June - 2014 Odisha Review

Perspective of Pluralism and the Pantheon of Diversity: A Cultural Analysis of Jagannath Cult

Dr. Tapan R. Mohanty

Introduction In a world vivisected by the vagaries of The study of culture continues to remain an differences and vestiges of structural and important and fascinating area of research in the functional animosities inherent to traditions the realm of social sciences largely due to its ability ‘cult of Jagannath’ has tried to create and sustain to influence the present as well as its relevance in a ‘sense of universalism’ and ‘compositeness’ understanding the past. In this paper an attempt through its values, folklores and traditions rather has been made to look critically at the silently and seamlessly which if not ignored development and domination of ‘Jagannath cult’ completely but often put into the margins of in Odisha and its importance in developing a sense mainline studies. In the midst of the theoretical of ‘Odia Nationalism’ and ‘way of life’ disarmingly strand of multiculturalism and cultural pluralism Odia among the people living in the vast tracts of the cult of Jagannath provides us a prism to look eastern part of India. This is more so in the context into the dimensions where ‘etic’ becomes ‘emic’ of social healing which is the most important issue and ‘particularism’ and ‘universalism’, ‘little if the human civilization has survived the onslaught tradition’ becomes ‘great tradition’ and ‘symbols’ of terrorism, consumerism and religious bigotry becomes ‘systems’. It helps us in understanding and hatred. The Jagannath cult is not just a mere its great unifying character as well as its limitations ‘sect’ depicting a particular belief or another so that an effort can be made to create a doctrine of religious practices rather it is a way of substantive and sustainable system of universal life-a defining moment in history of human values of humanism that will become beacon of civilization that has taught cultural syncretism, hope and aspiration for multitude of marginals and universal brotherhood and respect to the undying common men lying in the threshold of destitution, spirit that recognizes the victory of good over evil. denigration and dystrophy. It is this understanding of Jagannath cult and its Conceptualizing Culture and Cultural contribution in establishing a religious doctrine Pluralism based on social inclusion, diversity and devotion that has been theme of this paper. An attempt has In order to arrive at a comprehensive been made to systematically analyze this understanding of the concept it is important to perspective and put into a comprehensive whole have a definition of the culture. Though there is beyond the jargons of philosophy and purview of no unanimity regarding the definition of culture but phenomenology. attempts have been made to provide an

25 Odisha Review June - 2014 understandable limit to the concept, its periphery the periphery of work. In his philosophical work and perimeter. Klukohn and Kroeber in their “German Ideology” Marx has dealt extensively monumental volume on culture have tried to define with the concept of work that defines as the human culture in more than hundred ways. It would be effort to produce means of subsistence through perfectly in the ambit of the present article to have work from nature. For him, work is the ultimate a revision of some of these definitions. “self expression” which he further enunciates in Culture shapes a society’s core values his description of man as a “species- being”. and norms, which are shared and transmitted from In the context of Jagannath cult it can be one generation to another through social learning said that all Odias have species-being relationship process of modelling and observation, as well as in terms of their identity and origin with Lord through the effects of one’s own actions (Bandura: Jagannath. They find their source of social life and 1986). This definition of culture encompasses the fulfilment of community identity only in the mosaic process of socialization and views norms, values of Shree Jagannath. The vast cultural expanse of and individual improvisation of social action as Jagannath cult has provided them with an culture. Writing on culture in the Encyclopaedia ambience and umbrage under which they grow, of the Social Sciences (1931), Bronislaw ramify and express themselves with utmost grace Malinowski has defined culture as a functioning, and grandeur as the ‘Children of God’. Further, active, efficient well-organized unity, which must as Swami Vivekanand explains in a different be analyzed into component institutions in relation context, that the issue of identity posited neo- to one another, in relation to the needs of the Vedantic philosophy, have neither inherent human organism, and in relation to the contradictions nor they suffer from inconsistencies. environment, man made as well as natural. In fact, the individual identity and the However, much of the social and anthropological transcendental identity have a context in local and ideas of culture are based on to a great extent on global reality. The intrinsic value of an individual the definition given by Edward Tylor in his book differs distinctly from that of cosmic value yet at a Primitive Culture (1871) where he has defined broader spectrum they collapse with each other. culture as that “complex whole which includes The duality of Atma and Parmatma and the knowledge, beliefs, custom, tradition, law, morals importance of Samhita and Brahmana as Swamiji and values and any other capabilities acquired by explained have real and ethereal connotations man as a member of human society”. aptly reflecting the divergence and convergence Among these definitions one can attempt and the convergence of divergences.1 to arrive at some sort of consensus regarding the The Contours of the Cult nature of the concept. Culture is essentially a human product and though there have been wider The Jagannath cult has a tremendous variations in identifying and defining that feature. sense of compositeness and capacity to According to Aristotle man is a social animal, the encapsulate seemingly divergent and contradicting word social qualifies that basic and inalienable characters. This sense of semblance has been able identity of man which distinguishes him from other to provide the healing touch for Odias in general creatures, is essentially culture. Marx was also and Hindus in particular in the aftermath of bloody hinting at the same concept when he tries to religious conflicts, bigotry, theological distinguish man from animal and emphasizes on obscurantism and cultural hatred- which is often production of consciousness, which is located in described as ‘clash of civilization’. Casteism,

