In what way does the Jagannatha cult in medieval Orissa represent the historical process of Hinduization, state formation and the growth of a regional tradition?

Hinduism has always had an extraordinary capacity for incorporating other religions and alien cults. The inherent inclusivism of early Hinduism led to the absorption of a number of tribal deities, cults and rituals. It is this process of absorption and gradual incorporation that we refer to as ‘Hinduization’. The splendid Jagannatha temple at Puri is very literally a monument to the ability of Hinduism to fuse with tribal and folk religions.

The process of Hinduization is an extremely complex one with several levels of interaction between Hinduism and tribal deities, changes in iconography and the catalyzing role of political patronage. The evolution of Jagannatha exemplifies the process of Hinduization.

TRIBAL ORIGINS OF JAGANNATHA

Tribal cults are typically distinguished from Hindu ones by the absence of regular rituals, the use of a human medium rather than an image, the use of an uniconical non-anthropomorphic symbol and the role of non-brahmana priests. In the course of its evolution the Jagannatha cult seems to have retained typically ‘tribal’ features, hinting at its tribal origins. For instance, the images of Jagannatha, Subhadra and Balabhadra, while anthropomorphized, retain a curiously tribal look—they are crude, wooden icons which differ greatly from images worshipped in other Hindu temples. Further, the worship of the deity is associated with a special group of priests—-the Daitas, supposedly descendants of the original tribal worshippers. Further the Indradyumna legend of the Puri temple narrates that the deity was originally worshipped by the aboriginal Sabara tribe, identified with the present-day Saoras of Ganjam.

However the deity was not simply taken as it was from the Sabaras by the Somavamsas—the first rulers to raise the cult to a subregional level. That it underwent an initial phase of Hinduization is indicated by the iconography of the deity.

NARASIMHA: The First Stage of Hinduization

The Hinduization of tribal deities usually begins in tribal communities living in close proximity with Hindu communities. As Hermann Kulke points out, as Hindu rajas sought to cement their power in their respective “nuclear areas”, a number of agrahara (tax-free) villages were granted to brahmanas—these brahmana villages played a vital role in interacting with and integrating the tribal communities, stimulating a process of Hinduization of autochthonous deities. Eschmann notes, however, that the process of Hinduization requires a basic correspondence between a tribal deity and a deity from the Hindu pantheon. There must exist certain functional and iconographical points of contact between a tribal deity and the Hindu deity with which it is identified. The most frequent and logical association of tribal deities is with Durga, who like most tribal goddesses has a strong “furious’ aspect. The typical symbols of tribal cults—uniconic stones on wooden posts are gradually anthropomorphized in their association with the Hindu deity.

The only deity in the Vaisnava tradition which could play a role approximate to that of Durga in the Sakta typology of Hinduization was Narasimha. Eschmann points to the huge number of temples dedicated to Narasimha in central and coastal Orissa from the 9th century onwards as an indication of the tremendous popularity of Narasimha. Narasimha’s character as the furious “ugra” aspect of Visnu also makes him approximate to Durga. His cult also contains certain Tantric elements including the idea of sacrifice, evoked by the dismemberment of Hiranyakasipu, and an erotic aspect: these similarities with autochthonous deities would have aided Hinduization. The local Orissan legend of an autochthonous “hillborn” or Girija Narasimha, conceived of as a lion and worshipped as an uniconic symbol (a piece of stone with “eyes” and “whiskers”) also indicates the role of Narasimha in the process of Hinduization in Orissa.

Indeed the iconographical similarities between Narasimha and a tribal deity are remarkable—Narasimha is identified with the pillar from which he emerges according to legend, which might be approximated to a wooden post. The Girija aspect of Narasimha is worshipped as an uniconical murti of stone, by non Brahmnin priests. While there can be no doubt that this reflects the absorption of tribal elements by the cult of Narasimha as well, the influence of Narasimha on the evolving Jagannatha cult is substantial as well.

In the folk religion of Orissa, Narasimha is represented theriomorphically as a head and arms; adding this to a wooden post creates a prototype of the Jagannatha image. The identification of Jagannatha with Narasimha is strengthened by the peculiar round eyes of the Jagannatha image—they represent Narasimha’s “furious” aspect. The strange flat shape of Jagannatha’s head is explained if one considers the animal head of Narasimha to be the prototype. The close association of Narasimha with the Jagannatha triad—as the “protector” of the deities again indicates the crucial role of the cult of Narasimha in the Hinduization of the tribal deity that was to become Jagannatha.

