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Home >> Orissa Information >> Antiquity of Car Festival In Puri
Antiquity of Car Festival In Puri :
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In 1230 A.D. Anangabhimadeva-lll, who consecrated the temple of Lord Jagannatha and installed the trinity (Purusottama, Balab-hadra and Subhadra) in it had established close contact with the Sri-Vaisnavas of the Arulal-perumal-Temple of Kanchipuram while he visited in about 1230 A.D. Then, he and his wife donated some landed property to the Sri-Vaisnavas of Madhavacarya School who were brought to Orissa for propagation of Sri-Vaishnavism. Some teachers of the Sri-Vaisnava group halted in Khinjali-mandal which was ruled by the Bharija kings. Two copper plate inscriptions have been discovered from Antarigam near Bhanjanagar of Ganjam district where the Bhanja kings resided in their capital at Kulada-kataka.
According to the said two copper-plates, a king named Jayab-harija, who was a devotee of Lord Siva and subsequently adopted 'Sri-Vaisnavism', had donated lands to some Brahmana of Blpabada-pataka-Sa"sana in Utkala (Puri district). The same Brahmana was also donated land by Anahgabhimadeva-lll in 1230 A.D., according to Nagari Copper-plate grant.
Anahgabhimadeva and his queen, Somala-Mahadevi had jointlly granted lands in Utkala to those Alvars who migrated to Orissa. Perhaps the queen Somala Mahadevi had consecrated the temple of Alaranathaat Brahmagiri, not far from Purusottama ksetra (Puri).
We consider that the images, installed in the main temple of Puri and consecrated by, both Anarigabhin.a and his queen, followed the dvaita philosophy of Sri-Vaisnavism. Perhaps they worshipped the four-armed Madhava holding S'ahkha, Cakra, Gada'and Varada. From aSilpa-Sastra called 'Rupa-mandana' and Padma-Purana (Patlla-Khan-da) we get the description of the MSdhava-group, those installed in different parts of Orissa. Hence we may assume that the image of Purusottama was installed at the temples of Puri and Alarnatha, cprresponding to the figures of Madhava. If we compare them with the image of Tirupati, Tirumalai of Kanchi, Govindaraja of Simhacalam and also Srirangam, we will find that those figures are not different from the images of Madhava, worshipped in different places of Utkala.
Now, the question is whether in the time of Anarigabhima (III) the great festival, 'Sri-Gundicha' was performed in Puri? We may refer to the 'Dharma-sastras', written by a great astronomer of Orissa named Satananda who lived in the second half of the 11th century or the first half of the 12th century A.D. He wrote another canonical work called 'Bhasvati' which is used as a guide to the Panjikaras (almanac writers) of Orissa up to the present day. According to Satananda, the important festivals, performed in Utkala, are Kumarapurnima, Balabhadra-janma, Krisna-Janmastami etc., but no mention of 'Ratha-Yatra' (Car-festival) in his work is found.
Similarly, the great Smriti writer, Sambhukara Vajapeyi, whose 'Dharma-Sastra' was followed by his son, Vidyakara Vajapeyi, did not mention any hint about Sri-Gundica'. The only and earliest Purina in which Sri-Gundica is mentioned, is Brahma-Purana, written in the last part of the 13th century or early part of the 14th century. Basing on that work the smriti writer Raghunandana of Bengal, who lived in the 15th century, had given an elaborate account regarding the Ratha-Yatra of Puri. That was the period when the Surya-Varhsi king, Kapilendrudeva, was ruling over this country.
There are some accounts which mention about the chariots, constructed for Sri-Gundica, in the 2nd tithi of the bright fortnight of Asadha. But a newly discovered inscription of the Patalesvara Temple, (No.46)* discloses that the 'Netrotsava' of Lord Jagannatha was per¬formed in the month of Bhadrapada. Therefore, the present custom differs from the above prescribed time for Netrotsava which is also an important festival, performed just a fortnight before Sri-Gundica' in the month of Asadha. The above inscription was incised in Telugu when Narasimhadeva-I or his son Bhanudeva-I, was ruling in Utkala.
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