Startling bewilderment of Temple cultures in India

Part 1---

Jai Jagannath

The incredible cultural history of my country has always intrigued me like anything. 
The beguiling sculptural evidences pertaining from the cave art--to the murals and miniatures are always a source of perpetual delight to the perception.

The crude yet elegant cave arts in Lakhudiyar and Bhimbetka---the exotic Dancing girl bronze sculptures from mohenjodaro, the Voluptous Yakshini at Didarganj, the Sarnath Pillar which stands as a symbol for our nation..and then the pristine white marbles, the fusion of the trabeculae and the arcuate styles of the Mughal age.. is so hypnagogic and far short for any levels of adulation in course.

From now on I would at least try and jot down my thoughts ans revelations about some cultural aspects of our rich nation--and to start with, 
One of my most fascinating aspects is to deal with the Odissa style of temple architecture.

India has produced an exotic genre' of temple architecture--and to mention here its design--model--cast and -grain varied according to divergent geographical locations

Like we had Nagara architecture in the Northern of India (and the Orissan style forms an incredible quintessence of the same)--Dravida predominated in the South, with all their subforms and styles with their respective egalitarian momentousness

And to make it more interesting a FUSION form had predominated --with features having a blend' of Dravida and Nagara architecture--flourished mainly in Aihole, Somnathpur (Karnataka region) and is the conspicuous Vesara style 
--

• Puri Jagannath temple
• Konark temple, also called the Black Pagoda and 
• the Lingaraja Temple 

All of them had flourished during the rule of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty (?)

Predominant examples of the Odishan form of temple architecture can be vehemently found at Shri jagannatha temple at Puri forms the epitome of Nagara style of architecture with some variations. 

The temple forms an important pilgrimage destination for many Hindu traditions, particularly worshippers of Krishna and Vishnu, and part of the Char Dham pilgrimages that a Hindu is expected to make in one's lifetime

Reason being-- the explicitly developed Kalasha and the Amalaka at the SHikhara. 
----Shikhara in the Odishan style is called DEUL, which almost rises vertically upwards, when it taken a sudden dive inside and form the eye-catching amalaka..while a part of it rises above the amalaka to form the kalasha at the apex.

The Deul in Odishan style can again be classified as---Rekhapida; Pidhadeul and Khahra. Jagannatha expressed the Rekhapida style.

The Jagannatha Temple is also hosted by a Sudarshan Chakra (Nila Chakra or the eight spoked wheel of Lord Vishnu) at the top of the Kalasha and the Demarcating flag (which is said to flow always at the opposite direction of the wind )
~~This flag is also known as the Patita Pavana or Purifier of the Fallen, representing the deities.As per custom, everyday an new Flag is hoisted atop.

WHile the Nila Chakra is sacrosanct to the Jagannatha cult, and different from the Sudarshan Chakra which is present with the deities in the temple inside.The Nila Chakra disc atop the Jagannath Temple has eight Navagunjara carved on the outer circumference, with all facing towards the flagpost above. (references--follow below)

The three deities are mounted on a Throne of Pearls, and considered sanctimonious to the superlative degree.

 Some predominantly-Unique features are--

• Mandapas in Puri's temple are called Jagamohana (or the Dancing Mandapas ) The Odissi style of temple dance bears relevance to the Jagannatha temple
• Ganikas of that time were of high caste, well versed in music and art and copiously educated. they were offered to the deities and had a respectable societal disposition.
• No use of pillars (unique for Nagara style)
• Instead of pillars, iron girders provide support to the temple and the roof-top
• Exterior are lavishly decorated with exquisite carvings, while the interior remains plain and humble.
• Ground plan of the temple is a square, which in the upper reaches becomes circular in the crown
• Temples always have boundary walls 

Jagannatha, Balarama and Shubhadra (sister) form the three main deities of the temple, and during the nabakalebara or during the Rathamohotsav, they are brought put in processions in different chariots.
---The biggest among then been the Nandighosha belongs to Shri Jagannatha with sixteen wheels; then comes the Taladhwaja for Shri Balarama with 14 wheels; and finally the Devadalana for Devi Subhadra.

