Role of Panchasakha in the Socio-Religious life of the people of

Akhay Mishra Odisha Abstract Odisha displayed remarkable socio-religious harmony through the different times of her history. Right from the ancient period, Odisha, assumed to be a melting point of different religions and cultures. By the time when the Muslims started ruling over Odisha, , , Sakti worship, Sun worship, Saivism and all mingled together to influence the religious life of the people. This has been reflected in the social habits, food, dress and ornaments; and dance, music and festivals. A resume of such a socio-religious harmony was displayed in the period of Panchasakha. Odisha in the medieval period marks an era with the past in respect of the evolution of society. The gradually accommodated the newcomers viz., the Muslims and they became parts of Odishan society. The absence of racial conflicts exhibits the better social and religious understanding of the people belonging to all the segments of medieval Odisha. Introduction The movement influenced the whole country at different times, and had a definite impact not only on religious doctrines, rituals, values and popular beliefs, but on arts, culture and the state systems as well. The social protest and popular movement in medieval Orissa not only had a close bearing on the , it influenced almost the entire body of the contemporary society and culture. In this article, there is an attempt to discuss the role of Panchasakhas in Odia culture. Their influence on the ruling class of contemporary period has also been noticed. Numerous social changes that appeared in medieval Orissa like the growth of education and moral upliftment with the emergence of the Ghara, development of Pala, goti-pua dances, performance of suangas and organisation of Dola Yatra bear the unmistakable marks. When Hindu religion was full of dogmas, superstitions and rituals and when the caste rigidity, the system of untouchability became unbearable, during that period (1470-1550 A.D) there flourished a band of five comrades generally known as Panchasakha in Odisha and they

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were Balaram Das, Das, Das, Jasobanta Das and Das.1 By 1510, a great Bhakti philosopher Sri Chaitanya from Nabadvipa of Bengal visited Puri with the Vaishnava message of love and settled there till 1533 A.D.2 Sri Chaitanya was closely associated with the Panchasakhas and other Odia followers during his long stay in Puri. It is evident from the MadalapanJi3 and different writings of Achyutananda Dasa4 and Sudarshan Dasa5 that the panchasakhas participated in the sankirtan of SriChaitanya. He introduced the Nagara Sankirtana where there were no discriminations based on caste or social class, and the songs of the kirtanas were not only in classical but also in the popular languages such as Bengali and Oriya, encouraging ordinary and low-caste people to participate more directly. Chaitanya also accepted low-caste people as his followers, embraced fishermen and honored “ex-Muslim” devotees such as , Rupa and Sanatana etc. So the Panchasakha were deeply influenced by Sri Chaitanya. They followed the path of Bhakti adopting , and yantra in their sadhana; they manifested mystic power and could change their body into different forms. Chaitanya has referred to these five friends as Panchasakha and stated that the Panchasakha are like Pancha Atma, i.e., five souls (Atma- ) and are in no way lesser than Avataars of . However, there is an interesting belief about the origin of Panchasakha which relates them to the in the Dwapara-Yuga, and is also stated in Shunya Samhita written by Mahapurusha Achyutananda. Here, Mahapurusha describes Panchasakha literally meaning „five mates or friends‟. Towards the end of Mahabharat era when Lord was leaving the mortal body, Nilakantheswara Mahadeva appeared and had a conversation with Lord Krishna. He revealed that the Lord‟s companions Dama, Sudama, Srivatsa, Subala, and Subahu would reincarnate in the -Yuga and will be known as Ananta, Acyutananda, Jagannatha, and Yasovanta, respectively. Thus, the believers of the Panchasakha consider that these five saints were the most intimate friends of Lord Krishna in Dwapara- Yuga, who came again in Kali-Yuga to serve Him. Shri Chaitanya was the first to establish the Bhaaba-Mishrita Naama Marga (the path of chanting the holy name with proper feelings and faith). He first introduced this method for all the simpleminded people and made many realize that God- realization can also be achieved by simpler method of pure devotion without undergoing difficult method of austerities. It is he who first disclosed the importance of the Mahaa Mantra Hare Krisna Hare Krisna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare! Like the and Tantric texts, the Panchasakha literature also abounds with it. They were the first to take the Hindu Sanskrit texts into the reach of the common people, by translating them into the local language, Odia. This was first done by www.ijellh.com 376

