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{{short description|Medieval Indian text based on Hindu god Radha and Krishna}}
{{italic title}}
{{for-multi|2018 Indian Telugu film|Geetha Govindam| 2023 Indian Malayalam soap opera|Geeta Govindam}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox religious text
|title=''Gita Govinda''
|image=Original palm leaf manuscript of Gita Gobinda (Gita Govinda) written by Jayadeba (Jayadeva), Odisha state museum, Bhubaneswar 2013.JPG
|alt=Original palm leaf manuscript of the ''Gita Govinda'', Odisha State Museum, Bhubaneswar
|caption=Original palm leaf manuscript of the ''Gita Govinda'' in [[Odisha State Museum]]
|religion=[[Hinduism]]
|verses=
|language=[[Sanskrit]]
|author=[[Jayadeva]]
|period=12th CE
|chapters=12
}}

The '''''Gita Govinda''''' ({{langx|sa|गीतगोविन्दम्}}; [[IAST]]: ''gītagovindam'') is a work composed by the 12th-century [[Hindu]] poet, [[Jayadeva]]. It describes the relationship between [[Krishna]], [[Radha]] and ''[[gopis]]'' (female cow herders) of [[Vrindavan]].<ref name="encyclopedia1988">{{cite encyclopedia |editor-surname=Datta |editor-given=Amaresh |title=Gitagovinda |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: Devraj to Jyoti |year=1988 |volume=2 |place=New Delhi |publisher=[[Sahitya Akademi]] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zB4n3MVozbUC&pg=PA1414 |pages=1414–1423 |isbn=81-260-1194-7}}</ref>

The ''Gita Govinda'' is organized into twelve chapters. Each chapter is further sub-divided into one or more divisions called p''rabandha''s, totalling twenty-four in all. The prabandhas contain couplets grouped into eights, called ''[[ashtapadis]]''. The text also elaborates the eight moods of Heroine, the ''[[Ashta Nayika]]'', which has been an inspiration for many compositions and choreographic works in [[Indian classical dance]]s.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.hindu.com/fr/2007/09/14/stories/2007091450100200.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080212034900/http://www.hindu.com/fr/2007/09/14/stories/2007091450100200.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=12 February 2008|work=[[The Hindu]]|title=Learn the lingo|date=14 September 2007}}</ref> Every night in the [[Jagannath Temple, Puri|Jagannatha temple]], the ''Gitagovinda'' of Jayadeva is sung in the style of [[Odissi music]], a tradition that has continued unbroken since the time of Jayadeva himself.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":32">{{Cite book |last=Das |first=Ramhari |title=Odissi Sangeetara Parampara O Prayoga |publisher=Kaishikee Prakashani |year=2004 |location=Bhubaneswar, Odisha |language=or |script-title=or:ଓଡ଼ିଶୀ ସଙ୍ଗୀତର ପରମ୍ପରା ଓ ପ୍ରୟୋଗ |trans-title=The tradition and method of Odissi music |author-link=Ramhari Das}}</ref> Musicians of [[Kerala]] have adapted the ''ashtapadis'' into a musical form performed in temples called ''[[Sopana Sangeetham|sopana sangeetham]].''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shankar |first=Hari |date=1 April 2019 |title=The Indigenous Music of Kerala, 'Sopana Sangeetham' |url=https://anandfoundation.com/indigenous-music-kerala-sopana-sangeetham/ |access-date=7 January 2023}}</ref> Jayadeva's hymns are also included in the [[Guru Granth Sahib]].<ref name="mamcup4">{{cite book |author=Max Arthur Macauliffe |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5B0JEN2ct94C&pg=PA4 |title=The Sikh Religion: Its Gurus, Sacred Writings and Authors |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-108-05548-2 |pages=4–9}}</ref><ref name="pashaura9">{{cite book |author=Pashaura Singh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fMrXAAAAMAAJ |title=The Bhagats of the Guru Granth Sahib: Sikh Self-definition and the Bhagat Bani |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-19-566269-6 |pages=9, 116–123}}</ref>

