 Vidyapati,
the court poet of Mithila, during the reign of Raja Shivasimha
was born in Bisapi, a village in Mithila. He received his
educationfrom Harimishra a reputed scholar. Vidyapati's poetic
genius attracted everyone, including the ruler Shivasimha
and his queen Lakhima Devi.
Vidyapati was a contemporary of Chandidas, the Bengali poet
whose approach to religion and poetry was similar to that
of Vidyapati.
Vidyapati's songs are full of erotic imagery, like ]ayadeva's
but also soaked in devotion and melodious grace.
Vidyapati wrote his first poem when he was hardly 20 years
old. His major work is Padavali, a collection of hundreds
of his poems, covering his entire life period.
His poetic obsession was the love of Radha and Krishna, the
Divine couple and he has dealt with it with elegance, simplicity,
sentiment and sensuousness. The eager loviing to meet, the
biiss of union and the sadness of separation of the lovers
are all dealt with passion and sincerity.
The songs of vidyapati are even now sung daily by the women
of Mithila.
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