A. Mishra, Role of Pancahsakha in Odisha

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Role of Panchasakha in the Socio-Religious life of the people of

Odisha

Akhay Mishra

Odisha

India

Abstract

Odisha displayed remarkable socio-religious harmony through the different times of

her history. Right from the ancient period, Odisha, assumed to be a melting point of different

religions and cultures. By the time when the Muslims started ruling over Odisha, Jainism,

Buddhism, Sakti worship, Sun worship, Saivism and Vaishnavism all mingled together to

influence the religious life of the people. This has been reflected in the social habits, food,

dress and ornaments; and dance, music and festivals. A resume of such a socio-religious

harmony was displayed in the period of Panchasakha.

Odisha in the medieval period marks an era with the past in respect of the evolution of

society. The Hindus gradually accommodated the newcomers viz., the Muslims and they

became parts of Odishan society. The absence of racial conflicts exhibits the better social and

religious understanding of the people belonging to all the segments of medieval Odisha.

Introduction

The bhakti movement influenced the whole country at different times, and had a definite

impact not only on religious doctrines, rituals, values and popular beliefs, but on arts, culture

and the state systems as well. The social protest and popular movement in medieval Orissa

not only had a close bearing on the bhakti movement, it influenced almost the entire body of

the contemporary society and culture. In this article, there is an attempt to discuss the role of

Panchasakhas in Odia culture. Their influence on the ruling class of contemporary period has

also been noticed. Numerous social changes that appeared in medieval Orissa like the growth

of education and moral upliftment with the emergence of the Bhagavata Ghara, development

of Pala, goti-pua dances, performance of suangas and organisation of Dola Yatra bear the

unmistakable marks.

When Hindu religion was full of dogmas, superstitions and rituals and when the caste

rigidity, the system of untouchability became unbearable, during that period (1470-1550 A.D)

there flourished a band of five comrades generally known as Panchasakha in Odisha and they


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were Balaram Das, Jagannath Das, Ananta Das, Jasobanta Das and Achyutananda Das. 1 By

1510, a great Bhakti philosopher Sri Chaitanya from Nabadvipa of Bengal visited Puri with

the Vaishnava message of love and settled there till 1533 A.D. 2 Sri Chaitanya was closely

associated with the Panchasakhas and other Odia followers during his long stay in Puri. It is

evident from the MadalapanJi 3 and different writings of Achyutananda Dasa 4 and Sudarshan

Dasa 5 that the panchasakhas participated in the sankirtan of SriChaitanya. He introduced the

Nagara Sankirtana where there were no discriminations based on caste or social class, and the

songs of the kirtanas were not only in classical Sanskrit but also in the popular languages

such as Bengali and Oriya, encouraging ordinary and low-caste people to participate more

directly. Chaitanya also accepted low-caste people as his followers, embraced fishermen and

honored ex -Muslim devotees such as Haridasa, Rupa and Sanatana etc. So the Panchasakhawere deeply influenced by Sri Chaitanya. They followed the path of Bhakti adopting mantra,

tantra and yantra in their sadhana; they manifested mystic power and could change their body

into different forms.

Chaitanya has referred to these five friends as Panchasakha and stated that the Panchasakha

are like Pancha Atma, i.e., five souls (Atma- Tattva) and are in no way lesser than Avataars

of Vishnu. However, there is an interesting belief about the origin of Panchasakha which

relates them to the Mahabharata in the Dwapara-Yuga, and is also stated in Shunya Samhitawritten by Mahapurusha Achyutananda. Here, Mahapurusha describes Panchasakha literally

meaning five mates or friends . Towards the end of Mahabharat era when Lord Krishna was

leaving the mortal body, Nilakantheswara Mahadeva appeared and had a conversation with

Lord Krishna. He revealed that the Lord s companions Dama, Sudama, Srivat sa, Subala, and

Subahu would reincarnate in the Kali-Yuga and will be known as Ananta, Acyutananda,

Jagannatha, Balarama and Yasovanta, respectively. Thus, the believers of the Panchasakha

consider that these five saints were the most intimate friends of Lord Krishna in Dwapara-

