JAY JAGANNATH-II

CHAPTER-II

JAY JAGANNATH

RELIGIOUS BELIEF ON JAGANNATH

In its fold the influences of divergent religious creeds and sects, the cult of Jagannath is an eclectic system that has assimilated and incorporated because Sri Jagannath is not a sectarian deity. To any anthropomorphic concept of the known gods and goddess of the Hindu pantheon the crude figures of the Jagannath triad do not approximate. Jain, Buddhist, Saivite, Tantric and Vaisnavite influences which are clearly discernible in the daily ritual practices and festivals of the temple of Sri Jagannath. Adi Sankara’s Advaita Brahman and Mahajanic Sunya are there in Jagannath also.

In his Sunya samhita Achyutanand Das has conceived both Krishna and Jagannath as Sunya purusha or void personfied who is a 16th Century poet saint of the then Orissa.

Sri Jagannath can never be Buddha as mentioned in Mahabharat of Sarala Das or daru Brahmageeta of Jagannath Das. Goutam Buddha was the son of Sudhodan of Kapil Vastu situated in the then Kalinga who took his birth in 569 B.C. in Lumbini garden which is a part of Lambai Pragana mentioned in ODISHA gazette.

In the temple of Sri Jagannath there is absence of caste distinction. We find Buddhist influence during the time of car festival and bathing festival of the Lord to some extent. Vimala as Vairabi and Jagannath as Vairab is ascribed to sakta tantrics. Durga puja animal sacrifice is made before goddess Vimala which is singular of its kind in the month of Asvin in the otherwise bloodless rituals performed in the temple. After they are offered to goddess Vimala the food offerings made to Jagannath can only be considered as Mahaprasad.

Sri Jagannath is dressed as Sri Rama on Ramanavami day in accordance with the Vaisnavas of Sri Ram sect when Sri Jagannath is worshipped as Raghunandan Sri Ram. Jagannath is worshipped as Ganesh on Snana Purnima or bathing festival and decorated with a proboseis according to the worship of the deities in the temple. In course of time the worship of Sri Jagannath in the temple has assumed a very complicated form. The mode of the ritualistic worship has developed from age to age according to the conception about the deities. With the later mode of worship it appears that there was a progressive assimilation of the fundamentals of the earlier modes.

On the puranic line of thought although the images are conceived dhyanas and mantras are mostly addressed to the puranic deities at present. Still the vijamantra worship, yantra worship, and pranav worship in the vedic mode are in vogue in many places.

In the early part of the 12th Century A.D. Ramanuja visited puri. He was a great Vaisnavite teacher from the south and a renowned philosopher of the visistadwait school of thought. His visit to puri gave a great impetus to Vaisnavism in the then Orissa. Under the influence of Ramanuja the contemporary Ganga monarch of Orissa Chodoganga Dev seams to have come. The king was a saiva and was called PARAMA-MAHESWAR in his earlier records. But he has been described as Param. MAHESWAR and Param Vaisnava and also a devotee of visnu alone in later records. Vaisnavism flourished in Orissa under the royal patronage though Ramanuja did not succeed in his attempt to introduce certain modes of his own sect of Vaisnavism into the worship of Jagannath.

The existence of Ramanuja Math and Emar math at puri and the Alvarnath temple at Brahmagiri in puri district are reminiscent of the visit of the great Ramanuja.

With the advent of Sri Chaitanya the climax of vaisnavism in Orissa was reached in the 16th Century A.D. In the religious life of the people the long sojourn of Sri Chaitanya up to his death wrought a miraculous change.

Vaisnavism became the dominant faith of the people of Orissa under the influence of Sri Chaitanya. Primarily as a vaisnavite deity Sri Jagannath came to be regarded and throughout Orissa it has become a sort of family worship.

Goudiya vaisnavism adore Sri Krishna as their supreme Lord and they were the followers of Sri Chaitanya. From the time of Chodaganga Dev an eclectic form of Vaisnavism had existed in the then Orissa centering round Sri Jagannath. This did not completely eclipse Saivism and Buddhism and Saktism. It assimilated certain ideas of the then faiths .

In writings of Balaram Das, Jagannath Das, Achyutananda Das, Yasobanta Das and Anant Das Vaisnavism in Orissa find its best expression in many ways.  They are popularly known as Pancha Sakhas of the then Orissa. These poets were singing the glory of Jagannath in one voice. They are mainly responsible in making the cult of Jagannath the main religion of Orissa in spite of their individual predilections with Sunya, Yoga or the cult of Bhakti.

Through their Yogic practices based on Brahmacharya these saint poets seek nirban by taking recourse to strict celibacy and control of the senses. This is the real worship of Jagannath as explained by them their remarkable contributions that they have made. As distinct from goudiya vaisnavism of Chaitanya and his followers this is the yogic vaisnavism of Jagannath expounded by the Panchasakhas.

Within its all embracing fold in the true catholic tradition of Jagannath attempts have been made to accommodate and absorb the neo vaisnavism of Chaitanya.

In his Prembhakti Brahma Geeta Yasobanta Das described Nilachala as the embodiment of all the holy places the sanctity of which baffles description. Dwarka, Kasi, Mathura, Vrundaban, Gokul, Badrinath, Somanathetc are all present here.

In his Sunya samhita Achyutananda Das writes that aii the ten incarnation emanate from this Daru Brahma Jagannath. And they are again absorbed in Him.

Jagannath has been described as the supreme Lord or Purna Brahma where as Sri Krishna the son of Nanda-Yasoda represents a part of his glory in Jagannath Charitamruta.

At different periods of her long cultural history that prevailed in India, that synthetic cult of Jagannath is an epitome of divergent religious creed and schools of philosophy. In the history of religious thought. Sri Jagannath has assimilated strange contradictions in a manner that is most amazing in the historic process of adjustments. In the compound of the temple of Sri Jagannath all the gods and goddesses have found a place as Sri Jagannath has embraced all. He has been overwhelmed by none and has lost himself in none.  

