Jayadeva was an 11th-century Sanskrit

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or w ...

and

lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's incom ...

from present-day India. The works of Jayadeva have had a profound influence on Indian culture. They form the basis of the east Indian classical dance form,

Odissi Odissi (), also referred to as Orissi in old literature, is a major ancient Indian classical dance that originated in the temples of Odisha – an eastern coastal state of India.Odissi music music () is a genre of classical music in India, originated from the eastern state of Odisha. The traditional ritual music for the service of Lord Jagannatha, Odissi music has a history spanning over two thousand years, authentic ''sangita-shas ...

and have strongly influenced the

Bharatanatyam Bharatanatyam () is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the eight widely recognized Indian classical dance forms, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of ...

classical dance as well as

Carnatic music Carnatic music, known as or in the South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and Sri Lanka. It ...

. Jayadeva's composition has also been incorporated in the

Guru Granth Sahib The Guru Granth Sahib ( pa, ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ, ) is the central holy religious scripture of Sikhism, regarded by Sikhs as the final, sovereign and Guru Maneyo Granth, eternal Guru following the lineage of the Sikh gur ...

Religion

Jayadeva has had a profound influence on the religious practices of

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

. The classic ''

Tribhangi Tribhaṅga or Tribunga is a standing body position or stance used in traditional Indian art and Indian classical dance forms like the Odissi, where the body bends in one direction at the knees, the other direction at the hips and then the othe ...

'' (threefold) posture of

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is on ...

playing the flute gained popularity due to him.

Dashavatara

Jayadeva was instrumental in popularizing the ''

Dasavatara The Dashavatara ( sa, दशावतार, ) are the ten primary avatars of Vishnu, a principal Hindu god. Vishnu is said to descend in the form of an avatar to restore cosmic order. The word ''Dashavatara'' derives from , meaning "ten", ...

'', the ten incarnations of Krishna in his composition ''Dasakritikrite''. Additionally, the Gita Govinda begins with a Dasavatara

stotra ''Stotra'' (Sanskrit: स्तोत्र) is a Sanskrit word that means "ode, eulogy or a hymn of praise."Monier Williams, Monier Williams' Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Article on 'Stotra'' It is a literary genre of In ...

. In Jayadeva's version of Dasavatara,

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...

is an incarnation of

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" withi ...

, while

is not incorporated because Krishna is the source of all incarnations. as the lyrics say: keshava dhrta buddha sarira= krishna who appears in the form of Lord Buddha. Since Keshava is another name of Krishna, that means Krishna is the source of/incarnate as Buddha. In July 2009, the

government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

's Department of Posts decided to release 11 stamps in Bhubaneswar to commemorate the birth of Jayadeva. One stamp depicts the poet himself, while the other ten depict the Dasavatara. Chief Minister

Naveen Patnaik Naveen Patnaik (born 16 October 1946) is an Indian politician serving as the current and 14th Chief Minister of Odisha. He is also the president of the Biju Janata Dal, a writer and has authored three books. He is the longest-serving chief min ...

unveiled the stamps at a special function in Jayadev Bhawan. They are in the denomination of Rs 5. A total of 800,000 stamps were released for sale in

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

Hymns in the Guru Granth Sahib

Two hymns composed by Jayadeva have been incorporated in the

, the holy book of the

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

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 Gurū Nānak (15 April 1469 – 22 September 1539; Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ; pronunciation: , ), also referred to as ('father Nānak'), was the founder of Sikhism and is the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. His birth is celebrated w ...

during his visit to Puri.

Music and dance

Odissi

In the opinion of researcher scholars, Jayadeva is among the centralmost figures in Odia culture. Jayadeva's ashtapadis are sung in dance performances of

, lays emphasis based on

raga A ''raga'' or ''raag'' (; also ''raaga'' or ''ragam''; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a melodic mode. The ''rāga'' is a unique and central feature of the classical Indian music tradition, and as ...

s and talas specified by Jayadeva's hymns. Jayadeva is known to have sung the Gitagovinda every night in the temple of

Jagannatha Jagannath ( or, ଜଗନ୍ନାଥ, lit=Lord of the Universe, Jagannātha; formerly en, Juggernaut) is a deity worshipped in regional Hindu traditions in India and Bangladesh as part of a triad along with his brother Balabhadra, and sister ...

, the central deity of Odisha. The tradition of singing Gitagovinda during Jagannatha's last ritual continues till today.

Fine arts

Jayadeva and his Gita Govinda had gained considerable popularity and had emerged as a painter’s theme by the late 15th century, though no such early paintings are available now. The earliest reported Gita Govinda paintings are from Mewar between 1590 and 1600 A.D.

Patachitra paintings

The Gita Govinda composed by Jayadeva is one of the popular themes in the traditional '' patachitra'' paintings of Odisha.

Pahari paintings

Jayadeva had a profound influence on the Pahari school during the 17th-19th centuries, which was prevalent throughout northern India bordering the Himalayas (from

Jammu Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi, the city of Jammu, with an area of ...

through

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several pea ...

). In particular, Jayadeva's Radha and Krishna served as popular themes for

Basohli painting Basohli (formerly Vishwasthali) is a town near Kathua in Kathua district in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is situated on the right bank of River Ravi at an altitude of 1876 ft. It was founded by Raja Bhupat Pal so ...

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...

The Gita Govinda

The Gita Govinda is the best-known composition of Jayadeva. It is a lyrical poetry that is organized into 12 chapters. Each chapter is further sub-divided into 24 divisions called ''prabandha''s. 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. Sir William Jones in the preface of his English rendering of GitaGovinda had commented:

"Jayadeva was born as he tells himself in Kenduli which many believe to be in Kalinga, but since there is a town of similar name in Burdwan, the natives of it insist that the finest lyrical poet of India was their countryman."

At last the village Kenduli in Burdwan (Division) was accepted in his paper 'The Musical Modes of Hindus' written by Jones himself. 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. Noteworthy among them is

Love Song of the Dark Lord The ''Gita Govinda'' ( sa, गीत गोविन्दम्; ) is a work composed by the 12th-century Hindu poet, Jayadeva. It describes the relationship between Krishna, Radha and ''gopis'' (female cow herders) of Vrindavan. The ''Gita G ...

, by Barbara Stoler Miller.

Other literary contributions

Jayadeva wrote Piyusha Lahari, a Sanskrit Goshti Rupaka. It was based on the romantic love between Radha and Krishna similar in line to Gita Govindam. It was translated into Telugu by Vavilala Somayajulu and published in 1993 by

Telugu University The Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University (PSTU) is one of the few Indian language universities in India. University It was established as "Telugu University" on 2 December 1985 through an Act of Legislation (Act No. 27 of 1985) by the State Legi ...

in 1990.Piyusha Lahari, Telugu translation by Vavilala Somayajulu with original Sanskrit script, edited by Dr. V.V.L. Narasimha Rao, Telugu University publication series No. 104, Hyderabad, 1990.