bengal, Lakshman Sen, making his home not far from the king’s palace. At that time, the king’s chief scholar was Govardhana Acharya. According to Ashutosh Deb’s Bengali dictionary, Jayadeva Goswami was Lakshman Sen’s court poet.
Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura wrote in his Nabadvépa-dhäma-mähätmya that Lakshman Sen was delighted when he heard Jayadeva Goswami’s hymn to the ten avatäras, the Daçävatära-stotra. When Goverdhana Acharya notified the king that it was Jayadeva Goswami who had composed the hymn, he became desirous to meet the poet. He went incognito to Jayadeva Goswami’s house and when he saw him, he noticed that Jayadeva Goswami possessed the characteristics of a great and powerful spiritual personality. Greatly impressed and attracted by Jayadeva Goswami, the king revealed his identity to him and invited him to come and live in the royal palace. Jayadeva Goswami was leading a much renounced life and was therefore unwilling to live in the opulent environment of the palace. He told the king that he preferred to live in Jagannath Puri.
Lakshman Sen was disappointed by Jayadeva Goswami’s intentions. He quickly suggested that he take up residence in the village of Champa Hati, saying that it is a place suitable for a person who wished to lead a meditative life. He also promised him that he would never come to disturb him again. When Jayadeva Goswami agreed, Lakshman Sen had a cottage built for him in the village which was formerly known as Champaka-hatta, named after the beautiful garden of champa trees and the village market where its flowers were sold. It was in this village that Mahäprabhu’s associate Dvija Baninath received a vision of Him in the Satya Yuga, seeing Him in the form of a Brahmin whose skin was the color of a champa flower. Similarly, Jayadeva Goswami had a vision here, first of Radha Madhava, then of Their combined Form as the golden champa-colored Gauranga Mahäprabhu.
After the Lord gave Jayadeva Goswami this vision, He told him to go to Jagannath Puri. Although Jayadeva Goswami was sad to leave the future abode of his Lord, he obeyed the Lord’s command and made his way to Puri where it is said that he was engaged as the king of Orissa’s court poet. He spent the remainder of his life in the abode of Lord Jagannath, where he wrote the transcendental poem based on the sentiments of love in separation known as Géta-Govinda or Añöapadé. Indeed, Mahäprabhu told Jayadeva Goswami while giving him the vision in Nabadvépa that after appearing there, He would take sannyas and go to Jagannath Puri where He would relish the Géta-Govinda.
Further information about the life of Jayadeva Goswami is found in the preface to the Calcutta’s Basumati Sahitya Mandir edition of Géta-Govinda: “Sometime prior to the Muslim conquest of Delhi, King Manikya Chandra ordered the writing of the book Alaìkära-çekhara, in which Jayadeva Goswami is mentioned as the court poet of the king of Orissa. Sridhar Das, the son of one of the chief courtiers of Lakshman Sen, included many of Jayadeva Goswami’s verses in his anthology Sad-ukti-karëämåta, citing a work named Amiyäbha-kävya. The colophon to one ancient manuscript of the Géta-Govinda states, “Jayadeva Goswami had a great reputation as a poet during the time of Lakshman Sen.”
JAYADEVA GOSWAMI’S MARRIAGE TO PADMAVATI
According to legend, Lord Jagannath Himself ordered Jayadeva Goswami to marry his wife, Padmavati. The story is told in the Viçvakoña as follows: There once was a Brahmin who was without offspring despite having worshiped Lord Jagannath for many years in the hope of having a son. Finally, he and his wife had a daughter and they named her Padmavati. When she came of marriageable age, the Brahmin brought her to Lord Jagannath to offer her to His lotus feet.1 When He saw them, Lord Jagannath Himself said to the Brahmin, “I have a servant whose name is Jayadeva Goswami. He has given up family life and has dedicated himself to chanting My names. Give your daughter to him in marriage.”
The Brahmin took his daughter to Jayadeva Goswami and asked him to marry his daughter. However, since Jayadeva Goswami had no desire to get married, he refused to agree to any arrangement. Then the Brahmin told him that it was Lord Jagannath Himself who had arranged this marriage and without another word, he left, leaving his daughter behind. Jayadeva Goswami found himself totally unprepared for this situation and told the girl, “Tell me where you want to go and I will take you and leave you there. You cannot stay here.”
