Orissa Review June - 2009

Lord Jagannath - An Epitome of Oriyan Identity

Mahimohan Tripathy

The concept of a deity for a state is a inherent Anangabhima-III (1211-1238 A.D.), Lord concept that existed perhaps in the third Purusottama became the State Deity of Ganga millennium B.C. In an old civilization like Egypt, empire. Purusottama was an early name of each region, district and settlement had its own Jagannath. In Draksharama inscription of his sixth Gods or Deities and its own myths which were regnal year (1216 A.D.), King Anangabhimadeva accepted with called himself absolute tolerance 'Routa' (Deputy) by the official and 'Putra' (Son) of clergy. The Gods the three deities- personified the Purusottama, Rudra forces of nature, and Durga and supervising every considered his event and every empire as the empire activity; they were of Purusottama responsible for the (Purusottama destiny of the Samrajya). In country and every Bhubaneswar inhabitant it. The cults of the various Gods were the responsibility inscription of of the pharaoh and the priests who provided for Anangabhimadeva, he was called the son and the the terrestrial needs of each deity and the care of deputy of Purusottama. The date of this inscription their material images according to extremely has been identified to be the 9th of January 1230 complex rituals.1 A.D. In the Orissan context, it is found that the As mentioned in 'Madalapanji' the old great temple of Lord Jagannath ever since its chronicle of the Sri Jagannath Temple written on inception has become an institution of unique palm leaves, Anangabhimadeva-III, staying in His national importance, which flourished under royal capital at Cuttack, dedicated everything to Sri patronage of the Orissan kings. It is evident from Purusottama Sri Jagannath and remained as His the history of Orissa that it was under King deputy. Accepting Lord Jagannath as the king of

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Orissa, Anangabhima renounced his royal Ekansha-Subhadra of western Orissa, Valadev 'abhiseka' (Coronation).2 or Nagaraj of Toshali (northern Orissa) and It is further mentioned in 'Madalapanji' that Purusottama-Jagannath of Kalinga and Kangoda the king 1st Yayatikesari of the Somavamsi were worshipped at Puri as the State-deities of 4 dynasty, who established himself as the new king the combined Tri-Kalinga empire. of Orissa, asked the learned Sanyasins and German Researcher H.Kulke observes, "It Brahmins about the whereabouts of 'the Lord of is certain that under none of the Somavamsis the the Kings of Orissa'. It was in his 11th regnal year, God Purusottama of Puri played the role of He knew from them that the image of Lord family deity (kuladevata) or even of a state-deity Jagannath had been taken to a secret place near (rastra-devata). All of them were strong minded Sonepur in Western Orissa and buried there Saivas who left the testimonies of their devotion consequent upon invasion of a foreign king in their ambitious building activities in the Saiva- Raktabahu. King Yayati recovered the image kshetras, especially in Bhubaneswar, Purusottam from the soil. Since the image was decayed, the became only a subsidiary state deity of the king decided to have a new image prepared and Somavamsa kingdom.5 installed in a newly built temple at Puri, "The only available tradition about the founder of the pre- It appears that right from king Chodaganga Chodaganga temple of Purusottama is the all the kings of the Ganga dynasty, prior to legendary account in the temple chronicle of Puri. Anangabhima deva-III, were worshipping But it is a question still historically unsolved as to Jagannath as the state-deity, though no royal which Yayati, Yayati-I or Yayati-II, constructed declaration was there to that effect. The a temple for Lord Jagannath at Puri prior to the declaration was probably due to a tradition present temple which is believed to have been associated with the main deity of Puri and was constructed by the king Chodagangadeva of the taken advantage of by Anangabhima for political Ganga dynasty in the 12th century. Another reasons.6 It was after conquest of Orissa by question arises as to whether there was any temple Chodagangadeva and establishment of the Ganga of Lord Purusottam at Puri prior to Yayati. No dynasty in Orissa, Purusottama or Jagannath historical account is available. As depicted in worship was elevated to an empire or state level some puranic or mythological literature, a king under royal patronage. The family deity of the Indradyumna of Malaba had constructed a huge Gangavamsa was Gokarneswar, But temple for Lord Jagannath in Srikshetra i.e. Puri, Chodagangadeva assumed the title of Parama In course of time, this temple collapsed. But there Maheswar, Parama Vaishnava and Parama is no historical evidence as to such construction. Brahmanya. Prof. Kailas Chandra Dash opines Indradyumna appears to be a legendary figure. that for the first time the name Jagannath was Dr. S.N. Rajguru, an eminent epigraphist inscribed in Kurneswar inscriptions in the Year and historian of Orissa has written that during the 1230 A.D.7 Some other scholars say that for the time of the king Yayati-II of Soma dynasty in first time the God of Puri ws called Jagannath in Orissa, attempts were made to bring together all the Srikurman (1309A.D.) and Simanchalam the main deities, worshipped in different places (1319A.D.) inscriptions of Bharnudeva-II during of the then Orissa-Goddess Stambheswari or his reign from 1306 to 1328 A.D.8

