Orissa Review * October - 2004 Samalei to Sambaleswari - Ashapuri to Samalei (The Hindu Mode of Absorption of a Tribal Deity During Medieval Period in Sambalpur) Dr. Chitrasen Pasayat Sambalpur, besides being the seat of Buddhism accepted and exalted by the ruling classes of and Hinduism, is also home to other religions Sambalpur in order to appease the local and communities such as Muslims, Christians subjects to consolidate their power over the and innumerable indigenous tribal natives and to exercise their authority over this communities. With this multi- area. Understandably, in the racial, multi-religious, multi- process of the building of an cultural and multi-lingual unified Sambalpur Rajya composition, Sambalpur has indigenous communities with always chosen the path of their religious traditions were social accomodation and social successfully absorbed in the integration. Thus, people of mainstream of the Great Hindu diverse religious faiths have Tradition through its branches been residing together in like Saivism, Vaishnavism and harmony in Sambalpur. Saktism. The area of our study Therefore, it may be rightly i.e. Sambalpur is the called the most pluralistic headquarters town of modern society. The present paper is an Sambalpur district. It is attempt to understand how the situated on the left bank of the indigenous communities and river Mahanadi. their religious traditions have From ancient times, played a significant role in the Sambalpur has been known as process of state formation in the the land of Tantrik Buddhism. erstwhile Sambalpur Rajya It is an ancient town, which has the reputation during medieval period. of a Tantra Pitha. Significantly, when In Sambalpur, the ruling classes were Buddhism as a religio-cultural force began to aware of the fact that communalism would decline in many parts of India, Sambalpur weaken the state and would cause disharmony played the most important role for the in social life and divert the attention of people continuation of Buddhism in its new form i.e. from formation of a separate Sambalpur Rajya. Tantrik Buddhism. The existence of Sambalpur So, attempts were made to integrate the may be dated back at least to the early Christian indigenous communities into one fold under the era. The Greek geographer Ptolemy (middle umbrella of "Hindusim". Their deities were of the second century A.D.) in his book 10 Orissa Review * October - 2004 Geographike refers to a town named shapeless rock made to appear like the face of Sambalaka situated on the bank of the river Samalei Devi with two gold leaves in the forms Manada. Ancient Sambalaka and Manada are of eyes and in the middle a projection identified with modern Sambalpur and the river resembling the mouth of a cow suggests some Mahanadi respectively (Panda, 1996:34). The influence of Tantra. In this context, learned suffix 'pur' has been later added by sanskritising scholar Sasanka Sekhar Panda (1996:37) the original name Sambal when the territory identifies some significant points that in front has come under the Chauhan rule (Senapati and of the Garbhagriha of Samalei gudi (temple), Mahanti, 1971 : 2-3). Similarly, the Samlei there is a pillared hall wherein a pair of human Pitha may be said to be much older and the foot-prints with two eight-petalled lotus-rosette deity may have been worshipped by the motifs on both sides are carved on a stone- aborigines since time immemorial. panel. This pair of foot-prints is worshipped as Sitalamata. Such foot-prints are found to be Sambalpur is intimately associated with carved on stone-slabs at Ghudar and Ranipur the spread of Tantrik Buddhism in India and Jharial in the district of Balangir and abroad. It is considered to be the land where Narsinghanath in the district of Bargarh. It is the Sambara Tantra was propounded by a widely believed that worship of foot-prints of famous Siddha called Pitopada who is also Siddhacharyas was very common to the Tantrik regarded to have attained the Siddhi of school. In other words, Sambalpur had made invisibility at Sambala (Senapati and Mahanti, Tantrik Buddhism a potent spiritual and cultural 1971:446). Sometimes in the eighth century force in the Indian sub-continent. In view of A.D., Indrabhuti was the king of Sambalaka / this, Sambalpur might be considered to be one Sambalpur and was believed to have of the important urban centres with international patronised Tantrik Buddhism. He was the reputation in between the second and eighth author of the text Jnyanasiddhi. His sister century A.D. Apparently Tantrik Buddhism Laksminkara is also reported to be a Tantrik continued to prevail in Sambalpur till about Buddhist perfectionist. She is regarded as one 13th century A.D. long after Buddhism had of the 84 Siddhagurus in Tantrik Buddhism and vanished from most parts of India. as the propounder of a religious