26 June - 2014 Odisha Review reflected in terms of untouchability and certainly touch the psyche of Odia and probably discrimination and the root of division and as a result there is less of casteism, communalism inequality takes a backseat in Jagannath cult where and to an extent capricious consumerism. the ‘tribal’ is the priest and the God comes out Jagannath Cult : A Synergy every year to meet his devotees leaving his luxurious abode. The folklore of ‘Laxmi Puja’ and In the midst of various socio-cultural and legend of ‘Dasia Bauri’- the low caste Hindu economic scenario these challenges people tend whose offered coconut was directly accepted by to find solace in faith primarily because faith has the Lord, demonstrates the ‘rebelliousness’ of the ability to heal the bruised ego, give home in Jagannath cult that threatened to extinguish the times of despair and more importantly bridges the very basis of Brahminical orthodoxy and religious emotional fault lines. A close scrutiny of religious hegemony. ideals and its inherent syncretism denotes primary principles of peace, brotherhood and love. Similarly, the opposition to ‘other culture’ Particularly, in the context of India, it has largely reflected in terms of ‘Hindu-Muslim’ tremendous significance as spiritualism has been dichotomy and distortion is attempted to be the bedrock of Indian civilization, its ethos and smothered in the story of ‘Sal Baig’ the Muslim ethics of common man’s livid relationship. devotee of Lord. During the great car festival the Lord’s chariot stops a few minutes before the The role of religion in human life can never grave of this extraordinary devotee before rolling be undermined as religious belief helps human down the path. Not spectacular but certainly beings in overcoming trials and tribulations of life. symbolic and powerful enough to question and There are so many breaking points in life that one attempt to alter the very structure of the orthodoxy is forced to look for solace, a spiritual synoptic and dominance of elites. The Lord represents the joint and more often than not that is provided by combination of three ‘gunas’ yet He is beyond religion. The history of religion is not overburdened them, He has a definite size and shape yet He is with crusades and crucifixion rather it has its fair beyond the Universe and Nirakar, He is the share of reform, revolt and renaissance. representation of Lord Vishnu but He is also Confucius’s preaching on respect to elders, his worshipped as ‘Purna Brahma’ –the complete belief in simplicity, Jesus’ preaching of universal consonance of ‘dvait’ and ‘advait’- dualism and love, Buddha’s emphasis on compassion, non-dualism. He is the manifestation of all the Mohammad’s conceptualization of a land of peace basic colours that one can find in the earth and and the flow of devotion and self-realization in race in the world. He has eyes bereft of eyelid, Vedas and Upanishads are universal treasures. hands that are unfinished and nothing beyond the Throwing these threads of wisdom and values into waist yet he sees everything, willing to embrace gutter in the name of obscurantism and hideous is anyone who submits to him and travel beyond like throwing the baby with bath water. the cosmos. This reflects the encompassing trait The Martyrdom of Guru Tegbahadur and of the cult and its ability to embark on a journey creation of ‘Khalsa’ by Guru Govind Singh not to achieve the ‘ultimate bliss’ with pride, prejudice only depicts passages of spiritual journey but also and discrimination. To my mind this is nothing is essentially a saga of courage, conviction and but the noblest of effort in compositeness, confrontation. The proliferation of gurus and structural healing and social inclusion. There are godmen in recent times despite obvious many more examples of this syncretism which have transgressions is testimony to the need of the

