In
the remote past, Orissa was inhabited by the aboriginal tribes, who had a
civilization and culture quite distinct from that of the Vedic Aryans, Structured Settlement Consumer Info. The
Aryans migrated to Orissa at a later stage and the Vedic religion and culture
along with the Upanisadic philosophy and Smarta rituals then began to spread in
this country. Buddhism had better times during the rule of the Mouryan emperor
Asoka, who conquered Kalinga (the coastal region of Orissa as known by that
time) after a dreadful war in the third century B.C. It is said that after the
conquest of Kalinga, Asoka abandoned violence, embraced Buddhism and left no
stone unturned to propagate it . throughout India including the newly conquered
Kalinga. It continued to be popular in Orissa for several countries before
Sankaracarya visited Puri in the ninth century A.D. Jainism was perhaps at the
height of its glory when Kharavela espoused its cause and took all steps to
propagate it in the second century B.C. It is, therefore, historically
reasonable to hold that the cult and culture of Jagannatha found its origin in
the primitive system of worship of the non-Aryan tribals who had established a
shrine for Jagannatha here, in this part of the country in a very ancient time,
with all their religious fervour. The. Aryans must then have taken it over to
worship Jagannatha in Vedic rites and rituals with all religious practices
connected with them. Buddhism and Jainism must have penetrated in to the
innermost apartments of the shrine of Jagannatha with all their religious and
spiritual implications. But it has not been possible till now to speak with an
air of authority, as to which of the rites; rituals and details of the
day-to-day service (Vidhis) of Lord Jagannatha owe their origin either to
Jainism or to Buddhism.
The
Puranic texts corroborate that Jagannatha was originally a deity of the
aboriginal tribes and was known as Nila Madhava, his image being made of some
sort of blue stone, Arizona dui lawyers. Later, the god manifested himself in the form of four
wooden images that we worship now and came to be known by the present-day names
in an atmosphere of Vedic re-orientation. Thus, Jagannatha is equally claimed
by the aboriginal tribes and the Vedic Hindus to be their original deity of
worship.
When we think of the Puri
temple, we also think of the presiding deities therein as well as the pattern
of cultural life that is in vogue around it, which inspire the pilgrims with
the lofty ideal of emotional integration in the country. Hence the cult of
Jagannatha as we call it now (by way of translating the words Jagannatha
Dharma) has to be understood, interpreted and appreciated with all its social,
cultural, religious and spiritual implications. Thus, the glory and greatness
of Jagannathism may be brought out in the following manner.
No comments:
Post a Comment