In his great kavya “Gita Govinda” Jayadeva, the distinguished Bengali poet describes the Divine sports of Sri Hari! He considers the Lord as the embodiment of 'Sringara rasa’. He worshipped God thus and merged into Him transcending the inner enemies! In this masterpiece we find 24 tarangas’ which describe the ‘sringara Leelas’ of Krishna with his dear lady love Radha. Every 'astapadi’ has eight charanas or feet replete with bhava and erotic evocation! Bhakti or devotion is the underlying current throughout the ashtapadis! Radha is believed to be the incarnation of Sachi Devi who wanted to be the Lord’s consort! It is also said that Radha represents the Jivatma or the individual soul and Krishna the Paramatma or the Absolute Soul! Thus Gita Govinda represents the holy union of the Jivatma with Paramatma! Radha is lovelorn and languid in the absence of her Krishna! She is unable to endure the pangs of her separation- viraha from her dear lover! Her close friend and well wisher describes to her the activities of Krishna elsewhere! Says Radha's friend:
“ Applying fragrant sandal paste over his black body, wearing the yellow 'pitambara and vanamala’, O Radha! Krishna is moving hither and thither among many playful damsels! As he moves among them, his resplendent ear studs with precious stones dance with him! Radha! a particular Gopika, in uncontrollable passion for Krishna takes him into her deep embrace! She sings in tune with the pitch of Krishna’s flute! There is another Gopika, who, turning her eyes and expressing amorous feelings, stands like a statue at the sight of Krishna drinking deep his ethereal beauty! Radha! See how she is meditating! See there again! Another shepherdess pining for Krishna is uncontrollable! She feels shy of kissing krishna as others would make fun of her! Smilingly she walks moving her hips delicately to tell some secret to Krishna! She rests her face on the forehead of Krishna and presses it to satisfy herself!
Oh! What a sight! Another youthful Gopika wants to play with Krishna in the Yamuna waters! She manages to catch the dress of Krishna and draw it towards her while he is moving about a beautiful tree nearby! She is seen smiling all all along! Dear Radha! There is another damsel following Krishna in his “Rasa Krida’ and vibrating her golden bangles to the tune of Krisna’s song on his flute! The jingling sound of her bangles merged in the sound of the flute! Krishna was amazed at her performance and praised her!
Oh Radha! How can I described the Divine sports of our dear Krishna? He is warmly embracing a girl! He is in the act of kissing another girl and pressing her cheeks! He is performing the act with another! He is smiling at another lady in extreme emotion! He is at the same time stalking a lady moving ahead! In his poetic imagination, Jayadeva visualizes the intense pangs of Radha’s separation from Krishna. He makes her close friends describe the Leela's of Krishna to pacify Radha who badly needed his company! Jayadeva concludes the 'astapadi’ by declaring that people who listen to the secrets of Divine Love shall be happy and prosperous!!
The present 'ashtapadi’ is the fourth composed by the renowned poet Jayadeva! This is one of the very popular ashtapadis of Jayadeva! It starts with the Sanskrit statement of one of the close friends of Radha. “Chandana charchita Nila kalebara pita vasana Vanamali".................................I have given a free rendering of the ashtapadi so that readers can understand the main content of the song! Any translation fails to bring the original impact of the song! It is only through a proper knowledge of Sanskrit that a reader can enjoy the description of the erotic scenes that Jayadeva describes in his work. The work is a wonderful depiction of Sringara Rasa in a devotional cloak! May Lord Krishna bless us all!!
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