68 JUNE - 2017

Odisha ReviewISSN 0970-8669

Ratharudho gachhan pathi milita-bhudevpatalaih

Stuti pradurbhabam pratipadmupakarnya sadayah,

Dayasindhurbandhuh sakalajagatam sindhusutaya

Jagannathah Svami Nayanapathagami

bhabatu me.

(Shree Jagannathastakam, 5th Stanza)

jLeeª{es ie®íved HeefLe efceefueleYetosyeHeìuewëmlegefleHe^eogYee&yeb He^efleHeocegHeekeÀC³e& meo³eë~o³eeefmevOegëye&vOgeëmekeÀuepeieleeb efmevOegmetle³eepeieVeeLeë myeeceer ve³eveHeLeieeceer Yeyeleg efce~~

(Þeer peieVeeLeeäkeÀced-5)

(He who becomes sympathetic afterlistening to His greatness in each step with theassemblage of Brahmans on the Car, is indeed afriend of the whole world being sea of compassionwith the Daughter of the Ocean, Lakshmi. LetLord Jagannath be visible to me.)

This fifth stanza of Jagannathastakam bySri Shankaracharya contains the prayer to LordJagannath on the car.

The Car, the Lord on the Car and the CarFestival- have its corresponding religioussentiment from an ardent devotee to commonman. This devoutness is a combined expression

of metaphysical, spiritual as well asdenominational consciousness that constitute theforemost aspect of our civilisation and heritage.It is indeed an integral part of our remotetraditional antiquity.

With a discussion about the car festival ofLord, the very first thing that strikes onesubjectively is the car itself. In place of variousscriptural communications like horse, elephant,viman or dola (palanquin type) why the Lordsvisit in the cars or rathas (chariots). A peep intoproto historic period reveals that with the inventionof wheels, car or ratha became an important

The Car Festival

Dr. Soma Chand

69JUNE - 2017

Odisha Review ISSN 0970-8669

means of communication. In due course, with thegrowth of religious belief and faith, the oldenancestors preferred the rathas for their PresidingDeities. The root word of Ratha is Ram + Tha

meaning the vehicle meant for yatra or journey.An excerpt from Rigveda can be cited in thisregard.

Akrushnena rajasa vartamano

Nibesayannamrutam martyam cha,

Hiranyaena savita-rathena

Devoyati bhubanani pasyan.(1.35.2)

(Deeke=sÀ<Cesve jpemee yeÊeesceeveesefveJesMe³eVece=leb cel³e¥ ®eefnjC³e³esve meefyeleejLesve

ossyees ³eeefle Yegyeveeefve HeM³eved)

($eÝkedÀJeso 1ce. ceC[ue - 35 metkeÌle - 2³e cevle^)

(Returning through darksome region,arousing the immortals and mortals, God Savitacomes on the golden car beholding all thecreatures.)

The far off ancientness regarding the useof car or ratha gets further strengthened withreferences in Ramayana and Mahabharata as anin signia of aristocracy used by royal order. EvenArthasastra (4th century B.C) of Kautilyamentions the use of cars by the Divinity.

In the Upanisadic literature especially inKathopnisad the human body has been comparedto a ratha that inculcates deep philosophy of life.

Atmanam rathinam vidhi

sariram rathameba tu,

Buddhim tu sarathim viddhi

manah pragrahameba cha. (1.3.3)

Deelceeveb jefLeveb efyeef×Mejerjb jLecesJe leg,

yegef×b leg meejefLeb efyeef×ceveë He^ie^ncesJe ®e~

(keÀþesHeefve<eod 1ce DeO³ee³e - le=leer³eyeuueer- 3³ecevle^)

(The human body is like a chariot wheresoul is the master, intellect is charioteer and mindis the rein of the horse.)

To add, intrepidity and patience are likethe wheels of life chariot. Good practice is its flag.Strength, conscience, control of senses andbenevolence are the four horses of the chariot.Forgiveness and kindness are the other namesfor the rope of the chariot. Haribhajan (chantingof His name) is the ultimate destination, a thoroughphilosophical reflection of life. Chariot is thus foundin the Car Festival of Lord Jagannath.

Scriptural references denote a chariotdriven by seven horses for Sun- god of which theSun Temple of Konark is an exact replica. It isbelieved that on the fifth day of bright fortnight inthe month of Magha (December- January), CarFestival was in vogue here in distant past. Thechariot-shaped temples at Hampi in South Indiaare brilliant specimens of the concept of ratha inHindu pantheon.

Besides Hinduism, the unique tradition ofCar Festival has its place in Buddhism. The CarFestival of the Buddhists organised in the monthChaitra (March - April) is popular as MatsyendraYatra. In the neighbourhood of Nepal andSrilanka, Car Festival is a well-known practice.It is familiar as Bhairav Yatra with the combinedpresence of Bhairav and Bhairavi in the carorganised in the month of Vaisakha (April-May).It will not be out of context to mention here thatJagannath in Bhairav and Vimala in Bhairavi formof worship is very much prevalent in JagannathTemple. (Vimala bhairavi Yatra Jagannathstu

bhairav). In the Linga Yatra of Nepal, Linga

(Phallic God) moves on the car. In Srilanka, thetooth relic of Buddha as the presiding objectproceeds in the car to the locality. Even in ancientSicily, references to Car Festival was not

70 JUNE - 2017

Odisha ReviewISSN 0970-8669

uncommon where buffaloes were engaged inpulling the car.