Sarala Dasa‟s translation of the Mahabharata in the mid-fifteenth century, followed by ‟s Jagamohan , Jagannath Dasa‟s Bhagabat Purana, and Acyutananda Dasa‟s . The second aspect is their form of Odia Vaisnavism, which sees God as the‟ Shunya Purusha‟ and the nature of the soul as being able to merge into the Absolute. According to the Panchasakhas, Lord Jagannath is the „PurnaBrahma‟, and all the of Vishnu emanate from Him, and also enter into Him at the end. Jagannatha was the chief god of the devotional sect. The chief ideal of the Panchasakhas was that, as Bhakta they would be faithful, humble, learned, selfless, active, benevolent and affectionate. The Panchasakhas were against the caste system, they considered all beings as one. They translated the Sanskrit Classics into local language, Odia. Anyone could become a Vaisnava, even Muslims. Chaitanya‟s path of devotion was known as Raganuga Bhakti Marga, but the Panchasakhas differed from Chaitanya and believed in Gyana Mishrita Bhakti Marga. The Panchasakha converted ancient into prose (of simple language) easily understandable by the people of Udra Desha (Odisha). The Panchasakhas believed in a concept of God as Sunya (emptiness, void, zero) called Shunya Purusha or Shunya . This Shunya signifies a transcendental principle that eludes the conceptual nexus applied to human thinking as described in the . The Panchasakhas project the deity Jagannath as the embodiment of the Shunya Purusha. Balarama Das Among the Panchasakhas who flourished in the first quarter of the sixteenth century, the eldest and the most radical was Balarama Dasa who was born in 1473 A.D., at Puri.6 He is sometimes called Matta Balarama because of his disregard for social conventions in favor of ecstatic Bhakti. Balarama Dasa wrote the famous Jagamohana or Dandi Ramayana, as well as a number of other works entitled Gita Abakasa, Bhava samudra, Gupta Gita, Sara, Mriguni Stuti, Saptanga yogasara tika, Vedanta sara or tika, Baula gai gita, Kamala locana chotisa, Kanta koili, Bedha parikrama, Brahma gita, Brahmanda bhugola, Vajra kavaca, Jnana chudamani, Virat gita, Ganesh vibhuti, Amarakosha Gita, Purana. Balarama Das‟s "Jagamohan Ramayana" is one of the three most important epics in Orissa. It is purely in Odia composition. The work subsequently acquired the name of Dandi Ramayana, as it became a popular work and the contents were being recited or sung by the danda or road-side. Sanskrit Ramayana was read out by the Pundits in a high mandap (altar) of the temple or of a village where the king, zamindars, and of high class came to listen to the sacred text. When poet Balarama Dasa wrote the Ramayana in Oriya and as it www.ijellh.com 377

became popular and began to be sung and recited outside the humble house in the danda (common street between two rows of houses). In his notes, "Balarama Dasa, as a national poet, has sung for the people and by making Orissa a miniature world by itself has taught his countrymen to love the land of their birth. Balarama Dasa condemned the priests responsible for degrading religion to mere means of making a livelihood. In his Ramayana he exposed the greedy and exploitative attitude of the priests. When Rama, Laxman and had been to Gaya to offer Pinda, the priests also did not spare them from collecting dakshina7. Sugriva, and Bibhishan were the ideals of the poet because of their honesty, sincereity and helpful attitude. When the city of Ayodhya was reconstructed, Rama himself invited these three persons to the ceremony celebrating the inauguration of the city. The poet said through Rama that the persons who help selflessly at the time of danger, their foot-prints are more important than the greatest religious activity like .8 The poet did not surrender to the views of superiority of Brahmins, on the basis of merely their birth in the families, and if they were ignorant of true , i.e. social equality. He believed only those were the real Brahmins who knew , religion, and were engaged in right deeds and recognised the self of others. Those who lived only in the shrines and exploited people in the name of religion were not, according to Balarama, the true Brahmins.9 The poet did not find any djstinction between a Brahmin and a Chandal and to him all were human-beings of the same blood and flesh. To prove this he went on describing the close friendship between Purushottam Rama and Guhaka, a tribal chief of the forest. Both of them were so close that Rama delivered the message of killing first to Guhaka. Secondly, the poet also made Rama to eat the berries already tested by a Sabari (hunter woman) while he was in exile in the forest.10 The poet's description of the incident of the meditation of the Sudramuni Sambuka in his Ramayana symbolises his deep concern to the development of status of the Sudras. To him, Sambuka, attained nirvan, being killed by Rama, on the day of Sukla Panchami of the month of Bhadrav. This day has been regarded as the Rishi-Panchami and according to a popular belief, who worship the Sudra saints on this day. It is not only a sympathetic consideration of the poet towards the Sudra community but also his insistence towards building an egalitarian social order. Balarama Dasa protested against the tradition of ging mercy and sympathy of the king. His message to his audience was for assertion of their right before the king, not to seek his mercy.11 In a measure thus he upheld a revolutionary idea of bringing out equality between the king and the people of his kingdom. As a social reformer he condemned the oppressive features of Brahminical religion and was critical of the classes who exploited the people subsisted on their toil without giving them anything in return. www.ijellh.com 378

