Until recently, the origins of the great twelfth century poet Jayadeva (Oriya: ଜୟଦେବ Bengali: জয়দেব Sanskrit: जयदेव) had been somewhat obscure, with the two neighboring states of Orissa and Bengal in Eastern India staking a claim to Jayadeva's origins. This had led to a bitter feud between people on both sides, that lasted for over a century.[1]
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A few earlier accounts by Bengali writers had linked Jayadeva to the famous king of Bengal Lakshman Sen, the fourth ruler of the Sena dynasty and the last Hindu ruler of unified Bengal.[2] These views originated from a single Bengali book, Jayadeva Charita authored by someone called Banamali Das, then subsequently disseminated by Bengali historians. The book was written in 1803 when little was known about the poet's life. Since this was the only published source of information then, it eventually came to be accepted that Jayadeva may have been born in Bengal. This idea was further propagated in 1906 through an article by a certain M. M. Chakrobarty where he mentioned that the great poet belonged to Bengal in the Asiatic Society of Bengal.[3] Since Jayadeva mentions the village of Kendubilva as his birthplace, a location in Birbhum, where a traditional Baul festival is held each year, was identified to have been the original Kenduli village of Jayadeva. Under the assumption that the illustrious poet was born there, that festival too became associated with Jayadeva. A nearby village acquired the sobriquet of "Jayadeva Kenduli" and became a tourist attraction, and the Baul festival was renamed as "Jayadeva Mela"[4] in spite of having originated centuries later during the time of Chaitanya.[5]
Since Jayadeva's composition, including the Gita Govinda clearly were composed in Puri in Orissa, Bengali historians who supported the idea that Jayadeva must have been from that state, went on to explain that the poet eventually settled in Puri in that state where he began composing poetry.
Recent reports suggest that this erstwhile claim has now been rejected by experts on Jayadeva. A few of the scholars have begun to describe this distortion variously as a "forgery" and a "humbug".[6]
Protagonists of the Oriya viewpoint point out that all of Jayadeva's composition took place when the poet was in Puri, supporting the idea that he must have lived in Puri for most, if not all of his life.[7] Archaeological discoveries in Orissa establish Jayadeva's extended presence in Orissa. In addition, there also exists a village called Kenduli Sasan in Orissa where the Hindu deity Krishna, who was also the main theme in Jayadeva's works, has traditionally been worshipped as the main god. Coincidentally, the inhabitants of that village also worship Jayadeva. A Sasan is a name for villages that traditionally were centers of Brahmin scholarly activity in Orissa, and Jayadeva himself was a Brahmin.
Furthermore, researchers opine that Jayadeva is among the centralmost figures in Oriya culture.[8][9] Jayadeva's works, they observe, have spread to southern India, but are rare in neighboring Bengal.[10] It has been pointed out that the Gita Govinda's influence outside Orissa is most felt in the southern states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, where verses of the poet's work have been incorporated into the Kathakali and Bharatanatyam classical dance forms respectively.[11] It is Jayadeva's ashtapadis that are sung in dance performances of Odissi, the classical dance of Orissa.[12] Oriya bhajans (devotional songs) are based on ragas and talas specified by Jayadeva's hymns.[13] Jayadeva was a devotee of Krishna, and Krishna in the form of Jagannath is the central deity of Orissa, whereas the female deity Durga is prominent in Bengal.[14][15] The Gita Govinda composed by Jayadeva is one of the popular themes in the traditional patachitra paintings of Orissa.[16] In stark contrast, according to Thomas Donaldson, an American specialist on Indian art history, Jayadeva's ragas do not match the lyrical patterns of Bengal, which unlike Orissa, does not even possess a classical vocal tradition.[17][18] The lack of correlation between Bengali traditional music and the compositions of Jayadeva were independently observed in Barbara Stoler Miller's book, Love Song of the Dark Lord. Additionally, a highly Sanskritized and sophisticated classical culture had been firmly entrenched in Orissa during that period, while neighboring Bengal only had a folk based culture until recent times.
After decades of intense feuding between historians of the two states of Orissa and Bengal, recent studies have concluded in favor of the Oriya view, based on evidence gleaned from various sources, as outlined below.
According to very recent media reports and scholarly publications, closer scrutiny of the archaeological records, including temple inscriptions, palm manuscripts and lithographs of that era have revealed the poet's Oriya origin.[19] The worship of the Hindu deity, Krishna, in the form of Jagannath was widespread in Orissa during Jayadeva's birth.[20] On the other hand, there is no archaeological evidence of such worship in Bengal until the arrival of Chaitanya, which was over three centuries after the era of Jayadeva.[21] Inscription at the Lingaraj temple in Bhubaneswar tells us that Jayadeva had been a member of the teaching faculty of the school at Srikurmapataka, near Puri in Orissa. The inscriptions, that refer to "Sadhu Pradhan Jayadeva" were carved by the Orissa monarch of that period.[22] Later discoveries of inscriptions at the Madhukeswar and Simhachal temples, also in Orissa, establishes the linkage between Jayadeva and the dancing families of Kurmapataka, who held sway during the reign of the Orissan monarch Chodagangadeva.[23] The most conclusive evidence comes with the discovery of pottery and copper plates at Kenduli village in Orissa, that mention the existence of the great poet, Jayadeva.[24][25]
Furthermore, scholars maintain that accounts by numerous medieval authors, such as Chandra Dutta of Mithila and Navaji of Gwalior supports Orissa as the poet's birthplace. The poet Mahipati of Maharashtra writes in his book Bhakti Bijaya, that Jayadeva's native village was very close to Puri.[26] The Assamese text, Sampradaya Kula Dipak as well as the Telugu text, Sanskruta Kabi Jivani, contain elaborate descriptions of the poet's birth taking place near the Jagannath Dham in Utkala (Orissa). Another book, Vaishnava Leelamruta by Madhaba Patnaik who lived in the sixteenth century and was contemporaneous to Chaitanya, clearly mentions that the poet was born near Puri.