The original form of the deity of Jagannatha can be traced back to Mahabharata when Arjuna is said to have worshipped Navagunjara, a creature-God composed of nine different Animals.This animal now-a-days forms a common motif in the Pata chitra style of paintings in Odishan architecture.
The beast is an amalgamation of Lord Vishnu or Krishna--and a variant of the virat-rupa (Omnipresent or vast) form of Krishna, that he displays to Arjuna, as mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita, a part of the epic Mahabharata

Other Deities like Ganesha, Brahma also exists in the temple compound with their different mandapas---in the Northern panchayatan Style.

Some consider the three deities of the Temple as a delineation of three aspects of jain culture--Samyak Darshana; Samyak Gyana and Samyak Charita.

Other fascinating facts about the temple

• Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh, had donated massive amounts of gold to the Jagannath temple. In his last will, he also ordered that Koh-i-noor, the most precious and greatest diamond in the world, to be donated to this temple, but the diamond could never actually make its way to the temple because the British, by that time, had annexed the Punjab and all its royal possessions. Thus, claiming that the Koh-i-noor was theirs. It is currently a part of British crown jewels and is located in the Tower of London.

---I get some waspish feeling whenever I get to know any such splendour of our Nation is away from us --in some foreign locale.

• Also said that the Puri Jagannatha temple was saved from Mughal plunders by Chhatrapati Shivaji.
• WHen the Turks and the Afghans tried to desecrate the Temple, (like firoz shah Tughlaq)--

---Throughout the ages the temple of Lord Jagannath, Puri had been invaded and plundered for eighteen times in the annals of history. The temple was a lucrative place of wealth for invaders to plunder and an ideal way to proclaim 
.
Even according to some sources,the rashtrakutas under Govinda III had plundered the temple once.Bengal Sultan Illiyas Shah and Firoz Shah are among the other plunderers.But every time, not a single harm could be meted out to the main deities.
The invaders came through Sea, and  somehow was be-known at the appropriate time.
The king of Orissa fled from the city with the images of Jagannath and His associates lodged in a cart.

The images reached in Western frontier of Sonepur and buried at a place known as Gopali. After 146 years Yayati-I, the Somavamsi king got the images dug out, made new images, built a new temple at Puri and enshrined them there. Gopali, a village with a shrine of Jagannath, still exists at a distance of 16 miles from Sonepu.

Yayati-I after bringing back triad performed ‘Nabakalebara’ of deities at Puri because of dilapidated conditions with the help of servitors. And according to some, herein lies the origin of the Nabakalebara festival, which took place this year--the Burying/burning of the old and consecration of the new idols

Wood identification for the nabakalebara--which is a Neem tree having conspicuous manifestations for each deities--like the Daru  (wood) of Sri Jagannatha should have four main branches (representing four arms of Lord Jagannatha).The bark of the tree should be dark in color. The tree should have sign of Shankha (conch shell) and "chakra" on it.
It is not fascinating--to make you delve more and more deep into the unending vastness of the cultural extravaganza? 
----Forsooth it is !

• Another fascinating event associated with this temple is the Niladri Bije festival--the concluding day of Ratha yatra. On this day deities return to the Ratna bedi.The story goes--Lord Jagannath offers Rasgulla to goddess Lakshmi to enter in to the temple. (also the origin of Rasgullas about which Bengal and Odisha are always at daggers drawn for each other). Goddess laxmi was upset after Shri Jagannath went on the nine-day Rath Yatra without her consent and locked the Jai Vijay Dwar, a gate of the temple.(as all indian girls do :p )

TO please her, Shri Jagannatha offered her Rasgullas after which Devi provided entry to her Husband. :)

...to be continued.