EMERGENCE OF ADI SANKARACHARYA IN PURI

Due to the rise and popularity of Buddhism emergence of ADI Sankaracharya is reviewed as a revival and regeneration of Hinduism which was virtually on the threshold of disintegrating process in the religious life of ancient India. The theory of Advaitvada was propounded by ADI Sankaracharya only.

To reconsecrate Lord Jagannath, it is said that sankar was instructed by Vyasadeva. Further to pay homage to Sri Jagannath Sankar visited the then kalinga after he had seen the flimsy picture of the Lord in a symbolic form having two black eyes set on a black face with broad smile and reddened lip and the nose integrating with the face. On the bank of kalinga sagar in kalinga Jagannath though he was Bhairab established himself at that point of time being the Lord of the Universe. Along with his disciples Sankar marched towards kalinga without caring for the troublesome journey and reached Vaitarani of JAJPUR where Droupadi with pandava brothers took a holy bath in this river offering oblations to their ancestors. People gathered here to meet the great Acharya as the news spread like wild fire.

In person in order to visit sankar it is believed that Janmejaya Mahabhava Gupta Jajati Kesari who was the ruler of kalinga marched to the place where sankar was staying. During this period kesaris made this viraja kshetra as their capital originally ruling over sonepur region of Orissa.

In order to collect information about Lord Jagannath the king sent reporters to puri who returned to viraja & reported the matter to the king. Out of fear of expected foreign invasion the servants of Lord Jagannath buried the Lord at Binika in the then sonepur state.

To rescue the Lord Jagannath the great DASASVAMEDHA was organised by the king safely in Gada Kshetra at the advice of Sankar. It is said that ten thousand Brahmins were brought from KANYAKUBJA for performing this sacrifice. As a part of DASASVAMEDHA jajna a pillar was installed as Subha stambha. On top of which a Garud icon was placed. This Gada Kshetra came to be known as Yajnapur or Yajatipur or Jajapur after the end of the sacrifice.

There is a reference in Madala Panji to a yavana invasion to puri who was named as Rakta Vahu. The people fled away in terror taking the image of Lord Jagannath to sonepur. With this Great invasion of Orissa HUNTER identifies as Raktabahu’s invasion.

As regards the actual time of invasion no proper historical record is available. In order to survive the wrath of the foreign invasion the above mentioned statements as an evidence of history are corroborated to the fact that Lord Jagannath was taken away from puri at that print of time. ADI Sankar went to sonepur in search of Lord Jagannath after the end of sacrifice along with the king, his ministers and military forces.

The local people could not give exact information where the Lord Jagannath was kept underground. It had been learnt that a banyan tree was planted in a place under which the Lord Jagannath was buried and the tree was worshipped as DIAN BARAGACHHA. At a place called Dian kora where a great banyan tree stood ramifying its branches in all directions. The local people escorted the officials towards Dian Baragachha. 

The wood cutters were engaged to cut down the tree. And the Lords were taken out. Due to worm stricken the branches were getting destroyed which had been examined by Sankar on the spot. One Bharati Acharya had been sent to Nepal. The Hindu king of Nepal co-operated fully and sincerely with Bharati in finding out lively SALAGRAMAS from the river Ganduki. These lively salagramas were placed inside the DARU icons. To the Nepalese king for rendering such kind of noble services Sankaracharya bestowed on a special privilege to worship the Lord directly without any obstacle. Also he had been offered a prestigious title like pattamahanayak by the saint for his timely help. A sacrificial altar had been constructed by the king of a height of 38 feet at Srikshetra. In accordance with the instruction of the Lord Padmapadacharya brought the wooden images of the four deities when the sacrifice was finished and re-installed them on the Ratna Simhasana putting diamond Chitta on the forehead in the dark fortnight of Sravan. Maha Prabhu Jagannath is decorated with the diamond Chitta since then every year on the dark fortnight of the month of Sravana.

The rice as a principal prasad had been introduced by Adi Sankaracharya and he took the credit for introducing the same in Sri Jagannath temple. He established Govardhanmath afterwards in Puri. Between saivism and Vaisnavism Sankar had brought a reconciliation integrating them into a solid coherent bond infusing the two in one spirit.

A nice story is also there as to how he integrated between Hari and Hara. Sankar recited Vedic hymns to console his mother when she was lying on the death bed. But with this his mother was not satisfied. Then sankar recited Siva hymns. At once Siva ganas appeared as a result. His mother was frightened at the very sight before her. Then sankar recited stotras dedicated to Vishnu which gave peace to the mind of his mother. His mother was consoled and satisfied. Thus Sankar brought an integration of Hari and Hara in this way.

Thus the integration of between Hari and Hara is the worship of the Prabhu Sri Jagannath with Sakti cult which get unified as one spirit manifesting in three different forms.

Baladev is worshipped bearing snake sign on his head as a symbol of the Lord Siva and Lord Jagannath represents Lord Vishnu. Kshetrapal of Sri Mandir is Sankara. The classic example is the of Chandan yatra when siva & Vishnu got integrated and also on many occasions.

An ordiance was issued by the king yajati kesari in copper plate out of obligation then. This is known as sandhipatra. With the designations like MAHADHINAYAK and Dharmasetu sankar was endowed. MAHADHINAYAK means chief superintendent and Dharmasetu means (The virtuous bridge). Also sankar was endowed with the designation of SIDHANTAKA (the chief judge) of all religious disputes etc. The decision of sankaracharya would be accepted as final verdit if any dispute would arise on Dharma.

On Mukti Mandap sankar was assigned a seat of Guru also inside the temple.

Out of gratitude to sankaracharya his icon was placed on the Ratna Simhasana as it was said. Subsequently it was replaced due to the influence of the vaisnavites. Inside the Jagamohan of Mahalaxmi temple it is now placed.

Panchayatan worship was also introduced by sankaracharya through which the worship of Ganesh, Narayana, Rudra, Ambika, Bhaskara was integrated to form only one existence.

Sankar recited a song in prayer to Prabhu Sri Jagannath the very moment he observed the first ARATI which is very very popular even now a days.

Bhaja Govindam Smara Govindam
Jagabandhu Tume Bada  
And KADACHIT KALINDI etc…
Which are being recited in the temple since then.

