Vidyapati
Vidyapati (1352? – 1448?), also known as the Maithil Kokil Vidyapati (Vidyapati, the cuckoo of Maithili), was an Indian poet. He was born in the village of Bisapi, Madhubani district, Bihar state, India. The name Vidyapati is derived from two Sanskrit words, Vidya (knowledge) and Pati (master), connoting thereby, a man of knowledge. Nidyapati's position as a poet and maker of language has been described as "analogous to that of Dante in Italy and Chaucer in England."
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Vidyapati, Maithili poet
Vidyapati is primarily known for his love-lyrics, composed in Maithili, a language spoken around Mithila (regions on the northern Bihar region on the Ganga), closely related to the abahattha form of early Bengali.
The love songs of Vidyapati, which describe the sensuous love story of Radha and Krishna, follow a long line of Vaishnav love poetry, popular in Eastern India, and include much celebrated poetery such as Jayadeva's Gita Govinda of the 12th century. This tradition which uses the language of physical love to describe spiritual love, was a reflection of a key turn in Hinduism, initiated by Ramanuja in the 11th century which advocated an individual self realization through direct love. Similar to the reformation in Christianity, this movement empowered the common man to realize God directly, without the intervention of learned priests. Part of the transformation was also a shift to local languages as opposed to the formal Sanskrit of the religious texts.
The Maithili of these poems is also called Brajabuli, and this style of poetry became very popular in Bengal, where later poets such as Govindadas emulated this form, and even in the 19th century, Rabindranath Tagore, wrote Bhanusimher Padavali in this language.
Love songs
- All My Inhibition
All my inhibition left me in a flash,
When he robbed me of my clothes,
But his body became my new dress.
Like a bee hovering on a lotus leaf
He was there in my night, on me!
Other works
Vidyapati, mainly known for his love songs, also wrote on other topics including ethics, history, geography, and law. His books include:
- Purusparika deals with moral teachings
- Likhanabali is about writing
- Bhu-Parikrama, literal meaning, around the world, is about local geography
- Bibhasagar is autobiographical in nature
- Dhanbakyabali is about charity