Evolution of Jagannath Cult

Orissa Review June - 2004 Evolution of Jagannath Cult Dr. Atul Chandra Pradhan he Origin of Lord Jagannath, the presiding into wooden form, landed at the Puri sea shore; Tdeity of the holy city of Puri, around whom Jara Sabara, an aborigine, picked it up and the religious life of Orissa has evolved from worshipped it; subsequently, Indradyumna, the hoary past has been shrouded in myths and king of Somavamsa, got three wooden images legends. Analysing the legendary association made out of the log and built a temple for the of Jagannath with a class of aborigines, called deities. According to Deula Tola, Sabaras, the peculiar nature of the wooden icon Indradyumna, the king of Malava, got piece of of the deity and his associates, Balabhadra and sacred wood, which was the metamorphosed Subhadra, and association of a class of non- shape of god Nilamadhava from the Sabara Brahmin priests, called Daita, who are chief, named Visvavasu, and out of the wood presumed to be of tribal origin with the worship he carved three images. Both the stories suggest of the deity, some scholars hold that Jagannath the Vaishnavite origin of Jagannath. But was originally a tribal deity. Anncharlott Indradyumna, the hero of these legends remains Eschmann holds that the Navakalevar ritual, a legendary figure, and his historicity cannot i.e. the ceremony of periodical renewal of the be established on any safe ground. Some have deity, is a tribal custom. Such practices of identified him with the Indradyumna of original renewal of wooden deity are to be found among Mahabharat and considered him to be quite the primitive tribes like Saoras and Khonds. an ancient figure of pre-Christian era. If we If Lord Jagannath was tribal in origin, at accept the version of Sarala Dasa's what stage and how was he metamorphosed Mahabharat, we may feel inclined to identify into a Hinduised deity ? The legends regarding him with Indraratha, the Somavamsi king of the origin of Jagannath, which have been tenth century A.D. But indentification of recorded in various sources such as Indradyumna with Indraratha is at variance with Mahabharat of Sarala Das, Deula Tola of the long-accepted tradition, that Yayati-I, the Nilambar Das, Skanda Purana, Brahma remote predecessor of Indraratha, built the Purana, Narada Purana, Padma Purana, Jagannath temple at Puri. Kapila Samhita etc. suggest the tribal as well Some scholars trace a Buddhist origin as Brahmanical links of the deity in the initial of the trinity of the Jagannath temple. It is said stage. According to Sarala Das's Mahabharat, that the tooth relic of Lord Buddha is preserved the dead body of Lord Krishna, transformed in the image of Jagannath, that the three deities 74 Orissa Review June - 2004 - Jagannath, Subhadra and Balabhadra - considers the Jagannath figure to be Narasimha. represent Buddha, Dharma and Sangha She says, "Narasimha is that iconological respectively, that the Snana Yatra (bathing aspect of Jagannath, which recedes in the later festival) and Ratha yatra (car festival) of the theology; it can be easily associated with tribal Jagannath temple are of Buddhist origin and cults, and was probably instrumental for the that the sharing of Kaivalya (sacred food) on development of the Jagannath iconography." equal footing by all castes is due to the It is accepted by most of the scholars Buddhist impact. There are some literary that in the earliest phase Jagannath was known evidence of co-relation between Lord as Purushottama. "Vishnudharma", an Jagannath and Buddhism. According to some unpublished Sanskrit manuscript of 3rd century scholars, Jagannath is a common epithet of A.D., says that Krishna was known as Buddha. In Tibet, one of the names of Buddha Purushottama in the Odra country. Vaman is Jagannath. Jayadeva, the twelfth century Puran, a work of seventh century A.D., refers Vaishnava poet who, according to some to the Purushottama deity at Puri. scholars, identified Jagannath with Krishna or Vishnu also accepted Buddha as the ninth Anargharaghava natakam of Murari Misra, incarnation of Krishna or Vishnu. Sarala Das, which, according to some scholars, is a work the fifteenth century poet, in his Mahabharat of the middle or later part of ninth century A.D. regarded Jagannath as an embodiment of describes Purushottama deity of Puri with his Buddha. He wrote, "To deliver mankind, female consort, Kamala, on lap. The Sarada Jagannath has manifested himself in the form Devi temple inscription of Maihar (in the Satna of Buddha." Daru Brahma Gita of Jagannath district of Madhya Pradesh), which is assigned Das says, "To assume the form of Buddha the to the middle of the tenth century A.D., also Lord gave up his hands and legs." Some Oriya refers to the Purushottama deity of Odra- Vaishnavas regarded Chaitanya as the partial country, located on the sea-shore. The literary manifestation of Buddha. In the Chaitanya and epigraphic sources affirm the reputation Bhagavata of Isvar Dasa, Shri Chaitanya is of the Purushottama deity of Puri in the tenth reported to have said, "I am Chaitanya in the century A.D. Such was the importance of the form of Buddha." Evidently there was a deity of Puri, when the Somavamsi rule was synthesis between Buddhism and Vaishnavism established in the coastal belt in the tenth century at some stage, and Jagannath cult bears the A.D., that Yayati-I (922 A.D.