EMERGENCE OF RAMANUJACHARYA

To the holy land of puri the saints and prophets right from Mahavira Jain to Ramanuja were attracted including Sri Chaitanya who left their foot prints.

The famous vaisnava Ramanuja came to the then Kalinga sometime between 1107 to 1117 A.D. The then kalinga emperor Chodaganga Deva was greatly attracted towards visishtadwait preached by Ramanuja, who turned to be a great exponent of the principles of a param vaishnava and introduced certain changes in the rituals of orthodox Hindu systems of worship. For all the royal patronage bestowed on Vaishnavism during that time Ramanuja’s spiritual contact with Chodaganga Dev as described in the prapanuamruta of Anantacharya was responsible. By the influence of Ramanuja Laxmi temple inside the premises of the temple was built by Chodaganga Dev. This led to the establishment of the Ramanuja Matha at Puri. By Govinda EMARA Math was started, who was the cousin and disciple of Ramanuja. From the Tamil word EM-PERU-MANNER the word EMARA was originated.

On the subsequent Vaisnavite culture of ODISHA influence of Ramanuja is of considerable importance. Hence forth Sri Jagannath was identified as Vishnu exclusively. In religious worship of Odisha the cult of Krishna associated with Vishnu Jagannath was given great importance.

To introduce Pancharatra system of worship in Jagannath Ramanuja tried to influence king Chodaganga Dev. In view of the constant opposition of the temple priests it could not be successful. Alternative arrangement was made to introduce this Vaisnavite system at Brahmagiri in course of time, which is about 16 miles away from puri in southern direction. This led to the construction of the famous Alvarnath temple where Vishnu was worshipped along with Laxmi, Saraswati and Rukmini. By Madan Mahadev (Rajarajasvar) the construction of this temple was made. In popularizing the Vaishnavite religion in ODISHA thus Sri Vaisnavite sect in ODISHA succeeded. For the pilgrims from the south Brahmagiri provided them a calm and quite atmosphere to take rest after the long and tiresome journey as it is situated very near to Chilika Lake which was the only route to Ganjam and Puri at that point of time.

At the instigation of Ramanuja the construction of the Alvaranath temple served the pilgrims of the south to offer their homage to Alvarnath during the Anavasara period in view of the absence of the Lord Jagannath from this place. Since then Brahmagiri thus enjoyed the status of a sacred place which attracted many saints and ascetics.

Between Alvarnath at Brahmagiri and Sri Jagannath at Puri the worship of the introduction of the vaisnavite traditions in the daily rituals and worship of the deity practically found no difference. With Sankha, Chakra, Gada, Padma in four arms having kirita on the head Prabhu Alvarnath was modeled as a beautiful and marvellous four armed standing Vishnu figure with necklace, griddles, Jajnopavita bracelets integrated with south Indian hair style. Sri Jagannath and Alvaranath had been considered as one and the same by Sri Chaitanya who was the religious exponent of the 16th Century A.D. The religious life of ODISHA had been greatly influenced by their vaisnava Alvars and their traditions at Brahmagiri in course of time.

Panchatantra form of worship had been introduced by Ramanuja in course of time and for that he had to fight against Saivism. He had to encounter considerable opposition from the temple servitors as a whole. Thus he found and felt that his faith was making great hold on the land of Sri Jagannath. Gradually many temples were built in honour of Vishnu, Sri Krishna, Narayan during this period.

As a Vaishnavite deity Sri Jagannath was considered exclusively from12th Century onwards due to the influence of Sri Chaitanya and Ramanuja etc. A fresh impetus was imparted to Vaisnavism by Ramanuja , Madhavacharya respectively in 11th & 12th Centuries. On the worship of Narayan Ramanuja laid stress where as Madhavacharya on the worship of Vishnu. But Krishna – Vasudev worship had been forgotten by them.

INFLUENCE OF CHAITANYA

Vaishnavism in Orissa was eclectic in spirit and absorbed many heterogeneous elements such as the worship of the void (SUNYA) which had combined itself in so many different tendencies. Though many of them did not accept the tenets of his faith a large number of Vaisnavas professed to be followers of Chaitanya in the then Orissa.

In the concept of personified sunya the Vaisnavas of Orissa believed. Panchasakhas belonged to that school even though to some extent they were the followers of Chaitanya.

The theory of the formless Krishna had been elaborated by Achyutananda Das in his sunya Samhita. In his varat Gita Balaram Das described the formless Krishna. 

The concept of void is abhorrent to the Chaitanyate vaisnavas where as the followers of Chaitanya intensified the worship of the formless Krishna.

Krishna did not receive any exclusive devotion before the advent of Chaitanya in the then Orissa. With his virtues and failings he was an epic deity. In his perfect form Sri Krishna constitutes the complete manifestation of personal godhead. The fault of Chaitanya gave Sri Radha the highest place in the Vaisnava sampradaya. In popular imagination Radha did not eclipse the other consorts of Sri Krishna.

Even before Chaitanya Krishna cult prevailed in Orissa. Before he met Chaitanya, Jagannath Das translated Bhagabat Mahapuran in ODIA. The erotic sports of Sri Krishna with Gopies has been described by Jagannath Das “in the book of Jagannath” Mahapuran.

In the field of religion the most and deepest influence of Chaitanya had in Orissa. NAGAR KIRTAN was introduced by him. People of different beliefs can participate in kirtan by singing the holy names HARE KRISHNA-HARE RAMA.

By the contemporary writers Radha – Krishna cult was exalted under the influence of Sri Chaitanya. On “RASA” Achyutananda wrote along with his associates. In this connection TULASUNYA RASA of Ananta, RASA-KRIDA of Jagannath and the Nitya-RASA of Achyutananda may be cited. In his Prema Bhakti Gita Yasovanti Das has praised the mode of devotion by imitating the Gopies.

NIMBARKA

In the mid 12th century Nimbarka visited Puri and advocated the dvetadvetavada. Worship of Sri Krishna and Radha as an inseparable unity had been preached by him. Radha Ballava Matha was established by him. The concept of Nimbarka had been professed subsequently in the Matha like Gopaljee, Ramjee Chaulia. Dukhishyama Chhata etc. in a decent manner.

