________________ xvi flaws in the composition of the Gitagovinda;' so too, S. Laksminarasimha Sastri." The fact, however, remains that the poetic merits of the Gitagovinda far outweigh its defects and therefore it has fascinated all lovers of Sanskrit poetry all these centuries and will surely continue to do so in future as well. The Gitagovinda as a lyrical and devotional poem: As a lyrical and devotional poem the Gitagovinda stands unrivalled in Sanskrit literature. The Meghaduta, the Amarusataka and the Stngara-sataka are only lyrical. In the Gitagovinda Jayadeva has cleverly blended Radha's love for Krsna with his own fervent devotion to Lord Krsna. In order to suit his composite theme Jayadeva creates a novel form.? His ardent devotion to Lord Krsna finds effective expression in his famous hymno in honour of the ten incarnations of Visnu. This hymn ends with a mention of the poet whose hymn Kesava (Krsna) is entreated to hear. Besides this hymn, the song with the refrain "Jaya Jaya deva hare" and the prayers that follow the songs and the benedictory stanzas at the end of the different cantos reveal unmistakably the poet's great faith in and devotion to Lord Krsna-the almighty one who removes sorrows of the world. This devotionalism is, however, over-saturated with eroticism. The poet brilliantly depicts the various phases of love, desire, awakened hope, disappointment, estrangement, reconciliation and fruition. He portrays the perfection of beauty and transforms into poetry all the arts of love which the Kamasastra lays down in full detail. The poet's imagery which often rings conventional shows that the poet seems to have drawn on experiences not necessarily his own. The conventionality detracts, to some extent, from the spontaneous expression of the emotion of love. The poetic conventions are expressed with stock poetic phrases. The poet, however, makes up for this defect by his wonderful mastery over the Sanskrit language and abundant use of alliteration and rhynes not only at the end but even in the middle of metrical lines, thus revealing the absolute beauty of words and his own ear for music. He is able to blend sound with emotion in a manner that renders his poetry untranslatable. Among much that is sensual and conventional one does find many effective expressions of the emotion of love. The picture drawn by the sakhi of the delights of Krsna with his oving cowherd maidens around him in the grove is really brilliant : (1) Gitagovinda (Gujrati) 1918, Introduction, (pp. 21-24) (2) Gita Govinda Kavya, Introduction. (3). Vide supra the Form of the Gitagovinda. (4) Canto I, pp. 3-7 (5) p. 7, v. 11 (6) pp. 8-10
