Project IBAK, Indian Bhasha Art Architecture and Kahaani

Gender Fluidity- Lord Jagannath’s Pregnancy on Janmastami

In Hindu folklore, Lord Krishna is born in the dark fortnight of Bhadraba on the day of Janmastami. Most Vishnu temples across the country celebrate the occasion with much pomp. Most people also identify Lord Jagannath with Lord Krishna.

But in Puri temple, a curious ritual takes place the previous night, something that might be rather shocking to many.

Lord Jagannath suffers from labour pain on the night before Janmastami. Not only that, He is also offered an extra alati, known as the Garbhodaka Bandapana. Odia folk songs of the S(u)adakhia category often describe the cravings of a pregnant lady. In line with them, Lord Jagannath is also given a special medicinal preparation called the Jeuda Bhoga. Jeuda is a rather unknown concoction whose primary purpose is to alleviate labour pain. It is named after a fruit called jeuta, which forms the major ingredient. Somewhat like the mangosteen, it is this fruit that lends the concoction its strange sweet-sour-bitter taste. And this is what Lord Jagannath craves at the time, because the next night he shall give birth to Krishna.

The next night, Krishna is born; and now all of a sudden, the mother is the son. Lord Jagannath’s portable representative deity, Madanamohana is placed in the centre of the Krishna Janma Pati, a special Pattachitra painting in the shape of a lotus with eight characters in its eight petals.

Soon after, he is ritually born. His umbilical cord is cut and countless rituals follow as they have for centuries.
And so indeed, the people of Puri have a saying that goes “Mother today; son tomorrow; mother the next day. Who can decode the mystery of our dark Lord?”

These mystic rituals are interpreted in various ways.
First of all, Lord Jagarmath defies gender logic during rituals such as these. How can a masculine god be in labour?
Subtle traditions cleverly remind us that divinity is not restricted by gender notions and here we get a clear indication of how gender fluidity has been not just been accepted, but rejoiced since time immemorial.
And that is also why he (or she?) proudly wears a saree and a nose-ring; like Krishna, unafraid of any possibility.

Secondly, the Jeuda ritual resonates with the idea of god creating himself-the cyclical notion of infinity. Like it is said, infinity is born out of infinity and goes back into it; so does Lord Jagannath give birth to himself. She is the mother, he is the son and both are identical. It is obvious that each codified ritual also has a firm base in deep philosophy.

And while ancient intricately weaved complexities baffle us, forcing us to ponder; Lord Jagannath smiles. Perhaps that is what they are meant to do; make us think, introspect and grow.

Source: Odisha Post



Lopamudra the Storyteller Cheers2bhasha

Raksha Bandhan is celebrated on “shraavan poornima”, the full moon day in the month of shraavan.

In Sanskrit, “Raksha Bandhan” literally translates to “the knot of protection.”

Though the rituals vary across geographic locations, they all incorporate the tying of a thread. The sister (or sister-like figure) ties a colorful, sometimes ornate, thread on her brother’s wrist. The thread signifies the sister’s prayers and well wishes for her brother. The brother then gives his sister a thoughtful gift.

The “scared thread” may have served as amulets in ancient India, used by women to protect men going to war, and not just limited to brother-sister relationships.

There are many interesting legends behind this “sacred thread”

Legend 1
Lord Krishna and Subhadra
It is said that just before Krishna left for the war, his sister Subhadra tied a thread on his wrist, praying for his welfare and saying, “May you shine like the full moon and may you be victorious.” It was like a “raksha kavach” tied by a sister on her brother’s wrist.
This love between the siblings is celebrated in the Jagannath Temple at Puri.

Legend 2
Lord Krishna and Draupadi
This is a very popular story and there are two versions of it.
The first version mentions that the Lord hurt his finger while killing the evil King Shishupal. He sent his lightning fast Sudarshana Chakra to kill Shishupal, and while the evil king was beheaded immediately, Lord Krishna’s little finger started bleeding profusely.

In another version of the story, the Lord is believed to have hurt his finger while dealing with sugarcane on the day of Sankranti. Both Lord’s wives, Rukmini and Satyabhama, rushed to arrange the bandage for their husband. But, it was Draupadi, who was present there, immediately tore a small strip of cloth from her sari, and wrapped it around Krishna’s finger.
The lord was so moved by this gesture of Draupadi, whom he used to call his “priya sakhi”, meaning dear friend that he promised to protect her whenever she would be in trouble. The Lord is believed to have blessed Draupadi by uttering the word “Akshayam”, meaning unending or endless.
The Lord kept his promise and repaid his debt by protecting Draupadi when she was being disrobed by the Kauravas in the open assembly of King Dhritarashtra. Her disrobement could not happen as her sari kept getting extended, turning out to be truly “Akshyam”, unending or endless — the boon the Lord had granted earlier to his dear friend.