A different type of Car Festival isperformed at shaktipitha Biraja Temple of Jajpurfrom the first day of bright fortnight of Aswina(September-October) till the ninth day. It is a nine-day celebration where a wooden log (an indicationof ancient Stambheswari cult) is placed in the car.Here, the car moves with the deity within thetemple compound once a day-in total nine timesin nine days. The custom of Car Festival alsoseems to be prevalent in the ChamundeswariTemple of Mysore or Minakshi Temple ofMadurai.

Of these celebrations, however the CarFestival of Lord Jagannath at Puri surpasses allfor its typical humanistic approach that embracesall religious sects. Symbolising universalbrotherhood, it offers an unprecedented accessto humankind to come closer to divinity. Devoteeand Lord-Lord and Devotee-become one on thebadadanda (the spacious open place in front ofthe temple) of Puri irrespective of caste, colouror creed being converted to a global village. Atpresent, Car Festival is observed in at least 62countries of the world.

Many men, Many mind - Accordingly, theCar Festival of the Lord is replete with manylegends, lores, literary as well as mythologicalreflections. At the same time, history is also notsilent. Inscriptions, copper plates, coins,monuments etc. allude to this connection of theLord. A general analysis of the ritualistic aspectsreveal the adherence to two forms through whichLord appears before the devotees.

Public Rites (Prakasya Lila)

Secret Rites (Gupta Lila)

While the secret rites are performed within,the Lord comes outside for the devotees in publicrites. Thus, lots of fairs and festivals are enlistedin the temple calendar for the purpose. Franklyspeaking, mythical narratives point out threeexpressions of God representing three facets ofhuman life in the form of Regalia (Bhogi), Recluse(Yogi) and Renunciator (Tyagi). At PurushottamKshetra at Puri on the eastern coast of India, theLord is adorned with all sorts of alluring luxuries-glamorous attire, majestic food and drink, aboveall, with charismatic fairs and festivals. In theHimalayan region at Badrinath in North, the Lordis venerated in His saintly appearance in a verysimple and austere way. He is extolled to arenuciator at Dwarakadham in the west settingaside the materialistic side of life. These threemanifestations of human life are thus representedin three different manners by His benignapprearances. The Car Festival of Jagannath in away thus gives the message of human living-Enjoyment, Bliss and Divinity.

At the top portion of the car, there are twositting parrots in a reversed manner with facestowards opposite directions. Their innersignificance is of greater meaningfulness than ofoutward manifestation.

� The parrots of Balabhadra’s Car stand forSincerity and Faith.

� The parrots of Subhadra’s Car symboliseWisdom and Memory.

� And the parrots of Jagannath’s Car representFinite and Infinite.

In sum, the Car Festival is an inimitablecombination of humanistic and spiritualconsciousness connoting devotion, service, unityand equality.

71JUNE - 2017

Odisha Review ISSN 0970-8669

The car moves on the incomparablebadadanda (Grand Road) in front of Lion’s gate(Singhadwara). This is a miniature world ofardent Jagannath-loving devotees of regional,national and international groups. The atmospheregets surcharged with the eternal language of theMaster, with the radiant glow of Hisconsciousness—just the beginning of a NewVoyage— From human narrowness tosupernatural emancipation. The selfish-materialistic- minded human steps over hisparochialism towards everlasting life. Even thedust particles of the road become heavenlymingled with the message of peace and infinity.

Therefore, Lord’s Car in motionsymbolises the movement of wheel of life. Mangets divinely inspired. Spiritual attainment becomesthe be-all and end-all of life. From Simghadwara(Lion’s Gate) of the temple to Swargadwara (theburial ground on the coast of the sea, in otherwords the gateway to heaven)- setting aside allacquisitions, the wheels of car move in enduringdirection-a refined, subtle representation ofphilosophy of life.

The structural details of the car are asfollows :

Balabhadra

Name of the Car - Taladhwaja/

Langaladhwaja / Haladhwaja

Number of woods used - 731 (763 in anotherversion) pieces.

Number of wheels - 14

Colour of the cover - Red and Green

Representative Idols - Rama and Krishna.

Subhadra

Name of the Car - Debadalana /

Darpadalana / Padmadhwaja/ Kamaladhwaja

Number of woods used - 711 (593 in anotherversion) pieces

Number of wheels - 12

Colour of the cover - Black and Red

Jagannath

Name of the Car - Nandighosh /

Chakradhwaja / Garudadhwaja

Number of woods used - 742 (783 in anotherversion) pieces

Number of wheels - 16

Colour of the cover - Red and yellow.

A close scrutiny of the rites and rituals ofCar Festival and the association of kingship withit, leads us to conclude that the festival got a newlease of life in Ganga period.

Jagannath Heritage manifests itself in oursocio-politico- economic- cultural set up throughvery many ways. It is rooted in the birth andnourished, perfected in the mind and sentimentand ultimately gets assimilated with the blood ofits identity. Thus, the Institution of Jagannath ofOdisha being evinced as “Holy JagannathEmpire”— with Jagannath as its nucleus - is anintegrated ethos. The Car Festival, in other waysexpounds this truth.

Dr. Soma Chand, Associate Professor, Department of

History, Utkal University, Vani Vihar, Bhubaneswar.