Sri Jayadeva Goswami
Sri
Jayadeva's wife's name was Sri Padmavati. During the time that he was
engaged as the chief pandita of Raja Laksman Sena, he resided at
Navadwipa on the banks of Ganga. Also present with were three other
panditas whose names he has mentioned in Sri Gita-Govinda: Sri
Umapatidhar, Acarya Sri Govardhan and Kavi Ksamapati, who were his
close friends.
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu used to especially relish
hearing the Gita Govinda as well as the works of Candidas, Vidyapati,
Ramananda Ray and the Krsna-karnamrta by Bilvamangala Thakur. Sri Gita
Govinda is full of intimate pastimes of Sri Sri Radha Govinda and is
therefore meant for those who have accumulated sufficient spiritual
piety.
"For those who relish the remembrance of the pastimes of
Sri Hari and who are always anxious to hear those transcendental divine
narrations, these verses, sweet as honey, have been composed by
Jayadeva with the blessings of Mother Sarasvati."
In the Gita
Govinda, while writing about the pastimes of Radharani as She repented
after Krsna had gone away, he became lost in thought. Not being able to
decide whether or not he should write a particular verse, he decided to
first take his bath, and return to his writing later. While he taking
his bath, Krsna Himself personally appeared in the form of Jayadeva,
took his meal and then wrote down that very verse with His own hand.
Then, while Padmavati was accepting her meal Jayadeva returned from
taking his bath in the Ganga. Padmavati was completely startled to see
her husband, and Jayadeva as well was very suprised to see that his
wife was accepting her meal before him (which is never done by Hindu
wives). Finally she explained that he had already returned from taking
his bath once, taken his meal, and then gone to his room. Jayadeva went
to where he had been writing and saw the verse that he had been
considering whether to write or not, now composed in golden letters.
With
tears in his eyes and voice choked up he called out to his wife,
"Padmavati! You are so fortunate! You had darshana of the Supreme Lord!"
Bhaktivinoda
Thakura has commented that even though Sri Gauranga Deva hadn't
revealed his internal pastimes at that time, within the heart of Sri
Jayadeva, Sri Bilvamangala, Sri Candi das and Sri Vidyapati, the
transcendental mood of Mahaprabhu was awakened even before He Himself
actually made His appearance.
Jayadeva Gosvami also composed a
book named Candraloka. His disappearance is on Pausa sankranti. He also
composed the celebrated Dasavatara Stotram.
His worshipable
Deities, Sri Sri Radha-Madhava, are being worshipped in the former
temple of Radha-Govinda just outside the present city of
Jaipur.