Besides there was another class of fraud sanyasis who only grew beard, weared beads, used tilak on forehead, ashes on body and remained social parasites. In his Ramayana, Balarama Dasa preached that there was no difference between the rich and poor, strong and weak, ignorant and knowledgeable in the eyes of Lord Jagannatha. The Lord treats equally everybody, be he a Brahmin or from an ordinary sect. When Balarama repeatedly asserted that he was "son of Lord Jagannatha", it was not that he told about himself. He identified himself with the entire humanity and meant that the whole mankind irrespective of caste, creed and colour were the children of lord Jagannatha. To him, an ordinary man lost his caste when he became a bhakta. All bhaktas identified themselves as Dasas or servants to God. Balarama also attacked rituals. He did not believe in fast or meditation. He also did not worship any God other than Lord Jagannatha, who symbolised the monotheistic ideals of his religious life. He was a believer in jnana and bhakti. The philosophy of knowledge-cum- devotion was the weapon wielded by him to influence both the masses and the high classes. At the same time, Jagannatha Dasa emerged and also made most cant contribution to the growth of Oriya literature. His Laksmi Purana is considered the first manifesto of women‟s liberation or feminism in Indian literature. An analytic approach over Balaram Das‟s “Laxmi Purana” testifies to a fact that Lord Jagannath in the manifestation of goddess Laxmi emerged to carry out the socio cultural movement in the then society which was at its lowest ebb exhausting all its potential and energetic spirit and leading towards a rapid disintegration and decline. In it‟s attempt to re-energizing the defunct spirit and to create consciousness among the subalterns and to free the society from the gender-bias, Balaram Das devoutly surrendered to goddess Maha Laxmi for liberating the society from the thralldom of social taboos, evils, orthodoxy, conservatism, and above all, Brahmin dogmatism. Goddess Maha Laxmi as a first lady of Odia society seems to take leadership to regenerating the idea of male-female equality and to revolting against male chauvinism. It also tries to establish a fact that a woman should carry out her struggle against male chauvinism, so long her right to equality is not perfectly ascertained. Further more, in His Lila (acting) Lord Jagannath is found to manifesting Himself in the form of Sriya Chandaluni, a lady of an out caste who could never make temple entry. But this Sriya Chandaluni was a sincere devotee of Lord Jagannath and Mother Laxmi. Her sincere and absolute devotion made Goddess Maha Laxmi to remain present in her thatched and dilapidated house in one fine morning of Thursday day of the month of Margasira to receive her worship and offering. This led to a serious troublesome affair as it was seen by Lord Balaram, the elder brother of Lord Jagannath, who disapproved Laxmi‟s presence in a www.ijellh.com 379

Chandala‟s house. This led to the banishment of goddess Laxmi from the Bada Deula who desperately left the temple accusing Lord Jagannath for not following the nuptial ideologies. The result is well known to every body. As a self esteemed lady, Mother Laxmi did not return back to his parental house rather she opted to carry out the struggle singlehandedly imparting a lesson to all Odia ladies that „virtue, patience and wit-mind‟ would ultimately encrown a lady with absolute success12. In the voice of goddess Laxmi, Balaram Das achieved his objective, making the temple entry of the out castes and also promoting the interdining culture inside the Anand Bazar with a hope that the idea would be diffused and disseminated throughout the Odia society. It indicates to the fact that social distinction is man-made. It is not made by any divine authority. In Jagannath culture the sins and crimes have no place. But, if a sinner would make proper repentance for his acts done he would be pardoned and would be allowed to join in the mainstream of social life. Take for example Balaram Das who ran out from a harlot‟s house listening to ding dung sound of the bells and blowing of the pipes to accompany Lord Jagannath during the car-festival, but his shabby and awkward gait- up made the Daitapatis to believe that without proper ablutions he was riding up the car to make the whole process unsacred. Balaram Das mentions in his „Brahmanda Bhugola‟; “In the primeval days, there was no existence of the universe; So also, sun and moon were not present; Day and night did not occur. There was no concept of the world (three worlds- Swarga, Martya and Patala) and the earth.”The concept of Brahma, Vishnu and Siva was not present those days. Atibadi Jagannatha Dasa Jagannatha Dasa, the second of the celebrated Panchasakhas, is popularly remembered for his unique contribution to the Oriya literature through his Bhagavata. He was born in Kapilesvarapur or Kapilesvar grama (one of the 16 traditional Sasana villages) at 14 kms from Puri towards Brahmagiri, on the day of of 1487. As he was born on Radhastami, he is considered to have a close relationship with Srimati Radhika. Besides the Bhagavata(1504 or 1505 A.D), Jagannatha also composed a number of minor philosophical and devotional treatises in the language of the people. koili, Gajastuti, Darubrahma Gita, Gundicha Vijay, Dutibandha, Radhamanjari, Chaupadi Manasiksha and Dhruba Charita are included to his credit. He also wrote Gupta Bhagavat, Tula vina, Sola chaupadi, Chari chapadi, Diksa samyad, Mruguni stuti, Annamaya kundali, sarodhara, Bhakti chandrika, Kali malika, Indra malika, Niladri vilasa, Nitya gupta chintamani, Sri Krishna bhakti kalpa lata etc. It is said that by the order of Narada Muni, Jagannatha Das translated Srimad Bhagavata into Odia. This work gave him the reputation of www.ijellh.com 380