Jayadeva is said to have been influenced by Nimbarka in his Geeta Govinda.

MADHVA CHARYA

Being an advocate of Dveta vada much greater influence in Odisha had been wielded by him. By his famous disciple Narahari Tirtha in then Orissa who was a minister of Narasingh Deva, Dvetabada had spread expressly Madhava Charya bequeathed his spiritual legacy in the maths established by him in his life time.
Nandini Sidha Vakul, Haridas Samadhi, Radhakanta matha, Radhasyama, Jhanjipita and Gopaljee Mathas are still reminiscent in his name.

SRIDHAR SWAMI

Near Remuna he was born in Marei village in 14th Century A.D. In Puri he was the head of Sankarananda Math. He was the worshipper of Nrusingh Mahaprabhu. Bhavartha Deepika was his commentary on the Bhagavat Maha Purana. This book is highly scholastic. Jagannath Das was greatly influenced by Bhabartha Deepika of Sridhar swami as it is said.

VALLABACHARYA

He came to Puri from South India. His name was Vallaba Bhatta. He regarded Sri Jagannath as Sri Krishna. Two forms of Bhakti had been preached by him. The first one is maryada which is a devotion to immutable reality being nirguna Brahma and the second is Pusti Bhakti which relates to Sagun Bhakti. As breakfast of Sri Jagannath he introduced Vallabha Bhog by influencing the temple functionaries. He emerged during 15th -16th Century A.D.

GANAPATI BHATTA

With a proboscis like that of an elephant Jagannath give a public appearance during snana purnima due to the Bhakti of Ganapati Bhatta who was a Bhakta of Sri Ganesh. He was from the South India and he came to Puri to have a darshan of Sri Jagannath.

Tulsi Das, Kabir Das and Gurunanak came to Puri also afterwords and left their foot prints in Puri.

TULSI DAS

During his sojourn in Puri, he perceived Lord Jagannath in his own way in Rama Charita Manasa. The 1st canto in couplet 117-4.5 may be seen in this connection. Then the Lord without feet walks, without ears listens, with no hands he accepts and he says in his eyes.

KABIRA DASA

From Kasi Kabira came to Puri and established a Matha by name Kabira Chaura on the sea shore.  He requested the Mahodadhi not to flow far into the island. The refrain of his prayer may be looked into in this connection.

GURUNANAK

In 1506 A.D. it is said Gurunanak visited Puri in the then Orissa. By the followers of Gurunanak  the Bauli Matha and Mangu Matha in Puri are said to have been set up in Srikshetra he evinced brother hood amity and Universal love with krupa of Sri Jagannath. Nanak had been moved with the greatness of the Prabhu Jagannath and the holiness of Purusottam Kshetra.

SALBEG

Salbeg cannot be forgotten in this connection. To stay back on the Nandighosha till he would cover a distance of seven hundred fifty crosh he implored Prabhu Jagannath with a calm and steady mind and he created history on the matter.

Many pious souls of India have been attracted to visit Puri for a holy sojourn till date since the grey period of Chronicled history.

Including Bishnuswami many other saints philosophers. God men has visited Puri including the followers of Nigamananda, Ramkrishna and Dandi Sanyasins.

Behind the social, political, religious and cultural life of the people of ODISHA. Lord Jagannath has been the motivating and inspiring Divine force since time immemorial. The tradition of Prabhu Jagannath propagates a spiritual vision with an emphasis on the princeple of “unity and diversity” in the context of the modern world where incessant conflict in the name of religion is the order of the day.

Jay Jagannath Chapter-I

CHAPTER-1

JAY JAGANNATH

On an eminence by the side of Bay of Bengal the temple of Sri Jagannath stands majestically. On the east Coast of India at Puri which was very famous in olden days as Jain peeth pithunda in accordance with the historians of the past. It has been an important Centre of Hindu worship for centuries after the displacement of Jain-throne installed by Kharavela in the second century B.C. from Puri to Mukhalinga during the reign of Chodoganga Deva, as it is said. The aforesaid Jain throne had been brought back by Kharavela from Magadha as a war trophy taken by Chandasoka from the then Pithunda after the great Kalinga war in 261 B.C. The sanctity of Pithunda, now Puri, exists from pre-historic period where tradition cannot reach having the sacred seat of Jagannath the supreme Lord of the universe. So far as the origin and antiquity of Jagannath worship at Puri in concerned, it is still shrouded in mystery.

Inhabited by savaras present puri was identified as Pithunda where Niladri is situated according to tradition. NILA means blue and ADRI means mountain. Hence NILA ADRI means Blue Mountain. On the blue hill the savaras worshipped their tribal deity which was probably a wooden image, or a log of wood or a tree. It will be related later as to how this primitive tribal deity comes to be worshipped as Lord Jagannath with a fully developed iconography.

To Vedic Sources Daru worship is traced on the eastern shore at Purushottam for which there is a couplet in Rig-Veda in tenth Mandala hymn 155 in Stanza-3.

“ADO YADDARA PLAVATE SINDHOH PARE APURUSAM 
TADA RABHASVA DURHANO TENA GACCHA PARASTARAM”

Sayanacharya who was a vaishnavite commentator has interpreted the above Sukta as Follows:-
“Floating as it were in the sea in a far-off place, on the sea-shore there exists a deity of the name Purushottam made of wood. Attain the supreme place of the vaishnavite by worshipping that wood indestructible”.

By other scholars this Rig-Vedic verse has been interpreted in a different way. Even to these lines sayana has given an alternative interpretation. Hence from these cryptic Rig-Vedic lines, it is hazardous to infer any direct reference to the worship of Darubrahma or Jagannath.

There is a mention of the “VEDI” in the Vana Parva of Sanskrit Mahabharata just in the vicinity of the Kalinga Sagar now which is known as Bay of Bengal. During “Vanabasa” Pandavas entered the then kalinga in course of their travel after crossing river Baitarani when they had been told by the sage Lomasha, on the story of a sacrifice performed by Viswakarma presided by Kashyapa. As a gift the earth goddess had been given to Kashyapa by Viswakarma. The earth goddess was very angry and she disappeared into the nether world after being treated in this manner.

