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Puri Rath Yatra Odisha Review June - 2014 Puri Rath Yatra Sashibhusan Rath Introduction: of Jagannath is a peculiar feature of Odishan Chodagangadev (1078-1147) and history. Jajatikeshari shaped the temple what it looks The Fascinating Deities : today. The ancient temple of Jagannath at Puri The principal deities worshipped inside stands on an area of 10 acres. Its height is 214 the Jagannath temple at Puri are all carved out feet from gound level and is 181 feet above the of the wooden logs of the “neem tree” (Melia inner platform of the temple. At the top of the Azadirachta Indica). Neem has never been a rare temple is an east-facing wheel named species in India and over centuries has been Neelachakra (The Blue Wheel). Its height is 11 available in abundance, hard, deeprooted and due feet 8 inches, diameter 7 feet 6 inches; thickness to its bitterness is not affected by borer insects. It 2 inches; central small circle has a dia of 2 feet is therefore said “neem” is the most suitable and 2.5 inches; there are 8 spokes; its weight principal tree for making deities.6 It is considered 15,000 kg and is made of eight kinds of metals.2 to be a male tree. As per the Shabara Tantra on a In 1230 AD King Ananga Bhima Dev no moon night7 of a specific month the primeval III declared that Jagannath was the Real Ruler Purusha manifests only in the predestined neem and that he was His representative only. tree. That day onwards the tree emanates But as time passed in 1568 Kalapahada, sandalwood odour instead of bitterness ! Such 8 a Moghul general marched towards coastal Puri. a tree is cut in summer and the log is ready for In the burning spree the idols of worship in and carving out the deities . around Puri were destroyed. This incident of The average height of the deities is history could have been the end of Jagannath between 2.5 to 3 meters. The deities when cult. touched one feels softness instead of the hardness But soon Ramachandra Dev, a local of wood. It is because of the layers of pure silk princeling managed tactfully, to retain the cult. His wrapped on the core wooden body of deities. descendants are still known as the Gajapatis of The colours of Jagannath, Balabhadra and Puri. Gajapatis are titular kings. They are spiritual Subhadra are black, white and yellow kings and also the principal servitor1 of the deity. respectively. Social anthropologists interpret these The inseparability of Gajapati kings and the cult colours to represent the three races of mankind 98 June - 2014 Odisha Review viz. Negroids, Europeans and Mongoloids. peculiar periodicity viz. at a gap of 8, 11, 19 and However, in the empirical language of physics 27 years and renewal of the gross body of the black is the most ideal absorber of radiation, white deities were also made accordingly maintaining a good reflector and yellow being one of the the same periodicity. Such renewals have unadulterated primary colours. One often wonders occurred, as per available records : why these earless, legless, tribal forms with *During 1000-1800 AD it has occurred at a oversized heads beckon to people for keeping gap of 8, 11 and 19 years. Once after a gap of the ancient traditions continue ! Interestingly the 27 years it has occurred in 1039 AD. eyes of Jagannath are regular circles whereas the eyes of Subhadra and Balabhadra are oval. The *During 1800—2008AD it has occured in head-top of Balabhadra is scalloped with a semi- 1809(+19), 1828(+8), 1836(+19), 1855(+19), circular lobe indicating the hood of a serpant; 1874(+19), 1893(+19), 1912(+8), 1920(+11), Subhadra’s head-top resembles a tiara and 1931(+19), 1950(+19), 1969(+8), 1977(+19), Jagannath’s head-top simply a straight line. 1996(+19), due in 2015. Different meanings have been attributed to the Every year the temple activities are deities through the ages by various sects and suspended for 15 days. During this period the schools of thought in India. tribal relations only are permitted to enter into 10 The Daily Routine: the temple and stay ; others are not allowed. However this closure is extended for one and a 3 The three deities have dress regimen too half months in those years when renewal of the Jagannath is dressed with clothes of prescribed bodies are scheduled. colours viz. Sunday (red), Monday (white with black border), Tuesday (five assorted colours), Renewal activity starts in the month of Wednesday (blue), Thursday (yellow), Friday Chaitra Shukla Dasami. The search team takes (white), Saturday (black). The deities are dressed the betel nut as a token of permission and up differently in accordance with the lunar cycle. commitment for the work to be executed. The The daily routine in the temple spans over the team members go to Kakatpur (NE from Puri ) period 