Padmavati started to cry and said, “My father brought me here to marry you on Jagannath Deva’s order. You are my husband, my all in all. If you do not accept me, then I will fall down at your feet and die right here. You are my only hope, my Lord.”
The poet and scholar Jayadeva Goswami could not abandon her after such a heartfelt plea. So he became a householder.
THE LORD HELPS JAYADEVA GOSWAMI WRITE GITA-GOVINDA
Jayadeva Goswami took up the worship of a Narayan deity and in the waves of love he felt for Him, began writing Géta-Govinda, with incomparable ambrosia. It is said that though Jayadeva Goswami is responsible for all the moods and sentiments that appear in the Géta-Govinda, he had some reticence about writing that Kṛṣṇa fell down at Radharani’s feet to beg Her forgiveness when She was angry with Him for having deceived Her.
On that day, when he left the house to take his bath in the ocean, Lord Jagannath Himself came inside, disguised as Jayadeva Goswami, opened his manuscript and completed the verse he had started smara-garala-khaëòanaà mama çirasi maëòanaà with the words dehi pada-pallavam udäram: “Make the noble blossom of Your foot an ornament on My head, as it dispels the poison of love in separation.” (Gita-govinda 10.8)
Padmavati was surprised to see her husband back so soon from his bath and asked, “What are you doing here? You just left a minute ago.” The disguised Lord Jagannath answered, “I thought of something I had forgotten while on my way. I was afraid I might forget so I came back to write it down.”
Not long after Lord Jagannath had left, the real Jayadeva Goswami returned. This time, Padmavati was really astonished to see him. She said, “You just left to go and take your bath. Just a few moments ago you were writing in your manuscript and then you left. How could you have finished and come back so quickly? I am beginning to wonder who that was and who you are.”
Jayadeva Goswami was clever enough to guess what had happened and he went and looked at his unfinished text and saw the words that the Lord Himself had written. The hair stood on end all over his body and tears came pouring from his eyes. He called Padmavati and said to her, “You are so fortunate. Your life has been made worthy. You have had the good fortune to see the Lord Himself. I am so lowly that I did not have that opportunity!”
LORD JAGANNATH’S LOVE FOR GITA-GOVINDA
There is a legend told in Jagannath Puri that there was a flower gardener’s daughter who had learned Géta-Govinda and would sing it with great emotion. Lord Jagannath was attracted by her singing and would go to listen to her, only returning to the temple after she had finished singing.
One day, when the king of Orissa came to see the deity, he saw that the Lord’s body was covered in dust and his clothes were filled with thorns. He asked the pujaris the reason for the Lord’s disheveled condition, but no one could explain how it had come about. The servants of the deity were afraid that they would be punished, but that night, Lord Jagannath appeared to the king in a dream and explained that no one was to blame for his clothes being soiled that day. He had gone to listen to the gardener’s daughter and had become covered with dust and thorns while hiding in the garden.
The king was struck with wonder by his dream and immediately sent for the gardener’s daughter to be brought to the court in a palanquin. After making inquiries from her, he decided that she should sing for Jagannath in the temple, rather than obliging the Lord to leave the temple and get all dirty. This was the beginning of the tradition of the temple engaging girls named deva-dasis sing Géta-Govinda for Jagannath’s pleasure.
MAHAPRABHU APPRECIATES GITA-GOVINDA
In the last twelve years of His pastimes, Mahäprabhu was absorbed in Radha’s mood and constantly relishing this hidden spirit of love. During this time, he would savor the songs of the Géta-Govinda.
Day and night, the Lord would speak as though He were Radha meeting Uddhava. He would also relish the poems of Chandi Das, Jayadeva Goswami and Vidyapati.
(Chaitanya Charitamrita 1.13.41-2)
Mahäprabhu was never pleased to hear books or verses that contradicted siddhanta, nor did He like hearing rasäbhäsa, an improper mixture of devotional sentiments. It was the practice of Svarupa Damodar Gosvämé to examine all works of literature to find out whether their conclusions were correct. Only then would he allow them to be heard by the Lord. Çré Svarupa Damodar used to make Mahäprabhu very happy by singing the songs of Vidyäpati, Chandi Das and Géta‑Govinda.