In the form of a VEDI (Platform) near the sea the earth goddess appeared after kashyapa went through a period of penance. This is a belief that the mortal who climbs on to the platform becomes powerful and strong. On the sea in Kalinga it appears from this story that at the time of Mahabharata there was a great platform which was tried to be identified by Manmohan Ganguli as Vedi of the temple where Sri Jagannath is enshrined.

In the work “Jnanasidhi” of Indrabhati, Jagannath has been mentioned as the manifestation of the Buddha which is totally wrong in 717 A.D. As the founder of the system of Buddhism, Indrabhati was the King of Uddiyana.

In course of his spiritual conquest of the country Adi Sankaracharya (788-820) came to the then Orissa according to tradition. At Puri he founded the Gobardhan matha which exists till today. The importance of Puri has been indicated as a Centre of Hindu Pilgrimage even much before the 9th century A.D.

In the beginning of his esoteric work Sri Jagannath propitiated by Indrabhuti has been identified by scholars with Jagannath of Puri. By the literary and epigraphic evidences the antiquity of Jagannath is also supported. Assigned to the 9th century A.D. The ANARGHA RAGHABA NATAKAM written by Murari Mishra refers to god Purushottam. On the seashore this Purushottam God was being worshipped. Prior to the construction of the present temple by Chodoganga Deva in 12th Century A.D. the existence of a temple of Jagannath at Purushottam has been proved in the famous Prabodha Chandrodoya Natakam in 1078 A.D. by Sri Krishna Mishra with the mention of “DEVAYATANA” of God Purusottam.

In the santa district of Madhya Pradesh there is a place by name “Maihar” where there is a temple by name Sarada Devi temple. On this temple there is an inscription of 10th century A.D. where it has been mentioned Purusottam of ODRA Country.

In the Baramdeo temple inscription reference has been made to Purushottam Kshetra in the Kalachuri era 840 that relates to 1088 A.D. and in the Nagpur stone inscription of the rulers of Malava in 1104 A.D. That Purushottam Kshetra is situated on the coast of eastern Ocean has been mentioned clearly in these Inscriptions.

In the ancient Hindi literature as the chief deity Jagannath of Odisha also has been mentioned in the book 
Bisaldev-Raso of “Narapati NALHA in 12th Century   A.D. which refers to also Prithivirya Raso written by Chand Bardai.

Puri became the undisputed centre of Hindu religious faith in the world including India ever since the construction of the present magnificent temple of Jagannath in the 12th Century A.D. by Chodoganga Deva.

In many Puranas like Matsya Puran, Brahma Puran, Narad Puran, Padma Puran, Kapil Samhita Niladrimahodaya and the Utkal Khanda of Skanda Puran, the glory and sanctity of Jagannath and the Kshetra find mention in clarity. In the famous tantric works like Kalika Puran. Rudrayamala, Brahmayamala, Tamtrayamala written in 950 A.D. around Jagannath has been described as the famous deity of Odra or Utkal.

To trace the origin of Jagannath attempts have been made by scholars from many sources like Vedic, Jain, Savara, Biddhists.

The early advocates of the Buddhist origin of Jagannath were the western scholars like Mr. stevens, professor Wilson, James fergusson and General Cunningham, from the pre-Christian era Buddhism had a strong foothold in ODISHA known from history.

In his “Antiquities of Orissa” Rajendralal Mitra has clearly written that “during the four centuries preceding to the Christian era, Orissa generally and the district of Puri in particular were under the domination of the Buddhist”. But it is partially true. Puri was under the domination of Jainism during the time of Ashok because the jinasan which had been taken by Chandasok as a war trephy from Pithunda which is identified as Puri had been brought back by emperor Kharavela and established again at Pithunda with much pomp and splendour in third & second Century B.C. respectively.

Buddhism must have got an extra impetus under royal patronage after the conquest of Kalinga by Ckandasoka in 261 B.C. as Ashok became a Buddhist after he took Upasampada from a Buddhist Guru by name Upagupta in the then Kalinga.

In the seventh Century A.D. from the Accounts of the famous Chinese travelers Hiuen Tsang it is also evident that Mahayana form of Buddhism flourished in the then Kalinga. That Puri was an ancient seat of Buddhism and the worship of Jagannath is a relic of some Buddhist cult had been advocated by the advocates of Buddha’s. As it is found in the 12th Century Sinhalese work “DAthavamsa” written by one Dhamma Kitti there, the story of Buddhism’s tooth relic was once in wide circulation. In this story it is mentioned that the sacred tooth of Buddha remained for centuries at Dantapur in Kalinga. By some this Dantapur was identified as SABILIA near Rambha encircled by the forest attached to the present Devi “Narayani” temple which is now a good picnic spot of the people with Ashok trees. This Dantapur subsequently became the southern capital of Jains due to its geographical importance as per many scholars. Emperor Kharavela during his childhood was there in this Dantapur only as it was a place of fascination for him with the permission of his father.

It is said that king Guhasiva of Kalinga worshipped the sacred tooth in a temple which was forcibly taken away by a king who was ruling at Pataliputra. It was restored to Guhasiva Subsequently who fell in a battle while fighting with a powerful neighbouring king. The princess HEMAMALA in order to fulfill the wishes of her deceased father conveyed the sacred relic to her heir to Ceylon in about 300 A.D. where it is worshipped till today. This is a legend but not history. Basing on this legend many writers of the foreign Countries wrote in many ways on Jagannath by which many Indian writers were influenced also without thinking the pros and cons.

According to the Fergusson there can be little doubt that the temple of Jagannath at Puri now occupies the site where stood formerly the “DAGOBA” containing the celebrated tooth relic. In his books “The stupa of Barhut” and “the Bhilsatopes” Sir Alexander Cunningham advocated his views that the figure of Jagannath, Balabhadra & Subhadra had been derived from the Buddhist TRIRATNA or Triple-Gem symbol signifying Buddha Dharma and Sangha. But this view of Curringham is basically wrong as Goutam Buddha was a reformer who took his birth in  569 B.C. in Kapil Vastu situated geographically in the then Kalinga where as the cult of Jagannath is very very old described in many sashtras and Buddhist TRIRATNA has been done following the cult of Jagannath only.

