" Emergence of Buddha in the Conception of Jagannath "

[jijaji]

From Mahanadi.COM

 

In the B.Cs, Puri was a village called Purusha Mandap Gram where on a Mandap (Pedestal) near the seashore, Purusha (the creator) was worshipped and prayers of Purusha Sukta of Atharva Veda were offered to HIM in the morning. There were Ashrams of Pandu, Markandya, Bhrigu and Angiras who were of Bhrugu clan, the creators of Atharva Angiras Veda of which Purusha Sukta is a part.

 

Bhrigu clan came from the phyrigia near Caucacus, the Caspean sea and were late comers after the first five clans. These clans composed most of the suktas of Rkveda, Sama Veda, Yayur Veda along with Ariyan composers and later they were composed as the three Vedas which they recognised. The Bhrigus were unorthodox and their Atharva Veda expounded on medicine - medical plants, tenets of war, weaponry and the mantras and yantras by which you can tempt a person, make him powerless, kill him etc. But most important creation of theirs is the purusha sukta in which prayer is offered to the creator or sun. They believed this great creator. They were the inventors of making fire by rubbing two wooden sticks (Aranis) or two stones. Their Veda the Atharva Veda was not recognised by the rishis of the five clans for considerable period but the five clans took the purusha sukta and incorporated it in Rkveda also. Because the Bhrigus worshiped purusha on purusha Mandap the village was called Purusha Mandap Grama, later on, it was called Purushottama. Puri the abode of the creator in a fallen country of the Bratyas whom the Bhrigus be-friended. The Bhrigus became the harbinger of purusha among the Danavas and Aswars and one of them Sukracharya became the guru of the Aswaras and taught them weaponry skills and how to make a dead man alive by Mrutyu Sanjivani Mantra. One of the great warriors of Bhrigus, was Parsuram who resided in Malayagiri in Kerala and Koraput and he took revenge on the Khatriyas like the Haihaya clan of Maharastra as they drove away his father Jamadgni from his Ashram.

 

Purushottama Puri was later called Jagannath, Puri possible from the middle ages. Purusha became Jagannath or the Lord of the Universe. Not only Hindus called the creator as Jagannath, Buddhist also called Buddha as Jagannth, Jainas called Tirthankar as Jagannath. Indrabhuti who with royal lineage became a Buddhist Acharya called Buddha as Jagannath in his Buddhist composition Gyanasidhi (of which part is called Ganda Vyuha) by about the 9th century A.D. Apparently by that time Puri had become the abode of Buddhists on the Nilachala Hillock where stands the existing Jagannath temple built by Ganga kings Chodaganga Deva and Ananga Bhima Deva. The Gangas and their guru Ramanuja were against the Buddhists who had their viharas and worshipped the sacred tooth relic of Buddha. Presumably Chodaganga ousted the Buddhists from here and destroyed their writings and used Buddhist word Jagannath or Purushottama. Jagannath remained as the great creator and they made Buddha as one of his manifestations. Purusha or Bishnu Narayan had ten such manifestations out of which Buddha was one as engraved in Nrusingha temple and on the door jamb of the Jagannath temple. Thus enters Buddha in the conception of Jagannath from the middle ages.

 

To placate Buddhist devotees who were then of the Mahayana order, they included the Mahayana tantric words in the worhip of Jagannath and the temple was built on Sriyantra. In the temple Sikharas they got built the Kamabandhas (Mithuna) of Sahajayana worship. The offerings were allowed to be partaken from the same port without restrictions of caste and creed. The Buddhits lay devotees worshipped their Lord Buddha as Jagannath of Chodaganga Deva. Buddha's foot prints become Jagannath foot prints and still continues to be worshipped by Hindu devotees. Round the temple were the Mahayana deities of Marichi, Mausima, Hariti, Shyamakali in a Sahajayana pose, Alam and Tara (Ramachandi) nowworshipped as Hindu Goddesses. Bimala, the premier Buddhist goddess of tantric Buddhism is offered goat's meat during Vijaya Dasami. The deity was there prior to the construction of Chodaganga's Jagannath temple. After the rice offerings to Jagannath is again offered to Bimala, the offering is named as Abhada i.e., it becomes fit to be taken from the same pot by devotees without restriction of caste and creed. That announces that deity was a Buddhist deity of Mahayana tantra. Again, the belief is strong that within the wooden frame of Jagannath lies the sacred tooth of Buddha. Purushottam Puri was apparently for some centuries was a great pilgrim centre of Buddhist devotees. Possibly at that time, the pilgrim centre was known as Dantapuri. But there are several Danapusr is in Kalinga. Palura as name denotes in Telugu means Dantapuri. There was also in further south, Dantapura the old capital, Rajapura or Guhashivapataka of Jajpur was the capital of Guhashiva whose daughter Hemamala took the tooth in her hair to Ceylone where the king of that country built a Chaitya for the tooth in Anuradhapur. Dhatavansa the chronicle of tooth was written in Ceylone and it narrates the story of Hememala. Guhashivapataka later became the capital of Bhauma kings who earlier were ardent Buddhist Subhakar Deva, one of its kings sent a self written manuscript of Gandavuhya to the Chinese emperor by the hands of Buddhist Vikshu named Pragnawho came all the way from Kapisa (Kabul) to Rantagiri Bihar near the capital for study in Buddhist Yoga principles.