==Summary==
{{See also|Jayadeva|Works of Jayadeva}}
[[File:Delhi-National Museum-Jayadeva worshipping Radha and Krishna-20131006.jpg|thumb|Jayadeva worshipping Krishna and Radha]]
The work delineates the love of Krishna for Radha, the milkmaid, his faithlessness and subsequent return to her, and is taken as symbolical of the human soul's straying from its true allegiance but returning at length to the God which created it.<ref>{{Cite Americana|wstitle=Jayadéva}}</ref>

=== Chapters ===

# ''Sāmodadāmodaram'' (Exuberant Krishna)
# ''Akleshakeshavam'' (Blithesome Krishna)
# ''Mugdhamadhusūdanam'' (Winsome Krishna)
# ''Snigdhamadhusūdanam'' (Tender Krishna)
# ''Sākāṅkṣa puṇdarīkākṣham'' (Passionate Krishna)
# ''Dhrṣta vaikuṇṭha'' (Audacious Krishna)
# ''NāgaranārāyanaH'' (Dexterous Krishna)
# ''VilakṣyalakṣmīpatiH'' (Apologetic Krishna)
# ''Mugdhadamukunda'' (Unpretentious Krishna)
# ''ChaturachaturbhujaH'' (Tactful Krishna)
# ''Sānandadāmodaram'' (Joyful Krishna)
# ''SuprītapītāmbaraH'' (Exultant Krishna)

==Commentaries==
A large number of commentaries have been written on the text, elaborating on its meaning and music. Scholar Thomas Donaldson mentions that the Gitagovinda was known at Puri not long after its composition, for the earliest commentary on it was written in Odisha around 1190 by Udayanacharya, the ''Bhavavibhavini Tika''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Donaldson |first=Thomas E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tQLWAAAAMAAJ |title=Kamadeva's Pleasure Garden, Orissa |date=1987 |publisher=B.R. Publishing Corporation |isbn=978-81-7018-393-8 |pages=366–74 |language=en}}</ref>''<ref name="Reddy">{{cite book |author=William M. Reddy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qrKScdZ8M8kC&pg=PA257 |title=The Making of Romantic Love: Longing and Sexuality in Europe, South Asia, and Japan, 900-1200 CE |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-226-70628-3 |page=257}}</ref>'' Some of the notable commentaries are Kaviraja Narayana Dasa's ''Sarvangasundaritika'', Rana Kumbha's ''Rasikapriya Tika'', Krsna Das's ''Sarvangasundaritika'', Dhananjaya Bipra's ''Nutana Sarvangasundaritika'', Lakshmana Suri's ''Srtiranjani Tika'', Lakshmana Bhatta's ''Rasikarangadatika'' and Dharanidhara's Odia ''Padyanuvadatika.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |first= |title=Sri Jayadeva's Gita Govinda : with illustrations and commentary by Dhananjaya |collaboration=Ajit Kumar Tripathy, Thomas E. Donaldson |publisher=Odisha State Museum |year=2008 |editor-last=Malla |editor-first=Dr. Bhagyalipi |location=Bhubaneswar, Odisha |chapter=Preface}}</ref>''