(Chaitanya Charitamrita 2.10.113-5)
Svarupa Damodar would sing songs that reflected the moods of the Lord whenever they arose, while Ramananda Raya selected verses from Vidyapati, Chandi Das and Géta-Govinda according to the Lord’s mood.
(Chaitanya Charitamrtita 2.17.5-6)
The Lord returned to external consciousness for a moment and told Svarupa to sing some sweet songs. Svarupa sang one of Vidyapati’s songs and then songs from the Géta-Govinda, which were greatly appreciated by the Lord.
(Chaitanya Charitamrita 3.17.62)
candi däsa vidyäpatiräyera näöaka géti
karëämåta çré géta-govinda
svarüpa rämänanda sane mahäprabhu rätri-dine
gäya, çune parama änanda
Day and night, Mahäprabhu ecstatically relished the songs of Chandi Das, Vidyapati and Ramananda Raya’s plays, as well as Kṛṣṇa-karëämåta and Géta-Govinda in the company of Svarupa and Ramananda.
(Chaitanya Charitamrita 2.2.77)
JAYADEVA GOSWAMI AND THE ROBBERS
Many other amazing and miraculous events were scattered through Jayadeva Goswami’s life. He used to serve his deities Radha -Madhava in a trance of divine love. It is said that just as the devotee dedicates himself to the Lord, the Lord also dedicates Himself to His devotee. One day, Jayadeva Goswami was thatching his roof under the merciless midday sun. Lord Jagannath saw His devotee’s discomfort and decided to help him finish the work quickly by handing him the rope needed to bale the straw and removing the finished bundles and placing them on the roof. Jayadeva Goswami thought that Padmavati was helping him in this way. But when he came down from the roof after finishing much earlier than expected, he saw no one there. He asked his wife and she told him that she had been busy elsewhere at the time. He was curious about what had happened, but struck with wonder when he went into the deity room and saw that Madhava’s hands were black from handling the straw. He was thus able to understand that Lord Madhava Himself who had come to help him thatch the roof. He fell down before his Lord and started to cry.
On another occasion, Jayadeva Goswami wished to put on a festival for his deities Radha-Madhava, but he was short of money. He decided to travel in order to collect some funds. On his return journey, he was stopped by a band of thugs who not only stole his money but cutoff his hands and feet and threw him down a well to die. Despite the pain, Jayadeva Goswami shouted out the names of the Lord loudly.
After Jayadeva Goswami had spent three days in this way, the king happened to pass that way on a hunting expedition and heard the sound of the Holy Names coming from the hole in the ground. The king approached the sound out of curiosity and was horrified to see Jayadeva Goswami in such a serious condition. He had him pulled out of the well and brought back to his palace where he had him treated. Under the care of the king and the queen, Jayadeva Goswami was gradually returned to health.
Both the king and queen were charmed by Jayadeva Goswami’s sweet singing of the Géta-Govinda as well as by his saintly character. They immediately sent for Padmavati and had her brought to their palace. The royal couple heard about Kṛṣṇa from Jayadeva Goswami and took initiation from him and started to make their lives successful by service of the Lord and His devotees. One day, the robbers who had attacked Jayadeva Goswami came to the king’s palace as guests in the guise of devotees. Even though Jayadeva Goswami recognized who they were, he gave them the appropriate honor due to their outward appearance and arranged for the king’s hospitality to be extended to them. The robbers, however, did not understand Jayadeva Goswami’s forgiving and generous nature and, fearing capture and punishment, thought it best to leave without accepting the royal invitation. Jayadeva Goswami understood their fear and asked the king to give them a large sum of money, an escort and send them on their way.
After they had gone a certain distance, the robbers said to the soldiers accompanying them, “You need not go any further. However, we would like to tell you a secret message to convey to the king. Prior to becoming Vaiñëavas we were the servants of a certain king who for very good reason ordered us to murder this priest, Jayadeva Goswami. That is why we cut off his hands and feet and left him to die. The reason this priest gave us a lot of money and asked us to leave quickly is because he was afraid that this secret would come out.”
