________________ is The Theme of the Gitagovinda : The complete title of the poem is Gitagovindakavyam, i.e.," the poem, in which Govinda is extolled through songs." Govinda is the name of the cowherd god Kssna and the theme of the poem is his love for Radha, his beloved. It describes how she keeps herself aloof from him on account of jealousy, the consequent yearning of the loving pair, the efforts of Radha's faithful friend, and confidante, to bring the lovers together, their hopes and disappointments and ultimate reconciliation and union. Jayadeva's source for the theme of the Gitagovinda : S.K. De has discussed this question at length and concluded that "Jayadeva's exact source is not known. There are parallelisms between his extremely sensuous treatment of the Radha-Krsna legend and that of the Brahmavaivarta-purana, but there is no conclusive proof of Jayadeva's indebtedness. Nor is it probable that the source of Jayadeva's inspiration was the Krsna-Gopi legend of the Srimad-bhagavata, which avoids all direct mention of Radha, and describes the autumnal, and not vernal, Rasa-lila..."1 A Brief summary of the contents of the Gitagovinda : The poem opens with four verses, in the last of which he extols himself and his fellow-poets: the first Astapadi begins with a hymn in eleven stanzas glorifying Visnu in his ten incarnations with the refrain "Jaya Jagadisa hare" (conquer, o lord of the world, o Hari)" and ends with an appeal to the Lord Hari to hear his hymn. Then follows a single stanza in which the poet sums up the ten incarnations of Visnu which the hymn has extolled. And then follows a second hymn in nine stanzas sung in honour of God with the refrain Jaya jaya deva hare "Triumph to the Divine Hari." At the close of the hymn there is a stanza invoking a benediction from Krsna. Then there is a narrative stanza reporting how Radha's sakhi (a lady's maid, a female friend) speaks to her in the spring and then sings in eight stanzas? how Krsna in the grove is rejoicing in the company of cowherd-maidens and is dancing with them. The recitative stanzas follow, describing the spring, and ending wih the report that Radha's sakhi once more mutters to her, and in a song (of eight stanzas) that follows she describes how the loving cowherd-maidens are attracted towards the young god, crowd about him, and allure him and embrace him, in their passion. (2) (1) Pre-Caitanya Vaisnavism in Bengal; and Early History of Vaisnava Faith and Movement in Bengal (pp. 7-10). Calcutta 1942; also read Introduction to Gitagovinda-Kavya ed. by S. Lakshminarasimha Sastri, Madras-1, 1956. "This is the normal number, and hence the poem figures as Astapadi in the south." This statement of Keith is rebutted by Dey: "The name Astapadi found in some South Indian MSS is misleading, for the songs are not always found in groups of eight stanzas, nor is it the normal number."
