Chaitanya's Panchasakha and Lord Jagannath
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June - 2014 Odisha Review Chaitanya's Panchasakha and Lord Jagannath Dr. Dina Krishna Joshi Among the various great souls, landed in the holy Avataar Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has referred to place Odisha previously known as Kalinga, the these five friends as Panchasakha and stated that most prominent are the Panchasakhaa (Five the Panchasakha are like Pancha Atma, i.e., five Friends) who have deeply influenced both the souls (Atma- Tattva) and are in no way lesser Odia Spiritualism and the Literature. The land is witness to most of the important Hindu traditions and spiritual movements. Five poets emerged towards the 16th century: Balaram Das, Jagannath Das, Achyutananda Das, Ananta Das and Jasobanta Das. Although their dates of activity span one hundred years, they are collectively known as “Panchasakhas”, since they adhered to the same school of thought, than Avataars of Vishnu. Shri Chaitanya was the Utkaliya Vaishnavism. These five friends lived in first to establish the Bhaaba-Mishrita Naama between 1450 to 1550 AD and enriched the Marga (the path of chanting the holy name with spiritualism in a way that normal man can also proper feelings and faith); before him this method understand and benefit out of that. was not so popular or well-known even if the path is partly described in the ancient Vedas. He ‘Pancha’ means five and ‘Sakhaa’ means first introduced this method for all the simple- friends-The great spiritual leader and Naamayogi minded people and made many realize that God- 115 Odisha Review June - 2014 realization can also be achieved by simpler They were equally dedicated to the blend of method of pure devotion without undergoing educational as well as political uplift of Odisha. difficult method of austerities. It is he who first disclosed the importance of the Mahaa Mantra- Panchasakha and Buddhism Hare Krisna Hare Krisna Krishna Krishna Hare The theory of the universe has ever been Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare the first problem in every religion. Like the Puranas Hare! and Tantric texts, the Panchasakha literature also Legends behind the origin of Panchasakha abounds with it. The Panchasakha starts with the eternal question - who was there when this entire There is an interesting belief about the phenomenal universe was not ? The problem of origin of Panchasakha which relates them to the the Prime Mover is still beyond our reach and Mahabharata in the Dwapara-Yuga, and is also can only be explained negatively- He is not this, stated in Shunya Samhita written by Mahapurusha not this - ‘neti neti’. The Prajnaparamita Achyutananda. Here, Mahapurusha describes, Hridayagarbha, a later Buddhist scripture Panchasakhaa literally meaning ‘five mates or describes Sunyata as ‘neti neti’. Therefore, it friends’. Towards the end of Mahabharat era seems that there are a lot of similarities between when Lord Krishna was leaving the mortal body, the Panchasakha ideology of Sunyata and that of Nilakantheswara Mahadeva appeared and had the Buddhists. a conversation with Lord Krishna. He revealed that the Lord’s companions Dama, Sudama, Panchasakha and Lord Jagannath Srivatsa, Subala, and Subahu would reincarnate Achyutananda was born in a village by in the Kali-Yuga and will be known as Ananta, the name ‘Tilakana’, where two distributaries of Acyutananda, Jagannatha, Balarama and the Mahanadi, Luna (Labana Dhara) and Yasovanta, respectively. Thus, the believers of the Panchasakha consider that these five saints were Chitrotpala bifurcated, in Cuttack district of the most intimate friends of Lord Krishna in Odisha, during the twenty first anka of the Gajapati Purushottam Deva. This is thought to Dwapara-Yuga, who came again in Kali-Yuga to be somewhere between 1480 and 1505 by serve Him. They are also instrumental to perform different scholars. His mother was Padmavati, and the crucial and much-awaited Yuga-Karma of destroying the sinners and saving the saints, his father was Dinabandhu Khuntia, and his according to the Sanatana-Hindu beliefs. grandfather was Gopinath Mohanty, a scribe in the Jagannath temple at Puri. He was born after Satyabadi Panchasakha his mother prayed at the pillar in front of the Jagannath Temple, and his father had a dream A band of selfless young men namely that the divine bird Garuda brought him a child. Pandit Gopabandhu Das, Acharya Harihar Das, In legend he is believed to be an incarnation of Pandit Nilakantha Das, Krupasindhu Mishra and Garuda. Godavarish Mishra who distinguished themselves in later life as scholars and national leaders are Jewelled by sacred Buddhist monuments popularly known as Satyabadi’s Panchasakha. to temples of Shakti (the supreme female power), The Panchasakha or five comrades contributed Shiva (the supreme male power), and Jagannath their best for the cause of national aspirations. Vishnu (Lord of the Universe), the state is unique 116 June - 2014 Odisha Review in itself. Most important spiritual rituals have been language, Odia. Anyone could become a extensively practiced here by several seers - Vaisnava, even Muslims. including Buddhist ceremonies, Devi Tantra (tanric rituals involving worship of Shakti), Shaiva Marg At the time of Shri Chaitanya, his (the path followed by devotees of Shiva), and followers who came from Nadia, called later as Vaishnava Marg (the path followed by the Gaudiya, were considering them greater or devotees of Vishnu). Hardly there is any seer who superior to the Utkaliya Vaisnavas and were would not pay a visit to the Shri Jagannath temple disregarding them. So there was a cold war once in his/her life. between them. Knowing this, Shri Chaitanya conferred the title of ‘Atibadi’ (the great) on Teachings of Panchasakha Jagannatha Das to keep up the dignity of the Utkaliya Vaisnavas. But it brought no solution, Two important factors set the and on the other had created conflict among them. Panchasakhas apart from other Indian Hindu The conflict of these two groups are evident in Saints. They were the first to take the Hindu the Basana Charita Gita of Acyutananda, and even Sanskrit texts into the reach of the common in modern day derogatory language of the Gaudiya people, by translating them into the local towards the Utkaliya Vaisnavas. language, Odia. This was first done by Sarala Dasa’s translation of the Mahabharata in the mid- Explaining to his disciples the attributes fifteenth century, followed by Balarama Dasa’s of a devotee, Shri Acyutananda Das said, “There Jagamohan Ramayana, Jagannath Dasa’s are Bhaktas that go on chattering the name of the Bhagabat Purana, and Acyutananda Dasa’s Lord, there are Bhaktas who will take food from Harivamsa. The second aspect is their form of any home. There are Bhaktas who perform occult Odia Vaisnavism, which sees God as the’ Shunya acts and Bhaktas who make false offerings. There Purusha’ and the nature of the soul as being able are wandering Bhaktas who carry flags to parade to merge into the Absolute. their devotion, and there are Bhaktas who are smeared all over there body. He who has attained Sri Chaitanya and Panchasakha the right understanding of the Divine is the real Utkaliya Vaisnavism also sometimes Bhakta, he is the best because he has an inward called Odia Vaisnavism developed into its present eye, sees God within him, and in every person.” state, in the 15th century. According to the Age of Panchasakha Panchasakhas, Lord Jagannath is the ‘Purna- Brahma’, and all the Avatars of Vishnu emanate The Panchasakhas are very much from Him, and also enter into Him at the end. Vaishnavas by thought. In 1509, Chaitanya came Jagannatha was the chief god of the devotional to Odisha with his Vaishnava message of love. sect. The chief ideal of the Panchasakhas was Before him, Jayadev had prepared the ground that, as a Bhakta they would be faithful, humble, by heralding the cult of Vaishnavism through his learned, selfless, active, benevolent and Geetagovinda. Chaitanya’s path of devotion was affectionate. The Panchasakhas were against the known as Raganuga Bhakti Marga, but the caste system, they considered all beings as one. Panchasakhas differed from Chaitanyas and They translated the Sanskrit Classics into local believed in Gyana Mishrita Bhakti Marga, which 117 Odisha Review June - 2014 has similarities with the Buddhist philosophy of Oh viral Look at the shunya Charya Literature. by placing yourself in shunya, As said earlier, the Panchasakha and meditate on mahashunya, converted ancient Hindu texts into prose (of Shunya itself is the form, simple language) easily understandable by the Ground of all discriminating knowledge. people of Udra Desha (Odisha). Shri Look at the whole world from the pedestal of Shunya; Achyutananda Das was the most prolific writer you will find everything manifested in the Shunya, of the Panchasakhas and has written numerous everything arises out of Shunya and books (called as Pothi’s), believed not in one life everything flourishes in the Shunya Brahman. but in many successive lives. He is known as the Mahapurusha, which means - a great man. The philosophy is not the Shunya of the Mahapurusha Achyutananda was a shunya Buddhists, as it is not empty but full, sometimes sadhak and had acquired immense knowledge even called the Purna Shunya (the full/complete about almost every aspect, i.e. spiritualism, void). The Panchasakhas project the deity Ayurveda (Indian healing medical science that uses Jagannath as the embodiment of the Shunya only natural resources and herbs), various other Purusha. Achyutananda uses a classical concept sciences, and social regulations. of Vaishnavism that uses both form, and formless aspects of God. This is seen in his statement from Panchasakha ideology the Gurubhakti Gita: a) Sunya Purusha dui je dinare paksi udikari jai, nahi tahara rupa varna, adarsha avarna ta chinha. dui je chaksure sehi samsare khelai. tahaku brahma boli kahi, sunya brahmhati se bolai.