However there also seems to have been a strong Saivite influence in the Hinduization of Jagannatha. H.v. Steitencron notes the iconographical similarity between Ekapada Bhairava (the furious aspect of Siva) and the Jagannatha idol: a single leg merging with the trunk of the deity. This is a feature which is absent in Narasimha iconography. The association of the deity with a female tribal goddess represented by a wooden post and worshipped as Durga also indicates a Saivite element in the character of Jagannatha, although the couple is later represented as Narasimha-Lakshmi. Despite these apparent contradictions, it is certain that there was a close similarity between Narasimha and Bhairava— Narasimha is often worshipped as a Saiva deity and seen as a Vaisnava equivalent of Bhairava. The worship of Narasimha under Saiva predominance also indicates that Narasimha was acceptable in the Saiva tradition. It is by no means unlikely that a Saiva element was combined in the cult of Jagannatha.

FROM NARASIMHA TO PURUSOTTAMA

The identification of the tribal deity of the Sabaras with the orthodox cult of Narasimha was followed by the linkage to Purusottama— the deity to be worshipped at Puri during the Somavamsa rule. There is substantial inscriptional evidence of the association of Narasimha with Purusottama, the deity at Puri even as late as the 12th century. A close connection between a Hinduized tribal Narasimha and Purusottama is not illogical—Purusottama as a Vaisnava deity and a Tantric deity with a strong erotic character bore a strong resemblance to Narasimha. Purusottama as an erotic Tantric deity is worshipped with his consort Kamala— a strong parallel is to be found in the association of Narasimha with Lakshmi and the proliferation of Narasimha-Lakshmi temples in Orissa. The use of the Narasimha-Mantraraja in the rituals of the Jagannatha temple and particularly in the all-important Navakalesvara ceremony again testifies to the fact that Jagannatha/ Purusottama was in fact Narasimha. The Tantric-Saktic characteristics of both Narasimha and Purusottama seem to have facilitated their fusion into the deity at Puri under Somavamsa rule.

ROLE OF THE SOMAVAMSAS

Eschmann emphasizes that the elevation of a Hinduized autochthonous cult to the level of a subregional temple cult to the level of a subregional temple cult is dependent on the role of political patronage. A certain king Yayati of the Somavamsa line is credited with having “restored” the cult of Purusottama at Puri after his conquest of central Orissa. The legend of Yayati reflects, according to Kulke, an attempt to unify the “nuclear area” of the Somavamsas and the homeland of the Somavamsa ancestors—western Orissa—with central Orissa, by the territorially segmented model of polity advanced by Stein and Kulke. Kulke suggests that the cult of Khambesvari—a Hinduized tribal deity akin to Durga was grafted onto the cult of Purusottama, creating the Purusottama-Lakshmi combine, although evidence for this is scanty.

According to Kulke, by extending patronage to the autochthonous cult at Puri, the Somavamsa were able to secure the support of the tribes of the recently conquered area through “vertical legitimation”. The similarities of the Purusottama cult with other Narasimha based cults in western Orissa with which Yayati would have been familiar, and its orthodox Brahmanical blending would have made it the ideal cult for the integration of the new “nuclear area” as well. The cult of Purusottama was installed in a temple and raised the level of a subregional temple cult with more than local importance and cross-caste recognition. However Purusottama had not yet attained the status of a rashtra-devata or state deity under the Somavamsas who adopted him as a subsidiary “family deity”. This was because central Orissa was not the centre of the Somavamsa kingdom.

DEVELOPMENTS UNDER ANANTAVARMAN CODAGANGA

Anantavarman Codaganga, the first Ganga king, succeeded in unifying Orissa and shifted his political centre from Kalinga to the Mahanadi delta or central Orissa which was geographically more convenient. As an outsider Codaganga found himself in a position similar to that of Yayati—he needed to root and legitimize his rule within the newly conquered country which he had also made his “nuclear zone”. Further, he also had to establish his rule against other rival imperial powers. The cult of Purusottama-Jagannatha with its strong autochthonous and tribal roots and its high degree of Hinduization and high status in the Hindu pantheon served both the needs of vertical and horizontal legitimation.

