GEETA GOVINDAM THEME IN FESTIVAL

Sanskrit literature has played the main role in framing a common approach to the arts in India. While the form of music or dance may have differed, the thematic matter has emerged from the same fountainhead of kavya. Jayadeva's Geeta Govindam is a case in point. This book of songs called ashtapadi-s, clothing the love of Radha and Krishna with the magic of poetry and romance, has often been described as an allegory depicting the yearning of the jeevatma (individual soul) for union with the paramatma (universal soul). Traditionally, the songs were sung and the dances based on them rendered in the Puri temple of Jagannath, before the deity, by the mahari-s (devadasi-s). A similar tradition continues to this day at the Govindjee temple in Manipur, while in Kerala the songs have been rendered in the Sopanam style in Krishna temples. Outside the temples, the eroticism of Geeta Govindam has found artistic expression in Odissi dance, while the songs have provided deep inspiration to dance choreography all over the country.