Most probably the earliest Muslim chronicle to describe the Jagannatha temple is the Sirat-i-Firuz Shahi by an anonymous writer who recorded the achievements of Firuz Shah Tughluq and his Orissa invasion of 1361. A Gujrat inscription of Firoz Shah also refers to his conflict with the "Rai of Jajnagar" (Ganga king of Orissa). The inscription further mentions the Jagannatha temple and the images he carried away to Delhi, presumably from Cuttack, which was Orissa's capital. According to the Sirat "the people of the province were polytheists; having been given to idolatry, they have erected a temple in every town; of the temples that of Jagannatha was the most famous, whose importance was as of Somanath on the western coast. "Regarding the temple of Jagannatha the Sirat mentions, it is a shrine of the idolators of the province and worship-place of the unbelievers of the Far East (Chin wa machin); it is the most famous of their temples and its buildings are magnificent, its walls and enclosures having been covered with bright images and figures; the appearance, dress and visage of the inhabitants of this place are different; their faces are dark and devoid of lustre while their bodies are thin and emaciated being without much spirit and animation ; on the kitchen of the temple alone, a sum of thirty thousand silver dinars is spent; from distant parts and far-off places, sons and daughters of the Rajas and Brahmanas come to this place which also has a group of female attendants comprising young girls, called devadasis; there is a group of people called Bhurza given to nonsensical utterances: some spill their blood in front of the deity like sacrificed animals, while others slice off their limbs; some fling themselves from a high spot into a remote place and some take a deep plunge into water from an elevated place; some burn them¬selves in fire".
Although there is no clear mention of the car festival, the reference to "nonsensical utterances" and "spilling of blood in front of the deity" etc., very probably allude to the car festival. The Suryavamsi Gajapatis, who succeeded the Gangas, continued the ritual traditions of the Jagannath temple in the full form. The major focus of the car festival, the ritual of Chera pamhara or the ceremonial sweeping of the floor of cars by the kings of Puri, possibly owes its origin to the Gajapati period. The existence of this ritual during the reign of Gajapati Purusottama Deva, is hinted by Kanci Kaveri tradition according to which the ruler of Kanci refused to give his daughter in marriage to Purusottama Deva, as the Gajapati was performing the work of a sweeper during the car festival. Some scholars believe that the ritual of Cherapamhara started during the reign of Purusottam(4) for which the king of Kanci was not aware of its religious importance. The Puri inscription of Purusottama Deva, dated A.D.1470, records various gifts to Lord Jagannatha which included, among others, one golden handled broom (Suna marjani pata). This suggests the existence of the custom of cherapamhara during his reign. The Caitanya Caritamrta of Krishnadasa Kaviraja mentions the car festival of 1512 A.D. in which Prataparudradeva performed the Cheraparhhara.This indicates that in the 16th century it has already become a popular custom and an integral part of the ceremony of the car festival. Krishnadasa Kaviraja also mentions that in 1512, Sri Caitanya witnessed the chariot festival at Puri and danced with ecstasy in front of the chariot of Jagannath whom he considered to be the Krsna of Kuruksetra.
Abul-Fazal, the historian of the court of Akbar, gives a brief description of the temple of Jagannatha:According to Abul Fazal, "In the town of Purusottama on the bank of the sea stands the temple of Jagannatha; the three images of Lord Krisna, His brother and sister made of sandal wood and t' set up there, were washed six times everyday and freshly clothed; fifty or sixty Brahmin priests used to be on their feet in their service and each time (they were washed and made to don new garments) they were made an offering of large dishes of food, the leavings of which were partaken by twenty thousand people". |
| |