the best spiritual teacher in Odisha in his times, and is still extremely popular even today, being worshiped and recited in all households. In fact in Odisha this text is considered on the same level of Tulasi Das‟ Rama charita manasa. The "Odia Bhagavata'' like Balarama‟s creations helped in breaking down the pride and traditional outlook of the orthodox Brahmin Pundits. The Oriya Bhagavata of Jagannatha Das was even called by Brahmin Pundits as “teli bhagavata”, the “Bhagavata of the low-caste oil- maker”. Jagannatha Dasa himself was a Brahmin and an erudite scholar in Sanskrit. He had completed his Odia Bhagavata before the coming of Chaitanya to Odisha. Chaitanya first met him under the so-called Kalpa-bata (eternal banyan tree) within the premises of Jagannatha temple, reciting there his recently composed Bhaqavata to illiterate folk from the rural areas. Chaitanya, like a common charmed scribed to in listen to the episodes of Krishna's such soft, sonorous, rhythmic and folk, was life demelifluous couplets. These are outstanding characteristics of Jagannatha's popular Oriya Bhaqavata. The saint intuitively saw in the poet a spiritual kinship that developed into warm, lifelong friendship between them. He was deeply impressed by the work of Jagannatha Dasa and his intellectual discourses on metaphysical matters. Therefore, Sri Chaitanya called him "atibadi" or the "Very Great". The Bengali Vaishnavas were enraged at the title of "atibadi" to Jagannatha Dasa.13 Chaitanya was very calm and replied, "The sand, stone, wood and trees of this land are equal to Gods. Comparatively the dignity of man is so high that it is beyond imagination and therefore it is correct to address Jagannatha Dasa "atibada".14 He further advised, "Be small like grasses and tolerate all like trees. Be pleased in respect and don't be sorry at disregard. Then you will be a pure Vaishnav. Poet Jagannatha did not give importance to in the worship of and Krishna. To him, any person irrespective of his or her caste or sex, Brahmin, Sudra or a woman, could be taken as a , if he/she worshiped Radha and Krishna with twelve lettered . Jagannatha Dasa was a great believer in bhakti and he particularly emphasised a harmonious and balanced relationship among jnan, bhakti and . Jagannatha's immense popularity among the masses cannot ordinarily be estimated. His Oriya rendering of the original Sanskrit Bhagavata recited in his own sweet voice had incomparable impact on the people. He had created enemies among the Puranapandas by his recitations as they had lost the dakshina which they used to receive from the devotee-listeners. Jagannatha Dasa, however, became the focal point of envy, resentment and anger due to the added reason of the envy of the followers of Chaitanya. There is a legend which describe how even king Prataprudradev was misled into believing in some of these rumours circulated by his envious enemies concerning www.ijellh.com 381

his morals. The Pundits, were deadly jealous of Jagannatha and lodged a complain against him to the king Prataprudradev on a charge of abducting women. The Pundits alleged that Jagannatha Dasa was a magician and by virtue of his mantras he was attracting a large number of women than men. The time would come when all women would be running after him leaving their own husbands. A famous incident regarded such confidential exchanges with Medha and Sumedha, two ladies endowed with great spiritual power and who were said to be going in the night to visit Jagannatha in the temple by their mystic powers after it was closed. Some envious men complained to king Prataparudra accusing Jagannatha Dasa of immoral behaviour (illicit relationships with women) and the King called him for questioning. Jagannatha Dasa replied that for him there was no difference between men and women; he said that in fact when he was associating with ladies, he actually regarded himself as a woman, too. The King did not believe him but when Jagannatha Das was put in jail he actually manifested himself in the form of a woman and the guards, impressed, called the King to witness such an extraordinary feat. King Prataparudra realized he had committed an offense to a great devotee, so not only he released him/her from prison, but he also asked that s/he gave initiation to his chief Queen into . The Queen invited Jagannatha Dasa within the royal palace, where he could open his own , called Bada Odiya Matha andthen the Satalahari Matha. Once an affluent merchant from Kasi presented a piece of very valuable sandalwood to King Prataprudradev who in turn handed it over to Jagannatha to prepare paste and anoint Lord Jagannatha. Jagannatha made the paste but applied it to the walls of his own monastery. When news of this reached the king he was naturally furious and wanted an explanation for this preposterous behaviour. Jagannatha's cool reply was that he had applied sandal paste on the Lord with perfect devotion. At this the king wanted the sevaka to verify and report to him. And to their utter dismay and surprise they found that the Lord had actually been anointed with this special aromatic sandal paste. At this the king realised his own mistake and the greatness uf poet Jagannatha and he promptly apologised to him. Jagannatha Dasa did not travel to various places of pilgrimage in India like other religious personalities and saints. He considered it adequate to stay at Srikshetra all his life. And instead of putting over-riding emphasis on knowledge or ritual observations he put a high premium on right-living, right action, simplicity of life-style and on devotion or bhakti. Sadhana remained impor-tant but not merely as a system of formulae, incantations, or celebrations. It was transmuted into quieter- channels of submissian to the divine and the path of right-living. From several www.ijellh.com 382

episodes in the Oriya Bhaqavata one can get vivid and realistic pictures of contemporary Oriya society, its value-systems, organisational its royal courts and their splendour, social morals and taboos, hopes and aspirations, religious faith, and ethical attitudes. It is eminently clear from the Oriya Bhaqavata that to its poet Krishna was only another name for Lord Jagannatha, and Srikshetra the seat of the Lord of the Universe, was the focal point of Orissa's social life and culture. In fact, the religion of the Bhagavata is the religion of Jagannatha, unique for its cultural synthesis, universal brotherhood, assertion of the uniqueness of man in the entire creation and the equality of all before the Lord.15 Jagannatha Dasa composed a new poetic language which was balanced, elastic, effective and creative. Its general aroma of sanctity, its soft fluency, its quiet dignity and the sublime air of high moral and spiritual life it breathes, go straight into the hearts of hearers and readers. This human body is a rare gift meant only to aspire for salvation. Whenever a crowd gathers, there is bound to be a quarrel. Karma is your own guru what else do you enquire. What can the powerful do to one Whom the Lord protects. See all these rivers, rivulets they flow on and join the sea. Mingling with saline water they forget their name and identity. Likewise the Cowherd maidens have merged their life and mind in me. They forget the body, the Samsar and were delivered over from birth and death. Poet Jagannatha not only rendered emphasis on spiritual liberation of man irrespective of caste, he also contributed to the cultural and spiritual upliftment of the women, by accepting them as disciples.16 In Orissa Krishna was also worshiped as Madhava and Gopinatha. In Jagannatha Dasa's Bhagavata these two names are also used very frequently. Apart from Chaitanya, Jagannatha had close relations with Balarama, Achyuta, Jasovanta and Sishu Ananta, all of whom contributed to the growth of Oriya literature, religion and philosophy. They had their disciples and followers. Sishu Ananta mentions that Jagannatha had around three thousand and six hundred Sishyas of whom twelve were quite prominent. Dibakara Dasa, the biographer of Jagannatha Das was one of his prominent disciples. Jagannatha breathed his last in the sixteenth year of life on Sukla Magha saptami (7th day in the bright fortnight of the month of Magha, Chandrabhaga Mela in Konarak) in 1557. Thus he had ushered a significant religious, literary and linguistic transformations in Odisha. Jagannatha Das also used to go to recite the Bhagavata in the houses of people and made no discrimination on the basis of bodily identification, befriending men and women in the same way. The poet has also sometimes felt it necessary to give the theme more of a local context, social credibility and pictorial quality. At other times he seems to have driven by his religious fervour to emphasise and expand those mportions dealing with the leela or activities of Lord www.ijellh.com 383

