Vidyāpati Ṭhākur, one of the most renowned medieval Maithilī poets, composed the wreath of songs, the theme of which is the same as that of Gītagovinda the courtship of God and the soul, under the names of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. The story of love told in the poems is an allegorical representation of the yearning of the human soul for the Divine.

The poetry of Vidyāpati arrested Coomaraswamy's attention for translation, although translation was otherwise least of his callings. Perhaps he felt the need to convey through the English language the multi-layered symbolism of these seemingly simple verses revolving round the loves of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa

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