Orissa Review * October - 2004

Shakti Cult in Orissa

Balabhadra Ghadai

The of Mother or , can also inclined to take Stambhesvari as another be traced back to the Pre-Vedic or Indus Valley form of Khambesvari, the popular deity among Civilisation. Devisukta of the Rig Veda is the the aboriginal people of some areas of ex- primary source of Shakti Cult. In the Rig. Veda feudatary States of Orissa. The primitive tribes there is a description of a goddess named even today, set up a big piece of stone or a 'Aditi'. She is depicted not only as Mother piece of wood with eyes, mouth painted crudely Goddess but also as an with indigenous colours, emblem of the divine spirit. usually under a tree in But it is difficult to say some central place or when this cult made its first outside the village and appearance in ancient worship it as the Orissa. However, from the guardian-diety of the epigraphic and village. iconographic stand-point, it Jajpur, on the bank of is obvious that the evolution river Vaitarani, was an of Shakti Cult in Orissa is old and prominent seat of not prior to the 4th century Shakti Cult and tantric A.D. worship, and its history The earliest goes back to the days of epigraphic evidence the when it regarding the Shakti was considered a sacred worship in Orissa is found place of pilgrimage. The in a Copper-Plate Grant of Tushtikara , image of Viraja, now under worship in the who perhaps flourished about the 5th or 6th temple at Jajpur, is a two-handed Century A.D. and was a worshipper of goddess Mahisasuramardini, engaged in killing a Stambhesvari. There is a pillar of Stambhesvari Buffalo-demon. As the image of at Sonepur and a temple of the goddess at Aska Mahisasuramardini depicted on the Gupta in Ganjam. We have reference to that deity in temple of Bhumara is four-handed, it is the Grants of Sulki and Bhanja kings. We are maintained that the present image of Viraja in

19 Orissa Review * October - 2004 the temple of Jajpur belongs to the 5th Century Besides the Vaitala temple, A.D. Kichakeswari () is also the presiding It was during the early Bhaumakara rule deity of the largest temple at Khiching in the in Orissa, that the image became eight- Mayurbhanj district which is the creation of armed (Asthabhuja) and during the later the Bhauma age. Bhaumakara period, this image is found to be The worship of Sapta Matruka (seven - ten-armed (Dasabhuja). The popularity of Mothers) was another form of Saktism during Shakti worship at Jajpur is born out of the fact the Bhaumakara period. The seven that the Bhaumakara queen Tribhuban are , , Vaishnavi, Kaumari, Mahadevi compared hereself with Katyayini Sivani, and Chamunda. The deities (Durga or Viraja) at her accession. are of two or four-armed. The earliest During the Sailadbhaba and Bhaumakara representation of such matrukas was found at periods, Tantricism grew from 7th Century Parasurameswar, Vaitala and Mukteswar A.D. The Tantriks worshipped the Mother temples at Bhubaneswar. The Sapta Matruka Goddess as the source of power or shakti and images have also been found at Jajpur, Belhandi the origin of the highest spiritual bliss. From in the Kalahandi district, Markendeswar tank 7th century onwards Tantricism continued to at , Salanpur in Jagatsinghpur etc. These dominate , Saivism and Brahmanical Seven Mothers are accompanied by . The great Saiva centre of and . The econographic peculiarity Bhubaneswar has also a number of Sakta divides the Matrukas of Orissa into two broad temples built during the Bhauma period. The groups, earlier and later. The earlier Matrukas most ancient Shakti shrine of Bhubaneswar is seem to have been in prevalence in the the temple of Vaitala and its sculpture clearly Sailadbhava and the Bhaumakara periods and proves that the strange esoteric rites were being the later group with the babies as the distinctive performed in it. Four Shakta shrines sprang up attributes, seem to have originated in the on the four sides of Vindu Saravara near the Somavamsi period. Sapta Matrukas found in Lingaraj temple and they are now known as the modern temple of Dasasvamedha Ghat on Vaitala, , Uttareswar temples. The name the river Vaitarani at Jajpur, Markandeswar of the Shakta shrine on the east of the tank, tank and the image of Salanpur holding babies which still exists, has been lost. These Shakta in arms belong to the later group. shrines contain either the images of Chamunda In the Prachi valley, there is a temple of or of Mahisasuramardini. Of them, the Vaitala Varahi at Chaurasi near the village of Tulasipur. is the most prominent and a study of its The special feature of the temple is that its sculpture and architecture indicates that the Jagamohan resembles to that of Parsuramesvara strange esoteric rites including human , temple at Bhubaneswar whereas the main were being performed in it. The presiding deity temple is a replica of the Gouri Temple of of Vaitala temple is goddess Chamunda Bhubaneswar. The presiding deity Varahi is a garlanded with skulls and she is of terrific form two-handed beautiful image with fish in one and is known as Kapalini. This Kapalini was hand and a skull in the other hand. This temple the deity of the Kapalikas. can be definitely assigned to the Bhauma

20 Orissa Review * October - 2004

Culture Age. Another Varahi shrine is found at Mahabharata points to the fact that Chodaganga Narendrapur near Gadi in the Balasore district. was responsible for the removal of The part of an ancient fort named Kichakagarh Ramachandi from her original shrine at at Khiching in Mayurbhanj district is known Konarka to the sea-shore at Liakhia Muhana. as Varhi which is a corruption of Varahi. It is But the worship of Shakti did not disappear; it believed that a shrine of took a new form. In this Varahi must have existed period all male deities here though it has not been were provided with traced. consorts or female counterparts. The With the rise of temple of found Tantric Buddhism and in the Lingaraj Tantric Saivism during the compound was built in Bhaumakara period, the the Ganga period. They worship became also built the temples of popular in Orissa prior to Lakhmi and Vimala the 10th Century A.D. The inside the compound of mentions the temple at 'Odra' as one of the Puri. important Brahmanical tantric pithas of . The Thus, evolution of temple of Hirapur, which Shakti cult, down stands not far from the south through the centuries, bank of the river Bhargavi, indicates that worship on which runs the well- of the known Jagannath road to in various forms Puri was first discovered by Sri K.N. continue unperturbed. There are numerous Mohapatra in the year 1953. There is a similar Shakti shrines in Orissa of which the shrines temple of Yogini at Ranipur Jharial in the of Viraja at Jajpur, at , Titlagarh sub-division of Bolangir district. The Bhagabati at Banpur, Mangala at Kakatpur, dimension of this pitha is bigger than that of Charchika at Banki, Sarala at Jhankada, Hirapur. Kichakeswari at Khiching are most famous. During the Somavamsi rule, gained momentum in Orissa. But the Gangas do not seem to have favoured and patronised the worship of Shakti. Madalapanji states that Chodaganga banished all goddesses from Balabhadra Ghadai is the Principal in M.K. College, Orissa. Sarala Das in the Madhyaparva of his Khiching in the district of Mayurbhanj.

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