Orissa Review * September - October - 2006 Sakti Worship During the Suryavamsi Period Bharati Pal The Ganga dynasty followed by Suryavamsi totally from Saiva-Sakta leaning. However, the Gajapati King, under Kapilendra Deva, the hold on Vaishnavism became gradually stronger founder of the new dynasty, Orissa established on the kings of Orissa, it is rather strange that the political supremacy over a vast kingdom extending same epithets were applied to Kapilesvara who from the river Ganga to Cauvery. This period flourished two centuries later. Raghudeva also witnessed the greatest expansion of the kingdom, called himself Sri-Durga-Varaputra as well as the first renaissance in Oriya literature and the Sri Jagannathdeva-labdha-Vara Prasad. This advent of Chaitanya faith in Orissa. Kapilendra prince as well his father and grand father are inaugurated a new epoch in the history of Orissa. further represented as devotees of the god Making his way to the theme from a humble Mallinatha and the goddesses Gana Mangala position he carved out an extensive empire. Chandi or Mangala Chandi. These two deities From the historical records we assume that are to be identified respectively with Siva and Gajapati rulers were followers of Vaishnava faith Parvati, since the name Mallinatha is known to and Purushottama-Jagannath became their be often applied to a Siva-linga and Chandi and tutelary deity. But originally the Gajapatis Mangala Chandi are both well known names of appeared to be Saktas, which gleaned from the said goddess. From this record it is possible numerous inscriptional records. The epithet Sri to think that the family was originally Sakta and Mallinatha Deva-gana Mangala Chandi that Kapilesvara was the first member, who was Charana-Sarana applied to Jagesvara, father of devoted to Purushottama-Jagannath. Kapilesvara Kapilendradeva. The Warangal1 inscription of may have become a devotee of the said deity after Raghudeva describes that Kapilesvara the founder his accession to the throne of Gajapati Bhanu- of the Suryavamsi dynasty used the epithet as IV. Since then theoretically the Ganga throne Mahesvara-Putra, Purushottama-Putra and belonged to the god. Durga Putra. In the similar representation of The Santaravuru2 inscription of the time of Anangabhima-III and his son Narasimha-I of Purushottamadeva, records the consecration of Ganga dynasty one may notice the fact that these the idols of Lakshmidevi and Bhudevi in the temple kings, inspite of their staunch devotion to the God of Chennakesava and also the grant of Khandikas Vishnu in the shape of Purushottama-Jagannath of land for the daily offering to the deities by king at Puri could not possibly dissociate themselves Purushottamadeva. The Balasore plate3 of 1 Orissa Review * September - October - 2006 Purushottamadeva begins with line "Sri gift exempted from the thrity six kinds of demands Jayadurgayai Namah." and other imports, was given to last till the moon The Warangal inscription4 of the time of and the son endure, to be enjoyed from son to Prataprudra narrates the exploits of one Chitta grandson. The gift was made in the presence of Paksha of the Bhogi-kula, son of Manaya and Durga and Jagannatha for the increase of the merit. Gauramba and Garndson of Naga. He conquered The charter is ratified by fixing a royal seal Rajadri and other forts. Having vanquished the consisting of a 'rampart lion', which is a vehicle or Muslims, he wrested from them the beautiful city vahana of Goddess Durga. of Ekasilapuri formerly ruled by the Kakatiya Reference : kings. For the worship of the gods and 1. Epi Indica Vol.XXXIII, p.125 ff Brahmanas, he reinstalled the images of the god 2. SII Vol.X, No.731 Panchalaraya (Krishna), goddess Kakati, Lakshmi of Kakatiya kingdom and of Siva, which 3. The Indian Antiquary Vol.I, p.355 ff were earlier removed by the Turushakas in their 4. Inscriptions of Suryavamsi Gajapati of Orissa, respective shrines. R. Subrahmanyam, p.170ff The Velicherla grant of Prataprudra 5. Epi Indica, Vol.XXVIII, p.205 ff describes the grant5of the village Velicherla, the gem amongst the villages situated in the region of Jaladanki, in the district of Paka-nudu by king Prataprudra Gajapati to a Brahmana named Kondayya, the son of Tammaya and the grandson Bharati Pal is working as Assistant Curator (Epigraphy) of Narayana Yavana of the Bharadvaja gotra. The of Orissa State Museum, Bhubaneswar. The Editorial Board sincerely regrets the inadvertent digital error in misplacing the photograph of Saheed Birsa Munda in the August issue of Orissa Review, 2006. 