 “The symbols are a little different from those found at Sanchi and other places but Bhubaneswar symbols are almost exactly like the images of Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra. The savars of Orissa were converted to Buddhism according to Dr. Mahatab during the reign of Chandasoka. They worshipped the TRIRATNA symbol placed in a Buddhist stupa in Puri. When Goutam Buddha was considered as an Avatar of Vishnu, Buddhism gradually lost itself in Vaishnavism. This is not at all correct and appropriate at all. How can the son of Sudhodhan who was a Zamindar of the then Kapilavastu identified at present as Kapileswar near Lingaraj temple by name Goutam be an Avatar of Vishnu? This sounds to be ridiculous. This is wrong basically.

The chief exponent of Jain origin of Jagannath is pandit Nilakantha Dash who is no more with us physically. As per his observation Jagannath is primarily a Jain institution. To identify Nilamadhaba of the legend has been tried by him with the famous Jain history of Kalinga. As a piece of black stone Jagannath was there in the coast of Kalinga SAGAR where he was called the Kalinga jain or symbol of Jina in Kalinga. It was somehow analyzed and later on an analytic name Nilamadhaba was given. As per his opinion this was developed out of the Mahayanic system of Buddhism under the stress of the sunya or nihilistic theory. The stone called Kalinga Jina which is the Jain symbol later on came to be explained as NILA (Bluish black nothingness) –MA- (Mother the Creative Energy) and Dhaba (white Phenomenal Universe). The image of Jagannath is black represents Sunya-Subhadra the creative energy and Balabhadra (white colour represents the phenomenal Universe).

One Hindu name “Sudarsana” was given to the old Jain symbol “Dharma Chakra and Kaibalya (Liberation) is exclusively common both in Hinduism and in Jainism.

The other advocates of Jainism are Sri Kedarnath Mohapatra the distinguished historian and Pandit Binayak Mishra who have tried to identify the Indradyumna with the great Kharavela who was the Jain emperor of the then Kalinga finding him as the legendary founder of Jagannath worship at Pithunda which is identified as puri.

As Daru Brahma Jagannath is regarded in the world. In a wooden image, He is the god head manifested. To the Bhagabat Geeta and to the Vedic sources the worship of Daru as Brahma is traced to.

In the Vedic literature of Rigveda (X-81-4) it may be mentioned the wood (DARU) is used to indicate the material of which the Universe (JAGAT) is made. Both in the Puranas and by the people Jagannath is Specifically known as “DARU Brahma” which is the world substance symbolized in wood. With the mystic bijamantra “OM” Jagannath has also been identified.

Buddhism as an off-shoot of the Hindu religion is the opinion of many eminent scholars including Manmohan Ganguly and from the parent stock the idea of tri-ratna has been taken by Buddhists. From the trilateral syllable aum (OM) the figure of Tri-Ratna has been copied. This is the resemblance of the figure of the Vedic triad of Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra to the holy “PRANABA”. Gautam Buddha was the son of a Hindu Zamindar by name Sudhodhan of Kapil Vastu which was a part of Kalinga only.

To the adoration of the mystic syllable A.U.M coalescing into om, the origin of Jagannath has been traced by Mr. Paterson. The deformed uncouth figures of Jagannath to be the due to its savara origin has been admitted by Pravat Mukharjee in his book “The history of medieval Vaisnavism” apparently.

During the Gupta Period, by the spread of Vaisnavism all over in the then India it traces the influence of Krishna- Vasudev worship of the Bhagabat cult. Sankarsan & Vasudev came to be known as Balabhadra and Jagannath respectively in the then Orissa in accordance with Prof. Mukharjee specifically in the 5th  Century A.D. and much before.

In about 6th Century A.D. “The Brihat Samhita” of varahmihir enjoins to place “Ekanamsa” between Balaram and Krishna. As the daughter of “Nanda” “Ekanamsa” is spoken of in the Harivamsa being declared as the sister of Krishna & Balaram. Hence she is worshipped as Subhadra having been placed in between her brothers under the influence of the Bhagabat cult.

In support of their respective views regarding the origin Jagannath with reference to above many arguements and counter arguements have been put forth with one thing in common. The intimate association of the savars with Jagannath worship even from its very inception has not been denied by any one at all. In ODIA folk-lore story of finding Vishnu with the savars appear in different forms specifically in medieval ODIA literature and the puranas.

One of the versions of the story as referred to above is given below for the readers.

“In His Baraha incarnation from deluge the Vishnu has saved the Universe. Brahma asked Him the means of salvation of all creatures. Vishnu has said “As Nilamadhaba I am being worshipped on the Blue Hill in Purushottam KSHETRA. By beholding me there the highest form of salvation could be attained”.

Thinking that he would not be able to do his duties “Yama”- the God of death expressed his cause of apprehension and at his request Vishnu assured him to disappear from the blue hill after somedays.

To the west of all bestowing Kalpa Vriksa the Rohini Kunda is situated. The branches of the tree – as it is said were spread for one Krosa. To the west of the Kunda, the shrine of Nilamadhaba was enshrined known to all excepting the savaras who worshipped Jagannath. At his alter the god came to pay their daily oblation. Ruled in Avanti, the learned and pious king Indradyumna of the solar dynasty in satya Yuga had an anxiety to see Vishnu. He was informed by a wandering sanyasini about Vishnu being worshipped as Purushottam on the Blue Hill situated in ODRADESA.

Vidyapati the brother of the family Priest was sent by Indradyumna to ODRADESA in order to locate the place of the deity. After coming to Utkal Vidyapati settled down in a savara village situated to the west of the Blue Hill. The secret of his mission was revealed after being acquainted with Viswavasu, the fowler for a sight of Nilamadhaba. Until he returned to Avanti, his royal master would not touch food had been conveyed to Visvavasu. Through a narrow track the fowler took Vidyapati out of compassion for the king and the shrine Nilamadhaba was shown, vidyapati returned to Avanti after his darshan of the shrine.

