The Twenty-Fourth Song: Rādhā Takes Command

by Raagini Hazarika

“The Poet and Author of the Gita Govinda, Jayadeva, Visualizes Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, folio from the Tehri Garhwal series of the Gita Govinda” (ca. 1775-80). The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Introduction

The 24th song is the final song of the Gita Govinda. This song is distinguishable from the rest thanks to its exploration of the svādhīna-bhartrikā nayikā, meaning “the woman in control of her husband”. This is characterized by its role-reversal trope in which the woman commands her willing and devoted lover. Here the trope is used to describe the aftermath of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa’s lovemaking, as Rādhā directs Kṛṣṇa to redress her with tender affection. Rādhā guides Kṛṣṇa to decorate her body with sandalwood markings, reapply the kohl on her beautiful eyes, make a tilak on her moon-like forehead, The song also features elements that distinguish the poem as a bhakti work of literature with the appearance of the author, Jayadeva. A clip from an Odissi dance documentary featuring the dancer Sanjukta Panigraha performing the song can be found towards the end (at ca. 14 minutes) of  the documentary on Odissi dance at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEdHHKYOYZE. The sung version truly brings out the beauty of the internal and external rhyme schemes, alliteration, and metric schemes of the song, which will be explored in further detail in the analysis section.

In his book Sacred and profane dimensions of love in Indian traditions as exemplified in the Gītagovinda of Jayadeva, Lee Siegel described how human carnal love is often intertwined with divine sacred love. In art this manifests as the two modes being shown side by side, or the actors of the love forms being switched between, as is the case in this song. The emphasis of the 24th song is the fulfillment of love – love of Rādhā unto Kṛṣṇa, love of Kṛṣṇa unto Rādhā, love of Jayadeva onto them both, and love of the divine pair unto Jayadeva. It is the resolution of all the suffering everyone in the poem, including the audience, has endured to this moment: that which  “breaks the pain of the wicked darkness of Kaliyuga as the nectar worshipping the memory of Kṛṣṇa’s feet”.

Lyrics, Transliteration, and Translation

Analysis

As a whole, the 24th song is a fun mix of playful affection, confident direction, and seductive implication, with a finishing touch of an astonishing oblation to the Divine.

The double internal rhyme (antyānuprāsa) yadu-nandana candana and śiśiratareṇa kareṇa adds a pleasing lilt to the introducing verse. In this section Rādhā commands – indicated by the 2nd person imperative verb kuru, a form generally reserved for informal orders or speech from a superior – Kṛṣṇa to draw decorations with sandalwood on her breasts, which are like “vessels auspicious to Kamadeva”. This verb form is repeated throughout the song, emphasizing the current nature of the relationship between the lovers. The likening of Rādhā’s breasts to vessels of Kamadeva references round pots usually used in festivals dedicated to the God of Love, a kind of comparison of the mundane to the divine called utprekṣa, literally translated as “poetic fancy”. This adds a ceremonial and ritualistic feel to the verse, evoking an image of worship from Kṛṣṇa to Rādhā.

The second verse leans further into the playful and confident attitude of Rādhā, as well as gives us a deeper look into the śṛṅgāra rasa than it seems at first glance. Jaydeva includes a comparison of the kohl to a swarm of black bees. Comparisons in which one element (the upameya) is compared with and stated as superior to another (the upamāna), as how the blackness of the kohl is explicitly superior to the bees, is called vyatireka, literally “contrast”. Jayadeva uses this kind of comparison specifically to emphasize the beauty of Rādhā. When she says “these eyes which cause the god of love to drop his arrows”, she is asserting that her gaze renders Kamadeva’s arrows useless, as her sidelong glance is the only thing needed to strike love into Kṛṣṇa's heart. Further than that, this line can also be seen as Rādhā disarming her opponent. As illustrated in verse 12 of the 12th Canto, after the 23rd song, the vīra, or heroic, rasa is generally reserved for males and their activities. However, in loveplay, where the bed is the battlefield, seduction is the art of war, and the body is a weapon, the women are able to embody the heroic confidence and claim their heart’s desire. The comparison of our heroine’s eyes being akin – nay, better – than the weapon of a god is no oversight on our poet’s part.