Although himself a Saiva, Codaganga established a massive temple at Puri for Purusottama, a Vaisnava deity. Siginificantly, this temple was the equal of the Brhadesvara temple of the Colas in its size and dimensions. This development is attributed to the second wave of Vaisnavization in Orissa under Ramanuja and the proselytisation of Codaganga but the political motives of such an act are clear. Kulke remarks that Codaganga himself continued to be a Saiva while declaring himself the paramasaiva, paramavaisnava as well as paramabrahmana. By patronizing the cult of Purusottama Codaganga hoped to raise himself to the status of a Hindu cakravartin.

At this stage the association of Narasimha with Purusottama was completed. The Puri deity increasingly came to be identified as Purusottama, the “Supreme Being” aspect of Visnu. However, Purusottama could not be conceived of without his female counterpart and the temple was dedicated to both Purusottama and Lakshmi. Thus, as Eschmann notes, the temple was initially built for 2 deities, not three. The centre of the cult was Purusottama and the autochthonous female deity now interpreted as his consort, Lakshmi.

REINTERPRETATION UNDER ANANGABHIMA III

It was in the reign of the Ganga Emperor Anangabhima II in the first half of the 13th century that the god Purusottama became the official state deity of the Ganga empire.

This period was also marked by a significant new development—the dedication of the Orissan empire to Jagannatha. In 1216, Anangabhima declared the rauta (deputy) and putra (son) of the 3 most influential deities of Orissa—Siva, Purusottama and Durga. By 1230 he had made a decisive turn towards Purusottama—he now called himself son and deputy of Purusottama, with no reference to Siva or Durga. In 1231, he declared Jagannatha the actual ruler of Orissa—he himself was his deputy. The reign of Anangabhima was now referred to as the reign of Purusottama and his consecration was cancelled for the true consecrated ruler was now declared to be Purusottama. This was a tradition followed well after Anangabhima and formed the basis of the power of the Gajapati kings. Anangabhima, by dedicating the kingdom to Purusottama, acquired ritual legitimacy for his actions. Further, it helped to strengthen his roots in Central Orissa where he built a new capital “New Benaras”. Finally it served the purpose of horizontal legitimation for it asserted his claim to nominal lordship over all Hindu rajas with the collapse of the Cola overlordship.

The reign of Anangabhima also saw a process of Krsnaization of the deity. Purusottama increasingly came to be referred to as Krsna. In a sense, this was inevitable, for Krsna combines both the “Supreme Being” aspect of Purusottama and his erotic character. In line with the development of the Jagannatha cult, the female deity ought to have been reinterpreted as Radha. This however does not happen.

The reign of Anangabhima III gives us the first reference to the Jagannatha triad (Purusottama, Subhadra and Balabhadra) in 1237. As mentioned above, Anangabhima sought to legitimize his authority in Orissa by associating himself with the 3 main cults of Orissa. By 1230, this was no longer necessary, perhaps because by then the other two—Siva and Durga—had been absorbed and subordinated by the Purusottama cult. The initial part of this involved a reinterpretation of the female deity traditionally seen as Purusottama’s consort. Now however, in line with the Pancaratra system and the legend in the Devimahatmya of Markandeya Purana linking Durga and Krsna, she was reinterpreted as Subhadra, the sister of Krsna. The original Saktic elements of her character were now restored. Kulke speculates that this was perhaps as much an attempt at the unification of the cult of Durga at Jajpur with the imperial cult of Puri as a concession to Ramanuja’s disapproval of the erotic character of Krsna. The original relationship between the 2 deities was suppressed and was replaced by a brother-sister relationship.

This was supplemented by the addition of a third deity, Balabhadra, seen as the incarnation of Samkarsana. Balabhadra, the elder brother of krsna was thus associated with Siva Samkarsana, connecting the Puri cult with the Siva cult of the Lingaraja temple at Bhubhaneswar.

By 1237, the evolution of Jagannatha and the process of Hinduization were complete. By the 10th century, the temple at Puri was declared a tirtha (a pilgrimage spot) and Brahmnins were settled in the area—both attempts at imperial legitimation of temporal authority. The political development and the Hinduization of Jagannatha were thus 2 closely connected processes, each deriving it impetus from the other.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1) A.Eschmann, H. Kulke, G.C. Tripathi (ed.): The Cult of Jagannath and the Regional Tradition