 

In the medieval centuries, there were five great Oriya poets named Jagannath Das, Achyutananda Das, Yasobanta Das, Balaram Das, Sishu Ananta Das whom Chaitanya adored and accepted them in Vaishav fafth. These poets have described Jagannath as invisible or Nirakar, unwritable Alekh Nirajana, Nirguna (Above the three gunas of Satwa, Raja, Tama). These poets were born in an area which was at that time full of Buddhist faith.This concept of Jagannath falls in line with Jogacharavada or Vigyanavads of Mahayana Buddhism. Their writings were full of outlining the features of Yogacharvada. Their dead bodies were not put tofire but entered in an earthen mount known as Gadi in the form of a stupa. They believed inKumari or Yoni (vagina) worship as in that process, Sahaja or Nirvana can be attained quickly. This was the Buddhist way of Sahaja Yana or Vajrayana Buddhism. The king Prataparudra Deva at that time was defeated in the war from attacks in the North and South and he took refuge in Vaishnavism propounded by Srichaitanya of Nadiya at Puri. He wanted these five poets tobe converted to the principles propagated by Chaitanya. But these poets brought up and bred in Buddhist atmosphere of Prachi river valley could not be free from the Vajrayana influence. They wrote from their prachi jungle hideout books propagating the Buddhist yogachar principles with hidden meanings (Sandhya Bhasa). Possible, that was the most popular faith in prachi valley appreciated by the people. They describe Jagannath as their God within these hidden meanings. But Chaitanya extended his hand of friendship to them and wanted them to see Krishna in Jagannath and worship him as such, possibly, Chaitanya thought that these poets in their writings could convert the Oriya people easily to his cult preachings. But these poets could not convert the idea of Jagannath and think themselves as Radha, consort of Krishna while offering their prayers to Jagannath.

 

There was lot of confusion in the social and political atmosphere of Orissa un the medieval ages. The kings had given prominence to Shankar,Ramanuja and Naraharitirtha, who propounded their faith in the upper echelon of the society and established their Maths at Puri. So also Nimbarka, Madhwa, Chaitanya, Ramanuja, Guru Nanak,Kabira had their Ashrams here. But the ordinary folk by and large remained unaffected. Chaitanya under royal patronage went to villages through his disciples and got the necessary foothold but the worship of Jagannath continued by all the people of Orissa as their Chief Deity according to their own notions. The word Jagannath has come to stay in lieu of Purushottama. In the nineteenth century, a blind illiterate poet Bhima Bhoi came to Puri to propound his Mahima Dharma (an offshoot of Buddhism) and declared that Jagannath is Buddha, but the priests did not oblige him. The devotees of Jagannath came by the Jagannath road from the south and north on bullock carts, ponies, camel backs braving malaria and cholera, crossing rivers and Nalas to die and attain deliverance under the eyes of Jagannath who in one of his manifestations is called Buddha or Buddha Jagannath as in Bali island of Indonesia.

 

 

 

 

[This message has been edited by jijaji (edited 11-08-2001).]

[Gauracandra]

When you are the Lord of the Universe, everyone will see Jagannatha as Divine

 

Gauracandra

[BuddhaShiva1]

I agree, Buddha is Jagannath. Buddha was a Hindu, or whatever the religion was called at the time. In Buddha's Golden Light Sutra, he gives great reverence to Shiva, Vishnu and several Vedic gods like Indra, Agni and Vayu. Therefore there is no possibility that Buddha was not deeply Vedic influenced, and that he rejected the Vedas.