27 Odisha Review June - 2014 modern man for a shoulder to lean on. Since time One of the key aspects of contextualizing immemorial religion has solved this problem by Jagannath cult is to relate it to the rise of Odia placating human suffering and sorrows and giving nationalism, construction of Odia identity and the them solace to continue with the life despite ethnic values associated along with. Blumer innumerable difficulties. defined an ethnic group as ‘a collectivity within a The Cult, Cultural Consciousness and Social larger society having real or putative common Conditioning ancestry, memories of a shared past and cultural focus on one or more symbolic elements which The cult of Jagannath is a beautiful define the group’s identity such as kinship, religion, exposition of this spirit. It is saga of sublime language, shared territory, nationality or physical devotion, tremendous sacrifice and of great appearance2. According to Max Weber, ‘ethnic synchronism. It is indeed an impossible task to groups are those human groups that entertain a describe and detail the flux and fluctuations, the subjective belief in their common descent because notions and narratives, the myths and legends of of similarities of physical type or of customs or Lord Jagannath but in this piece an attempt has both, or because of memories of colonization and been made to delineate with this great religious migration; this belief must be important for the tradition. As the name suggests Lord Jagannath propagation of a group. Conversely, it does not is conceptualized as the lord of the universe or matter whether or not an objective blood relation the Universal God. The history of Lord Jagannath exists3. is the history of Odia nationalism, Jagannath cult encapsulates the life world and worldview of Probably for this reason Benedict Odias, their sense of spiritual and temporal Anderson uses the expression ‘imagined existence. Lord Jagannath for them is not just communities’ to describe ethnic groups in general merely the reigning deity of Odisha but a living and ethnic communities in nation-states in spirit, a member of their family. He is at the same particular. However, in the context of time the saviour and stupor. The story of ‘Kanchi anthropology, primitive tribes and tribal groups Vijaya’ is a depiction of Odia identity, sub- comes much closer to a definition of ethnic groups nationalism and relationship between God and forming a close knit community with several men. In fact, the story has brought down the Lord commonalities often questioning the basis of from the celestial pedestal to the mortal life and Anderson’s theory. The attributes of tribal anthropomorphised Him into two Odia soldiers communities expressly denote geographical (Paika). By drinking butter milk from the milk proximity, face-to-face interaction and cultural and woman and giving her His ring, He has established occupational sameness which led to Durkheim that God is guided by devotion rather than describe them as ‘mechanical solidarity—the ritualism and caste. The realization of Lords’ solidarity of similarities. It is indeed this notion of benevolence has metamorphosed the from ethnicity and identity that needs to be understood gallant warrior to a humble devotee, thus and examined. To my mind Odia ethnic and reinforcing the principle of equality before God. cultural identity is not just an ‘imagined More interesting is the evolution and proliferation community’ but a deeply entrenched ‘organized of this cult across the length and breadth of the community’. country in general and Odisha in particular. It In the context of above analysis it is provides a fabulous opportunity to a sociologist needless to mention that the cultural background for exploring the cultural context of social life. of Odia social life is deeply influenced by not just

