Līlāśuka, whose original name was ''Bilavamangalam'', is the author of the romantic poem ''Kṛśṇa-karaṇāmṛta'' (The Ear-nectar about Krishna) which deals with the early life of Krishna among the cow-herds, with his companions. Līlāśuka probably at King Kulaśekhara’s court (c.900 A.D.) wrote this popular lyric on

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

as the sexually precocious infant loved by all women but interpreted as symbolising God attracting all souls, thus an early example of Vaishnava devotional

kāvya Kāvya (Devanagari: काव्य, IAST: ''kāvyá'') refers to the Sanskrit literary style used by Indian court poets flourishing between c.200 BCE and 1200 CE. This literary style, which includes both poetry and prose, is characterised by ab ...

. This work exists in two recensions, the southern and the western and is the canonical text of the

Gaudiya Vaishnavas Gaudiya Vaishnavism (), also known as Chaitanya Vaishnavism, is a Vaishnava Hindu religious movement inspired by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1534) in India. "Gaudiya" refers to the Gaura or Gauḍa region of Bengal, with Vaishnavism meanin ...

. ''Kṛśṇa-karaṇāmṛta'' is a devotional anthology of mediaeval lyric and passionate stanzas in ''śārdūlavikrīdita'' metre in honour of Krishna. It is a favourite and authoritative eulogistic work, familiar among gesture-dancers. The earliest firm date of this work is about 1367 in Gangādevi’s ''Madhurā-vijaya'', but the date of the author is uncertain. The

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

poetry of Lilasuka and

Jayadeva Jayadeva (; born ), also spelt Jaideva, was a Sanskrit poet during the 12th century. He is most known for his epic poem ''Gita Govinda'' which concentrates on Krishna's love with the '' gopi'', Radha, in a rite of spring. This poem, which presen ...

(author of ''

Gita Govinda The ''Gita Govinda'' ( sa, गीत गोविन्दम्; ) is a work composed by the 12th-century Hindu poet, Jayadeva. It describes the relationship between Krishna, Radha and ''gopis'' (female cow herders) of Vrindavan. The ''Gita G ...

)'', created a new aesthetics of ''

bhakti ''Bhakti'' ( sa, भक्ति) literally means "attachment, participation, fondness for, homage, faith, love, devotion, worship, purity".See Monier-Williams, ''Sanskrit Dictionary'', 1899. It was originally used in Hinduism, referring to d ...

'', based on a revaluation of the literary category of '' rasa'' by elaborating the vocabulary of ''

kama ''Kama'' (Sanskrit ) means "desire, wish, longing" in Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, and Sikh literature.Monier Williamsकाम, kāmaMonier-Williams Sanskrit English Dictionary, pp 271, see 3rd column Kama often connotes sensual pleasure, sexual ...

'' and '' prema'' creatively mingling erotic love and devotion. There is deep mysticism in the poem. Lilasuka probably hailed from a southern part of India as is indicated by the metre used by him, but it is not established whether this poem was written by Bilavamangala, the noted grammarian of the 12th or 13th century, or by Bilavamangala who lived in the 9th century.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (; born Vishvambhar Mishra) was a 15th-century Indian saint who is considered to be the combined avatar of Radha and Krishna by his disciples and various scriptures. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's mode of worshipping Krishna ...

obtained only the authentic first canto out of the three that existed. The very surname Lilasuka of the poet, is an evidence of the

Bhagavata The Bhagavata tradition, also called Bhagavatism, refers to an ancient religious sect that traced its origin to the region of Mathura. After its syncretism with the Brahmanical tradition of Vishnu, Bhagavatism became a pan-Indian tradition ...

cult introduced by

Madhvacharya Madhvacharya (; ; CE 1199-1278 or CE 1238–1317), sometimes Anglicisation, anglicised as Madhva Acharya, and also known as Purna Prajna () and Ānanda Tīrtha, was an Indian philosopher, theologian and the chief proponent of the ''Dvaita'' ...

in the West Coast, which identifies the poet with the second Bilavamangala. It is said that Lilasuka was born in

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

near Parur in the late 13th or14th century, and lived for eighty years; that his mellifluous Sanskrit mingled with the ecstatic love for Krishna invests his songs with a quality so rare that when sung they are nectar to the ears, and that he left a life of sensuous infatuation with a courtesan named Chintāmani for intense devotion to God.

References

{{authority control Sanskrit poets Indian male poets Hindu poets 10th-century Indian poets Sanskrit poetry Vaishnavism Bhakti movement