The third verse includes a beautiful trope of romantic literary simile worth mentioning. Rādhā asks that Kṛṣṇa place the earring on her ear that “prevents the elongation of [her] bounding-deer-like-eye”. This simile (upamā) of beautiful eyes to deer is a common one, and characterizes the one being described as playful and energetic, but at the same time innocent. The description of the “circle” of the ear preventing the elongation of the eye also creates a fluid, feminine, aesthetic image. The rich rhyme schemes in the verse also enhance the sense of fluidity. The antyānuprāsa in “vikāsa-nirāsa-kare … manasija-pāśa-vilāsa-dhare” and in  śubha-veśa niveśaya” invites the listener to rock with the comforting rhythm of the repeated “āsa”s and eśa. The soothing sound envelops the listener into the intimate moment between Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, once again blending the internal world of the lovers with the external world of Jayadeva and his audience.

In the fourth chosen verse, marked as verse 6 of the text, Jayadeva’s intentionality in referencing the God of Love, Kamadeva, and his wife, Rati, enhances the śṛṅgāra rasa of the song, as well as functions as a satisfying wrap-up to the poem’s conflicts. The third and fourth lines begin with Manasija and Rati, respectively. While in this context rati means wondrous or beautiful rather than the name of Kāmadeva’s wife, the word choice is still no coincidence. This intentional double-meaning is called śleṣa. The close placement of the lovers’ names enhances the amorous śṛṅgāra rasa by associating the personifications of coupling love themselves with Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. Additionally, the use of Manasija specifically as the title used for Kāmadeva resolves the theme of separation and delayed union and gratification throughout the poem. Manasija is a compound word literally meaning existing in the mind, or imagined. The poem is largely about imagination – the daydreamy imagination Rādhā has when longing for Kṛṣṇa, the jealous imagination that drives her torment, the shy imagination of what’s to come when she meets Kṛṣṇa in the bower – but at the end, all of the imagined dissolves as the lovers’ union comes to fruition.

The last verse is the most masterful as a show of Rāgānugā Bhakti, or worship by acting a part in the divine play, and requires some back-stepping to fully appreciate. First, Jayadeva includes a callback to his first verse with the antya-anuprasa “sadayaṁ hṛdayaṁ”. In the first song, this was used to describe Kṛṣṇa’s reincarnation as the Buddha, bringing peace to the hearts of all mankind. Now, the poet uses the same phrase to coax Kṛṣṇa to keep his own compassionate heart in the work. Here also Jayadeva uses the same verb “kuru” that he has been using for Rādhā’s speech. To use this verb form as a devotee addressing a god seems audacious. However, harkening back to Siegel’s assertion, we can reason that Jayadeva as a performer of divine love has intertwined his purpose with the position of Rādhā, who is performing human love as Kṛṣṇa’s consort. Assuming the position of His lover, in both a divine and carnal sense, Jayadeva is able to command Him to put His heart in the poet’s own show of love. In return, Jayadeva has painstakingly created a work of art that invokes Kṛṣṇa’s name, inviting devotees and strangers alike to find refuge from the pains of their daily lives in the Kali Yuga through thinking of Kṛṣṇa and listening to his traipses.

Wordlist

Refrain

निगद् nigad 1 P. 1 To proclaim, declare, announce;; Śi.9.76. -2 To declare, say, speak; R.2.33. -3 To speak to, address (any one). -4 To enumerate. -5 To call, name.

क्रीड् krīḍ 1 To play, amuse oneself; -2 To gamble, play at dice

आनन्दन ānandana a. Pleasing, delighting; 1 Delighting, making happy. -2 Paying respects to. -3 Courteous treatment of a friend or a guest at meeting and parting, courtesy, civility. -4...

v1

चन्दनः candanam, चन्दनम् candanam [चन्द ण्यन्तात् ल्यु] Sandal, (the tree, the wood, or any unctuous preparation of the wood, held in high estimation as a perfume and refrigerant application);

शिशिर—तर śiśiratara mfn.  more cool,  very refreshing,

पयोधर payodhara m. (-रः) A woman's breast. 2. A cloud. 3. The sugarcane.

पत्रकम् patrakam 1 A leaf. -2 Drawing lines or figures on the body as a decoration.

सहोदर sahodara m. (-रः) A brother of whole blood,  one by the same father and

mother.E. सह with,  उदर the belly.

v2

अलिः aliḥ 1 A black bee. -2 A scorpion. -3 A crow. -4 The (Indian) cuckoo. -5 The sign of the zodiac called वृश्चिक. -6 Spirituous liquor

गञ्जन gañjana, a. Contemning,  putting to shame,  surpassing,  excelling Gīt.*

Defeating,  conquering

अञ्जनकः añjanakaḥ A portion of the Vedas containing the word अञ्जन. -की N. of a medicinal plant.

सायकः sāyakaḥ [सो-ण्वुल्] 1 An arrow. -2 A sword. -3 The number 'five' -4 The latitude of the sky.

