Orissa - Religion
The evolution of the Jagannath Cult as a state religion under the Gangas (between the 11th century and 1434 AD) and the Surya Vamsi Gajapatis (between 1435 AD and the first half of the 16th century) comprises a landmark in the history of Orissa. Orissa is a single geographic unit, with three regions — northern, southern, and coastal. Under Cholaganga,
The founder of the Ganga dynasty, all three regions were politically united during the first half of the 12th century (O’ Malley 1984). The Ganga kings not only legitimised their rule but also ensured territorial integrity of the empire by bringing about religious unity and cultural and social integration through the Jagannath cult. In the year 1230 AD, Ananga Bhima III dedicated his empire to Lord Jagannath and called himself his ‘rauta’ or deputy. Thus, as the whole land belonged to the lord, any challenge to the Central authority was considered not only a crime against the state, but also a sin against God.
The cult of Jagannath incorporates in it the essential elements of all the great religions and cults that flourished in different times under the royal patronage of regional kings. Buddhism, with its message of universal brotherhood, love and compassion, and its stand against the caste system and Hindu ritualism, with its emphasis on the correct moral conduct, became very popular from the 1st to the 8th centuries AD throughout Orissa. Thus, Jagannath became a God of all religious cults of Orissa.
The term ‘Jagannath’ (Lord of the Universe) also applies to Vishnu, Shiva, and Buddha. The peculiar wooden iconography of Jagannatha Trio displays “tribal or exotic look” which are unique, mysterious and unparallel to any other Hindu shrine in India or abroad. The three chariots of Balabhadra, Subhadra and Jagannatha are newly constructed every year.
The Jagannath Culture is the most ancient natural heritages of India. The cult and culture of Jagannatha found its origin in the primitive system of worship of the non-Aryan tribals who had established a shrine for Jagannatha here, in this part of the country in a very ancient time, with all their religious fervour. The presence of sizable tribal population in the state might have prompted amalgamation of the Hindu and tribal culture out of which Sri Jagannath Culture might have evolved. Jagannath Culture lays much emphasis upon nature worship.
The Aryans must then have taken it over to worship Jagannatha in Vedic rites and rituals with all religious practices connected with them. Buddhism and Jainism must have penetrated in to the innermost apartments of the shrine of Jagannatha with all their religious and spiritual implications. But it has not been possible till now to speak with an air of authority, as to which of the rites; rituals and details of the day-to-day service (Vidhis) of Lord Jagannatha owe their origin either to Jainism or to Buddhism.
The Puranic texts corroborate that Jagannatha was originally a deity of the aboriginal tribes and was known as Nila Madhava, his image being made of some sort of blue stone. Later, the god manifested himself in the form of four wooden images that we worship now and came to be known by the present-day names in an atmosphere of Vedic re-orientation. Thus, Jagannatha is equally claimed by the aboriginal tribes and the Vedic Hindus to be their original deity of worship. When we think of the Puri temple, we also think of the presiding deities therein as well as the pattern of cultural life that is in vogue around it, which inspire the pilgrims with the lofty ideal of emotional integration in the country. Hence the cult of Jagannatha as we call it now (by way of translating the words Jagannatha Dharma) has to be understood, interpreted and appreciated with all its social, cultural, religious and spiritual implications.
The Oriya language, which evolved between the 7th and 11th centuries and reached its final form in the 12th century, was formed by the synthesis of Aryan, Dravidian, and Munda group of dialects. Soon after the emergence of Oriya as a distinct language, a vast religious literature was developed by various sects, namely the Shaivas, Nathas, and Vaisnabas. Jagannath Das’s Bhagabat was written in a simple and lyrical style that could be understood by the common man, and was held in great respect and recited in every village in rural Orissa. In order to read the Puranas and Bhagabat, it became necessary to become literate, which led to the spread of literacy among common people. In every village in Orissa, there was a ‘Chatsali’, a village school, privately organised and funded by the local people. It was located in any vacant place, mandaps, cowsheds, verandahs, or village Bhagabat tungis (huts). As a consequence, literacy among boys, and to a lesser extent among girls, spread in villages.
The Jagannatha temple at Puri, on the coast of the Bay of Bengal, is the center of the cult of Jagannath, the “Lord of the World”. The majestic temple of Puri, depicted in patachitra or painting on rag board, for the benefit of pilgrims, “was built in the 12th century A.D…probably in the last decade of the long reign of Anantavarman Codagangadeva… in order to gain religious merit and to create a lasting symbol of his own glory, he built the temple of Purushottama in Puri which was to be higher than any temple in Orissa known before.” The festivals of the temple draw huge crowds not only from Odisha but also from other states of India. The festivals are, no doubt, occasions of great religious experience and devotional fervour but they are also occasions for trade, industry, commerce and business activities in Puri. A festival in this connection is known as a 'Yatra', which simply means a visit.