Yuga, who came again in Kali-Yuga to serve Him. Shri Chaitanya was the first to establish

the Bhaaba-Mishrita Naama Marga (the path of chanting the holy name with proper feelings

and faith). He first introduced this method for all the simpleminded people and made many

realize that God- realization can also be achieved by simpler method of pure devotion without

undergoing difficult method of austerities. It is he who first disclosed the importance of the

Mahaa Mantra Hare Krisna Hare Krisna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama

Rama Rama Hare Hare! Like the Puranas and Tantric texts, the Panchasakha literature also

abounds with it. They were the first to take the Hindu Sanskrit texts into the reach of the

common people, by translating them into the local language, Odia. This was first done by


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Sarala Dasa s translation of the Mahabharata in the mid -fifteenth century, followed by

Balarama Dasa s Jagamohan Ramayana, Jagannath Dasa s Bhagabat Purana, and

Acyutananda Dasa s Harivamsa . The second aspect is their form of Odia Vaisnavism, which

sees God as the Shunya Purusha and the nature of the soul as being able to merge into the

Absolute. According to the Panchasakhas, Lord Jagannath is the PurnaBrahma , and all the

Avatars of Vishnu emanate from Him, and also enter into Him at the end. Jagannatha was the

chief god of the devotional sect. The chief ideal of the Panchasakhas was that, as Bhakta

they would be faithful, humble, learned, selfless, active, benevolent and affectionate. The

Panchasakhas were against the caste system, they considered all beings as one. They

translated the Sanskrit Classics into local language, Odia. Anyone could become a Vaisnava,

even Muslims.Chaitanya s path of devotion was known as Raganuga Bhakti Mar ga, but the Panchasakhas

differed from Chaitanya and believed in Gyana Mishrita Bhakti Marga. The Panchasakha

converted ancient Hindu texts into prose (of simple language) easily understandable by the

people of Udra Desha (Odisha). The Panchasakhas believed in a concept of God as Sunya

(emptiness, void, zero) called Shunya Purusha or Shunya Brahman. This Shunya signifies a

transcendental principle that eludes the conceptual nexus applied to human thinking as

described in the Upanishads. The Panchasakhas project the deity Jagannath as theembodiment of the Shunya Purusha.

Balarama Das

Among the Panchasakhas who flourished in the first quarter of the sixteenth century, the

eldest and the most radical was Balarama Dasa who was born in 1473 A.D., at Puri. 6 He is

sometimes called Matta Balarama because of his disregard for social conventions in favor of

ecstatic Bhakti. Balarama Dasa wrote the famous Jagamohana or Dandi Ramayana, as well as

a number of other works entitled Gita Abakasa, Bhava samudra, Gupta Gita, Vedanta Sara,

Mriguni Stuti, Saptanga yogasara tika, Vedanta sara or Brahma tika, Baula gai gita, Kamala

locana chotisa, Kanta koili, Bedha parikrama, Brahma gita, Brahmanda bhugola, Vajra

kavaca, Jnana chudamani, Virat gita, Ganesh vibhuti, Amarakosha Gita, Lakshmi Purana.

Balarama Das s "Jagamohan Ramayana" is one of the three most important epics in Orissa. It

is purely in Odia composition. The work subsequently acquired the name of Dandi

Ramayana, as it became a popular work and the contents were being recited or sung by the

danda or road-side. Sanskrit Ramayana was read out by the Pundits in a high mandap (altar)

of the temple or of a village where the king, zamindars, and Brahmins of high class came to

listen to the sacred text. When poet Balarama Dasa wrote the Ramayana in Oriya and as it


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became popular and began to be sung and recited outside the humble house in the danda

(common street between two rows of houses). In his notes, "Balarama Dasa, as a national

poet, has sung for the people and by making Orissa a miniature world by itself has taught his

countrymen to love the land of their birth. Balarama Dasa condemned the priests responsible

for degrading religion to mere means of making a livelihood. In his Ramayana he exposed the

greedy and exploitative attitude of the priests. When Rama, Laxman and Sita had been to

Gaya to offer Pinda, the priests also did not spare them from collecting dakshina 7. Sugriva,

Hanuman and Bibhishan were the ideals of the poet because of their honesty, sincereity and

helpful attitude. When the city of Ayodhya was reconstructed, Rama himself invited these

three persons to the ceremony celebrating the inauguration of the city. The poet said through