28 June - 2014 Odisha Review the mainline cult of Jagannath but its innumerable few elites of society only. As a result a vast section often invisible sub-streams. One of the major of men across the state and most of women streams of Jagannath cult is the rise, growth and despite their intense desire remained outside the development of Bhakti cult in general and time of orbit of religious recitations, understanding and Panchasakha in particular. Panchasakha as the realization due this linguistic barrier. These new name suggests consists of five illustrious vernacular texts broke their chain of deprivation, contemporaries namely, Jagannath, Balaram, destroyed dominance of Sanskrit, the then Achyuta, Ananta and Yashovanta. All of them used intellectual class’s obnoxious allurement towards the Das in their name suggesting that they are Sanskrit and thus the monopoly over text and all the servants of the Lord. Out of them Jagannath God. It also allayed the deep rooted fear Das achieved iconic status in all Odia families psychosis that by reading and writing these across the state for his ‘Bhagavat’. It is important religious scriptures in vernacular language will bring to mention that Jagannath Das’s Odia Bhagavat disaster for the men, their families and society. though written in the line of main Sankrit Bhagavat With this gigantic step Jagannath cult moved from but it is more of a trans-creation than a mere the paradigm of elitist to mass, esoteric to exoteric, translation. Written in Navakshari Chanda (nine from tradition to modernity, from class to mass, letter style) in Odia, its famous for its simplicity, and in that sense I consider, this cult took the God depth of thought process and moving depiction to men, and realised them from the bondage of of life and times of characters of Mahabharat in ritualism, obscurantist and cultural irredentism. In general and Krishna in particular. The simple truth a sense it transformed a hither to elite culture to a of life, conflict and cohesion in society, duties and more accessible and refined popular culture. responsibilities of individual and an untrammelled faith in God form the kernel of Odia Bhagavat. The Swami of Shreekshetra One can find not just traces but a complete picture The temporal abode of Lord Jagannath, of picturesque Odia rural life and travails of human a relatively small town known as Puri is located existence is chronicles in all its glory. Education at coast of Bay of in eastern Odisha. This and literacy were measured in terms of one place is also known as ‘Sri Kshetra’ means ‘the knowing and reciting the lines of Bhagvat and it is best of religious places’ and has tremendous believed that if person listens its couplets before religious significance. It is one of the four ‘dhamas’ his death then his soul achieves salvation. or scared places of Hinduism, which was Along with Sarala Das’s Mahabharat, sanctified by Adi Shanakaracharya when he chose Jagannath Das’s Bhagavt formed stepping stones this place for establishing one of his four not just in stirring a sense of religious consciousness monasteries as strategic effort to unite Hindus among Odia people but created a sense of identity across the four corners of India. Adi through their language. By writing in local language Shankaracharya, a great apostle of monism found and dialect about religious and social issues, the pluralism embedded in Jagannath cult not a making them it more popular and they not negation of his belief but an affirmation of monism. transgressed superiority of Sanskritic tradition but His ‘Jagannath Stakam’ despite its Sanskritic created new socio-religious realignment. Till then hyperbole is still chanted with awe and reverence every intelligentsia worthy of its salt has to prove to please the Lord. himself by writing in pristine Sanskrit, unfortunately Similarly, the fame of the cult and the deity despite its brilliance the language was limited to enamored Mahatma Tulsi Das and the great saint

29 Odisha Review June - 2014 came calling to have a ‘darshan’ of Lord but to and role in dismantling social hierarchy as well as his utter dismay the ‘half-built’ statutes of Lord creating a platform for social harmony. As if to was an ‘anathema to the beauty’ that he had prove this point the King of Odisha and Vicar of associated with Lord Rama in is imagery. He left Lord has to sweep the floor before the the temple disheartened but upon arrival at his ‘Juggernaut’ rolls during the famous car festival. resting-place he saw Lord Rama in dream chiding Before the eyes of the millions of devotees the him for his foolishness and inability to recognize king assumes the role of a scavenger thus and extolled him to visit the temple again. The symbolically razing the caste hierarchy to dust. great saint got up seeing the dream and after The legends of Jagannath cult is replete with stories morning ablution left for the temple and to utter where the mighty king has to humble before the surprise saw Lord Jagannath as he worshipped simple devotee as Lord has always prioritized the in ‘Ramavatar’-Lord Rama with all His glory and purity of heart over the plentitude of resources. mighty. In order to please his devotee the lord The emergence and popularity of Odia Bhagabat transformed himself from the ‘unfinished and ugly’ and its standing in countryside was a sort of ‘coup deity to the handsome and grandeur Ram, Laxman de grace’ as far as the war between the and Sita. Thus the Lord proved again the finiteness and plebeians of religion is concerned. The of human mind and infinity of God. It also bridges privilege to worship God was a personal treasury the gap that continued to be associated with the of ‘twice born’ castes and this tradition was followers of lord Rama and Krishna- cause for perpetuated by confining the sacred to ritual, much heartburn and terrible misunderstanding. resources and to the rumblings of a beautiful yet Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra difficult language i.e. Sanskrit. The predominance along with Sudarshan, the reigning lords of Shree of Sanskrit as the language of God created its Kshetra are often portrayed as depiction of own sharks and they made an attempt to hijack Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwar, the holy trinity the God from its worshippers. This led to writing of Hinduism. It is also attempt in bridging the gap of sacred texts in vernacular language making it between the Shaivites and Vaishnavites within the accessible to multitude of devotees and disallowing sphere of Hinduism. Further, along with Goddess the mercenaries to have a field day. To insult to Lakshmi, in Shree Jagannath Temple, the reigning injury this work was done by a man from a low Goddess is Vimla- a form of Goddess Durga and caste but in the end the Lord has to intervene to it is believed that unless the Prasad is offered to prove that he is not chained by strictures of text Goddess Vimla, it cannot transform itself into neither he is fettered to rituals. Rather He is closer Mahaprasad. In this sense the cult of Jagannath to the devotee, who with all his innocence and in its own simple and sublime way has syncretised simplicity has faith in Him even in extreme itself into not just a pan-Indian but a Universal conditions. culture, thus justifying the name of the deity- Probably the best attack of the cult on Jagannath- the Lord of the Universe. In a casteism and conservatism is found in the legend sociological sense one can find the fulcrum of of ‘Dasia Bauri’. Dasia, a low caste Hindu wanted ‘Universalization’ and ‘Parochialization’ in the to offer the first fruit of his tree i.e. a coconut to same token as well as ‘modernization of tradition’ and ‘traditionalization of modernity’. the Lord but was unable to do so because of poverty. He then went to the village priest who The story does not end here either, as was on a pilgrimage to Puri and requested him to the important part of this cult is its social character take his offerings to God and forbade him to

