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The New International Encyclopædia/Jayadéva

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Edition of 1905. See also Jayadeva on Wikipedia; and the disclaimer.

JAYADÉVA, jä'yȧ-dā'vȧ (c.1200 A.D.). A Hindu poet, born at Kindubilva, Kenduli. His only extant Sanskrit work, a lyric drama called Gītagōvinda, or Song of the Cowherd, treats of the love, estrangement, and reconciliation of Krishna and the milkmaid Radha. The poem, which is in twelve cantos of artistically varied metrical structure, was presumably based on Prakrit originals, and is notable for its vivid portrayal of the emotions. At a later time it was interpreted as a religious allegory. Lassen (Bonn, 1836) published the text, with Latin translation and notes, and native editions are numerous, as those by Vidyasagara (Calcutta, 1882), and by Telang and Pansikar (Bombay, 1899). Sir William Jones (London, 1799) and Sir Edwin Arnold (The Indian Song of Songs, London, 1875) have translated the poem into English, the latter from the allegorical point of view. There is also a German version of part of the drama by Rückert (Göttingen, 1837). Jayadéva likewise wrote a poem in Hindi, which was published, with a translation by Trumpp, in the Sitzungsberichte der bairischen Akademie der Wissenschaften (Munich, 1879).