Rama that the persons who help selflessly at the time of danger, their foot-prints are moreimportant than the greatest religious activity like Yajna. 8 The poet did not surrender to the

views of superiority of Brahmins, on the basis of merely their birth in the Brahmin families,

and if they were ignorant of true dharma, i.e. social equality. He believed only those were the

real Brahmins who knew Vedas, religion, and were engaged in right deeds and recognised the

self of others. Those who lived only in the shrines and exploited people in the name of

religion were not, according to Balarama, the true Brahmins. 9 The poet did not find any

djstinction between a Brahmin and a Chandal and to him all were human-beings of the same blood and flesh. To prove this he went on describing the close friendship between

Purushottam Rama and Guhaka, a tribal chief of the forest. Both of them were so close that

Rama delivered the message of killing Ravana first to Guhaka. Secondly, the poet also made

Rama to eat the berries already tested by a Sabari (hunter woman) while he was in exile in the

forest. 10 The poet's description of the incident of the meditation of the Sudramuni Sambuka in

his Ramayana symbolises his deep concern to the development of status of the Sudras. To

him, Sambuka, attained nirvan, being killed by Rama, on the day of Sukla Panchami of the

month of Bhadrav. This day has been regarded as the Rishi-Panchami and according to a

popular belief, who worship the Sudra saints on this day. It is not only a sympathetic

consideration of the poet towards the Sudra community but also his insistence towards

building an egalitarian social order. Balarama Dasa protested against the tradition of ging

mercy and sympathy of the king. His message to his audience was for assertion of their right

before the king, not to seek his mercy. 11 In a measure thus he upheld a revolutionary idea of

bringing out equality between the king and the people of his kingdom. As a social reformer

he condemned the oppressive features of Brahminical religion and was critical of the classes

who exploited the people subsisted on their toil without giving them anything in return.


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Besides there was another class of fraud sanyasis who only grew beard, weared beads, used

tilak on forehead, ashes on body and remained social parasites. In his Ramayana, Balarama

Dasa preached that there was no difference between the rich and poor, strong and weak,

ignorant and knowledgeable in the eyes of Lord Jagannatha. The Lord treats equally

everybody, be he a Brahmin or from an ordinary sect. When Balarama repeatedly asserted

that he was "son of Lord Jagannatha", it was not that he told about himself. He identified

himself with the entire humanity and meant that the whole mankind irrespective of caste,

creed and colour were the children of lord Jagannatha. To him, an ordinary man lost his caste

when he became a bhakta. All bhaktas identified themselves as Dasas or servants to God.

Balarama also attacked rituals. He did not believe in fast or meditation. He also did not

worship any God other than Lord Jagannatha, who symbolised the monotheistic ideals of hisreligious life. He was a believer in jnana and bhakti. The philosophy of knowledge-cum-

devotion was the weapon wielded by him to influence both the masses and the high classes.

At the same time, Jagannatha Dasa emerged and also made most cant contribution to the

growth of Oriya literature.

His Laksmi Purana is considered the first manifesto of women s liberation or feminism in

Indian literature. An analytic approach over Balaram Das s Laxmi Purana testifies to a fact

that Lord Jagannath in the manifestation of goddess Laxmi emerged to carry out the sociocultural movement in the then society which was at its lowest ebb exhausting all its potential

and energetic spirit and leading towards a rapid disintegration and decline. In it s attempt to

re-energizing the defunct spirit and to create consciousness among the subalterns and to free

the society from the gender-bias, Balaram Das devoutly surrendered to goddess Maha Laxmi

for liberating the society from the thralldom of social taboos, evils, orthodoxy, conservatism,

and above all, Brahmin dogmatism. Goddess Maha Laxmi as a first lady of Odia society

seems to take leadership to regenerating the idea of male-female equality and to revolting

against male chauvinism. It also tries to establish a fact that a woman should carry out her

struggle against male chauvinism, so long her right to equality is not perfectly ascertained.

