Thread by @AbhinavBharat71

Jagannatha in Shakta traditions

‘Pinda Brahmanda’ word, meaning human body is microcosm of the universe,is widely used in Jagannatha sanskuti,is basically a tantric Shakta concept in Visvara Tantra.

Mode of Upashana or worship in Jagannatha temple is different from other major Hindu temples both in North India and South India.There are three main streams of Upashana in Hinduism,i.e,Nigam,Agam,and Lokachara.Nigam is purely Vedic system while Agam is tantric system.

Lokachara is mixture of both Agam and Nigam along with local beliefs.Jagannath Upashana is mixture of all the three Upashana systems.

Let me explain the tantric part for the sake of topic today.Yantra and Mantra are two basic parts of Tantric traditions.Both are used in conjunction for performing tantric rituals,that represents union of Shakti and form.

Tantric Upashana in Jagannatha temple is largely influenced by Vajrayana Buddhism which originated in 3rd century Kalinga (old name of Odisha).Guru Padmasambhaba propagated it,who happened to be son of king of Sambalaka(present day Sambalpur, Odisha) Indrabhuti.

Tantra can't be performed without yantra.Jagannatha,Balabhadra,Subhadra sit on Kali yantra,Tara yantra and Bhubaneswari yantra respectively.

उग्रतारा शूलपाणि सुभद्रा भुवनेश्वरी ।
नीलाद्रौ तू साक्षात् जगन्नाथ दक्षिणाकालिका ।।
(From,Mahanirvana tantra)

Basically it says Shakti is present in Niladri (Puri's name in 3-4 century) as Jagannatha (Dakhina Kali), Balabhadra (Ugratara) and,Subhadra (Bhubaneswari).

Lets look into the Mantra aspect. Vija Mantra for worshipping Jagannatha is

'Oum Hrim Klim Slim Krishnaya,Govindaya Gopijana Vallabhaya Svaha'

Oum is of Vedic origin while Klim,Hrim and Slim are of Shakta origin. Rest other words are Vaishnava words. So,it's a mixture of all.

Influence of Tantric way of Puja in case of Lord Shri Jagannath can be well observed from various Nyasas such as "Sadanga-Nyasa", "Keshavadi Nyasa", "Shrikanthadi Nyasa", "Kala-Nyasa", "Matruka-Nyasa", "Sodha Nyasa" and "Mahasodha Nyasa" which are attributed in daily rituals.

In Peetha Nirnaya,Mastya Purana and Kalika Purana,Shri Purusottam Puri Kshetra has been described as Shaktapeetha and its Presiding Deity Shri Jagannath along with the lady Deity Mahamaya Vimla of Shri Purusottam Puri have been described as Bhairaba and Bhairabi.

This has been specifically described in the Thirteenth Shloka of "Mahapitha Nirupanam" that this Shakti is Mahamaya Vimla and Bhairaba is Shri Jagannath. "Mastya Purana" is said to be written before 3rd. Century. Similarly "Kalika Purana" which is written before 950 AD says-

Udra Peetha or Uddiyana Peetha which existed near Eastern Odisha at place called Puri.Similarly in 'Bruhannila Tantra" it is clearly mentioned that Puri Purusottam Kshetra is famous for its "Nila Parbat Tantric Peetha".Similarly in "Gyanarnaba Tantra" we see that Puri has been-

described as kshetra of Lakshmi and its Khetreshwari is Maa Vimala and its very existence is due to this being oldest "Uddiyana Tantra Peetha". Similarly we see in "Peetha Nirnaya" that Shri Jagannath and Mahamaya Vimala have been described as Bhairab and Bhairabi.

Similarly in a manuscript in the tittle 'Bimala Saparyaa" preseved in State Museum, Bhubaneswar scripted in 9th century, Mahamaya Vimla is the presiding lady Deity of Uddiyan Tantra Peetha and left foot of "Sati" has fallen and hence it is famous as "Sati Pada Peetha"

Every year, the Car Festival of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra is celebrated with pomp and ceremony in the month of Asadha (June and July) at Puri. But few people know about another car festival at Puri that takes place in the month of September- October, popularly-

known as Shakta Gundicha Rath Yatra,that begins on the 9th day of Shola Puja and ends on the day of Dusshera.This centres round two deities, i.e. Durga,and Madhava.

Lord Jagannath and Goddess Vimala are regarded as Madhava and Durga respectively. Goddess Durga is worshipped in the inner sanctum of main temple near the Bhandarghar. The deity of Madhava is worshipped on the left side of Sri Jagannath on Ratna Simhasana in the inner sanctum.

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