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Orissa Review * June - 2006 A Cult to Salvage Mankind Sarat Chandra The cosmic and terrestrial : both realities are The Hindu inclusiveness is nowhere as reflected in the Jagannath cult of Orissa. The evident as in the rituals of Lord Jagannath. Even cosmic reality of the undying spirit which romance is not excluded in the deity's schedule: abides, endures and sustains; the cosmic reality Once in a week the God is closeted with his of birth and death, as well as the beauty and consort Laksmi (in the ritual Ekanta). The refinement of the terrestrial world are mirrored Sayana Devata golden sculpture used in the in this all-inclusive mid-night ritual after the religious practice. "The Bada Singhara Dhupa, is visible and invisible both not only suggestive but worlds meet in man", even explicit. sang the British poet T.S.Eliot in the Four Over a year Lord Quartets. We may say Jagannath, like human that the Jagannath cult is beings, is engaged in designed to reflect both multification activities. the visible, this-worldly On one occasion realities as well as the (Banabhoji Besha) He cosmic phenomena. sets out on a picnic trip, Hence, the cult reflects a to an idyllic forest land, life style of a god who has which is suggestive of the numerous human God's love for natural attributes. beauty. On the other occasions (seven times in a year), the Lord goes This makes the God and the cult unique. for hunting expeditions. During the summer Several traits characterize the God: the everyday rituals of bathing, brushing of teeth, he goes for boat rides for twenty-one days dressing-up and partaking of food materials. consecutively, which is known as the Chandana But the traditions like the Car Festival (Ratha Yatra. The God also supposedly subdues a Yatra) and the adornments (Beshas) sets the venomspewing wicked serpent as celebrated deity apart, suggestive of aristocracy and in the Kaliya Dalan Besha, as if to suggest that refinement. the wicked and evil-minded are to be sternly 1 Orissa Review * June - 2006 dealt with. The God's love of pomp is only too especially in the basic requirement of food. No evident in the Ratha Yatra during the rainy philosophic approach in individual on social season. life can sustain without this basic premise. And In several ways Lord Jagannath Jagannath culture stresses this in practice. resembles human beings. Man is compelled to There are other rituals and traditions perform myriad duties on earth, and this which make a social philosophy explicit. An message is brought forth in the Jagannath ideal is brought home when the king of Puri temple rituals. Numerous activities are (the Gajapati) sweeps the chariots during the attributed to the Lord eloping with a women Car Festival. A king-any king-symbolizes and marrying her, boat rides and hunting power, wealth, honour, influence; he is held in expeditions, swinging with consort Lakshmi, high esteem by the multitude. But whatever wearing sraddha-costume for a sober ritual, may be the king's status he must have the virtue modifying an enraged spouse with sweetmeats, of humility; a sense of values. Unless the king enjoying family happiness with elder brother submits humbly to higher values, he will fall Balaram and sister Subhadra (as reflected in short in performing his duties. The Jagannath the Krushna-Balaram Besha), trampling a cult has been spreading this message for malevolent serpent, going for a picnic etc. A centuries. vast variety of activities indeed ! And yet the The range of feelings reflected in the idol is still. And though on two occasions the rituals is also quite wide. The Ratha Yatra Lord's idol moves from the pedestal, the God's symbolizes the God's love for pomp and image of unbroken placidity persists. The ceremony. But there are rituals which evoke message is clear as sunlight: even while many other feelings: pathos and suffering and engaging himself in manifold activities the God death. has an inner calmness, an absolute detachment. He is involved and yet aloof ! And that is the The Sraddha Besha held in early winter core message of the Bhagavat Gita. for three consecutive days reflects the austerity of a bereaved soul. Sraddha is a ritual in A life style is evident in the cult of the remembrance of a departed person and hence Puri God: a profound though joyful approach pathos is inherent in this practice. Jagannath is to life. But this approach has taken into account supposedly observing the rite for King a basic premise without which no philosophy Indradyumna who built the first temple for the may sustain an ideal social atmosphere. This God. The deity wears white, befitting the mood is reflected in the handling of the Mahaprasad on this occasion. at the Ananda Bazar, (the market place within the temple complex) and elsewhere. Even a Sickness too is a very common failing low-caste