Further more, in His Lila (acting) Lord Jagannath is found to manifesting Himself in the form

of Sriya Chandaluni, a lady of an out caste who could never make temple entry. But this

Sriya Chandaluni was a sincere devotee of Lord Jagannath and Mother Laxmi. Her sincere

and absolute devotion made Goddess Maha Laxmi to remain present in her thatched and

dilapidated house in one fine morning of Thursday day of the month of Margasira to receive

her worship and offering. This led to a serious troublesome affair as it was seen by Lord

Balaram, the elder brother of Lord Jagannath, who disapproved Laxmi s presence in a


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Chandala s house. This led to the banishment of goddess Laxmi from the Bada Deula who

desperately left the temple accusing Lord Jagannath for not following the nuptial ideologies.

The result is well known to every body. As a self esteemed lady, Mother Laxmi did not return

back to his parental house rather she opted to carry out the struggle singlehandedly imparting

a lesson to all Odia ladies that virtue, patience and wit -mind would ultimately encrown a

lady with absolute success 12. In the voice of goddess Laxmi, Balaram Das achieved his

objective, making the temple entry of the out castes and also promoting the interdining

culture inside the Anand Bazar with a hope that the idea would be diffused and disseminated

throughout the Odia society. It indicates to the fact that social distinction is man-made. It is

not made by any divine authority. In Jagannath culture the sins and crimes have no place.

But, if a sinner would make proper repentance for his acts done he would be pardoned andwould be allowed to join in the mainstream of social life. Take for example Balaram Das who

ran out from a harlot s house listening to ding dung sound of the bells and blowing of the

pipes to accompany Lord Jagannath during the car-festival, but his shabby and awkward gait-

up made the Daitapatis to believe that without proper ablutions he was riding up the car to

make the whole process unsacred.

Balaram Das mentions in his Brahmanda Bhugola ; In the primeval days, there was no

existence of the universe; So also, sun and moon were not present; Day and night did notoccur. There was no concept of the world (three worlds- Swarga, Martya and Patala) and the

earth.The concept of Brahma, Vishnu and Siva was not present those days.

Atibadi Jagannatha Dasa

Jagannatha Dasa, the second of the celebrated Panchasakhas, is popularly remembered for his

unique contribution to the Oriya literature through his Bhagavata. He was born in

Kapilesvarapur or Kapilesvar grama (one of the 16 traditional Sasana villages) at 14 kms

from Puri towards Brahmagiri, on the day of Radhastami of 1487. As he was born on

Radhastami, he is considered to have a close relationship with Srimati Radhika .

Besides the Bhagavata(1504 or 1505 A.D), Jagannatha also composed a number of minor

philosophical and devotional treatises in the language of the people. Artha koili, Gajastuti,

Darubrahma Gita, Gundicha Vijay, Dutibandha, Radhamanjari, Chaupadi Manasiksha and

Dhruba Charita are included to his credit. He also wrote Gupta Bhagavat, Tula vina, Sola

chaupadi, Chari chapadi, Diksa samyad, Mruguni stuti, Annamaya kundali, Goloka

sarodhara, Bhakti chandrika, Kali malika, Indra malika, Niladri vilasa, Nitya gupta

chintamani, Sri Krishna bhakti kalpa lata etc. It is said that by the order of Narada Muni,

Jagannatha Das translated Srimad Bhagavata into Odia. This work gave him the reputation of


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the best spiritual teacher in Odisha in his times, and is still extremely popular even today,

being worshiped and recited in all households. In fact in Odisha this text is considered on the

same level of Tulasi Das Rama charita manasa.

The "Odi a Bhagavata'' like Balarama s creations helped in breaking down the pride and

traditional outlook of the orthodox Brahmin Pundits. The Oriya Bhagavata of Jagannatha Das

was even called by Brahmin Pundits as teli bhagavata, the Bhagavata of the low -caste oil-

maker. Jagannatha Dasa himself was a Brahmin and an erudite scholar in Sanskrit. He had

completed his Odia Bhagavata before the coming of Chaitanya to Odisha. Chaitanya first met

him under the so-called Kalpa-bata (eternal banyan tree) within the premises of Jagannatha

temple, reciting there his recently composed Bhaqavata to illiterate folk from the rural areas.