-955 A.D.) had imprint of that synthesis. to construct a temple for the deity. Some scholars are of the opinion that some sculptural Even if we accept the hypothesis that remains of the Somavamsi period are still to Jagannath was originally a tribal deity or be found in the premises of the Jagannath Buddhist deity or both, we can not rule out the temple. As the Somavamsis were primarily possibility of his metamorphosis into Vishnu Saivites, the shrine of Purushottama appears or Krushna at quite an early stage. Eschmann to have been neglected during the Somavamsi holds that in his earliest form as an image of period. Vishnu, Jagannath was known as Nrusimha the Lion incarnation of Vishnu. Her contention is Though by the tenth century A.D., the based on the fact that the Navakalevar ritual presiding deity of Puri was known as 75 Orissa Review June - 2004 Purushottama, which is one of thousand The propagation of Vaishnavism by epithets of Vishnu, yet during the Bhauma Ramanuja early in the twelfth century A.D. period, the deity appears to have been resulted in the reinforcement of the profoundly influenced by Saivism, Shaktism, Vaishnavism of Orissa which had grown around Tantricism and Buddhism which were Purushottama - Jagannath, the incarnation of simultaneously prevalent. Scholars are of the Vishnu. Such was the predominance of the cult opinion that the image of Jagannath has striking of Purushottama-Jagannath that similarity with that of Ekapada Bhairava Chodagangadeva, the founder of Ganga empire (Bhairava with one foot, which is a in Utkal, had to erect a temple for him and manifestation of Siva, whose worship was another for his consort, Lakshmi, even though prevalent during the Bhauma period). Some in his private life Chodagangadeva remined a Tantrik texts refer to Puri as a seat of Shaktism, devotee of Siva. The Ganga period saw the Vimala as the Shakti and Jagannath as his recognition of Jagannath as the patron deity of Bhairava. The prevalence of Saivism at Puri the royal family. A powerful Ganga Monarch is proved by the existence of such Saiva shrines like Anangabhima-III, called his empire the as Markandeyesvara, Patalesvara and Purushottam Samrajya (the empire of Lokanath. The prevalence of Shaktism at Puri Purushottama) and himself the Rauta or is borne out by the worship of Vimala inside representative of Purushottama. The same the temple, and the existence of Saptamatruka importance of Purushottama-Jagannath image. The 'Utkal Khanda' of Skanda Purana continued in the Suryavamsi period. Kapilendradeva, the founder of Suryavamsi describes Subhadra as the Shakti of Jagannath. empire, invoked the name of Jagannath in the The name 'Purushottama', though an day-to-day administration of the state. He epithet of Vishnu, has Tantrik significance prayed to the deity for permission to punish according to some scholars. It represents the some recalcitrant or rebellious officers of the erotic aspect of Vishnu. Purushottama is to be State. Kapilendradeva constructed the outer found with Lakshmi, the female erotic partner. wall of the Jagannath temple in his fifteenth In the Anargharaghava natakam, Murari regnal year. Purushottamadeva, the son and Mishra describes Purushottama with Lakshmi successor of Kapilendra, was greatly devoted on his lap. Jayadeva, in his Gitagovinda, dealt to Jagannath for singing whose glory he wrote with erotic sports of Krishna with Radha, and Abhinava Gitagovindam. According to the identified Radha with Kamala or Lakshmi, the tradition, recorded in the Madalapanji, Lord consort of Narayana. Jayadeva also regarded Jagannath helped Purushottama, to conquer Jagannath as Krishna. Subhadra was treated Kanchi and marry Padmavati, the daughter of as Lakshmi during the Ganga period, and the Kanchi ruler. During the reign of afterwards. The Purushottama Mahatmya of Prataparudra, Shrichaitanya came to Orissa in Skanda Purana (a work of 13th century A.D.) 1509 A.D. Shrichaitanya completed the and of Vishnurahasya (a work of 16th century process of identification of Jagannath with A.D.) referred to the female wooden image Krishna which had been begun by Jayadeva. between Jagannath and Balabhadra as During Ganga and Suryavamsi periods Lakshmi. kingship and cult of Jagannath got interwoven. 76 Orissa Review June - 2004 Calling themselves the Rauta of Lord Jagannath References : the kings justified their action in the name of 1. M.N. Das (ed.), Sidelights on History and Lord Jagannath.

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