Within the school of [[Gaudiya Vaishnavism]], there is a medieval commentary known as the ''Sri-Gita-Govinda-Vyakhayana'' by [[Prabhodananda Sarasvati]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gosvāmī |first=Śrīla Jayadeva |translator-last=Swami |translator-first=Bhanu |date=2018 |title=Gīta Govinda: with the commentary of Śrīla Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī |publisher=Tattva Cintāmaṇi Publishing |isbn=9781980452195}}</ref> Another well-known medieval commentary is the ''Balabodhini-tika'' of Chaitanyadasa, also known as Sri Pujari Goswami (late 16th–17th centuries).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Peterson |first=Peter |date=1892 |title=Catalogue of the Sanskrit Manuscripts in the Library of His Highness the Maharaja of Ulwar |publisher=Elphinstone College, Bombay |page=38}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Gosvāmī |first=Śrī Jayadeva |translator-last=Gosvāmī Mahārāja |translator-first=Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa |date=2005 |title=Śrī Gīta-Govinda |publisher=Gaudiya Vedanta Publications |page=xx |isbn=9781633161634}}</ref> A contemporary commentary from the Gaudiya Vaishnava school, drawing largely from the ''Balabodhini-tika'', is the ''Balabodhini-prakasa'' of Bhaktivedanta Narayana Goswami.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Goswami Maharaja |first=Bhaktivedanta Narayana |title=Sri Gita Govinda – Sri Jayadeva Goswami|url=https://www.purebhakti.com/resources/ebooks-magazines/bhakti-books/english/14-gita-govinda/file |access-date=2024-04-18 |website=www.purebhakti.com |language=en}}</ref>

==Translations==
[[File:Odissi poet Gopalakrusna's handwritten Gitagobinda Pothi.jpg|thumb|345x345px|Handwritten palm leaf manuscript of Jayadeva's ''Gitagovinda'' by the medieval [[Odissi music|Odissi musician-poet]] [[Gopalakrusna Pattanayaka]] of [[Paralakhemundi]]]]
The poem has been translated into most modern Indian languages and many European languages. There is a German rendering which [[Goethe]] read by F. H . van Dalberg. Dalberg's version was based on the English translation done by [[William Jones (philologist)|William Jones]] published in the Transactions of the [[Asiatic Society]], [[Calcutta]] in 1792. A verse translation by the German poet [[Friedrich Rückert]] was begun in 1829 and revised according to the edited Sanskrit and Latin translations of C. Lassen in Bonn 1837. There's also another manuscript at the Guimet Museum in Paris in Devanagari script narrating the love between Krishna and Radha. This oblong work is printed on paper in ''nagari'' script on seven lines per page, and has a foliation located in the left margin on the reverse. It is made up of 36 folios. This volume is decorated with a snow crystal motif scattered throughout the text, a practice typical of the Indian publisher Baburam. This edition was produced in Calcutta in 1808, in imitation of the manuscripts; devoid of title page, it is accompanied by a colophon. The present binding, executed at the museum in 1991, constitutes a reproduction very faithful to its original appearance.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.guimet.fr/collections/tresors-de-la-bibliotheque/gitagovinda-imprime/|title=Original Edition of Jayadeva's pastoral work Gita Gobinda|website=guimet.fr/collections/tresors-de-la-bibliotheque/gitagovinda-imprime/}}</ref>

Notable English translations are: [[Edwin Arnold]]'s ''The Indian Song of Songs'' (1875); Sri Jayadevas ''Gita Govinda: The loves of Krisna and Radha'' (Bombay 1940) by [[George Keyt]] and [[Harold Peiris]];<ref name="lives">[https://archives.sundayobserver.lk/2007/04/22/imp02.asp The lives of Keyt] by Tissa Devendra (''Sunday Observer''), Retrieved 22 October 2015</ref> S. Lakshminarasimha Sastri ''The Gita Govinda of Jayadeva,'' Madras, 1956; Duncan Greenlee's ''Theosophical rendering The Song of the Divine,'' Madras, 1962; Monica Varma's transcreation ''The Gita Govinda of Jayadeva'' published by Writer's Workshop, Calcutta, 1968; Barbara Stoler Miller's ''Jayadeva's'' ''Gitagovinda : Love song of the Dark Lord'' published by Oxford University Press, Delhi,1978; Lee Siegel's ''Gitagovinda: Love Songs of Radha and Krishna'' published in the Clay Sanskrit series.{{fact|date=June 2025}}

