Re: [INDOLOGY] "Gītagovinda: Towards a Total Understanding"

Tue Apr 4 10:36:35 UTC 2017

The role of the GG in the birth of the Kathakali genre in Kerala is a discussed matter. Quoting Rich Freeman (“Genre and Society: The Literary  Culture of Premodern Kerala”, in Pollock ed. 2003, p. 487):

‘While the form of th[e] original Sanskrit work itself has suggested that it was a performed piece, it was certainly put to this function in Kerala, where the work was known as the Aṣṭapadi. It was apparently adopted in this form by the kings of Calicut for performance in the Guruvāyūr and other Kṛṣṇa temples, where it developed from songs sung by temple servants before the stairs leading to the sanctum (hence, stair-song, sōpāna-gīti) into a performance genre called aṣṭapadiyāṭṭam (dancing of the Aṣṭapadi) presented by Cākyārs using the gestural language (mudra) adapted from the theater. The best guess is that this genre was developed in the fifteenth or sixteenth centuries, when the Caitanya movement in Bengal (which had direct ties to south India) may have given an impetus to the Kṛṣṇa cult in Kerala.’ [or a new impetus, since there was already in Kerala a strong Kṛṣṇa cult and lyrico-devotional tradition, with Bilvamangala etc., from which Caitanya himself borrowed a lot].

At the least the GG has clearly influenced the Kṛṣṇagīti, a lyrico-dramatic poem written by Mānaveda (a Zamorin of Calicut) in 1652 (cf. for the dating chronogram, Kunjunni Raja, CSKL p. 102) which became the source-text for the Kṛṣṇāṭṭam, a special dance-drama (different from the Rāmaṇāṭṭam viewed as the more direct predecessor of the Kathakali in the same 17th century).

It is to be noted that a verse form the GG is always sung at the beginning of a Kathakali performance as an auspicious ritual (see Paul Martin-Dubost, Le Théâtre dansé du Kérala, Paris, 1990, pp. 103-123).

The earliest translation of the GG in Malayalam seems the Bhāṣāṣṭapadi, by the poet Rāmapurattu Vāryar (1703-1753).

>From A. Gaur, Catalogue of Malayalam Books in the British Museum, 1971, col. 110, these two references:

• dēvagīta… gītagōvindattiṉṯe svatantraparibhāṣa. Dēva-gīta, a free translation in Malayalam verse by Caṅṅampuḻa Kṛṣṇa Piḷḷa, with introduction by the translator, Trichur : Mangalodayam Press, 1946.

• maṇipravāḷāṣṭapadi athavā laḷitagītagōvindaṃ. Maṇipravāḷāṣṭapadi, or Laḷita-gīta-gōvindaṃ, a rendering in maṇipravāḷam verse, by K. V. Rāma Vāriyar, Ottapalam : Kamalalaya Press, 1921.

The second one could correspond to Rāmapurattu Vāryar’s work.

There must exist several other translations in Malayalam.

Below, a few references from a quick check with a local on-line bookseller (note that the second item is an edition of Rāmapurattu Vāryar’s work).

Testifying for the immense popularity of the GG in Kerala : in the Malayam novel The Legend of Khasak (khasākkiṉṯe itihāsaṃ) by O. V. Vijayan (1969, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khasakkinte_Itihasam ), at the end of the chapter 9 examined by Francis Zimmermann (http://ginger.tessitures.org/malayalam/fiction-contemporaine/khasak/ ) a anonymous Sanskrit stanza is quoted, which is, as I myself noticed, nothing else than GG 1.16.

Premavum Bhakthiyum

Study of Jayadevan's Geetha Govindam by Guru Nitya Chaithanya Yati. Foreword by Dr. Chathanath Achyuthanunni.
Publisher: Current Books Thrissur
Malayalam Title	പ്രേമവും ഭക്തിയും
Pages	282
Size	Demy 1/8
Binding	Paperback
Edition	2007 November

Bhashashtapadi

Jayadevan's epic poem Geethagovindam, translated into Malayalam by eminent poet Ramapurath Varier, edited with a foreword by O N V Kurup. This edition also has a number of elegant line sketches by Eswaran Namboothiri.