Legend 3
Lord Krishna and King Yudhisthira
The eldest of the five Pandavas, King Yudhishthir got worried about the impending Kurukshetra War.
He approached Lord Krishna and asked for his advice. He asked the Lord how he could protect all his brothers and the kingdom against the impending catastrophes of the war.
Lord Krishna advised him to observe the ceremony in which a priest or a Rajpurohit should tie a rakhi around his right wrist on full moon day of the month of Shravana.
Lord Krishna then narrates the story of the Lord Indra and his wife Indrani Shachi to the King Yudhishthir to explain the sanctity of this sacred thread.

Legend 4
Indra and Indrani ( Sachi)
There are many versions of this story too. But, the main content of all of them remains the same – Lord Indra’s victory over the evil king Bali due to the sacred thread Indra’s wife Shachi tied around his wrist on the advice of Lord Vishnu.
Bhavishya Purana mentions that Lord Indra – God of rains, sky and thunderbolts was losing the battle against the demons who were led by the demon King Bali. Indra’s wife Shachi, who is also called Indrani, got distressed and asked for Lord Vishnu’s guidance.
Lord Vishnu gave her a sacred cotton thread and asked her to tie it around her husband’s wrist. She was also asked to bless the thread with her wishes and prayers for the victory of her husband.
It was after wearing this blessed thread that Lord Indra defeated Bali and reclaimed Amaravati.
In another version of this story, Lord Indra himself approached guru Brihaspati for his guidance to win the losing battle against the demons.
The Guru then suggested Indra to get the sacred thread tied around his wrist. And, that the thread should be blessed by the sacred mantras on the full moon day of the Shravana Purnima.
Indra’s wife, queen Shachi, got this thread for her husband and tied it around his wrist which eventually made Indra victorious in the battle against the demons.
In many ancient texts, there are instances of wives tying rakhi to husbands who were going out for the war. These holy threads were believed to have magical powers that ensured their protection and subsequent victory.

Legend 5
Yama and Yamuna
The God of Death – Yama had not visited his sister Yamuna – the river Goddess for 12 years.
Yamuna asked for Ganga’s help and Ganga asked Yama to visit his sister Yamuna.
As Yamuna learnt about her brother’s imminent arrival, she prepared sumptuous feast for her brother. She applied”tilak” on Yama’s forehead and tied a thread .
The Lord of Death was so pleased with his sister’s hospitality that he requested Yamuna to ask any gift from him.
Yamuna asked Yama to visit her often.
Yama was so moved by the selflessness of his sister that he granted her immortality so he can visit her as many times as he would wish.
The river Yamuna’s endless flowing is attributed to Lord Yama’s boon.

Legend 6
Kunti and Abhimanyu
This story is as much about the protection as it is about the power of mind.

Pandav’s mother Queen Kunti tied rakhi to her grandson, Abhimanyu who was Arjun’s son. She tied rakhi with a solid resolution that until this protective thread remains on the wrist of Abhimanyu, he would be invincible in the battlefield.
But, because of past karmas, Abhimanyu has to die, and therefore, Lord Krishna took the shape of a mouse, and cut this sacred thread off while Abhimanyu was asleep. It is by this mischief that Abhimanyu was killed while exiting the Chakravyuh, the battle strategy adopted by the Kauravas.
Kunti was able to summon all her powers of will to protect her grandson. That rakhi did work until it was bitten off by the Lord himself in the guise of the mouse. The story is both a reflection of power of rakhi, and power of mind.

Legend 7
Shubh, Labh, and Santoshi Maa
Lord Ganesha had two sons – Shubh and Labh.
When they saw Lord Ganesha’s sister Devi Manasa who came every year and tied a Rakhi on Ganesh’s wrist, they yearned to have a sister who too would tie rakhi to them every year. They demanded to have their own sister.
Their father Lord Ganesha outrightly rejected this demand.
However, Narad Muni convinced Lord Ganesha to have his own daughter who would bring much prosperity and auspiciousness with her.
Lord Ganesha then created a daughter from the flames of his two wives – Riddhi and Siddhi.
His sons Shubh and Labh were quite happy with their father gifting them a sister.
She tied the raksha bandhan around her brothers' wrists, and in return they gave her chickpeas and jaggery.
She was satisfied with what she received and did not ask for riches. Hence she was named as Santoshi, which meant the Goddess of Satisfaction.