Unable to tolerate the telling of such a great lie, the Earth herself opened up and swallowed the entire gang of thieves. The goddess of the Earth was unable to support the weight of these sinful liars and so she swallowed them up. As they blasphemed the great devotee of the Lord, they met their doom in the bowels of the earth. When Shukracharya, the guru of the demons, told Bali Mahäräja not to give the three feet of land demanded by Vamana Deva, Bali answered that he was the grandson of Prahlad Mahäräja. How could he go back on his word like a miser once he had committed himself to giving in charity? He substantiated this by quoting the Earth,
na hy asatyät paro’dharmati hoväca bhür iyam
sarvaà soòhum alaà manye åte’lék-aparaà naram
“There is no greater irreligiousness than untruth,” says the Earth, “I can bear any burden other than that of a person who constantly lies.”
(Srimad Bhagavatam 8.20.4)
The servants of the king who had accompanied these robbers were amazed to see them punished for their offense to Jayadeva Goswami right before their very eyes. They came back to the king’s palace and told him everything they had witnessed. The king inquired from Jayadeva Goswami about the robbers and he told the entire story. He said, “O king! A saintly man does not seek revenge from those who have done evil toward him. He attempts to satisfy them by polite behavior. Even so, the Lord’s flawless dispensation will make them suffer the consequences of their own sinfulness, as He did in this case.”
PADMAVATI IS TESTED
Jayadeva Goswami’s wife became a close friend to the queen. In those days, the practice of sati, where the wife would enter the funeral pyre along with her husband, was an accepted custom. After her brother’s death, the queen was mortified that her sister-in-law would have to die on the funeral pyre with him. Padmavati said to the queen, “A faithful wife’s life airs leave her body the very moment her husband dies.”
When the queen heard this, she decided to test Padmavati herself. One day she announced to Padmavati that her husband Jayadeva Goswami had suddenly died. As soon as this news entered her ears, Padmavati gave up her life. This shocked the queen and she began to cry out of a sense of guilt for having caused it. The king went to Jayadeva Goswami and begged him to return the life to her. The great devotee Jayadeva Goswami whispered the name of Kṛṣṇa into his wife’s ear and she opened her eyes as though she had just awakened. Upon seeing this manifestation of both Jayadeva Goswami and Padmavati’s glories, the king and queen as well as all their courtiers and servants paid their obeisances at their feet.
JAYADEVA GOSWAMI GOES TO VRINDAVAN
After this, Jayadeva Goswami wished to see Vrindavan. He took leave of the king and queen and then, taking his deities, Radha-Madhava with him, set off on the long journey. Once in Vrindavan, he began to serve his deities in a spot near Keshi Ghat. When the residents of the Dham heard Jayadeva Goswami sing the Géta-Govinda in his sweet voice, they were entranced. One merchant built a large temple for the deities on that site.
It is said that Jayadeva Goswami returned to his birthplace in Kendubilva after living in Vrindavan for many years. He spent the rest of his life there, performing his bhajan. He would make the long walk to the Ganges every day to take his bath there. One day, for some reason or another, he was unable to make it. Ganga Devi was so kind to him that she came personally to the village of Kendubilva so that he could bathe in her holy waters. It is said that he left the body there in Kendubilva and every year on the first day of the month of Magh a large festival is held there in his memory.
There is a difference of opinions about where Jayadeva Goswami left this body. Though some say he returned to Kendubilva, others claim it was Puri, and still others say that he went to Vrindavan. Çréla Bhakti Siddhänta Sarasvaté Gosvämé Öhäkura has stated his opinion that Jayadeva Goswami left this world from Jagannath Puri. Though some people say that Jayadeva Goswami returned to Kendubilva to spend his last days, there is no indication anywhere that he brought his Radha-madhava deities with him. In fact, these deities were taken by the king of Jaipur to a place named Ghati sometime after Jayadeva Goswami’s passing away and they are still being served in the Jaipur area. Jayadeva Goswami’s disappearance day is on the sixth day of the waning moon of the month of Paush.
1Many people in Orissa still follow the custom of offering their daughters in marriage to Lord Jagannath before they marry anyone else.
