History And Celebrations Of Jagannath Religion In English
Jagannath Religion
(1). Jagannath is a deity worshiped in regional Hindu traditions in India and Bangladesh as part of a triad along with his brother Balabhadra and sister.
(2). Jagannath is, within Odia Hinduism, the supreme deity, Purushottama, and Para Brahman.
(3). For most Vaishnava Hindus, especially Krishnaites, Jagannath is an abstract representation of Krishna, or Vishnu, sometimes as an avatar of Krishna or Vishnu.
(4). For some Shaiva and Shakta Hindus, he is an allegorical tantric form of Bhairava, a fierce form of Shiva associated with destruction.
Description
(1). The idol of Jagannath is a carved and decorated wooden stump with large round eyes and a symmetrical face, and there is a conspicuous absence of hands or feet in the idol.
(2). The worship procedures, rites and rituals associated with Jagannath are syncretic and include rites that are unusual in Hinduism. Unusually, the icon is made of wood and is replaced with a new one at regular intervals.
(3).Jagannath is considered a non-sectarian deity. They are regionally important in the Indian states of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Gujarat, Assam, Manipur and Tripura.
(4). The Jagannath Temple is massive, more than 61 meters (200 ft) high in the Nagara Hindu temple style, and is one of the best surviving specimens of Kalinga architecture, that is, Odisha art and architecture.
(5). The annual festival called Rath Yatra celebrated every year in June or July in the eastern states of India is dedicated to Jagannath.
(6). Similar processions are held in Jagannath temples around the world, on the occasion of the Rath Yatra festival in Puri.
(7). Lakhs of devotees come to Puri to see Lord Jagannath in the chariot during the public procession of the festival of Jagannath in Puri.
Etymology
(1). Jagannath is a Sanskrit word, compounded of jagat meaning “universe” and nath meaning “master” or “lord”. Thus, Jagannatha means “lord of the universe”.
(2). According to him, Jagannath is a generic term, not unique, as are Lokanatha or Avalokiteshvara.
(3). In fact, the name Jagannatha can be applied to any deity who is considered supreme.
(4). According to Dina Krishna Joshi, the origin of the word may be from the tribal word kittung of the Sora people (Savaras).
(5). This hypothesis states that the Vedic people, after settling in tribal areas, adopted tribal words and called the deity Jagannath.
Attributes
(1). In the Jagannath tradition (Oriya Vaishnavism), Lord Jagannath is often identified as an abstract form of Krishna as the supreme deity.
(2). Jagannath is regarded as the equivalent of the Hindu spiritual concepts of Brahman, in that he is the Avatari, i.e., the cause and equality of all incarnations and the infinite existence in space and time.
(3). In the Jagannath tradition, he has the qualities of all the incarnations of Krishna/Vishnu. This belief is celebrated by dressing him up as various avatars on special occasions and worshiping him.
(4). The Puranas relate that the Narasimha avatar of Vishnu appeared from a wooden pole.
(5).It is therefore believed that Jagannath is worshiped in the form of a wooden idol or Daru Brahma, with Sri Narasimha hymns dedicated to the Narasimha avatar.
(6). Every year in the month of Bhadra, Jagannath is dressed and decorated as the Vamana avatar of Vishnu.
(7). Jagannath appeared as Rama, another incarnation of Vishnu, to Tulsidas, who worshiped him as Rama during his visit to Puri in the 16th century and called him Raghunatha.
Theology
(1). The theology and rituals associated with the Jagannath tradition combine Vedic, Puranic and Tantric themes. He is the Vedic-Puranic Purushottama, as well as the Puranic Narayana and Tantrik Bhairava.
(2). The 13th-century Jagannatha Vijaya by Rudrabhatta in the Kannada language is a text of mixed prose and poetry style, mainly about Krishna.
(3). It includes a canto which states that “Hari (Vishnu), Har (Shiva) and Brahma” are aspects of the same Supreme Soul.
(4). Its theology, like the Oriya text, is centered around the Supreme Light, which equates to “love in the heart”.
Festival
(1). A large number of traditional festivals are celebrated by the devotees of Jagannath. Out of those innumerable festivals, thirteen are important.
- Niladri Mahodaya
- Snana Yatra
- Ratha Yatra or Shri Gundicha Yatra
- Shri Hari Sayan
- Utthapan Yatra
- Parswa Paribartan
- Dakhinayan Yatra
- Prarbana Yatra
- Pusyavishek
- Uttarayan
- Dola Yatra
- Damanak Chaturdasi
- Chandan Yatra