faith called Sahajayana, thus making a great reputation for Reportedly, Laksminkara had married herself. It suggests that by the time of medieval Sevola, the son of the king Jalendra of Lanka/ period, the land of Sambala/Sambalaka/ Lankapuri. But, Laksminkara preferred the Sambalpur was one of the important seats of career of a Tantrik Buddhist perfectionist and Tantrik Buddhism. practised Tantrik Sadhana in Lankapuri which was regarded as Mahayogapitha or a great There is no denying the fact that the centre of Tantrik Buddhist Yoga. Continuous Vajrayana of Indrabhuti and Sahajayana of meditation and Tantrik Sadhana for seven years Laksminkara flourished in Sambalpur area in the cemetary of Lankapuri Mahayogapitha during the eighth century A.D. At that time, made her properly enlightened and she Sambalpur might have developed a high distinguished herself among the people of India standard of Tantrik culture. Most probably, and abroad as Bhagavati Laksminkara or Samalei Pitha was an integral part of that great goddess Laksminkara because of her Uttama cultural tradition. In the Garbhagriha (inner siddhi or excellent perfection. Lanka / sanctum) of this temple, the fierce and typical Lankapuri is identified with modern Sonepur/ 11 Orissa Review * October - 2004 Suvarnapur (Mishra, 2003 : 87-88). repulsed by the hare. Struck by this Lankeswari, therefore, may be identified with extraordinary exhibition of courage by the most Laksminkara, as the former nomenclature seems timid of animals, the Raja thought that there to be a corruption of latter. Legend also might be some supernatural virtue in the land. ascribes Goddess Samalei as Lankeswari. In That night Goddess Samalei appeared in his view of this, Goddess Laksminkara may dream and said, "Why do you appear so sad ? reasonably be identified with Laksminkara i.e. Don't think that there appears to have been a Samalei / Samaleswari who has been mistake. I am Lankeswari here. Worship me. worshipped by the local people in Sambalpur. Your expectations and hopes will be fulfilled." Next day, Balaram Dev discovered the deity Balaram Dev became the first Chauhan in the form of a stone. Thence the Raja decided Raja of Sambalpur Rajya some time in the to build his gad/garh (fort) there. Having built middle of the 16th century A.D. According to a gad he installed in it the deity Samalei. The the prevailing tradition, he discovered the place where her image was set up was a kud image of Samalei beneath a Semel (silk-cotton) (island) on which stood a Semel tree and hence tree. The botanical name of this tree is Bomax was called Semel kud while the deity was Malabaricum. Because of phonetic similarity named Samalei. Samalei has been Sanskritised between Semel and Samalei some scholars to Samaleswari i.e. "Iswari of Sambala" in the give credence to this tale that the deity reigns of Chauhans. Thus, Sambalpur is known worshipped beneath a Semel tree has come to as the land of Samalei. In other words, she is be known as Samalei. Oral tradition relates the reigning deity of Sambalpur (Senapati and that Raja Balaram Dev was given a grant of Mahanti, 1971 : 2-3). this area by his elder brother Raja Narasimha Dev of Patnagarh. Balaram Dev established Be that as it may, identical stories prevail himself first at Bargarh on the bank of the river about the origins of other places of Orissa like Jira. Therefrom, he is said to have shifted his Cuttack, Talcher and Baripada. Identical story capital to Chaunrpur, on the right bank of the is also associated with the discovery of deities river Mahanadi. Most probably, during this like Banibakreswari of Kuapada village under period when Balaram Dev carved out a new Delanga block in Puri district and Barala devi Rajya out of the territory of his elder brother of Balasakumpa village in Phulbani district. he named it Huma Desh. The learned scholar This is why it is difficult to locate the exact Dr. N.K. Sahu has ascribed the period of time and place of the origin of this myth foundation of Sambalpur Rajya to the year (Pasayat, 2003 : 10-12). But, this story attests 1570 A.D. (Panda, 1996:35). the fact that the aboriginal religious shrines like Samalei has received royal patronage. Raja As per the legend, the village Chaunrpur Balaram Dev enshrined the deity inside his is said to be the seat of Balaram Dev before gad. During his reign, Puja services were his coming to Sambalpur. One day while provided from the royal treasury. In other hunting, Balaram Dev crossed the river words, state funding of the Puja services has Mahanadi. When he reached the left bank a been introduced since then. Subsequently, the beautiful hare appeared before him. Balaram present temple was built in the reign of Raja Dev set his hounds at the innocent creature. Chhatra Sai (Senapati and Mahanti, 1971 : But, the result was contrary to his expectation.