Publisher: Chintha Publishers
Malayalam Title: ഭാഷാഷ്‌ടപദി
Pages: 88
Size: Demy 1/8
Binding: Paperback
Edition: 2013 November

Geethagovindam

Jayadevan's epic poem Geethagovindam, retold in prose by Dr V S Sharma. It also has a literary study by Dr Sharma.
Publisher: National Book Stall
Malayalam Title: ഗീതഗോവിന്ദം
Pages: 118
Size: Demy 1/8
Binding: Paperback
Edition: 2011 April

Changampuzhayude Vivarthana Kavithakal

Complete collection of poems translated into Malayalam by renowned poet Changampuzha Krishna Pillai. Changampuzhayude Vivarthana Kavithakal has all his translations in poetry including Devageetha (Geethagovindam) and Divyageetham (Song of Songs). Changampuzhayude Vivarthana Kavithakal is a huge collection of great poems from world literature and Indian literature. Foreword by O N V Kurup.
Publisher: Chintha Publishers
Malayalam Title: ചങ്ങമ്പുഴയുടെ വിവർത്തന കവിതകൾ
Pages: 272
Size: Demy 1/8
Binding: Paperback
Edition: 2009 October

Le 4 avr. 2017 à 06:19, Jesse Knutson via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info> a écrit :

> Hi Nagaraj, The whole thing will be weighted toward English, but I will include the most major stuff in some Indian (and other European) languages, especially the major secondary works in Bengali. This will of course be somewhat restricted to what I can read, which is pretty much only Bengali and Hindi. I will also make at least some reference to the translations, virtually in any Indian language you can name, as you know. There are so many translations in Indian and other languages that I will not be able to treat them in great detail. I think there are at least about 10 in Bengali. I'm sure there might be even more in Oriya. So the short answer is: I will try not to do an injustice to scholarship in Indian languages, though I won't be able to treat it comprehensively.    
> 
> One area of concern is that I cannot read Oriya, and yet I know there must be at least some good scholarship in Oriya (apart from the flood of more popular literature).  If you or someone you know can give me some pointers here I would be very grateful. 
> 
> Best,J
> 
> 
> 
> On Mon, Apr 3, 2017 at 5:44 PM, Nagaraj Paturi <nagarajpaturi at gmail.com> wrote:
> Dear Jesse,
> 
> Does your annotated GG bibliography include Indian language works too?
> 
> Congratulations and best wishes,
> 
> Nagaraj
> 
> On Tue, Apr 4, 2017 at 4:29 AM, Jesse Knutson via INDOLOGY<indology at list.indology.info> wrote:
> Dear Friends, You might have guessed that I'm working on annotated GG bibliography. The task started out as slightly tedious, but has become very rewarding and pleasurable thanks to your help. 
> I also welcome any references to lesser known articles and works you might know of. I look forward to sharing the bibliography with you when it's done.
> A propos would anyone have a soft copy of the following?
> Sarkar, Ranajit (1974). Gītagovinda : towards a total understanding. Rijksuniversiteit te Groningen, [Institute of Indian Studies], Groningen, [Netherlands]
> 
> 
> Thanks भवदीयः,j
> -- 
> Jesse Ross Knutson PhD
> Assistant Professor of Sanskrit and Bengali, Department of Indo-Pacific Languages and Literatures
> University of Hawai'i at Mānoa
> 461 Spalding
> 
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> 
> 
> -- 
> Nagaraj Paturi
>  
> Hyderabad, Telangana, INDIA.
>  
> Former Senior Professor of Cultural Studies
>  
> FLAME School of Communication and FLAME School of  Liberal Education,
>  
> (Pune, Maharashtra, INDIA )
>  
>  
>  
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Jesse Ross Knutson PhD
> Assistant Professor of Sanskrit and Bengali, Department of Indo-Pacific Languages and Literatures
> University of Hawai'i at Mānoa
> 461 Spalding
> _______________________________________________
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Christophe Vielle
Louvain-la-Neuve

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