Gitagovinda

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Illustrated Gitagovinda manuscript, Gujarat , 16th century ( Los Angeles County Museum of Art ).

The Gitagovinda ( Sanskrit : गीतगोविन्द Gītagovinda "Govinda praised by songs") is a Sanskrit poem that was written in the 12th century by the author Jayadeva at the royal court of Bengal . In twelve chants it describes the love relationship between the Hindu god Krishna (Govinda), his consort Radha and the Gopis (shepherd girls).

The Gitagovinda combines eroticism with religious mysticism by equating the love adventures of Krishna according to the Bhakti doctrine with the devotional worship of God by the believers. The work had a great influence on Krishna religiosity and was also received early in Europe. The first English translation comes from William Jones (1807), the Gitagovinda was translated into German by Friedrich Rückert (1837) among others .

The Gitagovinda is considered to be the "late peak of lyrical art" in Sanskrit literature and stands out stylistically in several ways. The unusual meters, rhymes and refrains used by the poet Jayadeva indicate the influence of folk poetry. The numerous sound figures and the richness of the vowels in the words give the text a distinctive rhythm and unusual sound shape. As an example, verse 1.28 is given in the original and transcription including the translation by Erwin Steinbach. Note the extensive lack of consonant clusters as well as the numerous alliterations ( lalita-lavaṅga-latā, kokila-kūjita-kuñja-kuṭīre ) and internal rhymes ( komala-malaya, madhukara-nikara-karambita ):

“ललितलवङ्गलतापरिशीलनकोमलमलयसमीरे
मधुकरनिकरकरम्बितकोकिलकूजितकुञ्जकुटीरे
विहरति हरिरिह सरसवसन्ते
नृत्यति युवतिजनेन समं सखि विरहिजनस्य दुरन्ते.”

" Lalita-lavaṅga-latā-pariśīlana-komala-malaya-samīre
madhukara-nikara-karambita-kokila-kūjita-kuñja-kuṭīre
viharati harir iha sarasa-vasante
nṛtyati yuvati-janasena samaṃ sakhi virahi-. "

“Where sweet cloves caress the Malaya hill wind, the fresh one,
where at the little hut in the grove the cuckoo sobs mix with humming swarms of immense numbers,
Hari lingers here on the lush spring pastures,
dances with the girls, dearest, at the moment, the forbidden lovers brings suffering. "

- Gitagovinda 1.28

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Klaus Mylius: History of old Indian literature, Bern, Munich, Vienna: Scherz, 1988, p. 175.
  2. ↑ Jayadeva: Gītagovinda. Songs to praise Govindas, translated from Sanskrit and edited by Erwin Steinbach, Frankfurt am Main / Leipzig: Verlag der Weltreligionen, 2008, p. 14.

Web links

Commons : Gitagovinda  - collection of images, videos and audio files

literature

  • Klaus Mylius: History of the ancient Indian literature. Bern, Munich, Vienna: Joke, 1988.
  • Gītagovinda: The Indian Song of Songs by the Bengali poet Jayadeva. After the metrical translation by Friedrich Rückert, new ed. by Herman Kreyenborg, Leipzig: Insel Verlag, [1920]. Available online at zeno.org .
  • Gitagovinda - songs in praise of Govinda. Translated from Sanskrit and edited by Erwin Steinbach. Frankfurt am Main, Leipzig: Verlag der Weltreligionen, 2008.
  • Caroline Widmer: Gitagovinda. India's great love story . arnoldsche Art Publishers 2019, ISBN 978-3-89790-575-7 .