Origin and development of the Cult of Jagannath

The Cult of Jagannath’s origins and development are quite mysterious. Numerous scholars hold varying perspectives on the origins and development of the Jagannath Cult in Odisha, which can be discussed as follows:

Lord Jagannath’s tribal origins

Jagannath’s cult is said to have tribal origins. It is difficult to determine whether God Jagannath’s tribal origins are pre-Vedic or not. According to Sarala’s Mahabharata, God Krishna, who was killed by Jara Savara’s arrow, was not completely consumed by fire after his death. Arjuna and Jara threw the half-burnt body into the sea on the divine voice’s command, and Jara later worshipped the body on the Dhauli hill in Bhubaneswar. Meanwhile, Galamadhava, the king of Kanchi, learned of Krishna’s death and dispatched a Brahmin named Vasudeva to collect the body from Bhubaneswar and transport it to Nilachala. By that time, king Indradyumna had constructed a temple at Nilachala, and the king travelled there on divine command. He brought the daru (wood) from Rohini kunda and installed the image inside the temple at Nilachala with the assistance of Jara. Due to his folly, the images of God Jagannath, Balabhadra, and Subhadra were discovered incomplete when he opened the temple door, defying the request of the sculpture (in disguise Bisvakarma), who had instructed the king not to open the door until fifteen days had passed. In the Skanda Purana, the storey revealing God Jagannath’s tribal origin is different.

According to the Purusottama Mahatmya section of that Purana, Nilamadhava’s (God Jagannath’s) original place of worship was at Nila Saila (blue mountain) amidst a dense forest. Indradyumna of Avanti saw it in a dream and dispatched Vidyapati, a Brahmin, to bring the God. Vidyapati married Lalita, the tribal chief Visvavasu’s daughter. Visvavasu took his son-in-law to visit Nilamadhava after much persuasion from his daughter. Vidyapati cleverly threw the mustard seeds on his way to that location while his eyes were covered. During the rainy season, the seeds germinated, clearly indicating the path to Nilamadhava’s place of worship. Vidyapati conveyed this information to King Indradyumna, who was on his way to pay a visit to the God. To his horror, the God had vanished from that location. The king had a dream that a sacred log was approaching from Svetadvipa, where God Vishnu was buried.

He was informed the following morning that a log containing the signs of God Vishnu had been discovered on the sea-shore. The king immediately rushed to the sea-shore, and the log was brought with great joy. Four images were carved from the log, namely Jagannath, Balabhadra Subhadra, and Sudarsana, and installed in the temple constructed at nila seus (Puri). Though this fact is told differently in poet Nilambara Das’s Deula Tala and Sisu Krishna Das’s work of the same name, the fact remains that God Jagannath had a tribal origin, which has been accepted by numerous notable scholars such as B. Padhi, G.C. Tripathy, H. Kulke, and A. Eschmann. Additionally, the association of God Jaqannath’s sevakas in Puri is called Daitas. The Vanayaga, which precedes Daru’s search for the God’s Navakalevara, also speaks of God Jagannath’s tribal origins. The three tribal deities worshipped by the Khonds of Odisha, Jaleri Penu, Tana Penu, and Murani Penu, are regarded as Jagannath, Balabhadra, and Subhadra, respectively.

Vedic origin of Jagannath

Numerous scholars trace the origins of God Jagannath to the Vedic period. The third verse of the 155th Sukta in the Rig Veda’s tenth Mandala states:

“There is a log floating in the sea that no one claims as theirs. Ride on that, o’ hideous evil spirit, and transport yourself to the other side of the ocean.”

On the other hand, Sayana, a 15th-century commentator, translates the sukta as follows:

“O, you who are difficult to destroy, channel your energy into the (sacred) log of wood that has no creator and exists on a remote sea coast, and use the object to achieve salvation.”

Numerous scholars have traced the Vedic origins of God Jagannath through the aforementioned Sukta and Sayana’s interpretation. As the cult of Jagannath is primarily associated with tribal origins that are non-Aryan in nature, the Aryans may have been aware of it and may have reflected it differently in the Rig Veda. This strongly suggests to scholars that the worship of Jagannath in a daru (log) predates the Vedic period. However, this is debatable.

Jaina origin of Lord Jagannath

Numerous scholars have traced God Jagannath’s Jaina ancestry. Jainism, as a heterodox religion, posed a significant challenge to Vedic religion. As previously stated, Jainism entered Odisha prior to the sixth century B.C. It received royal patronage from Kharavela, the Chedi dynasty’s mighty monarch. Jainism grew in popularity throughout Odisha. Odisha’s numerous Jaina monuments attest to this fact. Due to the popularity of Jainism in Odisha, N. K. Das regarded Balabhadra, Subhadra, and Jagannath as the three cardinal principles of Jainism, dubbed Samyak Jnana, Samyak Charitra, and Samyak Drishti. In Jainism, the Kalpa tree is referred to as the Kalpavata, which is located within the sacred complex of God Jagannath temple in Puri. One of Jainism’s tenets, Kaivalya Mukti, is associated with Lord Jagannath’s Kaivalya (Mahaprasada), which offers salvation to man. Additionally, B.M. Padhi frequently locates Vaddha Managala and Nandipada, two Jaina symbols in the image of God Jagannath that lend credence to the deity’s Jaina ancestry. These facts, however, did not conclusively establish Jagannath’s Jaina ancestry. Other religious faiths share Jainism’s principle of Kaivalya Mukti, or salvation. Similarly, Kalpavatas are revered throughout India.