मोचन mocana a. (-नी f.) [मुच्-ल्यु ल्युट् वा] Releasing, freeing from. -नम् 1 Releasing, liberating, setting free, emancipating. -2 Unyoking. -3 Discharging, emitting. -4 Acquittance of a debt or obligation. -5 Arrogance...

लम्बित lambita p. p. 1 Hanging down, pendent. -2 Suspended. -3 Sunk, gone down. -4 Resting on, attached to (see लम्ब)

उज्ज्वल् ujjval 1 P. To blaze up, shine. -Caus. (ज्वलयति) To light up, illuminate, irradiate;

v3

चिकूरः cikūraḥ The hair.

मानद mānada a.  giving or showing honour (to others)m. honour-giver (address of a woman to her husband or lover).

ध्वजः dhvajaḥ [ध्वज्-अच्] 1 A flag, banner, standard, ensign; -2 A distinguished or eminent person, the flag or ornament (at the end...

चामरम् cāmaram [चमर्याः विकारः तत्पुच्छनिर्मितत्वात्] also -रा -री sometimes. 1 A chowrie or bushy tail of the Chamara (Bos Grunniens) used as a fly-flap or fan, and reckoned as one of the insignia of royalty (and sometimes used as a sort of streamer on the heads of horses)

गलित galita p. p. [गल्-क्त] 1 Dropped or fallen down. -2 Melted. -3 Oozed, flowing. -4 Lost, vanished, deprived. -5 Untied, got loose. -6 Emptied, leaked away. -7 Filtered. -8 Decayed, impaired. -9...

शिखण्डिन् śikhaṇḍin a. [शिखण्डोऽस्त्यस्य इनि] Crested, tufted. -m. A peacock; -2 A cock. -3 An arrow. -4 A peacock's tail. -5 A kind of…

शिखण्डकः śikhaṇḍakaḥ [शिखण्ड इव-कन्] 1 A lock of hair left on the crown of the head at tonsure. -2 Locks or tufts of hair left on the sides of the head; (these are three or five in the case of the Kṣatriyas). -3 A crest, tuft, plume. -4 A peacock's tail. -5 The fleshy part of the body below the buttocks. -6 (With Śaivas) One who attains a particular degree of emancipation

डामर ḍāmara a. 1 Terrific, dreadful, awful; -2 Riotous, tumultuous. -3 Resembling, having the appearance (i. e. lovely, beautiful);

v4

तरङ्गः taraṅgaḥ [तॄ-अङ्गच्] 1 A wave;. -2 A section or part of a work (as of the कथासरित्सागर). -3 A leap, jump, gallop, jumping motion (as of a horse). -4 Cloth...

विकासः vikāsaḥ 1 Blowing, expanding, blooming, budding. -2 Increase, growth;

मण्डल maṇḍala a. [मण्ड्-कलच्] Round, circular; 1 circular array of troops. -2 A dog. -3 A kind of snake. -लम् 1 A circular orb, globe, wheel...

विलासः vilāsaḥ 1 Sport, play, pastime. -2 Amorous pastime, diversion, pleasure; -3 Coquetry, dalliance, affectation, wantonness, graceful movement or play, any feminine gesture indicative of amorous sentiment

v5 (19)

मण्डन maṇḍana a. [मण्डयति मण्ड्-ल्यु ल्युट् वा] 1 Adorning, decorating. -2 Fond of ornaments. -नम् The act of decorating or ornamenting, adorning; -2 An ornament, decoration, embellishment...

निर्मित nirmita p. p. 1 Constructed, built, formed, prepared, made &c. -2 (in law) Fixed, settled; -3 Artificial. -4 Performed, celebrated (a ceremony)

कलुष kaluṣa a. [कल्-उषच् Uṇ.4.75] 1 Turbid, dirty, muddy, foul-2 Choked, hoarse, husky. -3 Bedimmed; full of. -4 Angry, displeased, excited. -5 Wicked, sinful, bad. -6 Cruel, censurable. -7 Dark, opaque. -8 Idle, lazy. -9 Perverted. -षः A buffalo. -षम् 1 Dirt filth, mud. -2 Sin

खण्डन khaṇḍana a. [खण्ड्-ल्युट्] 1 Breaking, cutting, dividing. -2 Destroying, annihilating; -नम् 1 Breaking or cutting. -2 Biting; injuring, hurting

Discussion Question

What are your thoughts on the meshing of human and divine love? Which  instances of this intertwining in the song are particularly interesting to you?

Sources/Further Reading

Siegel, Lee. 1978. Sacred and profane dimensions of love in Indian traditions, as exemplified in the Gītagovinda of Jayadeva. Oxford University Press.