Śrī Jayadeva Gosvāmī

Chapter, Sreela Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Goswami Maharaj

Jayadeva Gosvāmī found his Rādhā-Mādhava 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 Kuśeśvara, which is also on the banks of the Ajay River. His father was Bhojadeva and mother, Vama Devi.

  • Śrīla Jayadeva Gosvāmī appeared in either the eleventh or twelfth century of the Śakā era. There is a difference of opinion 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 Odisha or in south India.

    Kendubilva is situated about twenty miles south of Siuri on the banks of the Ajay River. In the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Abhidhāna, it is stated that Jayadeva Gosvāmī found his Rādhā-Mādhava deities in this river’s waters. It is also stated there that he used to rest and worship at the temple of Śiva known as Lord Kuśeśvara, which is also on the banks of the Ajaya River. His father was Bhojadeva and mother, Vāmā Devī.

  • Jayadeva Gosvāmī’s Life in Navadvīpa

    Jayadeva Gosvāmī lived for a long time in Navadvīpa during the reign of the King of Bengal, Lakṣmaṇa Sena, making his home not far from the king’s palace. At that time, the king’s chief scholar was Govardhana Ācārya. According to Ashutosh Deb’s Bengali Dictionary, Jayadeva Gosvāmī was Lakṣmaṇa Sena’s court poet.

    Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura wrote in his Navadvīpa-dhāma-māhātmya that Lakṣmaṇa Sena was delighted when he heard Jayadeva Gosvāmī’s hymn to the ten avatāras, the Daśāvatāra-stotra. When Govardhana Ācārya notified the king that it was Jayadeva Gosvāmī who had composed the hymn, he became desirous to meet the poet. He went incognito to Jayadeva Gosvāmī’s house and when he saw him, he noticed that Jayadeva Gosvāmī possessed the characteristics of a great and powerful spiritual personality. Greatly impressed and attracted by Jayadeva Gosvāmī, the king revealed his identity to him and invited him to come and live in the royal palace. Jayadeva Gosvāmī 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 Jagannātha Purī.

    Lakṣmaṇa Sena was disappointed by Jayadeva Gosvāmī’s intentions. He quickly suggested that he take up residence in the village of Champahati, 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 Gosvāmī agreed, Lakṣmaṇa Sena 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 Mahāprabhu’s associate Dvija Vāṇīnātha received a vision of Him in the Satya-yuga, seeing Him in the form of a brāhmaṇa Whose skin was the colour of a Champa flower. Similarly, Jayadeva Gosvāmī had a vision here, first of Rādhā-Mādhava, then of Their combined Form as the golden Champa-colored Gaurāṅga Mahāprabhu.

    After the Lord gave Jayadeva Gosvāmī this vision, He told him to go to Jagannātha Purī. Although Jayadeva Gosvāmī was sad to leave the future abode of his Lord, he obeyed the Lord’s command and made his way to Purī where it is said that he was the court poet of the king of Odisha. He spent the remainder of his life in the abode of Lord Jagannātha, where he wrote the transcendental poem based on the sentiments of love in separation known as Gīta-govinda or Aṣṭapadī. Indeed, Mahāprabhu told Jayadeva Gosvāmī while giving him the vision in Navadvīpa that after appearing there, He would take sannyāsa and go to Jagannātha Purī where He would relish the Gīta-govinda.

    Further information about the life of Jayadeva Gosvāmī is found in the preface to the Kolkata’s Basumati Sahitya Mandir edition of Gīta-govinda: "Sometime prior to the Muslim conquest of Delhi, King Māṇikya Candra ordered the writing of the book Alaṅkāra-śekhara, in which Jayadeva Gosvāmī is mentioned as the court poet of the king of Odisha. Śrīdhara Dāsa, the son of one of the chief courtiers of Lakṣmaṇa Sena, included many of Jayadeva Gosvāmī’s verses in his anthology Sad-ukti-karṇāmṛta, citing a work named Amiyābha-kāvya. The colophon to one ancient manuscript of the Gīta-govinda states, "Jayadeva Gosvāmī had a great reputation as a poet during the time of Lakṣmaṇa Sena."

  • Jayadeva Gosvāmī’s Marriage to Padmāvatī

    According to a legend, Lord Jagannātha Himself ordered Jayadeva Gosvāmī to marry his wife, Padmāvatī. The story is told in the Viśvakoṣa as follows: There once was a brāhmaṇa who was without offspring despite having worshipped Lord Jagannātha for many years in the hope of having a son. Finally, he and his wife had a daughter and they named her Padmāvatī. When she came of marriageable age, the brāhmaṇa brought her to Lord Jagannātha to offer her to His lotus feet1. Seeing them, Lord Jagannātha Himself said to the brāhmaṇa, "I have a servant whose name is Jayadeva. He has given up family life and has dedicated himself to chanting My Names. Give your daughter to him in marriage."