30 June - 2014 Odisha Review present the gift unless the God accepts it in his ‘Lord Jagannath is Maha Buddha and source of own hand. Considering this request as outrageous, highest of all ritual’. Even romance is a part of blasphemous and simply insane the priest left the this tradition as Jayadev’s Gita Govindam is sung temple without offering the coconut and in the every night before closing the temple for the day. night in dream he was questioned by Lord that Beyond the boundary of divine and mundane life why he did not give him his share which was send music and dance as the epitome of cultural artefact by Dasia. The very next day the priest went to have weathered farther time and by adopting it the temple an offered it and two hands from that as a regular and daily practice at the temple unfinished statue came out to collect the gift. This denotes not just the refined taste of Odia story symbolically represents the social inclusion consciousness but has taken it to a state of sublime agenda of the Odia society and its ability to put from supplementary. The tamsik has been devotion over ritualism and birth order. Probably transformed into satvik and to my mind this for this reason we do not find strong caste transformation has a lot to do with society and sentiments in Odia society unlike the northern and culture than religion. In fact, by recognizing southern parts of India. Further, the story of transformative potential of music and dance and Laksmi Puran shows the fallibility of caste order splashing it with colours of creativity, devotion and and gives equality to all castes before the God as an instrumentality of worship, the cult of and in a seemingly disconcerting way tries to Jagannath has blurred the boundary of ‘class’ and destroy the rigidity of caste order. The premise ‘mass’. of eating the Prasad on the lanes of Anand Bazar Similarly, one of the greatest devotees of forging a unity of devotees destroying social hierarchy gives the message of unity of souls and Lord Sal Baig is a Muslim and his prayers are not ephemeral nature of social boundary. It questions only regarded with respect but are equally popular the very centrality of caste system based on as well making the cult trans religious. Even today restriction on commensality. the audio cassettes of Sal Baig’s prayers to Lord sung by various singers tops the demand. The The cult of Jagannath is a virtual exposition famous car festival will take place on 29th June of plurality and probably the best example of and millions of devotees will come from across composite culture. It is believed that Lord the globe to have the glimpse of God in all His Jagannath is an adopted version of a tribal deity. mighty and glory. The legend says that once in a It was worshipped by a tribal chieftain in a year the Lord visits his devotees away from the mountain cave and was stolen by a diplomat comforts and luxury to see the real world. It is deputed by the King but the statue vanished giving also his desire to give His ‘darshan’ to many who the king a lesson in truth and honesty. However, for various reasons have failed to see in his abode. the prayer of king was answered and king asked It is a common festival where an uncommon God him to collect three huge logs from the sea and to descends to the common world and become a prepare the statues. As they say the rest is history. commoner. The cult of Jagannath in nut shell is But what is important to know that till date the the ‘cult of commonness’ where he is pictured, Lord is worshipped, fed and nurtured by the heirs prophesized and prayed, as the common man of that tribal chieftain and this shows the wants Him to be. The cult of Lord Jagannath has compositeness of the cult and its social message. transcended the boundary of being esoteric, elitist The famous Buddhist King Indrabhuti and ornamental to be part of the popular culture invoked Buddha in Jagannath and chanted that and common consciousness. Each of the fairs,