Lord Vishnu made the shrine of Nilamadhaba invisible under the sand in order to fulfill the pledge given to yama in the mean while Accompanied by Narada Indradyumna set out with a vast army towards utkal but unfortunately had been informed about the disappearance of Nilamadhaba. With thenews, the king of Avanti was completely disappointed who was assured by Narad for the reappearance of the shrine in the form of DARU.

Indradyumna visited the Blue hill being consoled by Narad and offered a thousand Aswamedha sacrifice there. In a vision Nilamadhaba appeared to Indradyumna, on the closingday of the Aswamadha sacrifice. And there was Akashvani that a DARU with four branches would be floated on the sea in due course of time. With due ceremony the DARU as referred to above with four branches was brought and placed on the Mahavedi. When the king was discussing the matter with Narada there was DAIVA Vani again that God “Himself” would make his own image. Utmost secrecy is to be maintained about the construction of the image with the aged carpenter standing with his tools to be shut up in a room for 15 days. Accordingly things were arranged.

At the end of the allotted time on the Mahavedi. Sri Jagannath appeared with his brother and sister. The king adorned the image being directed by a voice from heaven with silken cloth and painted them with their respective colours. To install the images He also built a temple one thousand cubits high.

To invite Brahma Indradyumna went to heaven to consecrate the temple when Brahma was listening music. Hence Brahma was not disturbed by Indradyumna. Many years of mortal life passed in this way.

In the meanwhile the possession of the temple was taken over by a king named Gala where he worshipped with an image of Madhaba in it. Brahma came afterwards. The image of Madhab was shifted to another temple with the reconciliation of both Gala and Indradyumna. Consecration of the temple built by Indradyumna was done by Brahma. Indradyumna proceeded to Brahmaloka after leaving the temple in charge of GALA.

These is another story in the Mahabharata written by Sarala Dash on the matter.

In accordance with 15th Century ODIA poet sarala Dash Savari Narayan was being worshipped by the Savara in the forest found in the Musali parva. King GALAMADHABA of Kanchi was informed about this matter. He came with his army and took possession of the deity by force. In the meanwhile the deity disappeared to the utter surprise of GALAMADHABA who was very angry with the savars. Thinking that they had hidden the deity he waged a battle against them. All the savars had been killed excepting one. The king heard the Akash vani that the savara were not at fault and do not kill them. The savars are His great devotees. GALAMADHABA was cursed by Lord Vishnu for his autocracy.

The story of Indradyumna continues after this. By the arrow of JARA SAVARA, Sri Skrishna was injured severely and killed at last. His body was consigned to flames by Arjun, but the body could not be consumed by Agni. By a voice being directed from heaven, the body of Sri Skrishna was thrown in to the sea and the body was floated in form of a DARU at length along the sea coast.

King Indradyumna was informed that the Lord would appear in the form of a DARU earlier. Hence he constructed a temple to enshrine the image of the Lord. JARA in a dream was informed that the Lord would appear near Rohini Kunda in the shape of a DARU and it was informed to Indradyumna. The king sent his people to collect the DARU (the log of wood) from the sea coast but all his efforts were failed. In a vision the king was directed by the Lord Visnu. Hence he employed the fowler JARA to help on the matter.

Then vasu, JARA and the Brahmin together joined the work for bringing the DARU and they were successful. Then they fashioned the DARU in to three images of Balabhadra. Subhadra & Jagannath who according to the version of Sarala Dash stood far Siva, Brahma & Vishnu respectively. To the opening of the door before the allotted time the incompletion of the images is ascribed.

In the other ODIA books like DARU Brahma gita the worship of Jagannath has been mentioned by the savaras in the 16th Century A.D. Deulatola of Nilambar Das of 17th the Century also mentioned on the matter in this way. The daitas in the temple of Jagannath are hereditary servitors.

They claim their descent from savars and hence the deities are left to their sole care during Snana Yatra and the car festival. The funeral rites of Jagannath during Nabakalebara are observed by the daitas only.

In his book “Daru Devata” Dr. Benimadhab Padhy traced the origin of Jagannath to the DARU worship by the savaras in the pre-historic times. A very ancient cult is tree-worship. Into other religions gradually tree worship has spread. The sauras and savaras of koraput and Ganjam districts worship tree as their “KITUNG”. In saura language “KITUNG” means god. They believe that their “KITUNG” dwelt in a tree outside their village. They never cut the tree which they call “JAGANTA”. They also never cut the other trees nearby. As per their belief KITUNG has ten incarnations of Vishnu.

They believe the word Jagannath in the Sanskritised form of the austric word “JAGANTA”.

Jay Jagannath

Jay Jagannath

(Copy right protected by Dr. G.S. Tripathy)

Introduction: As the epitome of their tradition million of Hindu devotees have reposed their faith and belief on the ancient temple of lord jagannath at puri, since its inception which has been an institution of unique importance.

By the successive Hindu ruling dynastic of ODISHA for whom Shree Jagannath Maharabhu had come to be regarded as the state deity, the affairs of Sri Mandir at Puri were looked after with great devotion and care. For managing the affairs of the temple, the famous Ganga Monarch Chodoganga conferred the old endowment of Shree Jagannath after constructing the present edifice in the 12th century AD. He made new endowments and laid the foundation of a sound administration for managing the affairs of the temple.

Madala Panji eulogistically records the extensive endowments in land and fabulous gifts of gold metal made by Anangabhim Dev. For organizing the Chhatisa Nijoga, he is also credited with.

The suryavansi rulers were great devotees of Sri Jagannath who succeeded the Ganga vansis. From some inscriptions it is evident that they enriched the coffers of the temple by their numerous gifts. They also looked to the strict and punctual performance of the rituals (rites) of the deities regularly.

From the time of Gajapati Pratap Rudra Deva political power of ODISHA fast declined. Specially with the death of Mukund Deva, the last independent Hindu king of ODISHA in 1568 A.D., for a time span the governance passed in to the hands of Afgans.

As a cruel iconoclast desecrated and plundered the temple of Jagannath in 1568, the bigoted Afgan-General Kalapahada earned a great deal of notoriety in popular tradition.