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Narasimhadeva-I succeeded his father in Oriya by poet Sarala Das. In this epic a Anangabhimadeva-III in 1238 A.D. and reigned legendary history of Jagannath has been depicted till 1264 A.D. He followed the 'deputy ideology' for the first time in Oriya literature. of his esteemed father. In his Kapilas inscription King Kapilendra unlike his predecessors, he declared that he humbled the pride of his perhaps, assumed a priestly function as a first enemies at the command of Lord Purusottama. servant (adya sevak) of Lord Jagannath. Even He regarded himself as the deputy, the son and today, such a service designated as 'Gajapati the military-general of Lord Purusottama. He was Maharaja Seva' is being performed by the Raja quite successful in his campaigns against the of Puri in accordance with the Temple Record of muslims to check that aggressive power in India.9 Rights. Another significant achievement of this king was the construction of the Surya temple at Konark. A comparative study would reveal that in It was then the highest temple in India. His motive certain dynasties in India and abroad, there were behind such construction was perhaps to exceed state deities or family deities. For instance, in the the status of his father and to raise his imperial Vijayanagar kingdom in South India, the kings legitimation on an all India level. Though Lord who were staunch Saiva dedicated their empire Purusottama was the state-deity, Narasimha had to the deity, Siva-Virupaksa and ruled as His a special devotion for Surya, the sun-god. Some deputy. In the Kadamba dynasty of Goa, scholars, therefore, presume that Surya was Nrusimha was the 'Ista-devata'. It is found from Narasimha's personal deity (Istadevta). He was the Ramayana of Sage Valmiki, that the family the first king of Orissa, who bore the title of deity of Ramachandra was Jagannath. Lord Rama Gajapati (Lord of the elephants). A title which had advised Bibhisana to worship Jagannath, the became a great royal title in Orissa under the late family deity of lksvaku dynasty. Gangas and Suryavamsis. "Aradhaya Jagannatham, Iksvaku Kula After the fall of Ganga dynasty another Daivatam" (Uttarakanda) glorious dynasty designated as Surya or Ramachandra belonged to lksvaku dynasty Suryavamsa dynasty ruled Orissa. The founder and as a Suryavamsi, his family deity must have of this dynasty was Kapilendradeva (1435-1468 been Surya, the sun-god. He has used the word, A.D.). Kapilendra after occupying throne made 'Jagannath' as an adjective of Surya, which means an official proclamation in Oriya language Lord of the Universe. As indicated at the outset, declaring Lord Jagannath as the state-deity. a study of the Egyptian king lists and Legends During his time, the change of name from reveals that menes (or Hor-Aha) was considered Purusottama to Jagannath had a deep popular to be the first king of the first dynasty of Egypt appeal. Also during his rule, Oriya was recognized (2920-2770 or 2955-2780 B.C). Menes was the in place of Sanskrit as the official language. In his founder of Mephis, the capital of the newly united Warangal and Srisailam inscriptions, Kapilendra country. The chief deity of Memphis was Ptah assumed the title of a son and servitor of who was the patron-deity of craftsmen and artists. Jagannath. Who was thought to have created the universe A remarkable achievement in the reign of and its inhabitants. Menes erected the first temple Kapilendra was the composition of Mahabharata to the God Ptah, the patron deity of the town

