Until recently, the origins of the great twelfth century poet Jayadeva had been somewhat obscure. The two neighboring states of Orissa and Bengal in Eastern India stake a claim to Jayadeva's origins. This had led to a bitter feud between chauvinists on both sides, that lasted for over a century. Jayadeva is considered one of the greatest Sanskrit poets of all times. ...

The Bengali birth hoax

A few earlier accounts by Bengali writers had linked Jayadeva to a certain king Lakshmanasena of Birbhum, Bengal. These views originated from a single Bengali book, Jayadeva Charita authored by someone called Banamali Das. 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. Since Jayadeva mentions the village of Kendubilva as his birthplace, a similar sounding place 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.

Since Jayadeva's composition, including the Gita Govinda clearly were composed in Puri in Orissa, historians who supported the idea that Jayadeva must have been Bengali, went on to explain that the poet eventually settled in Puri in that state where he began composing poetry.

Rationale behind the Oriya claim

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. Archaeological discoveries in Orissa establish Jayadeva's extended presence in Orissa. In addition, there also existed a village called Kenduli Sasan in Orissa where the Hindu deity Krishna, who was also the main theme in Jayadeva's works, was worshipped as the main god. Concidentally, the inhabitants of that village also worship Jayadeva. Additionally, a Sasan is a name for villages that traditionally were centers of brahmin scholarly activity in Orissa, and Jayadeva himself was a brahmin.

Furthermore, Jayadeva is perhaps the centralmost figures in Oriya culture. It is Jayadeva's ashtapadis that are sung in dance performances of Odissi, the classical dance of Orissa. Oriya bhajans (devotional songs) are based on ragas and talas specified by Jayadeva's hymns. 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. The Gita Govinda composed by Jayadeva is one of the popular themes in the traditional patachitra paintings of Orissa^[1]. Odissi (or Orissi) is the traditional style of dance that originated in the state of Orissa in Eastern India, where it was performed by the maharis (temple dancers). ... A bhajan or kirtan is basically a Hindu or Sikh devotional song, often of ancient origin. ... Raga (rāg /राग (Hindi), raga (anglicised from rāgaḥ/रागः (Sanskrit)) or rāgam /ராகம் (Tamil)) are the melodic modes used in Indian classical music. ... Tala may refer to: Samoan tala, the monetary unit of Samoa. ... Jagannath(far right) with his brother Balarama(far left) and sister Subadra (center) in Radhadesh, Belgium Jagannath is a Sanskrit term used to describe a deity form of Krishna. ... In Hinduism, Durga (Sanskrit: , Bengali: ) is a form of Devi, the supreme goddess. ... The Gita Govinda or the Song of the Shri Krishna is a work composed in the 12th century by Jayadeva Goswami. ...

Current evidence

Closer scrutiny of the archaeological records, including temple inscriptions, palm manuscripts and lithographs of that era now reveal the poet's Orissan origin^[2]. The worship of the Hindu deity, Krishna, in the form of Jagannath was widespread in Orissa during Jayadeva's birth. 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^[3]. Deities of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu (right) and Sri Nityananda (left) at Radha-Krishna temple in Radhadesh, Belgium Caitanya Mahaprabhu (also transliterated Chaitanya) (1486 - 1534), was an ascetic Hindu monk and social reformer in 16th century Bengal, India (present-day West Bengal and Bangladesh). ...

Furthermore, accounts by numerous medieval authors, such as Chandra Dutta of Mithila and Navaji of Gwalior. The poet Mahipati of Maharashtra writes in his book Bhakti Bijaya, that Jayadeva's native village was in very near Puri. 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. Deities of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu (right) and Sri Nityananda (left) at Radha-Krishna temple in Radhadesh, Belgium Caitanya Mahaprabhu (also transliterated Chaitanya) (1486 - 1534), was an ascetic Hindu monk and social reformer in 16th century Bengal, India (present-day West Bengal and Bangladesh). ...

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.

Lastly, some of the poet's own compositions in Oriya unequivocally support the idea that Jayadeva belonged to Puri, Orissa. 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 and P.C. Tripathy, two eminent scholars on Jayadeva, 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^[4]. 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, 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. 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"^[5]. The word Kendu itself, is an Oriya derivative of the Sanskrit word Tenduka (a kind of tree), which is not used in Bengal.^[6].

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^[7][8].

The Kaun Banega Crorepati faux pas

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"^[9]. The Jayadeva Foundation Trust launched a protest against the TV show ^[10][11]. A number of scholars have denounced the false depiction of Jayadeva's origin in Bengal by Kaun Banega Crorepati, which they call a "historical humbug"^[12]. Kaun Banega Crorepati (Hindi: कौन बनेगा करोड़पति - popularly known as KBC) is an Indian game show based on the UK gameshow Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. This versions title literally translates to Who will be a ten-millionaire?. The show first aired in 2000 and was hosted by Amitabh Bachchan. ...

References

1. ^ Eminent literary luminaries of Orissa (2004).
2. ^ Historical Perspective of Saint Poet Sri Jayadev (2006).
3. ^ Jagannatha Puri as a Centre of Culture Through the Ages (2004).
4. ^ The Gita Govinda of Sri Jayadev (2006).
5. ^ The Cultural and Literary Form of Jayadeva's Gitagovinda (2005). Retrieved on 2005-11-01.
6. ^ Birth Place of Jayadev - Forgeries, Interpolations and Fabrications (2006). Retrieved on 2006-12-01.
7. ^ Birth Place of Jayadev - Forgeries, Interpolations and Fabrications (2006). Retrieved on 2006-12-01.
8. ^ Poet Jayadeva's birthplace row settled (2005).
9. ^ Orissa wants KBC apology for wrong info on poet (2007). Retrieved on 2007-04-22.
10. ^ Orissa to file complaint against Star (2007). Retrieved on 2007-04-20.
11. ^ KBC winds up with another governmental objection (2007).
12. ^ Wrong depiction of poet in TV shows irks scholars (2007).