Chandana Charchita - Gita Govinda

Tenali Ramakrishna, Telugu



P Suseela



K Srikumar

Sanskrit Ashtapadi, Chandana Charchita by Sri Jayadeva in 3 Charanas is provided below:

1. Hari Vihamugdhava Dhooni Kare Vilaasini Vilasati Kelipare
Chandana Charchita Neela Kalebara Peeta Vasana Vanamaali
Chandana Charchita Neela Kalebara Peeta Vasana Vanamaali
Keli Chalanmani Kundala Mandita Gandayu Gasmita Saali
Harivihamughdhava Dhooni Kare Vilaasini Vilasati Kelipare

2. Kaapi Vilaasavi Lola Vilochana Kelana Janita Manojam
Kaapi Vilaasavi Lola Vilochana Kelana Janita Manojam
Dhyayati Mugdhava Buravibhakam Madhu Soodhana Vadana Sarojam
Dhyayati Mugdhava Buravibhakam Madhu Soodhana Vadana Sarojam
Harivihamughdhava Dhooni Kare Vilaasini Vilasati Kelipare

3. Ishyati Kaamapi Chumbati Kaamapi Ramayati Kamaapi Raama
Sathyati Sasmita Chaarutaraam Aparaamanu Gasyati Raama
Harivihamughdhava Dhooni Kare Vilaasini Vilasati Kelipare

This Ashtapadi by Sri Jayadeva [Sanskrit scholar] throws lights on Sri Krishna’s frolicking and playing with damsels in the Brindavan garden. This Ashtapadi is said actually to be a one-to-discussion between Raadha and her friend.


Meaning:

1. He who has a bluish body that is bedecked with sandal paste, clad in yellow (peeta) silks, garlanded with basil leaves and other flowers (vanamaali), whose cheeks are adorned with glitters from the studded earrings; is frolicking and playing with the damsels and is amidst modest, simple, naïve damsels! One damsel says to Radha : “You, the expert in romance and amusement, you are allowing Krishna to play with simple, immature and naïve damsels; Is it befitting Krishna to play with them when you are here? You ought to go at once to him”.

2. Krishna is surrounded by these women who are simple and naïve, these are the romantic gestures of Krishna. His sliding and moving wide eyes (vilochana) towards them are so attractive (He himself) that these modest damsels/women who are inexperts in romancing, started gazing and staring at the the beautiful, lotus-like face of His, the eliminator of a demon Madhu (madhusoodhana*); thus, the Lord is amidst these damsels in a delightful (blissful) circle. *Madhusoodhana also means ‘The one who is spilling honey’. Though not everybody is expert danseuses/songsters, romance is common in every lass. Reaching Him is the Goal of every damsel and luckily He is for everyone. Women may be at any point in the circle/row, wherever they are they feel that He is with them, they sense Him. Be it bodily reach or envisaged/imagined. Each lady feels that she a belongs to Krishna. That He belongs to her, only!

3. Krishna, now in the ronde, is kissing someone; someone else finds Him in their bosom; yet someone else finds Him delighting in her in full beauty, while having a look at the other damsels too (pashyati). Each damsel goes after Krishna and everybody readily finds themselves with/in Him! Such is the delight that Raama** **Rama is the analogy to the one who gives and takes delight in which the other person is delighted. He, the giver of delight, is received with the beaming smiles on the faces of the damsels. Even those women who are peeved or irritated were reclaimed by the Lord and they encircle Him to play and frolic with Him with divine desire !!
(Posted by Challagonda Ravinder Rao)


Jayadeva Oriya, was a Sanskrit poet, who lived in what is now Orissa, circa 1200 AD. He is most known for his composition, the epic poem Gita Govinda, which depicts the divine love of the Hindu deity Krishna and his consort, Radha, and is considered an important text in the Bhakti movement of Hinduism . He was born to an Utkala Brahmin family in a village called Kenduli Sasan in Orissa.

Jayadeva was born in Kenduli Sasan (formerly Kendubilva), in the Prachi valley, Khurda district in Orissa. Kenduli Sasan is a village near the famous temple city of Puri. At the time of Jayadeva's birth, Orissa was under the rule of Ganga dynasty king Chodaganga Deva. It was during the reign of this monarch and his son and successor, Raghava, that Jayadeva composed his Sanskrit epics. Chodaganga Deva, originally a Shaiva, was strongly influenced by the devotion to Krishna in and around Puri and became a Vaishnava devotee of Krishna himself.

The poet's parents were named Bhojdeva and Vamadevi. From temple inscriptions it is now known that Jayadeva received his education in Sanskrit poetry from a place called Kurmapataka, possibly near Konark in Orissa. Later on, Jayadeva married Padmavati, who according to temple inscriptions, may have been an accomplished temple dancer on her own right.
Prachi valley has a long history of worshipping Madhava, another name for Krishna. During Jayadeva's period, it was known as a religious place dominated by Vaishnava Brahmins. Even today, the village of Kenduli Sasan is replete with images of Madhava. Undoubtedly, the great poet must have been influenced by the devotional milieu in that area when he composed his magnum opus, the Gita Govinda.

Inscriptions at Lingaraj temple, and the more recently discovered Madhukeswar temple and Simhachal temple that were read and interpreted by Dr. Satyanarayan Rajaguru shed some light on Jayadeva's early life. These inscriptions narrate how Jayadeva had been a member of the teaching faculty of the school at Kurmapataka. He might have studied there as well. It must have been right after his childhood education in Kenduli Sasan that he left for Kurmapataka and gained experience in composing poetry, music and dancing.

The earliest mention of Jayadeva outside Orissa are by Chand Bardai, the court poet of Prithviraj Chauhan. The next earliest reference outside Orissa is found in an inscription of Raja Sarangadev in the year 1201 A.D. These records establish that the Gita Govinda became popular throughout India within a brief perid of its composition, perhaps because it was regularly performed in the Jagannath temple of Puri.

Some further details about Jayadeva have been garnered from a book by an Oriya Vaishnava poet Madhava Patnaik, who was contemporaneous to Chaitanya in the fifteenth century. Madhava Patnaik's book gives a clear account of Chaitanya's visit to Puri. He mentions that Chaitanya paid a visit to Kenduli Sasan near Puri to pay homage to Jayadeva and to chant passages from the Gita Govinda. The book mentions that Kenduli Sasan was in fact the birthplace of the illustrious poet. Madhava Patnaik's book also gives an account of Jayadeva's early life from the legends around Puri. It mentions Jayadeva as excelling in the Shastras and the Puranas from early childhood. He is a great contemporary.
[edit]Literary contributions

Jayadeva was instrumental in popularizing the Dasavatara, the ten incarnations of Vishnu in another composition, Dasakritikrite. Furthermore, the classic Tribhangi (three-fold) posture of Krishna playing the flute gained popularity due to him.
Two hymns composed by Jayadeva have been incorporated in the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of the Sikh religion. Although it is not clear how these medieval Orissan hymns found their way to the Sikh religion, there are records narrating how Jayadeva's work had a profound influence on Guru Nanak during his visit to Puri .

The illustrious poet also institutionalized the Devadasi system in Orissan temples. Devadasis were women dancers specially dedicated to the temple deity, and as a result of the great poet's works, Orissan temples began to incorporate a separate Natamandira, or dance hall, within their precincts for Odissi dance performances.

The Gita Govinda is the best known composition of Jayadeva. It is a lyrical poetry that 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.

The first English translation of the Gita Govinda was published by Sir William Jones in 1792, where Kalinga (ancient Orissa) is referred to as the origin of the text. 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.