person has the same right on the of all human beings, and the God also Mahaprasad as the high-born, and shares this supposedly gets bed-ridden for fifteen days at sacred food with him, even from the same a stretch during the early rainy season. This is earthen pot or banana leaf. This is suggestive a period when the God's usual diet is replaced of universal brotherhood. This practice accepts with medicines and restoratives. The and spreads the ideal of equality of mankind, helplessness of man on earth, for whom 2 Orissa Review * June - 2006 suffering is inevitable, even inherent, feeling, aesthetic beauty, celebration. But characterizes the God. everything must be charged with holiness, must Even death is not excluded in this be sattwik: food must be sanctified by religious practice. Death is inevitable; and this incantations, adornments must reflect taste, joy inevitability is incorporated in the Jagannath rides or pleasure trips must have significance. cult. The only difference is that while man A poet of the 16th century, A.D. Jagannath doesnot know exactly on which day or month Das declared in his transcreated "Oriya he would depart from the earth, a particular Bhagavata", Jagate thiba jete dina, Ananda month is being specified when the God karuthiba mana that is (fill your mind with supposedly dies. When Asadha (the third joy so long on earth). Most of the rituals in the month in the Indian calendar) falls twice in Puri temple reflect a celebration of life. succession in a year the God embraces this Pleasures of life therefore are not inevitable reality known as death. That this excluded in the Jagannath cult; but what is invincible metaphysical reality is included in stressed in many ways is to transmute pleasure the Jagannath cult shows its philosophical into joy. Mahaprasad is tasty as well as sacred. approach. The message is to elevate pleasure to a sublime And yet the negative elements do not level. This is the only way to save mankind. predominate the worship of the deity. Religions which overlook the basic While admitting the inevitability of nature of the mankind are based on false death, the immortality of the soul is accepted promises, since man's essential nature is to seek by the Brahma substance, which is transferred joy. Abstinence may also be an ingredient in from the old images to the new. What this quest; but a feeling of joy is what the predominates in this cult is a sense of joy and human soul longs for. The Jagannath cult shows celebration. The essential nature of the creator, the way. sat, chitt and ananda, that is holiness, wakefulness and joyfulness are reflected in the practices and rituals. All the blessings of life Sarat Chandra lives at Bijipur, Bada Sahi, are accepted here: good food, finery, romantic Berhampur - 760001. 3 Orissa Review * June - 2006 Tribal Origin of Holy Triad Dr. Chitrasen Pasayat No human society exists without the belief in identity. Though there are differences between supernatural entities like gods, spirits and the these religious faiths, they are not a mere like. The consideration of such powers invokes collection of people belonging to diverse faiths. the study of religion, which includes other There has been continuous borrowing and aspects like rituals, ceremonies and crisis imitation of elements among themselves due situations in a society. The religious phenomena to co-existence over the years. Also, there is are deep-rooted in each and every known an inner force to maintain the distinctiveness human society / among them. In community on this other words, earth. In this sphere changes are obvious of life, man interacts and found in social with the supernatural life. It is more beings. Scholars visible in a have tried to progressive society conceptualize the because of the religious phenomena continuous actions in order to and reactions of understand the different forces and intricacies between factors both internal the religious beliefs and practices on the one as well as external. In all probability, our hand and the style of life on the other, prevailing religious concept is receiving a new dimension in a particular society. Needless to say, religion taking into consideration the present need and takes into consideration three aspects, namely dynamic situation due to influence of the age/ (a) beliefs in the supernatural entities, time. The concept of Jagannath is mysterious (b) specialists who creates such beliefs, and and the present paper is an humble attempt to (c) deities who receive it in various forms. In bring to light the tribal aspect of the deity. In India, there are people belonging to different other words, in the present paper, our emphasis religious faiths like Hindus, Muslims, is to understand the Jagannath cult from tribal Christians, Buddhists, Jainas and innumerable perspective.

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