Jayadeva (Oriya: ଜୟଦେବ, Sanskrit: जयदेव) was a Sanskrit poet circa 1200 AD. He is most known for his composition, the epic poem Gita Govinda, which depicts the divine love of Krishna-an avatar of Vishnu and his consort, Radha, and it is mentioned that Radha is greater than Hari, and is considered an important text in the Bhakti movement of Hinduism. He was born to a Hindu Brahmin family

Jayadeva was born in Kenduli Sasan (formerly Kendubilva), in the Prachi valley, Khurda district in Orissa.^{[citation needed]}Kenduli Sasan is a village near the famous temple city of Puri. At the time of Jayadeva's birth, Orissa was under the rule of Eastern Ganga dynasty king Chodaganga Deva. It was during the reign of this monarch and his son and successor, Raghava, that Jayadeva composed his Sanskrit epics. Chodaganga Deva, originally a Shaiva, was strongly influenced by the devotion to Krishna in and around Puri and became a Vaishnava devotee of Krishna himself.

The poet's parents were named Bhojadeva and Ramadevi. From temple inscriptions it is now known that Jayadeva received his education in Sanskrit poetry from a place called Kurmapataka, possibly near Konark in Orissa. Later on, Jayadeva married Padmavati, who according to temple inscriptions, may have been an accomplished temple dancer on her own right.