Communities and Cultures in Indian History (Albany:
State University of New York Press, 1998); Paul Dun-
das, The Jain (New York: Routledge, 1992): Prem
Suman Jain, Essentials of Jainism (Boston: Jain Center of
Greater Boston, 1984); A. K. Roy, History of the Jainas
(Colombia, Mo.: South Asia Books, 1984).
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See JAINISM
Janakananda, Swami Rajasi See SELF-
REALIZATION FELLOWSHIP.
japa See MANTRA.
Jayadeva (late 12th–early 13th centuries)
Sanskrit poet
As with most poets, scholars, and saints in the
Indian tradition, very little is verifiably known
about the life of Jayadeva, the prolific Sanskrit
writer best known for the devotional work GITA-
GOVINDA. All that we know is gleaned from hints
in the author’s poetry, hints that often are subject
to several interpretations. Some say that he was
born in Kenduli village on the Ajaya River in
the Birbhum District of West Bengal. Others say
his birthplace was Kenduli village on the Praci
River in the Puri District of Orissa. Other claims
are made for the same village in Bihar and Maha-
rashtra. It is evident that the poet was a Vaish-
navite. Jayadeva’s patron while he composed the
Gitagovinda was King Lakshmanasena of Bengal
(1179–1209 C.E.).
Jayadeva, as did many poets before him,
became a saint for Vaishnavites. In the 17th cen-
tury Nabhadas wrote a Hindi text called Bhakta-
mala, which retold the lives and miracles of many
poet-saints, including Jayadeva. The stories are
meant to inspire worship of VISHNU, while show-
ing that the poet-saints, as ideal devotees, were
themselves worthy of worship. In fact, they refer
to the poet-saints as AVATARS of Vishnu, in the
looser sense of the term—they are incarnations of
the god for the purpose of showing all people the
way to devotion.
The following is a selection from the hagiog-
raphy:- When Jayadeva was still a child, his par-
ents had to surrender their house to a
neighbor. One day it caught fire; as soon
as the boy ran inside, the fire extinguished
itself. - It is said that Jayadeva was left as an
orphan as a child. He lived in rags and
survived on water alone, but he sang the
praises of God wherever he went. He was
said to be so ascetic that he preferred not to
write poetry, but instead to perfect his soul.
It is said that he did not even carry writing
implements, which he felt were luxuries.
He would not even sleep under the same
tree two nights in a row, lest he become
too attached to earthly delights and fail to
think of God. - In order to lure him away from asceticism
and to get him to write the Gitagovinda,
God arranged for Jayadeva to marry a wife,
Padmavati. She taught him human love, so
that he could write about the divine love of
Radha and KRISHNA. - Once in devotion to Krishna Jayadeva
made a pilgrimage to Puri. On the way he
fell down, fainting from thirst. It is said
that Krishna in the form of a cowherd
rescued him, gave him water and milk,
and fanned him. It is said that Jayadeva
composed his poem, the Gitagovinda, after
having a direct vision of Krishna playing
his flute. - Once Jayadeva went to the home of a
merchant to be his GURU or teacher. On
the way home he was accosted by two
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