The 143rd Ratha Yatra, in which the Jagannath trio undertook a grandiose procession to their maternal aunt’s house (the Mausi Maa Mandir), was a silent affair due to the novel Corona pandemic grappled situation. The revered “Festival of Chariots,” which never failed to attract over 10 lakh swarming devotees from every corner of the world to catch a glimpse of “Purushottama,” was celebrated following scanty social distancing norms after initial hesitancy of legal authorities on 23rd June 2020.
As a history undergrad, who is astounded to see the assimilation of Vedic and Pauranic pantheon of deities and their gradual expansion of a new tradition of worship was drawn towards the Jagannath cult. The topic of Car(t) Festival / Ratha Yatra having a Buddhist origin, is a serious bone of contention. Have we really imitated the procession of chariots is imitated from the city of Khotan?
One of the earliest Chinese pilgrim traveler cum author had given a vivid account of Car(t) festival in Khotan, a town in West China where an image of Buddha carefully installed in a chariot was pulled by King of the province with great festivities. But, sometimes, these first-hand historical inscriptions can be less trustworthy to justify that Ratha Yatra has been derived from Buddhism strongly. The innumerable mention of “Ratha” or “Chariot” in ancient Vedic, Upanishadic and Pauranic scriptures, including holy books like –Mahabharata and Ramayana herald its prevalence in Hindu customs since time immemorial. The Car festival is held in various inter-regional parts of Odisha as well as India for significant deities in different seasonal time frames with its own sense of individual motives. Lord Lingaraj of Bhubaneswar, Konark, Goddess Minakshi of Madurai, and Goddess Biraja in Jajpur also enjoy the same privilege of festivities seen in their own Car(t) festivals. Chariots are depicted in sculptural and architectural motifs as an inherent characteristic of Hindu temple architecture in Amaravati, Bodh Gaya, and Kerala. It will be highly erroneous to compare and contrast the Dome shape of Stupa with the structure of Chariots.
From a very tender age, I recollect that my mother used to enthusiastically deliver the story of origin and antiquity of the Jagannath triad deities as a heavy attempt to keep my Odia roots and faith intact. The story of Sarala Das’s Odia version of Mahabharata which provides a fascinating tale of Sabara man “Biswa Basu,” King Indrayumna, a love story of Brahmin priest Vidyapati and the old tribal man taking 21 isolated days to carve four half-finished deities from a monolithic piece of log is my preferred choice. Later, the valor prince of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty born to Chola Princess, Rajasundari, and King Rajaja Devendravarman built Jagannath Temple in Puri during the 12th century BCE. Anantavarman Chodaganga was an ardent believer of Shaivism like his ancestors. The annexation of Kalinga by Mauryan King Ashoka during 262 BCE and his acceptance of Buddhism after the Kalinga War testifies the breeding ground of Buddhist philosophy in Odisha much before the prevalence of Jagannath cult.
Father of Indian Archaeology, Alexander Cunnigham, first propounded the Buddhist origin of Jagannath trio. There was a highly controversial comparison by academic scholars of Triratna symbols of Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha with Tri-murti of Jagannath, Balabhadra, and Subhadra while totally wiping the existence of fourth deity of Sudarshana. Let’s not forget the unfortunate vagaries of the eurocentric notion of history writing!!!!
Other religions also don’t fail to impose their origin supremacy status on this non-sectarian tribal God. The allegation of Jaina origin of Jagannath deity is another mystery left unsolved. Late Sanskrit scholar, Pandit Nilakantha Das claimed that Jagannath is primarily a Jaina institution. Many Jaina Thirthankaras had names ending with “natha” which is rhyming to Jagannath sounds quite absurd to me as a staunch argument. The literal translation of the word “Jagannath” is “lord of the universe” is considered to be derived from Jaina’s concept of Jinanath. Nonetheless, The famous “Hathi-Gumpha” inscription,” mentioning Khandagiri and Udyagairi relic worship is also asserted to support Jaina theory of origin. But, the stone inscription of Kharavela as seen in Udayagiri hills is written in Pali, which is a predominant language in Ashokan era with wider usage in Buddhist inscriptions.
However, the questions regarding the existence and conversion of a Buddhist/Jaina temple before Jagannath temple in Puri can’t be answered with certainty due to sketchy empirical evidences. Thus, it is still open to interpretation and discourse.
There is another fascinating aspect of Jagannath cult history which can’t be overlooked at any cost. Sanctum of Mahaprabhu Shri Jagannath in Puri as well as in other districts of Odisha is not free from religion based discriminatory darshan practices which have also invoked certain clashes in the past demanding egalitarian entry rituals. But, we have some contrasting examples which justifies that temple should be thrown open to all the visitors regardless of caste, religion and ethnicity.
ଆହେ ନୀଳଶଇଳ ପ୍ରବଳ ମତ୍ତବାରଣ,
ମୋ ଆରତ ନଳିନବୀନକୁ କର ଦଳନ ।
I have grown up listening my mother hum the melodious tunes of the evergreen Odia prayer song “Ahe Nila Saila”. One of the prominent gifted poets of Odisha who wrote verses in praise of Jagannath Prabhu belonged to the Muslim religion. Salabega, the famous 17th-century bhakti poet, was the son of a Mughal Subedar. A famous local folklore glorifies Salabega’s unconditional love in which the car of Lord Jagannath didn’t move an inch till Salabega arrived in Puri. To honor his blind devotion every year during Ratha Yatra, Nandighosa stays for a while near his samadhi, which is situated in Grand Road Puri.
I would conclude by stating that the origin, evolution, and gradual widespread acceptance and integration of the Jagannath cult is still very unclear as it lacks strong substantive evidence and is open to interpretation. Deriving a conclusion based on sketchy empirical data which furnishes certain religious bias would be very off beaming. From my perspective, I consider this as the pious beauty of ancient and medieval India, which has the suggestive capacity of tolerance, mutual faith to assimilate different traditions and worship different deities under one roof as incarnations. The “Neela Madhaba” beautifully blends the contours of Vaishnavism as well as Shaivism; for some, he is the Jeenanath of Jaina tradition while others are allured by his link with Buddha.
Image Credits- Muskan Beura ( artist can be reached out here https://instagram.com/muskanbeura?igshid=1qn6my7ucgeoa)
References –
1 – http://magazines.odisha.gov.in/Orissareview/2014/Jun/engpdf/85-89.pdf
2 – https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/187354/15/15_chapter%208.pdf
3 – http://magazines.odisha.gov.in/Orissareview/2013/jul/engpdf/36-39.pdf
4 – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jagannath
5 – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jagannath_Temple,_Puri