Krishna. It is, indeed, a unique poetic creation. With philosophical backdrop, it never degenerates into arid, obscure or abstruse, philosophical debates and discussions. On the other hand, the most difficult philosophical propositions are delineated through simple stories narrated in the traditional manner of storytelling. A work which certainly had at least a partial motivation of religious or spiritual purpose never degenerates into any listing of litanies or observances of rituals or ceremonies. This explains why the Odia Bhaqavata remains the most intimate expression of the Odia soul as well as the culture and social ethics of the Odia speaking people. The spirit of liberal humanism, tolerance, sacrifice and humility, so characteristic of Odia social life, is, indeed, the gift of this epic Bhagavata. Achyutananda Das Shri Achyutananda Das was the most prolific writer of the Panchasakhas and has written numerous books (called as Pothi‟s), believed not in one life but in many successive lives. Mahapurusha Achyutananda was a shunya sadhak and had acquired immense knowledge about almost every aspect, i.e. spiritualism, , various other sciences, and social regulations. He was born to father Dinabandhu Khuntia and mother Padmavati in Tilakana near Nemala, Cuttack, in 1485.17 As a child, he was named Agani. When he grew older, he had a mystic dream where the Lord taught him the Gita, the Upanishads and the Tantra. Immediately he went to pilgrimage and on the way he met Chaitanya and it is said he received Harinam initiation from Him. The mula mantra he chanted and taught was the Radha mantra. Achyutananda is mostly famous for the book of prophecies called Achyutananda Malika, composed of 13 chapters. Achyutananda also translated into Oriya and commented Harivamsa. Tattva bodhini, Sunya samhita, Jyoti samhita, Gopala Ujjvala, Baranasi Gita, Anakara Brahma Samhita, Abhayada Kavacha, Astagujari, Sarana panjara stotra, Vipra chalaka, Mana mahima. Among his other creations,Brahmasankuli, Akalita Samhita, Amara-Jamara Samhita, Sabdabrahma Samhita, Manivarana Gita, Manibandha Gita, Gita, Janapradipa Gita, Sunya Gita, Kaliyuga Gita, Kali Kalpa Gita, Adilila Gita, Avada Samhita, Dasa Patala, Udaya Kahani, Nirghanta Sabda, Nitya Rahasa, Varuna Charita, Sarasvata Malika etc. are important.18 The Shunya Samhita is regarded as one of his top compositions that dealt with supreme spiritual science where the description is recorded as a conversation between Guru Achyuta and Shishya Ram Das. Achyutananda Das who claims himself as a Sudra and one of the great poet Philosophers of the Panchasakhas rightly mentions in his “Sunyasamhita”. “This wooden form is the sum total of the ten incarnations. Once again all the manifestations of ten incarnations were assimilated in the wooden form.‟‟ It is too difficult to attain salvation by Yoga. So it is indispensable on the part of human www.ijellh.com 384

beings to chant the „Name‟ and obtain salvation.19 To identify Lord Jagannath as the sum total of ten incarnations means an acceptance of the theory of socialism, i.e. “all are equal before the eyes of the God”; and He has not made discrimination and distinction between man and man; He is omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent. Lord Jagannath is the supreme sovereign of the Odia nationality. Describing Lord Jagannath as supreme-infinite who made Himself to be emerged from an absolute Zero (Sunya / great vaccum) to a form. A number of folk lores and legendary sayings relating to Lord Jagannath are found attesting to the fact of socio cultural unity and integrity of the Odia society where liberty, equality and fraternity played a vital role. Let it be considered that the struggle against the caste system in Odisha was developed under the leadership of Lord Jagannath. The classic paradigm was the story of Dasia Bauri who was born in a Scheduled Caste called bauri who resided near Baligaon. He was a great devout of Lord Jagannath who was not allowed to enter inside the temple. Lord Jagannath was so pleased with the absolute devotion of Dasia that he offered two boons to him out of which one was that Lord Jagannath would personally receive. In one occasion, Dasia Bauri gave a coconut of his tree to a Brahmin of his village who made a pilgrimage to Puri requesting him that after offering his personal naivedyas, he must come down to the back side of the Garuda Stambha where he would offer the coconut to Lord Jagannath telling that it was sent for Him by Dasia Bauri. Further he told him that if it was not personally received by Lord Jagannath, then it must be returned back to Dasia. The Brahman followed accordingly what was told by Dasia. To his surprise, the Brahmin found the hands of Jagannath extended like the tusks of the elephant towards him and the coconut was lifted within no time. Another interesting incident happened when Dasia Bauri personally proceeded to Puri to offer sweet mangoes to Lord Jagannath. He was obstructed by the Sevakas who insisted upon him to hand over the mangoes to them. Dasia Bauri‟s polite refusal to the sevakas stating that the mangoes would be directly received by the Lord made them to be curious. The sincere meditational devotion of Dasia Bauri made the mangoes to be vanished within an wink of the eyes and to the utmost surprise of the sevakas the seed stones of the mangoes were found lying on the ratna simhasana. This proves to the fact that the god belongs to all in an equal manner. Further, a group of persons of vestedinterests describe Lord Jagannath as „Patitapaban‟ which literally means who is the uplifter or saviour of the Patitas, i.e. dalita or down-troddens. He claimed that no one is patit in front of Lord Jagannath. Since all are equal, the patitas (down troddens) were created by the unruly social behavior. Similarly, the account of Bhakta Salabeg and proves to the fact that Jagannath culture knows no racial, social and cultural discrimination. It stands for socializing www.ijellh.com 385