    The brāhmaṇa took his daughter to Jayadeva Gosvāmī and asked him to marry his daughter. However, since Jayadeva Gosvāmī had no desire to get married, he refused the proposal. Then the brāhmaṇa told him that it was Lord Jagannātha Himself who had arranged this marriage and without another word, he left, leaving his daughter behind. Jayadeva Gosvāmī 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."

    Padmāvatī started to cry and said, "My father brought me here to marry you on Jagannātha 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 Gosvāmī could not abandon her after such a heartfelt plea. So he became a householder.

  • The Lord Helps Jayadeva Gosvāmī Write Gīta-govinda

    Jayadeva Gosvāmī took up the worship of a Nārāyaṇa deity and in the waves of love he felt for Him, began writing Gīta-govinda, a composition filled with incomparable ambrosia. It is said that though Jayadeva Gosvāmī is responsible for all the moods and sentiments that appear in the Gīta-govinda, he had some reticence about writing that Kṛṣṇa fell down at Rādhārāṇī’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 Jagannātha Himself came inside, disguised as Jayadeva Gosvāmī, opened his manuscript and completed the verse he had started smara-garala-khaṇḍanaṁ mama śirasi maṇḍanaṁ with the words dehi pada-pallavam udāraṁ: "Make the noble blossom of Your foot an ornament on My head, as it dispels the poison of love in separation." (Gīta-govinda 10.8)

    Padmāvatī 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 Jagannātha 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 Jagannātha had left, the real Jayadeva Gosvāmī returned. This time, Padmāvatī was really astonished to see him. She said, "You just left to go take your bath. Only a few moments ago you were writing 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 Gosvāmī 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 Padmāvatī 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 Jagannātha’s Love for Gīta-govinda

    There is a legend told in Jagannātha Purī that there was a flower gardener’s daughter who had learned Gīta-govinda and would sing it with great emotion. Lord Jagannātha 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 Odisha 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 pūjārīs 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 Jagannātha appeared to the king in a dream and explained that no one was to blame for his clothes being soiled that day. He further said that He had gone to listen to the gardener’s daughter and that He 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 Jagannātha 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-dāsīs sing Gīta-govinda for Jagannātha’s pleasure.

  • Mahāprabhu Appreciates Gīta-govinda

    In the last twelve years of His pastimes, Mahāprabhu was absorbed in Rādhā’s mood and constantly relished this hidden spirit of love. During this time, he would savour the songs of the Gīta-govinda.

    Day and night, the Lord would speak as though He were Rādhā meeting Uddhava. He would also relish the poems of Caṇḍī Dāsa, Jayadeva Gosvāmī and Vidyāpati. (Caitanya Caritāmṛta 1.13.41-2)

    Mahāprabhu was never pleased to hear books or verses that contradicted siddhānta, nor did He like hearing rasābhāsa, an improper mixture of devotional sentiments. It was the practice of Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī 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. Śrī Svarūpa Dāmodar used to make Mahāprabhu very happy by singing the songs of Vidyāpati, Caṇḍī Dāsa and Gīta-govinda. (Caitanya Caritāmṛta 2.10.113-5)

    Svarūpa Dāmodara would sing songs that reflected the moods of the Lord whenever they arose, while Rāmānanda Rāya selected verses from Vidyāpati, Caṇḍī Dāsa and Gīta-govinda according to the Lord’s mood. (Caitanya Caritāmṛta 2.17.5-6)

    The Lord returned to external consciousness for a moment and told Svarūpa Dāmodara to sing some sweet songs. Svarūpa Dāmodara sang one of Vidyāpati’s songs and then songs from the Gīta-govinda, which the Lord greatly appreciated. (Caitanya Caritāmṛta 3.17.62)

    canḍīdāsa vidyāpati rāyera nāṭaka gīti
    karṇāmṛta śrī gīta-govinda
    svarūpa rāmānanda sane mahāprabhu rātri-dine
    gāya, śune parama ānanda

    Day and night, Mahāprabhu ecstatically relished the songs of Caṇḍī Dāsa, Vidyāpati and Rāmānanda Rāya’s plays, as well as Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta and Gīta-govinda in the company of Svarūpa Dāmodara and Rāya Rāmānanda. (Caitanya Caritāmṛta 2.2.77)

  • Jayadeva Gosvāmī and The Robbers

    Many other amazing and miraculous events were scattered through Jayadeva Gosvāmī’s life. He used to serve his deities Rādhā-Mādhava 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 Gosvāmī was thatching his roof under the merciless midday sun. Lord Jagannātha 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 Gosvāmī thought that Padmāvatī 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 the Lord’s hands were black from handling the straw. He was thus able to understand that Lord Mādhava Himself who had come to help him thatch the roof. He fell down before his Lord and started to cry.