Chaitanya, like a common charmed scribed to in listen to the episodes of Krishna's such soft,sonorous, rhythmic and folk, was life demelifluous couplets. These are outstanding

characteristics of Jagannatha's popular Oriya Bhaqavata. The saint intuitively saw in the poet

a spiritual kinship that developed into warm, lifelong friendship between them. He was

deeply impressed by the work of Jagannatha Dasa and his intellectual discourses on

metaphysical matters. Therefore, Sri Chaitanya called him "atibadi" or the "Very Great". The

Bengali Vaishnavas were enraged at the title of "atibadi" to Jagannatha Dasa. 13 Chaitanya

was very calm and replied, "The sand, stone, wood and trees of this land are equal to Gods.Comparatively the dignity of man is so high that it is beyond imagination and therefore it is

correct to address Jagannatha Dasa "atibada". 14 He further advised, "Be small like grasses and

tolerate all like trees. Be pleased in respect and don't be sorry at disregard. Then you will be a

pure Vaishnav.

Poet Jagannatha did not give importance to Varna in the worship of Radha and Krishna. To

him, any person irrespective of his or her caste or sex, Brahmin, Sudra or a woman, could be

taken as a guru, if he/she worshiped Radha and Krishna with twelve lettered mantras.

Jagannatha Dasa was a great believer in bhakti and he particularly emphasised a harmonious

and balanced relationship among jnan, bhakti and yoga. Jagannatha's immense popularity

among the masses cannot ordinarily be estimated. His Oriya rendering of the original Sanskrit

Bhagavata recited in his own sweet voice had incomparable impact on the people. He had

created enemies among the Puranapandas by his recitations as they had lost the dakshina

which they used to receive from the devotee-listeners. Jagannatha Dasa, however, became the

focal point of envy, resentment and anger due to the added reason of the envy of the

followers of Chaitanya. There is a legend which describe how even king Prataprudradev was

misled into believing in some of these rumours circulated by his envious enemies concerning


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his morals. The Pundits, were deadly jealous of Jagannatha and lodged a complain against

him to the king Prataprudradev on a charge of abducting women. The Pundits alleged that

Jagannatha Dasa was a magician and by virtue of his mantras he was attracting a large

number of women than men. The time would come when all women would be running after

him leaving their own husbands. A famous incident regarded such confidential exchanges

with Medha and Sumedha, two ladies endowed with great spiritual power and who were said

to be going in the night to visit Jagannatha in the temple by their mystic powers after it was

closed. Some envious men complained to king Prataparudra accusing Jagannatha Dasa of

immoral behaviour (illicit relationships with women) and the King called him for

questioning. Jagannatha Dasa replied that for him there was no difference between men and

women; he said that in fact when he was associating with ladies, he actually regarded himselfas a woman, too.

The King did not believe him but when Jagannatha Das was put in jail he actually manifested

himself in the form of a woman and the guards, impressed, called the King to witness such an

extraordinary feat.

King Prataparudra realized he had committed an offense to a great devotee, so not only he

released him/her from prison, but he also asked that s/he gave initiation to his chief Queen

into Bhakti yoga. The Queen invited Jagannatha Dasa within the royal palace, where he couldopen his own Matha, called Bada Odiya Matha andthen the Satalahari Matha.

Once an affluent merchant from Kasi presented a piece of very valuable sandalwood to King

Prataprudradev who in turn handed it over to Jagannatha to prepare paste and anoint Lord

Jagannatha. Jagannatha made the paste but applied it to the walls of his own monastery.

When news of this reached the king he was naturally furious and wanted an explanation for

this preposterous behaviour. Jagannatha's cool reply was that he had applied sandal paste on

the Lord with perfect devotion. At this the king wanted the sevaka to verify and report to him.

