An Interview on Bhakti Poetry
Keywords:
Bhakti Poetry, Krishna Tradition, Devotionalism, Medieval India, Richard H. Davis, Gitagovinda, Jayadeva, Vidyapati, Candīdāsa, Sūradāsa, Harivamsa, Bhagavata Purana, Vrindavana, Rasa Theory, Rūpa GosvāmīAbstract
This abstract summarizes an interview with Dr. Richard H. Davis, a scholar who taught a course on Bhakti Poetry at Yale University. The course focused on devotional movements in medieval India, primarily using poetry, with a significant emphasis on the Krishna tradition.
Dr. Davis discusses his teaching approach, which involved examining texts like the Harivamsa and the Bhagavata Purana to trace the evolution of Krishna's story and the rise of emotional devotionalism. The interview highlights the course's study of poets like Jayadeva (especially his Gitagovinda), Vidyapati, and Candīdāsa, as well as later North Indian devotional poets such as Sūradāsa, Mīrābāī, and Ravidāsa. Dr. Davis explains how the course explored the poetic techniques and theological content of these works, focusing on rhetorical strategies used to draw the audience into the world of bhakti, particularly Vrindavana.
The discussion also contrasts courtly Sanskrit poetry (like Gitagovinda) with more vernacular Bengali poems, noting differences in their social contexts and thematic treatment of Radha and Krishna. Dr. Davis explains the significance of bhanitas (poetic signatures) in Bengali poetry. The interview concludes with a discussion of key Sanskrit poetic concepts like srngara rasa (love in union and separation) and Rūpa Gosvāmī's model of five relationships with divinity, which were central to understanding the Krishna narratives.