2 Orissa Review * September - October - 2006 The Significance of Devi Mahatmya Durga Madhab Dash The worship of Devi Bhagabati has a lot of power of knowledge and the power of significance in our life. Salutations and prostrations omnicience. Devi worship is thus the worship of to the Devi Mother - She is the source, God's glory. It is the worship of God's greatness significance and ultimate goal of the entire creation. and supremacy. She is the foundation of knowledge in all respects. If 'Sakti' is power, then all beings of the She is also the culmination and conclusion of all universe are the worshippers of 'Sakti'. Who knowledge. She is the precursor to everything in doesn't want power in life ? Power, in the actual the creative process. May Her grace be all upon sense, is every thing in everybody's life. What is us. 'Sakti' then, if it is so important in life ? Sakti is Clad in the pure red and adorned with the the divine energy that subsists as the primary divine weapons, she is the sacred feature and the element in the hub of every life in this universe. It fairiest of the fariest beings. Her complexion is is formless; yet it is present everywhere in the linked to the colour of gold, resplendent in universe like the omnipresent Lord. As we feel wonderful attire. She is the eternal cosmic virgin God's presence everywhere, we also feel in a represented by gods and goddesses and all the similar way the presence of Sakti in every nook demigods of Paramatma's creation. This is to and corner of the Nature. So 'Sakti' is no different bring out the spiritual phenomenon that she is the from the Absolute Divine. Since Sakti cannot be mass of absolute 'Suddha Tatwa' as she is the worshipped in its essential nature, it is symbolically cosmic emanation from 'Mahakali', 'Mahalaxmi' worshipped as the power of creation, preservation and 'Mahasaraswati', the trident Sakti forms of and destruction in the forms of Mahasaraswati, the absolute and the unmanifest of the Transdent Mahalaxmi and Mahakali during the nine days Divine. If we delve in to this reality, we are of Navaratri Puja in the month of Aswina. In short, ultimately transported to a state of pure these three divine forces constitute the unified transcendance. This is what the Devi Mahatmya Divinity of the universe as adored in three different describes to us. ways. Devi is synonimous with Sakti, the Divine Saraswati is the cosmic intelligence. She Power that manifests, sustains and transforms the is the cosmic consciousness and cosmic universe as one unifying force of existence. By knowledge. We worship Saraswati for purity of this, we may also mean all forms of power, the intellect. We also worship Her for the power of 3 Orissa Review * September - October - 2006 enquiry and self illumination. Similarly Mahalaxmi portrayed in the form of material prosperity. is the symbol of prosperity. She is the divine Gripped under "Avidya Maya", the human being emblem of glory and magnificence. She is the is attracted to a make shift life, characterised by exaltation of munificence in myriad forms. In the the factors like desires, longings, aspirations, words of Appaya Dikhitar, worship of Laxmi yearnings and so on. All these phenomenal feelings means the worship of the Divinity, the power that and urges are hightened across a limitless route. dissolves multiplicity in unity. We fail to comprehend the actual purpose of life. Mahakali is the divine power of destruction. Our aspirations are more on the side of material She is the dissolution incarnate. She does freedom tinged with sensory desires. All this is 'Pralaya' with a divine purpose of the cosmic ramified into various distracted rays in life through creation. She is the annihilator of the evil and the the operations of the mind and the activities of bestower of the divine grace on the earth. the senses. We are for that purpose, involved in Paramatma being the symbol of Sat, Chit and multitude of enterprises in the day-to-day world. Anand, these three godesses in their different The urge for liberation in such a state of existence cosmic plays have a tenacious persistence to is entirely dissipated and we are left in a lurch in elevate the Jiva from the quagmire ofAvidya to the vicissititudes of a mundane life. This cripples the state of the divine bliss. Mahakali may appear our individual self. This dissuades us from the to be cruel, hard-hearted, hurtful and harsh in her actual goal of life. divine appearance. But she is not so in her divine The Devi Mahatmya which is a majestic dispensation. Her appearance is always for the poetry in Sanskrit tells us the aforesaid divine good of the mankind. phenomenon of life and the necessity of worship In this sense, Devi is also the divine of the Devi Mother for attainment of bliss i.e. the embodiment of 'Maya' in her Vidya-Maya form. consciousness which is the actual goal of our life. She is the precursor to all that is divine; all that is 'Devi Maya' is the driving force of the the replica of the esotoric energy.