Vidyapati

(ca. 1400) Brahmin court poet in the
Hindu kingdom of Mithila in northern
Bihar. Although Vidyapati wrote works
in Sanskrit, he is best known for his love
poetry, which was written in the vernacular Maithali language. In this poetry he
drew on the literary traditions of
Sanskrit love poetry, but his favorite
subjects for this poetry were the divine
lovers Radha and Krishna. Although
later Vaishnavas considered Vidyapati’s
love poetry as devotional works,
Vidyapati’s own religious writings definitively describe Shiva as the Supreme
Being, clearly showing that he was a
Shaiva. For further information see
Edward C. Dimock Jr. and Denise
Levertov (trans.), In Praise of Krishna,
1981; and R. S. McGregor, The Love
Songs of Vidyapati, 1987.