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Jaya Deva- Swami Sivananda |
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"The sky is clouded and the wood resembles The sky, thick-arched with black Tamala boughs; O Radha! Radha! Take this soul that trembles In life’s deep midnight, to Thy golden house! So Narada spoke—and led by Radha’s Spirit, The feet of Krishna found the road aright; Wherefore,
in bliss which all high hearts inherit, |
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These are the opening lines of a translation by Edwin Arnold of a piece of poetic composition in Sanskrit called Gita Govinda, the theme of which is the Divine Love between Radha and Krishna. The author is Jaya Deva, a great reputed Bhakta who lived about five hundred years ago, in a village called Bilvagam, near the sacred city of Jagannath-Puri in the state of Orissa. Gita Govinda is the most celebrated poetical work of Sri Jaya Deva. |
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His Birth |
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Jaya Deva’s father was Narayana Sastriar, a very pious Brahmin. Jaya Deva’s mother’s name was Kamalabai. She was pious and devoted. Sastriar and his wife had no child for a long number of years. Sastriar had no desire for children. But Kamalabai nurtured a secret desire for a son. She did not reveal this to her husband. She constantly prayed to the Lord that she might be blessed with a beautiful and virtuous male child. She was ashamed to be regarded by the world as a barren woman. |
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One night Narayana Sastri dreamt that the Lord appeared and told him that his wife’s prayer would be fulfilled and that he would soon have an illustrious son. Sastriar woke up and reported to his wife his happy dream. He asked her if she made any prayer to God for the boon of a child. She admitted that she did pray. Narayana Sastri felt extremely grieved that all their Tapas and devotion became useless on account of their selfish motive. He became angry with his wife and said, "Foolish woman, you ought not to have prayed for a son. You ought to have prayed for the eternal bliss of Atma. You have ruined yourself and me also". He did not speak to his wife from that moment. She appealed to her husband for pardon, but to no purpose. They both even fasted for a day or two. |
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(To be continued in August, 2005 issue) |
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© "Lives of Saints" published by The Divine Life Society, The Sivananda Publication League, Shivanandanagar 249 192, Tehri-Garhwal District, Uttaranchal. Website: www.divinelifesociety.org. Reprinted with permission. |
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