Snana Yatra festival takes place in the full moon day in the month of Jyestha, popularly known as the Deva Snana Purnima. This - is the first occasion in the course of a year when the wooden images of the three principal deities of the Puri temple, are brought out of the sanctum sanctorum in a procession and placed on the Snana Vedi.
The Ratha Yatra of Jagannatha is commonly known as Car Festival. It is also known as Gundicha Yatra. According to the tradition current in Odisha, Gundicha was the name of the queen of Indradyumna, the legendary builder of the first temple. As Gundicha had initiated this festival, it is known after her name.This festival of international fame takes place in the month of Asadha (June - July) every year. It is a nine-day festival, when the deities are taken to the Gundicha temple located at a distance of about 3 km from the main temple along the Grand Road in three gorgeously decorated chariots, specially made for each of the three deities.
The huge, colorfully decorated chariots, are drawn by hundreds and thousands of devotees on the bada danda, the grand avenue to the Gundicha temple, some two miles away to the North. The people are allowed to pull the chariots, irrespective of caste, creed, sect, religion and sex distinctions. This liberty indicates that the god is equal for every person on earth and grants equal opportunity to all. This festival also signifies that, the deities desire to come down to the level of the common people for some time and move with them.
The three chariots of Balabhadra, Subhadra and Jagannatha are newly constructed every year with wood of specified trees like phassi, dhausa, etc. customarily brought from the ex-princely state of Dasapalla, by a specialist team of carpenters who have hereditary rights and privilege for the same. The logs are traditionally set afloat as rafts in the river Mahanadi. These are collected near Puri and then transported by road.
Lord Jagannatha’s Chariot is called Nandighosa. It is forty-five feet high and forty-five feet square at the wheel level. It has sixteen wheels, each of seven feet diameters, and is decked with a cover made of red and yellow cloth. Lord Jagannatha is identified with Krishna who is also known as Pitambara, the one attired in golden yellow robes and hence the distinguishing yellow stripes on the canopy of this chariot.
The Chariot of Lord Balabhadra, called the Taladhwaja, the one with the Palm Tree on its flag, has fourteen wheels, each of seven feet diameters and is covered with red and blue cloth. Its height is forty-four feet. The Chariot of Subhadra, known as Darpadalana, literally trampler of pride, is forty-three feet high with twelve wheels, each of seven feet diameters. This Chariot is decked with a covering of red and black cloth, black being traditionally associated with Shakti and the Mother goddess.
Around each of the chariots are nine Parsva devatas, painted wooden images representing different deities on the chariots’ sides. Each of the chariots is attached with four horses. These are of different colours – white ones for Balabhadra, dark ones for Jagannatha and red ones for Subhadra. Each chariot has a charioteer called Sarathi. The three charioteers attached to the chariots of Jagannatha, Balabhadra and Subhadra respectively are Matali, Daruka and Arjuna.
A glimpse of Lord Jagannatha on the chariot is considered to be very auspicious and saints, poets and scriptures have repeatedly glorified the sanctity of this special festival.
The sanctity of the festival is such that even a touch of the chariot or even the ropes with which these are pulled is considered enough to confer the results of several pious deeds or penance for ages. In fact, there is a famous Oriya song which says that on this occasion, the chariot, the wheels, the grand avenue all become one with Lord Jagannatha himself. Those who are fortunate to see the deities of the Srimandira in the Gundicha Temple, the final destination of the procession of the chariots, derive the benefits of a thousand horse sacrifices, an immensely pious deed.
Late 19th Century Westerners generally supposed themselves to be better acquainted with Jagannath than any of the other Hindoo deities. Juggernaut's car was familiar to thousands who knew nothing else of Hindoos and Hinduism. Sensational stories of the atrocities practised at his festivals of devotees ground to dust beneath his chariot wheels of pilgrims perishing by the ten thousand of want and disease at every gathering upon the plains of Puri and of the obscene and loathsome rites used in solemnising his worship had long since been worn threadbare. From what was known Hindoo superstition, E;uropeans could easily conceive that fanatics would be mad enough to immolate themselves at the shrine of Jagannath in the hope of a certain immortality, and the can imagine too that the priests would find it to their profit to encourage such sacrifices.
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