44 Orissa Review June - 2009 throughout the long history. Ptah became later on lived like a king in his ziggurat palace and was a composite deity, Ptah-Sokar and Ptah-Sokar worshipped along with his family members and Osiris. attended by hundreds of servants, the deity Jagannath of Puri remains in a huge temple with In the 5th Egyptian dynasty (2450-2290 other companion deities and has thousands of B.C.) the cult of Sun-God Ra became wide priests and attendants.13 spread and sun temples were built in many places. Later on the Theban God Amun was united with Contemporary with Egyptian civilization the Heliopolitan God Ra, to become Amun-Ra, and possibly of even earlier origin was that which who became the main god of the state. Great sprang up in western Asia in the river valley of temples were built for Amun-Ra at Karnak and the Tigris and Euphrates, the region which was Luxor, King Amunhotep - IV (1350 - 1333 B.C.) called Mesopotamia. The earliest people to found reformed religious beliefs. When the sun-disk cities in Mesopotamia were the Sumerians. The Aton became the one supreme God, a creed akin chief city of the Summerians was Nippur (on the to monotheism.10 Euphrates, south of Babylon) and their chief god was 'Enlil', the god of Air.14 It is interesting to The Egyptian King (Pharoah) was not only note that the word 'Enlil' has a resemblance with the king but also a priest or sevak of the chief the Sanskrit word 'Anil; which means Air, under deity of the state. The Director of the Egyptian king Hammurabi (about 2100 B.C.). Babylon Museum of Cairo says; " became the capital of a new empire and Marduk The main function of the king was to took the place of 'Enlil' as the chief of the gods. preserve 'maat', the proper order of things. In The Srilankan king Agrabodhi-II (592-602 order to fulfill this function, the king was also the AD) had declared Buddha as the highest sovereign priest who presented the prescribed offerings to of the state by dedicating his kingdom to the the god, one of whom was the chief god at a Tooth-relic. King Jayavarman-IV of Angkar (928 particular period of history or in a particular place - 941 AD) had built a five stepped pyramid, on (for example the state god Amun-Ra of the new the summit of which a Linga of Tribhubaneswar kingdom or the falcon god Horus of the Edfu). was placed. In an inscription this royal Siva-Linga The king was also represented as a mighty bull or 11 was named as 'Kamaratengjagat ta rajya' which regal lion… means' the God who is the royalty'. It could be Similarly, in ancient Mexico the rulers of said that the 'God king' and the 'King-priest' the great city of Teotaihuacan who flourished from concept was there in some states of foreign the first century B.C. until about 650 A.D., were civilizations. more primitive type of divine-kings or priest After the fall of Surya dynasty, Jagannath 12 kings. was no more conceived officially as the state deity; Researcher A.P. Patnaik points out that his but had remained and still remains as a main deity type of political thought had its origin in the of the state of Orissa. It is "an institution of unique Sumerian city-states, where the chief god was national importance in which millions of Hindu considered to be the supreme authority, while the devotees from regions far and wide have reposed ruler served as a bailiff of the gods to promote their faith and belief and have regarded it as the the weal of the city. Like the Sumerian god who epitome of their tradition and culture; and whereas

45 Orissa Review June - 2009 long prior to and after the British conquest the 5. Vide serial 3. superintendence, control and management of the 6. Patnaik A.P. - 'Mahadevata' (essay in Oriya) affairs of the Temple have been the direct concern Jhankar, Oct. - Dec. 2003). of the successive Rulers, Governments and their 7. Dash K.C. - Purusottama O Sri Jagannath (essay officers and of the public exchequer'.15 Sri in Oriya) ('Sri Mandir'. June 1995). Jagannath temple of Puri is being managed by the 8. Sahu, Dr. N. and others - 'History of Orissa' (7th state government through a Managing Committee. edition 2001, Nalanda, Cuttack), The Raja of Puri is the hereditary chairman of the 9. Ibid committee. 10. Saleh Mohamed - ' Cairo ; The Egyptian Museum A comparative study of the prevalent Pharaonic Sites.' Printed in Egypt, 2001. religious practice and tradition of the Puri temple 11. Ibid with that of some erstwhile states of ancient 12. Burland Cottie and Forman Werner - 'The civilizations, would reveal a striking similarity and Aztecs : Gods and Fate in Ancient Mexico'. lead us to presume that Jagannath is every ancient 13. Patnaik A.P. - Vide serial 6. deity in the world. 14. Davies H.A. - An Outline History of the World' Reference : (3rd edition, printed in Great Britain, Oxford 1. Ancient Egypt - Art and Archaeology (The University Press, 1959). American University in Cairo Press, 8th edition, 15. Sri Jagnnath Temple Act, 1954 - Preamble. 2003). 2. Madalapanji (in Oriya) - (Ed) Prof. A.B. Mohanty. 3. Kulke H- 'Early Royal Patronage of the Jagannath Cult' (The Cult of Jagannath and the Regional Tradition of Orissa, Ed. By A. Eschmann, H. Kulke and G.C. Tripathi, Monohar Publications, New Delhi, 1986). 4. Rajgure Dr. S.N. - 'Sri Jagannathnka Aitihasik Swarup' (essay in Oriya) (Purusottama O Mahimohan Tripathy lives at M-A/2, Brit Colony, Srimandir, O.S.A., 1996). Nayapalli, Bhubaneswar-12.

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