A Sanskrit poet of the 13th C. Jayadeva is well acclaimed for his Gita Govinda. This work is a Shringara Mahakavya (an epic of divine love) in high-flown Sanskrit. Hailing from the Kenduli village in Orissa, it is believed by some scholars, that Jayadeva was the court poet of Maharaja Lakshmanasena of Bengal. He has extolled the madhura bhava approach to Lord Krishna in his Gita Govinda (Radha as the Jeevatma and Krishna as the Paramatma). This masterpiece is in 12 sargas, consisting of 24 songs. Each song has eight charanams and hence the name Ashtapadi. Javadeva's wife Padmavathy was also an ardent devotee of Krishna. The ashtapadis are highly descriptive and depict vivid portrayals of various situations, extolling the greatness of Lord Krishna. Each of them contains a mangala shloka at the end and it is believed that the cult of Radhakrishna derived its inspiration from this work. The ashtapadi on the Dashavatara (ten incarnations) of Lord Vishnu, which incorporates the incarnation of Budha and Kalki by Krishna, is particularly popular. A classical opera, Gita Govinda provided the basis for similar works by other poets after Jayadeva. An annual festival in memory of Jayadeva is held at Kenduli, when the entire Gita Govinda is sung by devotees.