5 AM to 12 midnight. A number of micro- and after taking bath in the river Prachi pray in activities fill between the major routine activities the holy shrine of the reigning Mother Goddess described under Table-A. Mangala and continue to fast and lie prostrated.11 Rationalists will raise their eyebrows high if they A mystic touch is resplendent at the hear that the Goddess directs the senior-most team ‘kitchen’ inside the temple premises and the secret member in the dream about the location of the 4 “6-fold worship” while offerings ‘food-stuff’ to neem trees, destined to be the body of the deities the deities. It is by exercising the ancient Mantras and in utter faith he with all his team members go the “gross foodness” is converted to “the divine 5 to the “dreamt locations” by foot. Though it might food” i.e. a sort of divinity is reinforced through seem incredible, all the four neem trees (fourth the Mantra. Cooking has always been from the one being that of Sudarshana) satisfy the following original produce of the land. qualifying prerequisites defining the suitability of Renewal of the Deities : the trees : A prolonged rainy season (stretched over — Must have a wheel (Chakra) sign on the body two months)9 has occurred over the years in a of the tree, 99 Odisha Review June - 2014 — Poisonous snakes like cobra must be hiding The Festive Yatra : under or in nearby anthill, Every year in rainy season17 all the deities — A tamarind tree must be in the vicinity, are brought down to the road from the womb of 18 — A funeral yard in the vicinity of each tree, the temple by thousands of devotees known in Pahandi; each of them is slowly lifted, shifted and — Each tree must have 4 to 7 branches over pushed ahead little by little by the people till they the main trunk, reach the raised platforms of the chariot19 and — From ground level upto 10/12 feet it should occupy the specified seat on their respective be straight and solid, chariots. Chariots are called ‘rathas’ in scripture. These Rathas are made of wood and are pulled — No nest on treetop. by people in the above sequence to cover a The identified trees are cut after the distance of 2 km from Jagannath temple to prescribed rituals like 3 days fire sacrifice12, then Mausima temple (Gundicha Mandir). Rathas are cutting the trees with golden axe, silver axe and decorated with fabrics of specific colours viz. iron axe in succession continues. A small cart with Taladhwaj (Green & Red), Devadalan (Black & four wheels is made out of residual smaller Red) and Nandighosha (Yellow & Red ). branches and the main trunk of each tree is In Upanishad “rath” is defined as “body” transported separately to Puri. The carts are (Atmanam rathinam biddhi shareeram rathameva pulled all the way to Puri by the devotees of the tu) and this distance is believed to represent villages it passes through. After reaching Puri symbolically the path. The ‘body’ (shareera)takes Grand Road the Gajapati is informed about the to reach its ‘destination’(Moksha or Nirvana) and arrival of the sacred logs. the yatra (the journey) is known as Rath Yatra or Then the logs are brought into the main the Car Festival. Sri Aurobindo wrote,”But until temple through its northern gate13 before the Jagannatha’s chariot is built ,the ideal community scheduled date of “annual bathing ceremony” of will not be created. That is the ideal, that is the the deities 14 which occurs in June. The existing best manifestation and image of the deepest and deities are bathed and the new logs are also highest truth. Mankind tries to build it under the bathed with ritual water drawn from specified inspiration of the secret cosmic Person. But due sources. Next day onwards the carving activities to ignorance in its nature, it only succeeds in commence in secrecy. Carving is done out of the creating a different likeness - - either malformed, trunks as per the laid down norms, at the unfinished and ugly or half-beautiful or incomplete prescribed place inside the temple premise15. Silk despite its beauty : a dwarf instead of a Shiva or wrappings and face-painting jobs are done by a Rakshasha, else a half deity of the intermediate hereditary functionaries. Their generations have regions.....the true name of this Chariot of thrived on the land provided by the temple. Before Jagannath is not society but commune. It is not a the specific no-moon night16 the new deities are many-faced, loose-knit human collectivity or fully carved out and on this specific night, at crowd but a free indestructible union, a divine midnight hours the mysterious substance is commune evolved in joy by the power of the transferred from the existing deities to the newly harmonising knowledge of self and God......a day carved deities.
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