The
Ashtapadi Or Gita Govindam
The Ashtapadi
or the Gitagovindam
The Ashtapadi is a work by Jayadeva, a great devotee of Krishna. It is replete with elements conducive to bhakti
rasa—music and dance. It was composed by Jayadeva at the Jagannatha Kshetra of
Puri, while his wife, Padmavati, danced to its music. Both music and
dance are among the sixty-four kinds of offerings made to god at the time of
pooja or worship. Each of these offerings helps us to invoke the Lord’s karuna
or compassion on us. Of these, music and dance have very intense, personal
significance. The Lord is of the form of music. The art of dance is a mingling
of music with the ambient air.
The Supreme Being, the Paramatma, is of the form of music.
Parashakti, the Supreme Energy, is of the form of air which is favourable to
convey sound or music. It is this concept that appeared embodied in the form of
Radhakrishna and performed several lilas in order to lead the hearts of
devotees into maturity. In general, Lilas enchant every one. However, the deep
esoteric significance of these lilas is enjoyed only by the most enlightened of
devotees. It is such a devotee who is a parama-ekanti (the highest among the
enlightened), a jeevan mukta (the liberated). Vedavyasa was one such bhakta. He
gave the world deep, precious philosophical thoughts, through the eighteen
puranas.
In the tenth purana, the Brahmavaivarta Purana, Vyasa narrates the
story of Sri Radhakrishna. The Garga Samhita, which serves as an exposition to
the Purana, also deals with this story in great detail, using an engaging
manner to bring out the story’s philosophical significance. The Ashtapadi was
composed with these two texts as its source.
Sri Krishna is with his wife Viraja in Goloka. When Radha, on
hearing about this, comes there in anger, Krishna
turns Viraja into a river and hides himself. Radha returns to her abode
disappointed only to be met by Krishna, who
pretends to be in search of her calling out her name, “Radhe…Radhe.” When Radha
turns her face away in anger, Krishna tries to
pacify her. However, she would not be appeased. Even when Krishna
entreats her saying, “Do not be angry, O Radha! I plead with you. I shall not
be attracted to any other woman henceforth,” she does not relent.
The great devotee Sudhama is offended by Radha’s behaviour. Krishna, then, goes back to his love sport with Viraja.
Radha, who could not bear to be separated from Krishna, sends her apologies to Krishna through a friend. Krishna
replies to the message saying that he has no strength even to walk, because of
the intense suffering caused by Radha’s separation and asks Radha to come to
him. On receiving this message, Radha sets out to meet Krishna.
However, Sudhama, who is still angry with Radha, bars her entry
into the place. Radha curses him to become an asura and he, in turn, curses her
that she would be separated from Bhagavan Krishna. At this point, the Lord
Himself comes out and effects a reconciliation between them. Sudhama is to be
born as Shankachuda, would be killed by Shiva and would return to Goloka. Radha
would be born as the daughter of Vrishabanu. The Lord assures her that he would
be born as the son of Vasudeva, would grow up in Nanda’s household and would
marry her. They were to live on earth for a while and then return to Goloka. This
is the story sung by Jayadeva in the 24 verses of the Ashtapadi.
The events that happen in Goloka, as well as those that happen on
earth are narrated in Jayadeva’s work. The Gayathri Mantra, the Mantra Raja,
the mother of all Vedas, has 24 syllables. Based on the ratio of a thousand
verses for each of the 24 letters, Valmiki composed the Ramayana in 24,000
verses. On a similar scale, Sri Thyagaraja Swamigal composed 24,000 keerthanas.
Jayadeva, on the same basis, composed 24 Ashtapadis.
Since it is a song (gita) about Govinda, it is called the
Gitagovinda. Since it is composed in eight padas (in keeping with rhythms of
dance), it is also called the Ashtapadi. Several slokas are added to the songs
in the beginning and in the end. Many writers have specified the raga and tala
in which these verses are set. Yet others sing these as taught by their gurus.
Since it is considered a Kavya, a work of poetry, it is divided
into sargas or chapters, like other kavyas such as the Raghuvamsha. This work
has been composed in twelve sargas, bearing the Dvadashakshari mantra
(twelve-syllable mantra) of Krishna. The names
given by Jayadeva to each of these sargas are also unique and meaningful. They
bestow grace upon devotees.
- Samoda Damodaran: He who gives joy to the mother who tied him to a mortar.
- Aklesha Keshavan: He who protected Brahma and Shiva.
- Mukta Madhusudanan: He who punished Madhu, the asura who was enslaved by Moha.
- Snigdha Madhusudanan: He who revealed his beauteous form to Madhu and Kaitabha.
- Sakanksha Pundarikakshan: He who awaits the arrival of his devotees with eyes wide open.
- Dhrishta Vaikuntan or Dhanya Vaikunthan: He who reveals the bliss of Vaikuntha to every one.
- Nagara Narayanan: He who can appeal to people of a city, though He had lived in a village among Gopis (cowherdesses).
- Vilakshya Lakshmipati: He who accepts every one who seeks his Grace as Lakshmi herself.
- Mukta Mukundan: The Guru who bestows a unique experience.
- Chatura Chaturbhujan: He who has four arms which grant all the goals of human life.
- Sannada Govindan: He who brings joy to cowherds and to every one on earth.
- Supreeta Pitambaran: He who, pleased by the devotion of his devotees, bestows upon them the Pitambara (the yellow garment worn by Him).
These meaningful names explain the
import of the Ashtapadi clearly. We have no knowledge of Moksha and the unknown
is to be reached through the known. Moksha is unalloyed bliss and all other
pleasures we experience are but drops of this Ocean of Bliss.
This bliss is purely experiential. The sacred texts try to make us have a
glimpse of it through the example of Sringara bhava known to all of us in
our experience. Today’s world, following Western thought, understands Sringara
bhava in terms of brutish lust. This is fallacious. Sringara bhava
comes out of the perfect union between the husband and wife and is expressed in
a harmonious life, sweet conversation, congenial behaviour, not being separated
from one another, the misery felt if separation happens, offering music and
dance, (a part of the worship of the Lord) to the god residing in the temple of
the body, embracing one another, exchanging kisses and so on.
This Nayaka-Nayaki Bhava is akin to the
relationship between the Jiva and Ishwara, in aspects such as the experience of
union and devotion. This Nayaka-Nayaki Bhava is not exclusive to our religion
alone; it is found in Christianity and Islam too. Prema Bhakti is, thus,
portrayed in the songs of the Thevaram, the Divya Prabhandam and in the songs
of many other devotees. Though these appear to be erotic in nature, they are
replete with ideas from the Vedantas and so are sung even by renunciates. The
jiva is separated from the Paramatman and suffers several sorrows such as
birth, death, old age, hunger and disease. By the grace of the Lord, the jiva
finds a good acharya, who guides him aright and leads him to union with the
Lord. Here, Krishna is the Paramatman, Radha
the Jivatman, and the friend is the Acharya. Similarly our ancestors have
written plays such as the Prabodha Chandrodayam and the Snakalpa Suryodayam
which portray abstract qualities as a king – Prabodha, the King triumphs over
the asura Ajnana who comes to battle accompanied by his army of Kama
(desires) and Krodha (anger). The Padma Purana serves as a precedent to this.
Om Tat Sat
(Continued)
(My
humble salutations to the lotus feet of
Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Mahaswamy ji humble greatfulness to Kamakoti
Pradeepam also to Brahmasri Sreeman Srivatsa
Somadeva Sharma ji for the collection)
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