Legend 8
Goddess Lakshmi and King Bali
King Bali, a devoted follower of Lord Vishnu and asked him to stay with the latter to save his kingdom .
Lord Vishnu’s wife Goddess Lakshmi was upset and she was not happy with the arrangement as she missed her husband and wanted him to come back to Vaikuntha.
Goddess Lakshmi in disguise went to King Bali's kingdom and requested to stay there and on Shravan Purnima she tied a rakhi on Bali's wrist, revealing her true identity and requesting him to release Vishnu.

This gesture of trust and respect established the tradition of Raksha Bandhan as a symbol of goodwill and protection.

Sitala Sasthi

The Divine Monsoon Wedding of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati!

It is celebrated towards the end of the summer season (sixth day of the bright fortnight of the month of Jyestha), the aim being to call the rain Gods to give reprieve from the scorching heat of the Sun.

As stated in the ‘Shiv Purana’ the day of Sital Sasthi commemorates the marriage of Shiva and Parvati, the divine couple.

According to the legends, Parvati (an incarnation of Goddess Sati) performed rigorous ‘jap’ and ‘tap’ to get Lord Shiva as her husband. On the day of ‘Jyestha Shukla Paksha Sasthi’ Shiva was pleased and satisfied with her austerity, and the divine marriage of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati took place. Lord Kartikeya was then born who later killed the demon named ‘Tarakasura’.

An ancient, culturally rich festival - Sitala Sasthi is held in Odisha especially Sambalpur every year for 5 days in the form of a carnival called “SitalaSasthi Jatra” where people and artists from different walks of life participate making it more beautiful and bringing out the true colours of life. It is believed that during the reign of Raja Ajit Singh (1725-1766) of Sambalpur this festival received massive support and still continues!

The carnival- Sital Sasthi Jatra.
It is a distinctive and matchless form of folk drama wherein the two divine characters namely Lord Siva and Goddess Parbati become two human characters and their marriage ceremony is celebrated as per the local custom and tradition by the people in Sambalpur.

The most significant feature of this folk tradition is that, the human beings become the parents of these deities. This couple performs the role of Parbati's father and mother during the sanctified marriage ceremony of Lord Siva and Goddess Parbati. They also perform the ritual of Kanyadan, which is considered to be very auspicious and sacred for the Hindu parents.

It has got a special place in the cultural map of Odisha.

Sitala Sasthi Abhinandana 🙏🙏
Cheers2bhasha

In Sanskrit, the word akṣaya (अक्षय) means "never decreasing" in the sense of "prosperity, hope, joy, success", while tr̥tīyā (तृतीया) means "third phase of the moon". It is so named since it falls on the third lunar day of the spring month of Vaisakha in the Hindu calendar, when it is observed

The festival has related the presentation of the Akshaya Patra to Draupadi by the god Krishna during the visit of numerous sages, including the sage Durvasa.

Akshaya Tritiya is believed by Hindus to be the birthday of Parasurama, the sixth avatar of the god Vishnu.

According to one legend, the sage Vyasa began reciting the Hindu epic Mahabharata to the god Ganesha on Akshaya Tritiya.

Another legend states that the river Ganges descended to earth on this day.

Another event linked to the day is Sudama's visit to his childhood friend, Krishna in Dwarka when he received unlimited wealth as a boon.

The Yamunotri Temple and Gangotri Temple are opened on the auspicious occasion of Akshaya Tritiya during the Chota Char Dham pilgrimage, after closing down during the heavy snowfall-laden winters of the Himalayan regions.

In Odisha, Akshaya Tritiya The day starts with ritual worship of mother Earth, the bullocks, and other traditional farm equipment and seeds by the farmers for the blessings of a good harvest. After ploughing the fields, the farmers sow paddy seeds as the symbolic start for the most important Kharif crop of the state This ritual is called Akhi Muthi Anukula (Akhi- Akshaya Tritiya; Muthi- fistful of paddy; Anukula- commencement or inauguration) and is celebrated with much fanfare throughout the state.

As per the tradition, the construction work of the three chariots of Lord Jagannath and His sibling deities in Puri begins on the auspicious occasion of Akshaya Tritiya.

In the Telugu-speaking states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, the festival is associated with prosperity and charity. Simhachalam temple observes special festive rituals on this day.

In state of Maharashtra. It is one of the Sadetin Muhurtas (Three and a half auspicious and holiest festival days in the Marathi calendar). People in Maharashtra consider these days as the days to start anything new as it is believed that the work started on Akshaya Tritiya brings long lasting success.