the Odia-society where there is no place for discrimination between caste, creed and religion. Probably the Sikhs langar cult (inter dinning) was borrowed from the „Anand Bazar cult‟ of Lord Jagannath where people irrespective of their social status could dine together. Apart from it, people from Chhatisa Pataka (36 patakas -castes and sub-castes) are employed to render their respective services to the God. Achyutananda‟s teachings present a fusion of Saguna and Nirguna worship, uniting the doctrines of Dvaita and Advaita, and knowledge from Upanishads and Kundalini yoga. He left his body on Jyestha sukla Ekadasi. Yasobanta Das Jasovanta Das was born in 1487 near Aranga Nandi village, district of Cuttack, in a kshatriya family. His father was Balabhadra Mala, his mother was Rekha .20 The mula mantra chanted and taught by him was the Shyama mantra. He wrote Govinda chandra, sarodaya, Sasti mala, Prema bhakti, Brahma gita, Atma pariche gita, a Malika and several . The Govinda Chandra became very famous in Assam, Bengal and north India which is basically related with traditional dance and teaching of dance connected with the Vaishnava tradition. Jasovanta Das is well remembered only through his ballad of "Govinda Chandra" sung by Natha cult medicant singers. Jasovanta became indifferent towards the world while he was twelve years of age. He was determined to be a sanyasi. Since his early age Jasovanta used to travel over many parts of India and lastly returned to Puri. Jasobanta Dasa composed many devotional songs among which Premabhakti Brahmagita, Govinda Chandra Gita, Svaraday, Chaurashi Ajna, and Rasa etc. were important. He has deciphered a number of methods of yoga in' his Siva Svaraday". His language was very simple and intelligible to all. He also propagated the knowledge-cum-devotion ideology among the people and discussed the philosophy, ethics and principles of nirakara, anakara and omakr Brahma. The relation between the soul and the great soul (Paramatma) was also investigated by him. He loved Orissa, to him "Neelachal Purushottam Kshetra" was a rare place in the Universe, and the shrines like Gopa, Mathura, Vrindaban, Dwaraka and Kashi were prevalent here.21 The picture of the contemporary society, family and the eternal love between the mother and son are to be found in his book "Govindachandra Gita". It deals with the tradition of social behaviour in human society. Mother Mukta Devi taught her son, the prince Govinda. Sacrifice was given a higher position than enjoyment. Another important thing the treatise preaches that the should be accepted irespective of caste, creed and colour-, if they were to possess real knowledge. The prince Govinda Chandra had worshiped his guru Hadipa, who was a sweeper by caste.22 Jasovanta Dasa also protested 'against the existing www.ijellh.com 386

norms of socio-economic domination and discrimination. According to him meditation and dvotion to God can never be monopolised by a particular caste or community, it is open to all mankind. He bglieved in Premabhakti propagated to worship the God with' the Gopibhava. In his Premabhakti Brahmagita he has made Sri Krishna to speak to his devotees. He comes to closer to them who worship Him with premabhakti.There is no better devotion than love- based devotion. Ananta Das Ananta Das who was another distinguished members of Panchasakha born in Balipatna village, near Bhubaneswara, in 1488. His father‟s name was , and his mother‟s name was Gaura Devi.23 He was a contemporary of King Prataprudradev and was an associate of Sri Chaitanya. He wrote the Bhakti mukti daya gita, one of the oldest and most important popular scriptures of Orissa, and other texts like Sisu Deva gita, Artha tarani, Udebhakara, Tirabhakana, a Malika and several songs. In Udaya bhagavata he describes Lord Jagannatha as the combined form of Radha and Krishna. He composed number of treatises, namely, the Garuda-Keshav Sambad, Thikabahar, Agatbhabishya· Malika Arthatareni, Chumbak Malika, Bhaktijuktidayak Gita, Anakar Sabad, Dibi Dibi Dhola, Pinda Brahmanda Gita and 'Hetu Uday Bhagavat'. The "Hetu Uday Bhagavata" was the most important work in which he described the implications of the guru mahima (significance of the religious guides), Pancha mana (five stages of the mind) and Pachis Prakriti (twenty-five natures of human-being) and also defined the philosophy of the creation of the Universe: Chauda Brahmanda (Fourteen Worlds), Gayatri Tattva, Pinda Brahmanda Tattava and Abdhut Charita etc. His predictions regarding the future of society was simple and was understood in vernacular by the common men. Ananta Dasa, like his other comrades, was also one of the exponents of the bhakti cult. He asked his devotees to submit their mind and soul to the God as a wife submits herself to her husband. This was the way of bhakti and the method to achieve the consciousness of the supreme God, Vishnu. Apart from this he propagaed that God has no colour and He is avarna.24 According to him everything depends on mana (mind or motive) and God is inside one's heart and not in the temple. The control of mind is real meditation. The poet did not recognise the worship of God by the priests. He personified the system of worship which is mental and is in the realm of thought. The Panchasakha strove so much to elevate the status of the lowly-placed people in society and wrote special books to make them feel equal to others and also indispensable for the total functioning of the society. It is not surprising that these saints and writers who proclaimed the