Some further details about Jayadeva have been garnered from Madhaba Patnaik's book. It gives a clear account of Chaitanya's visit to Puri. He mentions that Chaitanya paid a visit to Kenduli Sasan near Puri to pay homage to Jayadeva and to chant passages from the Gita Govinda. The book mentions that Kenduli Sasan was in fact the birthplace of the illustrious poet. Madhava Patnaik's book also gives an account of Jayadeva's early life from the legends around Puri. It mentions Jayadeva as excelling in the Shastras and the Puranas (sacred Hindu texts) from early childhood.However the Oriya text called Vaishnava Lilamruta of Madhav Pattnaik is a fake one which can be studied from the long article of Kailash Chandra Dash in Face book.
Historians now suggest that some of the poet's own compositions in Oriya unequivocally support the idea that Jayadeva belonged to Puri, Orissa.[27] Jayadeva mentions his birthplace as "Kendubilva by the sea" ("Kendubilva Samudra Sambhava") in his 7th Ashtapadi, and Birbhum, unlike Puri, does not abut on the sea. Jayadeva used to bathe each morning in the banks of a river, mentions the book Bhaktamala. A. K. Tripathy, an eminent scholar on Jayadeva, and P. C. Tripathy point out that the poet could never have walked daily to the river Ajeya which is 36 miles away from the Bengali village, unlike the Prachi river upon whose banks is situated the Kenduli village near Puri. Jayadeva's hymns refer to the ocean using the Sanskrit word "Mahodadhi", which is a typical name given to the sea in Puri.[28][29] None of Jayadeva's compositions remotely suggest that he ever served in the court of any monarch. Besides, Lakshmanasena ruled Birbhum between 1179 AD and 1185 AD, that was about a century after the birth of Jayadeva.
As far back as in 1910, R. Krishna Rao noted that Jayadeva could only have been born in Kenduli in Orissa. His article appeared in the 18th July, 1910 edition of the popular newspaper, Amrita Bazar Patrika. Even earlier, the first English translation of the Gita Govinda, published by Sir William Jones in 1792, identified Kalinga (Orissa) as the saint poet's birthplace. Much more data has been garnered from historical records ever since by scholars such as Subas Pani, all pointing in the same direction. Currently, the overwhelming evidence in favor of Puri as the birthplace of Jayadeva has even prompted eminent Bengali scholars such as Asish Kumar Chakraborty and Satyakam Sengupta to acknowledge this as a fact.[30] Noted Bengali historian Sukumar Sen states: "The place where the Baul fair is held is vaguely called Kenduli and has no connection with any village".[31] The word Kendu itself, is an Oriya derivative of the Sanskrit word Tenduka (Diospyros melonoxylon), which is not used in Bengal.[32]
In view of the preponderance of evidence in this direction, historians have concluded that Gita Govinda's author, Jayadeva was a son of Orissa, not Bengal.[33][34][35] The government of Orissa, through the Odissi Akademi, has initiated an annual Jayadeva Utsav (festival) in Bhubaneswar and New Delhi to commemorate the great poet's birth in Orissa, through classical music and dance.[36][37]
In spite of Jayadeva's proven birthplace in Kenduli village, near Puri in Orissa, the April 16, 2007 episode of the popular Indian TV game show Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC III) erroneously mentioned Jayadeva as the court poet of king Lakshmanasena of Bengal. This triggered an immediate volley of protests by the culture-aware people of Orissa. Shah Rukh Khan, the game show's host was denounced for spreading false information. The government of Orissa has also demanded an apology from Kaun Banega Crorepati as it claims that the game show "mutilated historical facts" and "hurt the feelings of the people of Orissa".[38] The Jayadeva Foundation Trust launched a protest against the TV show.[39][40] Some scholars have expressed concern over the false depiction of Jayadeva's origin by Kaun Banega Crorepati, which they call a "historical humbug".[41]
In July 2009, the government of India's Department of Posts has decided to release 11 stamps in Bhubaneswar to commemorate the birth of Jayadeva. One stamp depicts the poet himself, while the other ten show the 10 incarnations of Vishnu, or Dasavatara, that the poet popularized in his epic poem, the Gita Govinda.[42] Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik unveiled the stamps at a special function in Jayadev Bhawan. The stamps are in the denomination of Rs 5. A total of 800,000 stamps were released for sale in Orissa.[43][44]