Sri Jayadeva Goswami appeared in either the eleventh or twelfth century of the
Shaka era. There is a difference of opinion about his place of birth.
The majority opinion holds that he ailed from the village of Kendubilva,
presently in the district of Birbhum. Others claim that he was born in either
Orissa or South India.
Kendubilva is situated about twenty miles south of Siuri on the banks of the
Ajaya River. In the Gaudiya Vaisnava Abhidhana, it is stated that Jayadeva
found his Radha Madhava deities in this river’s waters.
It is also stated there that he used to rest and worship at the temple of
Shiva known as Kusheshwar, which is also on the banks of the Ajaya River.
Jayadeva’s father was named Bhojadeva and his mother, Vama Devi.
Jayadeva lived for a long time in Nabadwip during the reign of the king of
Bengal, Lakshman Sen, making his home not far from the king’s palace. At that
time, the king’s chief scholar was Govardhan Acharya. According to Ashutosh
Deb’s Bengali dictionary, Jayadeva was Lakshman Sen’s court poet.
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur writes in his Nabadvipa-dhama-mahatmya that Lakshman
Sen was delighted when he heard Jayadeva’s hymn to the ten incarnations, the
Dasavatara-stotra.
[Later], Jayadeva took his deities Radha and Madhava with him, and set off on
the long journey. Once in Vrindavan, he began to serve his deities in an area
near Keshi Ghat. When the residents of the Dham heard Jayadeva sing the
Gita-govinda in his sweet voice, they were entranced. One merchant built a
large temple for the deities on that site.
It is said that Jayadeva returned to his birthplace in Kendubilva after living
in Vrindavan for many years. He spent the rest of his life there, worshipping
his deities and performing his bhajan. He would make the long walk to the
Ganges every day to take his bath there.
One day, for some reason or another, he was unable to make it. Ganga Devi was
so kind to him that she came personally to the village of Kendubilva so that
he would bathe in her holy waters. It is said that Jayadeva died in Kendubilva
and every year on the first day of the month a Magh, a large festival, is held
there in his memory.
According to legend, Jagannath Himself ordered Jayadeva to marry his wife,
Padmavati. The story is told in the Visvakosa as follows: there once was a
Brahmin who was without offspring despite having worshiped Jagannath for many
years in the hope of having a son. Finally, he and his wife had a daughter and
they named her Padmavati.
When she came of marriageable age, the Brahmin brought her to Lord Jagannath
to offer her to his lotus feet. When He saw them, Jagannath said to the
Brahmin, “I have a servant whose name is Jayadeva. He has given up family life
and has dedicated himself to chanting My names. Give your daughter to him in
marriage.”
It is said that Jayadeva returned to his birthplace in Kendubilva after living
in Vrindavan for many years. He spent the rest of his life there, worshipping
his deities and performing his bhajan. He would make the long walk to the
Ganges every day to take his bath there.
One day, for some reason or another, he was unable to make it. Ganga Devi was
so kind to him that she came personally to the village of Kendubilva so that
he would bathe in her holy waters. It is said that Jayadeva died in Kendubilva
and every year on the first day of the month a Magh, a large festival, is held
there in his memory.
There is, however, a difference of opinion about where Jayadeva finished his
life. Though some say he returned to Kendubilva, others claim it was Puri, and
still others say that he went to Vrindavan.
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur has stated his opinion that
Jayadeva left this world from Jagannatha Puri. Though some people say that
Jayadeva returned to Kendubilva to spend his last days, there is no indication
anywhere that he brought his Radha-Madhava deities with him. In fact, these
deities were taken by the king of Jaipur to a place named Ghati sometime after
Jayadeva’s passing away and they are still being served in the Jaipur area.
Jayadeva’s disappearance day is on the sixth day of the waning moon of the
month of Paush.