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same presence of God in every man did not find much justice in the contemporary caste society. And they had their own way of dealing with the problem in order to solve it.25 The main common characteristic of the panchasakha are: They preferred meditation on the Formless to images, though the idol of Buddha-Jagannatha represented to them not only Vishnu, but even the Sunya and Alekh (the void, the imageless) they were preaching about. They accepted all-surrounding devotion as a means of salvation, but advocated a preparatory stage of inner purification through meditation and Hatha-yogic and -yogic practices. They hated rituals and showed hostility to professional priests as a class. They preached against caste and claimed the right of the Sudra to read and expound the Vedas and the Vedanta. They were souls dedicated to the spiritual upliftment of the common man and were deliberately writing in the language of the people in order to accomplish their purpose like the Buddhists, even though some of them were erudite scholars.26 In a society where caste had gradually come to be looked upon as a divine dispensation as it were and its whole ethics was built securely on that clever insinuation, the Panchasakha declared themselves to be Sudras. In fact they belonged by birth to different castes in society, at least one of them was a Brahmin, but became Sudra by choice. They had their own way of explaining the origins of caste as a system. To say it with Achyutananda again, all the four castes have been born out the great luminosity of the Lord only. According to him, is the eyes of God, Kshetriya His ears, the Brahmin is the very breathing and exhalation of God and Sudra represents His face. He says that though his father was a Kayastha and his mother was a Kshetriya by birth, he belongs to neither of these categories, because he does neither of the functions intended for both of them. His real caste should therefore be determined according to his function in the society. He argues that his case in the following way. The Sudra takes birth upon earth to act as a servant to the three other castes. Lord Jagannatha has made himself manifest in this world in all the three eras in three different forms, I am His servant and thus I am a Sudra too. I am nothing but a Sudra, because I have the Sudra attitude dominating all others.27 The attitude or the inner dominant propensity is the true determinant. Brahmin, Kshetriya, Vaishya and the Sudra, these do not stand for the four castes, they stand for the corresponding propensities. The one that is preponderant in a person will determine his real caste. The Sudra attitude is the attitude of service. It is the propensity to give one to be of use and to consecrate. This is how Achyutananda seems to have drawn a conclusion; “I have no www.ijellh.com 388

desire to be a Brahmin, neither a Kshetriya nor a Vaishya. To be humble and low gives you a real sense of inner humility. That is why I have decided to be a Sudra and nothing else”. And again, “Only a Sudra is eligible for real survive”. A Sudra has indeed very little scope to become egoistic while playing his roles. Genuine service and devotion make one worthy of the heavens and bring him to the feet of God.28 It is clear that the traditional society of the time must have totally disapproved of this attitude at caste. The established order with the Brahmins at the highest rung must have very much opposed it. They came forward with all sorts of measures to humiliate them. They argued, for example, that the Panchasakha had to take recourse to an explanation like the above mainly because of their ignorance about the Sastras. Grapes are sour to those who have not reached up to them, they pleaded. The Panchasakha said in reply that they were of course well-versed in the Sastras and the Sadhanas, but nevertheless they proclaimed themselves to be Sudras because of a choice, in view of a special propensity they bore within them. They said they really wanted to be low and hence did not deem the Sudra in any way different from them. They were servants at the feet of the Lord and thus could not discriminate between high and low and chose to be Sudras. They very categorically announced that they were not Brahmins, neither , nor Kshatriyas.29 This reads very well together with the medieval saints in literature all over India. The Dasa of also flouted all caste distinctions. A person, once he places himself on the path of God-realization, has no more any need for a caste, no need to be high or low. This is a proper context upon which we shall try to assess the scope of the Panchasakha‟s attainment and works and to trace out the way and attitude which is so uniquely theirs. Achyutananda has referred to the four stages of Bhakti following one another in an ascending order as it were. He explains, the first attitude in the whole process of a Bhaktas evolution is the Kshatriya attitude. At this stage, he destroys his lower nature and puts an end to the many hostile elements within him that keep him stuck and staggering. At the second stage of the evolution, the Bhakta goes out for commerce with the further stages of his development as a Vaishya with the name of Krishna, the Lord, as his capital. As the second phase becomes stable, the Bhakta takes to the propensities of a Brahmin and performs all the rituals and the attendant paraphernalia and thus comes to realize what the path of a knower and thus knowing Him in his real essence, he becomes a servant at His feet. This is the fourth and the last station, the station of the Sudra, which ultimately makes the aspirant stable and sure in the path of Bhakti.30 Conclusion www.ijellh.com 389

