Jagannatha

The ancient shrine of Jagannatha at Puri is one of the sacred ​chatur-dh​ā​ma​s of India. Puri or Puruṣottama is located in the state of Odisha. Jagannatha's influence over Odia culture is all-pervading. The ​yatra​ to Puri is hence a very important affair throughout India and more so in the state of Odisha. ​Purāṇa and ​Sthala-P​urāṇas (both in Sanskrit and Odia) such as the Kapi​ḷa Saṃhitā, Skanda P​urāṇa ​and others mention the method of undertaking the yatra in detail. The paper will highlight the importance of the ​Puruṣottama Yatra​ and the diverse reflections of this ​yatra,​ including those in traditional food, the artform ​Pattachitra​, Odissi music, Odissi dance and typical ​beḍhābulā literature. Historical perspectives & accounts of yatris will be observed. From renowned philosopher-seers who flourished centuries ago to common persons in hinterlands today, the yatra to Puri continues, albeit in different ways. In Puri, the pilgrim is not the only one doing the yatra; the deity himself has his own yatra. The juxtaposition of these yatras makes Puri a very special case to observe and ponder upon. This paper attempts to shed light on the aforesaid aspects of the centuries-old yatra to Jagannatha Puri.

There was a hue and cry in 1948 when Harekrishna Mahtab declared that the Jagannath cult originated from Buddhism.  Rajendralal Mitra had said so earlier and British scholars and historians like Hunter, Cunningham, Monier-Williams had also advocated this theory.  But historians on the other side had equally strong arguments and issue was finally settled, stating that the “cult did not originate from Buddhism but was subjected to profound Buddhist influence later”.  Historian Kedar Nath Mahapatra added that the Jaina Tri Ratna had influenced the three gods in Puri, while the Triguna chapter of the Gita is said to be personified through Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra.

Starting on an affective note, it gives an overview of temple idol consecration rituals since the Puranic age, ending with a brief contextualisation of the Nabakalebara ritual in Jagannatha Temple, Puri and the Brahmapadartha 'leaked pictures' controversy, 2015.

One of the central debates that feature in any discussion of the history of the Caitanya sampradāya is whether Caitanya Mahāprabhu can be placed in the Mādhva paramparā i.e. the disciplic line of succession followed in the Brahma Vaiṣṇava sampradāya of which Madhvācārya was the chief proponent. The name of Mādhavendra Purī plays a crucial role in this debate. Mādhavendra was the guru of Īśvara Purī who in turn was the guru of Mahāprabhu. Hence, by the paramparā terminology, Mādhavendra was the parama guru of Mahāprabhu. Despite being such an important figure, Mādhavendra Purī has not incited adequate attention or research  and remains a missing link in the evolution of the Caitanya sampradāya; necessary nonetheless, in order to understand the advent of Mahāprabhu at an important historical and philosophical moment. The most detailed account on Mādhavendra till date is the Fourth chapter in the Madhya Līlā of the Caitanyacaritāmṛta (CC), where Mahāprabhu himself tells the tale of his parama guru. The following is a textual rethinking of this act of narration and what it signifies for the history of the Caitanya sampradāya. Supplementing this narrative with some additional accounts, this article seeks to arrive at an understanding of the contribution of Mādhavendra Purī, and also, how this enigmatic figure is being firmly established in the CC by Caitanya Mahāprabhu himself as a precursor of what would later become the Caitanya sampradāya.

This book chapter, conceived through a workshop on contemporary scholarship on Lord Jagannath of Puri and His multifaceted manifestations throughout our popular culture, presents before the reader a general survey of the popular Bangla (Bengali) songs of Bhakti or devotion dedicated to Lord Jagannath. Through that survey, the author attempts to build a framework for mapping the dynamics of community formation among the Bengali devotees of the Lord of Puri, who is located outside the political-linguistic boundaries of Bengal, i.e. in Odisha. Charting a brief history of Jagannath Bhakti since the era of Sri Chaitanya Deva, the author argues that this most prominent face of the Bhakti movement from Bengal has historically functioned as (and still does) a bridge between Lord Jagannath of Puri and His Bengali devotees. To that end, the continued influence of Sri Chaitanya Deva upon the Bengali imagination and spirituality is reevaluated in this chapter. Ultimately, through a close reading of the contemporary popular Bangla Bhakti songs (Bhajan-s as they are predominantly known across most Indian languages) as primary texts for the present study, the author offers a new interpretative methodology for research in community formation in both Bengal and Odisha vis-a-vis Bhakti, spirituality, Vaishnavism, and Hinduism.

L’objectif de cet article est de présenter à un public non spécialiste Jagannâth, son image, son histoire et son culte : la genèse de l’image (les origines tribales, puis l’ assimilation de Jagannâth à différentes divinités hindoues jusqu’aux développements contemporains dans lesquels il est désormais identifié à Krishna) ; l’organisation du culte quotidien au sein du temple, les fêtes annuelles (snâna yatra et rath yatra) ou sur des cycles plus longs tel que le nabakalebara qui symbolise la mort puis la renaissance du dieu.

Written in beautiful Sanskrit., this article,  is a critique on the two works - करुणविलास and शान्तिविलास  of Panditaraja Jagannatha.
These two works belong to the  pentad-group  विलासपञ्चक .
These  anthologies contain  verses composed as illustrative examples for  explaining, elucidating and justifying poetic concepts that are dealt with  in Rasgangadhara..