The first English translation of the ''Gita Govinda'' was written by [[Sir William Jones]] in 1792, where ''Cenduli'' (Kenduli Sasana) of ''Calinga'' (Kalinga, ancient [[Odisha]]) is referred to as the widely-believed to be the place of Jayadeva's origin and that the poet himself mentions this.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Jones|first1=William|url=https://archive.org/details/worksofsirwillia01jone|title=The works of Sir William Jones|last2=Jones|first2=Anna Maria Shipley|publisher=London : G. G. and J. Robinson [etc.]|others=University of California Libraries|year=1799|volume=1|pages=462}}</ref> Since then, the ''Gita Govinda'' has been translated to many languages throughout the world, and is considered to be among the finest examples of [[Sanskrit]] poetry. [[Barbara Stoler Miller]] translated the book in 1977 as ''Love Song of the Dark Lord: Jayadeva's Gita Govinda''. The book contains a [[foreword]] by John Stratton Hawley and includes extensive commentary on the verse and topic of the poem.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Miller |first=Barbara Stoler |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QbUvEAAAQBAJ |title=The Gitagovinda of Jayadeva: Love Song of the Dark Lord |date=2016-01-01 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0366-4 |language=en}}</ref>

== Music ==
{{Odissi Classical Music sidebar}}Gita Govinda is one of the earliest musical texts in which the author indicates the exact ''raga'' (mode) and ''tala'' (rhythm) in which to sing each of the songs. These indications have been compiled below according to the ''ashtapadi'' number, based on the important ancient copies of the Gita Govinda and its commentaries such as ''Sarvangasundari Tika'' of Narayana Dasa (14th century), Dharanidhara's Tika (16th century), Jagannatha Mishra's Tika (16th century), ''Rasikapriya'' of Rana Kumbha (16th century) and ''Arthagobinda'' of Bajuri Dasa (17th century).<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Panda|first=Dr. Gopal Chandra|title=Sri Gita Gobinda Swara Lipi|publisher=Smt. Bhagabati Panda|year=1995|location=Bhubaneswar|language=or|trans-title=Notated music of the Gita Govinda|author-link=Gopal Chandra Panda}}</ref>

# Mālava, Mālavagauḍa or Mālavagauḍā
# [[Mangala Gujjari|Maṅgala Gujjarī]] or [[Gujjari|Gurjarī]]
# Basanta
# [[Ramakeri|Rāmakirī or Rāmakerī]]
# [[Gujjari|Gujjarī or Gurjarī]]
# Guṇḍakirī or Guṇḍakerī or Mālavagauḍa
# [[Gujjari|Gujjarī or Gurjarī]]
# Karṇṇāṭa
# Deśākhya or Deśākṣa
# Deśī Barāḍi or Deśa Barāḍi or [[Panchama Baradi|Pañchama Barāḍi]]
# [[Gujjari|Gujjarī or Gurjarī]]
# Guṇḍakirī or Guṇḍakerī
# Mālava or Mālavagauḍā
# Basanta
# [[Gujjari|Gujjarī or Gurjarī]]
# [[Baradi|Barāḍi]] or Deśa Barāḍi or Deśī Barāḍi
# Bhairabī
# [[Gujjari|Gujjarī or Gurjarī]] or [[Ramakeri|Rāmakerī]]
# Deśī or Deśa Barāḍi
# Basanta
# [[Baradi|Barāḍi]] or Deśa Barāḍi
# [[Baradi|Barāḍi]]
# [[Ramakeri|Rāmakirī or Rāmakerī]] or Bibhāsa
# [[Ramakeri|Rāmakirī or Rāmakerī]]

Most of the ragas and talas indicated by Jayadeva, continue to be in practice in the tradition of [[Odissi music]].<ref name=":0" /> The ''ragas'' and ''talas'' prescribed by Jayadeva are unique to the tradition of Odissi music.<ref name=":32" /> It is noteworthy that in Odisha, these ''ragas'' and ''tala''s have remained in continued usage for several centuries after Jayadeva, and enjoy extreme popularity in the state till date.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last=Panda |first=Dr. Gopal Chandra |title=Sri Gita Gobinda Swara Lipi |publisher=Smt. Bhagabati Panda |year=1995 |location=Bhubaneswar |language=or |trans-title=Notated music of the Gita Govinda |author-link=Gopal Chandra Panda}}</ref>