The Panchasakhas represented a movement of protest against all authoritarian interference and imposition. Despite all obstacles on their path they raised their voice against caste hierarchy and discrimination against the Sudras, low status of women, against all exploitative institutions including the King's authority, Brahminical ritual and priest-hood and the sanctified hegemony of Sanskrit Ianguage. Their protest was also against all authoritarian and even against all authoritarian gurubada. They were themselves the gurus, but did not approve of the dogmatic pretensions of the gurus. They sang the glory of Lord Jagannatha and the great values. Luxmi Purana is a unique literary product, propagating the superiority of the quiet and unostentatious life of a woman to the noisy activities of a man. Even today, after five centuries of its creation this book provides one of the finest, most highly edifying and intensely entertaining folk-plays in Orissa. Moreover, it is socially remarkable, and a crusade against untouchability and caste hierarchy. It preaches the triumph of love and devotion. So, the Panchasakha strove to bring out a new social order by removing the social barrier that separated man from man and community from community. They were eminently successful in their mission and made the people to believe in social equality through their writings. It is also believed that minimization of caste tension and oppressian in Odisha is certainly a contribution of the Panchasakhas. They brought the spiritual lore that was as yet a sealed book in Sanskrit to the doorsteps of the peasant's cottage. Through their Ramayana, Bhaqavata and Laxmi puran they made all the esoteric teaching accessible to the common Oriya, unschooled in Sanskrit. They wrote ballads to carry their messages of ideal living and desirable attitudes to life even to the illiterate womenfolk in the inner courtyards. Even now Balarama's Baula Gai, Laxmi Puran, Jagannatha's Mriguni Stuti, Jasovanta Chandra constitute the main stack-in-trade of the wandering minstrels of Odisha. Their recitals of these ballads door to door to the accompaniment of the mono-string Kendra, draw children and womenfolk to the doors, windows and streets as though by magic. Their appeal is undying because they were written by devout souls with eyes fixed on the common man‟s spiritual benefits.

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References: 1. M.Mansingh, A History of Oriya Literature, New Delhi, 1962, p.83. 2. Dibakara Dasa, Jagannatha Charitamruta, Puri, 1st Ed.,1963, p.51. 3. Madalapanji, Prachi, pp.54-55. 4. Sunya Samhita, Ch.I. 5. Chaurashi Ajna, Ch,III. 6. C.R. Das, Achyutananda o Panchasakha Dharma, Viswa Varati, Santiniketan, 1951, 7. M. Mansingh, History of Oriya Academy, New Delhi, 1963, p.95 Literature, Sahitya 8. K.C. Sahoo, Kavi Balarama Dasa, Orissa Sahitya Academy, Bhubaneswar, 1988, p.51. 9. Ibid. p.54 10. Ibid. p.55. 11. K.C. Sahoo, Kavi Balarama Dasa, Orissa Sahitya Academy, Bhubaneswar, 1988, p.51. 12. Luxmi Puran, pp.23-24. 13. Dibakara Dasa, Jagannatha Charitamruta, Puri, 1st Ed.,1963, p.39. 14. Dibakara Dasa, Jagannatha Charitamruta, Puri, 1st Ed.,1963, p.39. 15."Sakala dehe Narayana.; Basanti anadi karana. Sakala dehe Narahari; Basanti atmarupadhari." Bhagavata 16. Jagannatha Charitamrita, p.112. 17. "Tilakanare mu janam labhili kehi no chinhile more; Agani ta boli mata dakuchanti anna na milai ghare." Sunya Samhita, Ch.l8 18. Jagabanhu Singh, Prachina Utkal, Odisha Sahitya Academy, 1964, P.108. 19. Achyutananda Das, Tattvabodhini, Dhrama Grantha Store, 1985, P.3. 20. B.M. Mohanty, "Mahapurusha Jasovanta Dasa" in B. Mohanty(ed) op· cit., p.130, Vide S.N. Das, op. cit.'pp.492-93. 21. Jasovanta Dasa, Premabhakti Brahmagita, Prachi Samiti, Bhubaneswar, 1st Ed., n.d., Chapter.V, p.40. 22. B. Mohanty (ed.), op. cit., pp.130-33. 23. B. Sahu, "Hetu Udaya Bhagaba ta" in B. Mohanty ( ed. ) ,Konark, 1971, p.429 24. "Arekha avarna atai, Avarna barna se nuhain".Hetu Udaya Bhagabata. 25.Chitaranjan Das, A Glimpse into Oriya Literature, Odisha Sahitya Academy, Bhubaneswar, 1982, p.80 26. M.Mansingh, op.cit., pp.83-84. 27. Chitaranjan Das, op.cit., p.81. 28.Ibid.

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29.Ibid. 30.Ibid.

Web Reference:  http://odisha.gov.in/e-magazine/Orissareview/2014/Jun/engpdf/115-119.pdf  http://anantahimalayas.blogspot.in/2012/07/blog-post_26.html  http://anantahimalayas.blogspot.in/2012_07_01_archive.html  http://puriwaves.nirmalya.in/saints/atibadi-jagannath-das  http://odisha.gov.in/e-magazine/Orissareview/2011/july/engpdf/11-15.pdf

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