thumb|250px|gita govinda manuscript c. 1550. the gita govinda (, devanagari: à¤à¥à¤¤ à¤à¥à¤µà¤¿à¤¨à¥à¤¦) (song of govinda) is a work composed by the 12th-century poet, jayadeva, born in either the village of jayadeva kenduli in bengal or the village of kenduli sasan in odisha are likely candidates though another kenduli in mithila is also a possibility. recent studies point to the odisha birthplace as the more likely one. it describes the relationship between krishna and the gopis (female cow herders) of vrindavana, and in particular one gopi named radha. the gita govinda is organized into twelve chapters. each chapter is further sub-divided into twenty four divisions called prabandhas. the prabandhas contain couplets grouped into eights, called ashtapadis. it is mentioned that radha is greater than krishna. the text also elaborates the eight moods of heroine, the ashta nayika, which has been an inspiration for many compositions and choreographic works in indian classical dances. ==summary==  the work delineates the love of krishna for radha, the milkmaid, his faithlessness and subsequent return to her, and is taken as symbolical of the human soul's straying from its true allegiance but returning at length to the god which created it. ==translations==  the poem has been translated into most modern indian languages and many european languages there is a german rendering which goethe read by f. h . van dalberg dalbergs version was based on the english translation done by  william jones  published in the transactions of the asiatic society, calcutta in 1792 a verse translation by the german poet friedrick rukert was began in 1829 and revised according to the edi
Bhakti_movement Hindu_texts Jayadeva Sanskrit_poetry Vaishnavism