Every night during the ''Badasinghara'' or the last ritual of the [[Jagannath Temple, Puri|Jagannatha temple]] of Puri, the ''Gitagovinda'' of Jayadeva is sung, set to traditional Odissi ragas & talas, such as [[Mangala Gujjari]]. Jayadeva mentions many ragas and talas unique to Odisha, such as ''aṣṭatāli'' or ''āṭhatāli''.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Citaristi |first=Ileana |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b2J6EAAAQBAJ&dq=gitagovinda+odissi&pg=PT217 |title=Odissi and the Geeta Govinda |date=2022-10-06 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-000-78098-7 |language=en}}</ref> This tradition has continued unbroken since the time of Jayadeva, who himself used to sing in the temple. After the time of the poet, the singing of the Gitagovinda according to the authentic Odissi ragas & talas, (such as the Raga [[Mangala Gujjari]]) was instated as a mandatory sevā at the temple, to be performed by the Maharis or [[Devadasi]]s, systematically recorded in inscriptions, the [[Madala Panji|''Mādalā Pānji'']] and other official documents that describe the functioning of the temple.<ref name=":32" />

== ''Gita Govinda'' at Museums ==
[[File:RassLeela by Sri Krishna, Prem Mandir Vrindavan, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, India (2014).jpg| thumb|300px| RasaLila by Krishna, in [[Prem Mandir Vrindavan]]]]Various ''Gita Govinda'' Miniature paintings in museums:

* [[National Museum, New Delhi]]
* [[Honolulu Museum of Art]]
* [[Prince of Wales Museum of Western India|Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Bombay]]
* [[Metropolitan Museum of Art|Metropolitan Museum of art]]
* [[Indian Museum|Indian Museum, Calcutta]]
* [[Government Museum and Art Gallery, Chandigarh|Govt. Museum and Art Gallery Chandigarh]]
* [[Rietberg Museum]]
* [[Guimet Museum]]

==Publications==
;in English
* {{cite book |title=Love Song of the Dark Lord: Jayadeva's Gītagovinda |translator=Barbara Stoler Miller |translator-link=Barbara Stoler Miller |year=1977 |publisher=Columbia University Press |place=New York |isbn=0231040288 |url=https://cup.columbia.edu/book/love-song-of-the-dark-lord/9780231110976}}
* {{cite book |year=1990 |title=In Praise of Krishna: Gita-Govinda of Jayadeva |translator=Durgadas Mukhopadhyay |place=Delhi |publisher=B.R. Publishing}}

==See also==
{{portal|Poetry}}
* [[Works of Jayadeva]]
* [[Jayadeva birth controversy]]
* ''[[Achyuta Shataka]]''
* ''[[Mukundamala]]''
* [[Madhurāṣṭakam|Madhura Ashtaka]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Gita Govinda}}
{{Wikisource|sa:गीतगोविन्दम्|''Gita Govinda''}}
{{Wikisource|Gita Govinda| English translation of the ''Gita Govinda''}}

* [https://www.odishashop.com/product/odia-book-shreegitagobinda-o-mahakabi-shreejaydev-by-dr-premananda-mohapatra-from-odisha-shop/ Shreegitagobinda O Mahakabi Shreejaydev : A Book]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20171213211237/http://www.ignca.nic.in/gita.htm The ''Gita Govinda'': a Multimedia Presentation]
{{Odissi music}}{{Krishna}}
{{Jagannath}}

[[Category:Hindu texts]]
[[Category:Sanskrit poetry]]
[[Category:Jayadeva]]
[[Category:Bhakti movement]]
[[Category:Medieval Indian literature]]
[[Category:Vaishnavism]]
[[Category:Krishna]]
[[Category:Odissi music]]
[[Category:Odissi music repertoire]]

Gita Govinda - Revision history

Rxsolution at 21:10, 21 December 2025