    On another occasion, Jayadeva Gosvāmī wished to put on a festival for his deities Rādhā-Mādhava, 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 cut off his hands and feet and threw him down a well to die. Despite the pain, Jayadeva Gosvāmī shouted out the Names of the Lord loudly.

    After Jayadeva Gosvāmī 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 Gosvāmī 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 Gosvāmī gradually returned to health.

    Both the king and queen were charmed by Jayadeva Gosvāmī’s sweet singing of the Gīta-govinda as well as by his saintly character. They immediately sent for Padmāvati and had her brought to their palace. The royal couple heard about Kṛṣṇa from Jayadeva Gosvāmī and took initiation from him; thus they started to make their lives successful by serving the Lord and His devotees. One day, the robbers who had attacked Jayadeva Gosvāmī came to the king’s palace as guests in the guise of devotees. Even though Jayadeva Gosvāmī recognised them, he gave them the appropriate honour befitting their outward appearance and arranged for the king’s hospitality to be extended to them. The robbers, however, did not understand Jayadeva Gosvāmī’s forgiving and generous nature and, fearing capture and punishment, thought it best to leave without accepting the royal invitation. Jayadeva Gosvāmī 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 Vaiṣṇavas, we were the servants of a certain king who for very good reason ordered us to murder this priest, Jayadeva Gosvāmī. 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 that 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 Sukrācārya, the guru of the demons, told Bali Mahārāja not to give the three feet of land demanded by Vāmana Deva, Bali answered that he was the grandson of Prahlāda Mahārāja. 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 this verse:

    na hy asatyāt paro’dharmati hovāca bhūr iyam
    sarvaṁ soḍhum alaṁ manye ṛte’līk-aparaṁ 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." (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 8.20.4)

    The servants of the king who had accompanied these robbers were amazed to see them punished for their offence to Jayadeva Gosvāmī right before their very eyes. They came back to the king’s palace and reported everything they had witnessed. The king inquired from Jayadeva Gosvāmī about the robbers and he related 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 with polite behaviour. Even so, the Lord’s flawless dispensation will make them suffer the consequences of their own sinfulness, as He did in this case."

  • Padmāvatī is Tested

    Jayadeva Gosvāmī’s wife became a close friend of the queen. In those days, the practice of satī, 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. Padmāvatī 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 Padmāvatī herself. One day she announced to Padmāvatī that her husband Jayadeva Gosvāmī had suddenly died. As soon as this news entered her ears, Padmāvatī 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 Gosvāmī and begged him to return the life to her. The great devotee Jayadeva Gosvāmī 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 Gosvāmī and Padmāvatī’s glories, the king and queen along with their courtiers and servants paid their obeisances at their feet.

  • Jayadeva Gosvāmī Goes to Vṛndāvana

    After this, Jayadeva Gosvāmī wished to see Vṛndāvana. He took leave of the king and queen and then, taking his deities Rādhā-Mādhava with him, set off on the long journey. Once in Vṛndāvana, he began to serve his deities in a spot near Keśī Ghāṭa. When the residents of the dhāma heard Jayadeva Gosvāmī sing the Gīta-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 Gosvāmī returned to his birthplace in Kendubilva after living in Vṛndāvana for many years. He spent the rest of his life there, performing his bhajana. He would make the long walk to the Ganges every day to take his bath there. One day, for some reason, he was unable to make it. Gaṅgā Devī 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 in Kendubilva and every year on the first day of the month of Māgha a large festival is held there in his memory.

    There is a difference of opinions about where Jayadeva Gosvāmī left this body. Though some say he returned to Kendubilva, others claim it was Purī, and still, others say that he went to Vṛndāvana. Śrīla Bhakti Siddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Ṭhākura opined that Jayadeva Gosvāmī left this world from Jagannātha Purī. Though some people say that Jayadeva Gosvāmī returned to Kendubilva to spend his last days, there is no indication anywhere that he brought his Rādhā-Mādhava deities with him. In fact, these deities were taken by the king of Jaipur to a place named Ghati sometime after Jayadeva Gosvāmī’s passing away and they are still being served in the Jaipur area. Jayadeva Gosvāmī’s disappearance day is on the sixth day of the waning moon of the month of Pauṣa.


    1 - Many people in Odisha still follow the custom of offering their daughters in marriage to Lord Jagannätha before they marry anyone else.

Excerpt from "Sri Chaitanya: His Life and Associates" by Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Goswami Maharaj

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