BLiterature-Apratim

21
3
Great Bengali Writers
Jayadeva (12 th Century)
It is a matter of controversy whether Jayadeva belongs to Bengal or Orissa. In
that era, the whole Eastern India had a common cultural entity. That is why even if
Jayadeva is proved to be an inhabitant of Puri, Bengal’s claim over him cannot be
ignored. His writings had profound impact on medieval Bangla literature. Therefore, I
include him in this essay as he is still relevant to the history of our culture.
Jayadeva appeared in the field of poetry in an era that was a lingual transition
period – an era of merging between Sanskrit and new Eastern Indian languages.
The royal patronage was biased on the Sanskrit language and the common peoples’
rebel eyes were fixed on the new-born dialects. It cannot be denied that the few
poets who wrote in Sanskrit, achieved an astonishingly high order. But many
invaluable manuscripts were totally destroyed by the barbarian Turkic invaders;
some of those have survived and we have nothing to do but sigh for the rest until a
time-machine is invented.
Jayadeva is one of the greatest antique poets in entire India. He was not a
perfect Romantic like John Keats but was a unique one who influenced our national
literature till the 19 th century. The entire Vaishnava literature, of which we are proud,
is indebted to this genius artist.
His immortality is based on a single piece of poetical work – Gitogobindam
(The Song of the Lord) which he wrote in vernacularized Sanskrit. It is not really a
religious poem as the Hindus have accepted but actually an artistic piece of work.
Whoever has read it, must admire it as an extra-ordinary Romantic poem. And
although Jayadeva’s life-story is now fabricated, this work of him has probably
reserved its original shape till today.
The poem is based on the love story of Krishna and Radha. Jayadeva has
given it a possible perfection with extra-ordinary imageries, metaphors and erotic
colorings.
In the Hindu period of India, the term ‘love’ was totally absent and ‘lust’ took
its place. It is why the erotic approach of the loving couple is entirely physical in this
poem. But this mere physical attraction has been shaped with incomparable stilted
diction. Such is his artistic exuberance –
“She is kissing the darkness black as clouds
Imagining her Lord has come.”
(Translated by the author)
Krishna tells his Radha –
“If you talk to me for a moment, the moonlight of thy teeth
Shall drive away the severe darkness of my mind;
The glittering moonbeams of thy face
Tempts this Chokor bird’s eyes to perceive.”
(Translated by the author)