Sri jagannath had been removed from the temple and hidden according to Madala Panji. But cruel Kalapahada found out the deities and taken away to the bank of Gangas where the murties were consigned to flames.

In disguise, a devotee by name Bisara Mohanty who had followed Kalapahada, somehow could succeed in recovering the Brahma from the charred remains and kept in custody of the Khandayat of Kujang.

On the ruins of the vast Gajapati empire with its capital at khurdha, King Ramachandra Deva (1) of Bhoi dynasty head curved out a small Hindu kingdom. He lost no time in retrieving back to puri the Brahma from kujanga gada and performed nabakalebara ceremony of Sri jagannath after stabilizing his powers and position in the new kingdom. In 1575, the deities were installed in the great temple at puri. The king also re-established the sanctity of Mahaprasad after the deities were reinstalled in the temple.

Raja Rama Chandra Deva (1) 0f khurdha was popularly called as “Abhinava Indradyumn” after reviving the worship of Jagannath at Puri after the temple was desecrated by Kalapahada and started offering of Mahaprasad which had been stopped for about a decade. He was proclaimed as the Gajapati ruler of Khurdha in 1590 by Raja Manasingh, the great Mughal general of the Mughal emperor. Also he was designated as the superintendent of Sri Jagannath temple. Since then the Rajas of Khurdha continued to be the hereditary Superintendents. Till ODISHA passed into the hands of Marathas, the temple affairs were managed under their direct supervision only.

In 1751 a treaty between Raghuji Bhonsla of Nagpur and Nawab Alivardi Khan of Benqat was concluded. According to this treaty the province of Cuttack which was the then Orissa (ODISHA), was ceded to the Marathas over which they became the de-facto rulers. In their own hands the Marathas kept the management of Sri Jagannath temple at Puri. They encouraged the worship of Sri Jagannath as they were Hindus. Ceremonies & festivals of the temple were properly conducted by them. The deficit between the receipt and expenditure was made good by them only. The Parichhas were managing the day to day affairs of the temple appointed by Maratha Government. There were three types of Parichhas who were responsible for the interior management of the temple. Any complaint or disagreement against anybody was referred to EKADEE Pandit at Cuttack for his final decision. During the time of Maratha government, the authority of Rajas of Khurdha was very limited.

To the Marathas, Gajapati Dibyasingh Deba II was very loyal. The temple was plastered during his period. In the temple Jhulan Yatra was introduced. In front of the main entrance of the Jagannath temple, Arun Pillar was brought from konark and installed.

From the tax they collected from the pilgrims, the Marathas were defraying the expenses of the temple regularly. For the worship of the lord Jagannath, they also set apart some lands in addition to this in the praganas of Lembai, Rahang, Sirai, Chebiskud which they received from the khurdha Rajas in lieu of payment for rendering military services. Gradually during Maratha period administration and the discipline were deteriorated.

British Occupied ODISHA in 1803. The management of the temple was taken over by the East- India company. The then governor general Lord Wellesley had particularly stressed the need for respecting the great sanctity attached to the temple of Jagannath at Puri.

Lord Wellesley had instructed specifically as follows to the British army.

“Our arrival at Juggernaret, you will employ every possible precaution to preserve the respect due to the pogada and to the religious prejudices of the Brahmins and the pilgrims. You shall furnish the Brahmins with such guards as shall afford perfect security to their persons, rites and ceremonies and to the sanctity of the religious edifices, and you will strictly enjoin those under your command to observe your orders on this important subject with the utmost degree of accuracy and vigilance.

To consolidate and prepare a record of rights and duties of Sebaks, Pujaris and such other persons connected with seva, puja and management of the temple and for the endowments of the temple, the Government of ODISHA as a preliminary step towards undertaking a comprehensive legislation passed the Puri Sri Jagannath temple (Administration) Act 1952 providing for the appointment of a special officer for the better administration of the temple and the endowed properties. Accordingly a special officer of the rank of a district judge was appointed. He submitted his report on the 15^th March, 1954 that disclosed the serious management of the affairs of the temple. In consequence Sri Jagannath temple Act, 1954 (Orissa) Act – II of 1955 was passed. In Nov, 1955 the act became law. Challenging the validity of the Act, Raja Ramachandra Deva, the superintendent of the temple filed a writ petition in the Orissa High Court.

Discussing the writ petition the High Court delivered judgment on 30-4-1957.

In four volumes describing the rituals duties and responsibilities of as many as 119 categories of Sebaks and including individual seva, the temple record of rights was prepared.

The chief administrator shall be responsible for the custody of all records and properties of the temple.

The crux and basis of the Hindu spiritual culture remains basically autochthonous whatever might be the Sanskritists argue and speculate.

With their scholarly and logical acumen the scholars built a grandiose superstructure over it and immense benefits have been reaped.

The legend of Lord Jagannath bears an imprint of the past. The foundations of the Hindu spiritual thought have been laid basically by the autochthonous visionaries. From the autochthonous seers and savants even the concept of soul is borrowed. That originally a deity worshipped by aboriginal “Sabars came to occupy the highest position in the Hindu pantheon is the uniqueness of the Lord Jagannath which is a fact. He came to be known as Purushottam which had swept the Indian sub-continent which is unique in character that has evolved a syncretism.

In the highly sophisticated cult this small treatise isolates the tribal strands that have highlighted the Nathasiddha cult and other various cults like the Buddhist Tantric, the SAKTA the Saibe and various denominations of the vaishnavities. All the absorbing aspects of the cult of Jagannath, which make it so universal, while this work seeks to achievenothing new.

The ODIA culture has been intimately influenced by the all embracing liberation of the cult of Jagannath.

Gana Dharma which is the religion of the masses is Sri Jagannath Dharma of ODISHA. It embodies the principles of secularism, religious tolerance, equality of caste and creed, co-existence and socialism with in itself. Culture of the Lord Jagannath is the religious culture ODISHA.

Jagannath is the great institution with the great myths and rituals that have revolved round the great God along with ODISHA concentrically by having shaped the religiousculture of ODISHA.