31 Odisha Review June - 2014 festivals and rituals followed in the temple has Kulke, H. (1985). and Cults: State Formation capacity to unify and include everyone rather than and Legitimation in India and Southeast Asia. New create a web of difference. The only difference is Delhi: Manohar. the nature of this cult that has detested the Kulke, H. and B. Schnepel (Eds.) (2001). Jagannath exclusivist agenda of Brahminical Puritanism and Revisited: Studying Society, Religion and State in Orissa. New Delhi: Manohar. the desire to create an army of intermediaries Marglin, F.A. (1985). Wives of God-King: The Rituals between the God and His devotees. In this time of Devdasis of Puri. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. of crisis and turbulence let’s pray for His blessings. Mishra, B. N. (1986). Indian Culture and the Cult of References : Jagannath. Calcutta: Punthi Pustak. Mishra, K.C. (1971). The Cult of Jagannath. Calcutta. Abraham, S. (1995). An Analytical Study of the Social Philosophy of Swami Vivekananda . Phd. Disst. Patra, Avinash (2011). Origin and antiquity of the Cult Dunedin: University of Ottago. of Hindu God Jagannath. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Anderson, B. (1991). Imagined Communities: Reflection on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. Pattnaik, H.S. (1994). Lord Jagannath: His Temple, Cult London: Verso. and Festivals. New Delhi: Aryan Books International. Appadurai, A. (1996). Modernity at Large: Cultural Pattnaik, N. (1977). Cultural Tradition in Puri. IIAS: Dimensions of Globalization. Minneapolis: University Shimla. of Minnesota. Scheneple, B. (2002). The Jungle Kings: Bailey, F. G. (1957) Caste and the economic frontier: a Ethnohistorical Aspects of Politics and Ritual in village in highland Orissa. Manchester: Manchester Orissa. New Delhi: Manohar. University Press. Starza, O. M. (1993). The Jagannath Temple at Puri: Barth, F. (1969). Ethnic Groups and Boundaries: The Its Architecture, Art and Cult. Leiden. social Organization of Culture Difference. Universitete I Bergen. Swain, B. K. (Ed.). (2002). Aspects of Purusottam Jagannath. Shree Jagannath Sanskrit University: Puri. Bauman, Z. (1998). Globalization: The Human Consequences. Columbia: Columbia University Press. Footnotes : Barnard, A. & Spencer, J. (Eds.) (1996). Encyclopaedia 1. See Lectures from Colombo to Almorah for a detail of Social and Cultural Anthropology. London: analysis of this viewpoint. Routledge. 2. Blumer, ‘Ethnicity and the Welfare State, Behera, S. (1999). Oriya literature and the Jagannath International Social Science Journal (1987), p193. Cult, 1866-1936: Quest for Identity. Unpublished Cited by Ambrose Pinto, ‘Basic Conflict of ‘We’ Doctoral Dissertation submitted to University of and ‘They’ between Social and Ethnic Groups’ in Oxford. Imtiaz Ahmad et al eds. Pluralism and Equality, Bryson, T. L. (1992). The Hermeneutics of Religious New Delhi: Sage Publication, pp.180-196. Syncretism: Swami Vivekananda’s Practical Vedanta, 3. M. Weber, ‘Economy and Society’, in G. Rath and Chicago: University of Chicago, The Divinity School. C. Wittich, eds. An Outline of Interpretive Das, Nilakantha. (1958). ‘Hints on the Significance and Sociology, Vol.1, New York: Bedminister Press, History of Jagannath’, Orissa Historical Research 1968, p.339. Cited by A. Pinto Ibid. Journal, Vol. VII, No.1. Dube, I. S. (2009). Religion, Law and Power: Tales of Time in Eastern India, 1860-2000. Delhi: Anthem Press. Eschmann, A. K. Kulke, and G.C. Tripahty (Eds.) (1978). The Cult of Jagannath and the Regional Tradition of Orissa. New Delhi: Manohar. Dr. Tapan R. Mohanty is Professor of Sociology of Law at the National Law University, Kerwa Dam Road, Geertz, C. (1973). The Interpretation of Culture: Selected Essays. New York: Basic Books. Bhopal-462044, [email protected].

32