Odia Books

Danai Das was a poet. Nothing is known about his parentage or place of birth. Curiously, scholars assign Dasa to the period between the 15th and 18th centuries, but the consensus favours the 18th
century. His only kavya, Gopibhasa (literally, the cowhered women speak) published in non-abridged form (Prachi, 1929) depicts the love between Krishna and the gopis. A legend assigns 96 cantos to this Kavya, but the present compilation of 32 cantos gives Gopibhasa a fairly complete look. There are altogether 3610 twoline verses written in a single metre, each line consisting of eleven Aksharas (syllables).

Gopibhasa dwells upon the reminiscences of the gopis after the departure of Lord Krishna form Gokula
to Mathura, the city of Kamsa, with Kamsa’s minister, Akrura, on an express understanding that he would be back in four day’s time. Krishna, however, failed to return. The gopis waited eagerly. The playful Krishna had always delighted them with his naughty pranks. He would mysteriously assume the size of a charming full-grown youth with whom each Gopi spent blissful moments. The first sixteen cantos of Gopibhasa are devoted to the life of the gopis during the sixteen days immediately following Krishna’s departure.

Sixteen thousand in number, they have sixteen daily meetings under the leadership of the sixteen celebrated gopis, namely, Radhika, Lalita, Bisakha, Indurekha, Mallika and others. In simple poetic lines, the poet has narrated the pangs of lovers’ hearts, with accounts of intimate bliss experienced by the individual gopis. The poet has imagined about a hundred such episodes. These are, with dexterity, put into the mouths of the rustic women folk, expressed in simple language commensurate with the natural upsurge of pathos in their hearts.

There is repetition, and the direct narration of love-making has, at times, become sickening. Still, the graphic and lifelike portrayal of characters, panoramic description, the simple language and the natural settings have earned Gopibhasa a covetable glory and a status parallel only to the most popular folk poetry.

Dasa has devoted the other half of his kavya to the Vaishnavite philosophy. As desired by Lord Krishna Radhika is initiated by Sage Angira and as the queen of Brindabana, guides the gopis to a life of real devotion. Later, Sage Narada instructs the gopis in the objectives of an incarnation, and helps them to reconcile themselves to their present fate with a fond hope that after all, Krishna remains their Lord, and would return to them after eight years.Two Chautisas, namely, Sana Kannada and Bada Kannada Chautisa are also attributed to Dasa’s authorship.

Radhika
Lalita
Bisakha
Indurekha
Mallika