Buddhist origin of God Jagannath

According to some scholars, the trinity of the Jagannath temple has a Buddhist origin. It is said that the tooth relic of Lord Buddha is preserved in the image of Jagannath, that the three deities – Jagannath, Subhadra, and Balabhadra – represent Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, respectively, that the Jagannath temple’s Snana Yatra (bathing festival) and Ratha yatra (car festival) are Buddhist in origin, and that all castes share Kaivalya (sacred food) equally. There is some literary evidence that Lord Jagannath and Buddhism are related.

Jagannath, according to some scholars, is a common epithet of the Buddha. In Tibet, one of Buddha’s names is Jagannath. According to some scholars, Jayadeva, the twelfth-century Vaishnava poet who identified Jagannath with Krishna or Vishnu, also accepted Buddha as the ninth incarnation of Krishna or Vishnu. Sarala Das, a fifteenth-century poet, regarded Jagannath as an embodiment of Buddha in his Mahabharat. “To save mankind,” he wrote, “Jagannath manifested himself in the form of Buddha.” According to the Daru Brahma Gita of Jagannath Das, “the Lord gave up his hands and legs in order to assume the form of Buddha.” Chaitanya was regarded as a partial manifestation of Buddha by some Oriya Vaishnavas. Shri Chaitanya is reported to have said in Isvar Dasa’s Chaitanya Bhagavata, “I am Chaitanya in the form of Buddha.” Clearly, a synthesis of Buddhism and Vaishnavism occurred at some point, and the Jagannath cult bears the imprint of that synthesis.

The Saiva-Tantric origin of God Jagannath

Though by the tenth century A.D., the presiding deity of Puri was known as Purushottama, one of Vishnu’s thousand epithets, during the Bhauma period, the deity appears to have been profoundly influenced by the concurrently prevalent Saivism, Shaktism, Tantricism, and Buddhism. According to scholars, Jagannath’s image bears a striking resemblance to that of Ekapada Bhairava (Bhairava with one foot, which is a manifestation of Siva, whose worship was prevalent during the Bhauma period). Puri is referred to in some Tantrik texts as the seat of Shaktism, Vimala as the Shakti, and Jagannath as his Bhairava. The existence of Saiva shrines such as Markandeyesvara, Patalesvara, and Lokanath attests to Saivism’s prevalence in Puri.

Cult of Jagannath and Saktism

The worship of Vimala within the temple and the presence of the Saptamatruka image attest to the Shaktism’s predominance in Puri. Subhadra is described as Jagannath’s Shakti in the Skanda Purana’s ‘Utkal Khanda’. Although the name ‘Purushottama’ is an epithet of Vishnu, some scholars believe it has Tantric connotations. It embodies Vishnu’s erotic side. Purushottama can be found with his female erotic partner, Lakshmi. Murari Mishra describes Purushottama with Lakshmi on his lap in the Anargharaghava natakam. In his Gitagovinda, Jayadeva discussed Krishna’s erotic liaisons with Radha and identified Radha with Kamala or Lakshmi, Narayana’s consort. Jagannath was also regarded as Krishna by Jayadeva. Subhadra was worshipped as Lakshmi during and after the Ganga period. Purushottama Mahatmya (13th century A.D.) and Vishnurahasya (16th century A.D.) referred to the female wooden image between Jagannath and Balabhadra as Lakshmi.

The Jagannath cult has a Vaishnavite origin.

According to some scholars, the Jagannath cult originated in Vaishnavism. Purusottama Mahatmya portrays God Jagannath as Narayana, Krishna-Vasudeva, and Buddha. As mentioned previously, poet Jayadeva popularised Vaisnavism in Odisha through his immortal creation Gita Govinda. Additionally, during the Suryavamsi Gajapati rule, particularly under Prataparudradeva, Srichaitanya’s visit and intimate association with the Jagannath temple increased Vaisnavism’s popularity in Odisha. Numerous festivals associated with Krishna cult, such as Krishna Janma, Nandotsava, Kaliyadalana, Kemseveare Vakasuravadha, and Chandana Yatra, were inextricably linked to the ongoing celebrations of the temple of God Jagannath. Without a doubt, Vaisnavism was more inextricably linked to the Cult of God Jagannath than any other religion. Though the origins of Jagannath are unknown, one thing is certain: the Cult, the assimilation of tribal elements, Vedic religion, Jainism, Buddhism, Saivism, Saktism, tantric elements, and Vaisnavism, has been discovered.

Jagannath and Sikhism

According to legend, Sikhism has a connection to Jagannath. Puri’s Mangu Math bears witness to its remembrance. Guru Nanak’s photograph is displayed in that math. Sikhs believe Guru Nanak paid a visit to Puri. Future research will elucidate this further.

Islamism and Jagannath

The Muslims of Odisha regarded Jagannath as sacred. Yavana Salabega had accorded him significance. He composed a large number of Bhajans for Jagannath. Even today, those Bhajans are extremely popular throughout Odisha.

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