And to their utter dismay and surprise they found that the Lord had actually been anointed

with this special aromatic sandal paste. At this the king realised his own mistake and the

greatness uf poet Jagannatha and he promptly apologised to him. Jagannatha Dasa did not

travel to various places of pilgrimage in India like other religious personalities and saints. He

considered it adequate to stay at Srikshetra all his life. And instead of putting over-riding

emphasis on knowledge or ritual observations he put a high premium on right-living, right

action, simplicity of life-style and on devotion or bhakti. Sadhana remained impor-tant but

not merely as a system of formulae, incantations, or celebrations. It was transmuted into

quieter- channels of submissian to the divine and the path of right-living. From several


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episodes in the Oriya Bhaqavata one can get vivid and realistic pictures of contemporary

Oriya society, its value-systems, organisational its royal courts and their splendour, social

morals and taboos, hopes and aspirations, religious faith, and ethical attitudes. It is eminently

clear from the Oriya Bhaqavata that to its poet Krishna was only another name for Lord

Jagannatha, and Srikshetra the seat of the Lord of the Universe, was the focal point of

Orissa's social life and culture. In fact, the religion of the Bhagavata is the religion of

Jagannatha, unique for its cultural synthesis, universal brotherhood, assertion of the

uniqueness of man in the entire creation and the equality of all before the Lord. 15 Jagannatha

Dasa composed a new poetic language which was balanced, elastic, effective and creative. Its

general aroma of sanctity, its soft fluency, its quiet dignity and the sublime air of high moral

and spiritual life it breathes, go straight into the hearts of hearers and readers. This human body is a rare gift meant only to aspire for salvation. Whenever a crowd gathers, there is

bound to be a quarrel. Karma is your own guru what else do you enquire. What can the

powerful do to one Whom the Lord protects. See all these rivers, rivulets they flow on and

join the sea. Mingling with saline water they forget their name and identity. Likewise the

Cowherd maidens have merged their life and mind in me. They forget the body, the Samsar

and were delivered over from birth and death. Poet Jagannatha not only rendered emphasis on

spiritual liberation of man irrespective of caste, he also contributed to the cultural andspiritual upliftment of the women, by accepting them as disciples. 16 In Orissa Krishna was

also worshiped as Madhava and Gopinatha. In Jagannatha Dasa's Bhagavata these two names

are also used very frequently. Apart from Chaitanya, Jagannatha had close relations with

Balarama, Achyuta, Jasovanta and Sishu Ananta, all of whom contributed to the growth of

Oriya literature, religion and philosophy. They had their disciples and followers. Sishu

Ananta mentions that Jagannatha had around three thousand and six hundred Sishyas of

whom twelve were quite prominent. Dibakara Dasa, the biographer of Jagannatha Das was

one of his prominent disciples. Jagannatha breathed his last in the sixteenth year of life on

Sukla Magha saptami (7th day in the bright fortnight of the month of Magha, Chandrabhaga

Mela in Konarak) in 1557. Thus he had ushered a significant religious, literary and linguistic

transformations in Odisha.

Jagannatha Das also used to go to recite the Bhagavata in the houses of people and made no

discrimination on the basis of bodily identification, befriending men and women in the same

way. The poet has also sometimes felt it necessary to give the theme more of a local context,

social credibility and pictorial quality. At other times he seems to have driven by his religious

fervour to emphasise and expand those mportions dealing with the leela or activities of Lord


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Krishna. It is, indeed, a unique poetic creation. With philosophical backdrop, it never

degenerates into arid, obscure or abstruse, philosophical debates and discussions. On the

other hand, the most difficult philosophical propositions are delineated through simple stories

narrated in the traditional manner of storytelling. A work which certainly had at least a partial

motivation of religious or spiritual purpose never degenerates into any listing of litanies or

observances of rituals or ceremonies. This explains why the Odia Bhaqavata remains the

most intimate expression of the Odia soul as well as the culture and social ethics of the Odia

speaking people. The spirit of liberal humanism, tolerance, sacrifice and humility, so

characteristic of Odia social life, is, indeed, the gift of this epic Bhagavata.

Achyutananda Das

Shri Achyutananda Das was the most prolific writer of the Panchasakhas and has writtennumerous books (called as Pothi s), believed not in one life but in many successive li ves.

Mahapurusha Achyutananda was a shunya sadhak and had acquired immense knowledge

about almost every aspect, i.e. spiritualism, Ayurveda, various other sciences, and social

regulations. He was born to father Dinabandhu Khuntia and mother Padmavati in Tilakana

near Nemala, Cuttack, in 1485. 17 As a child, he was named Agani. When he grew older, he

had a mystic dream where the Lord taught him the Gita, the Upanishads and the Tantra.

Immediately he went to pilgrimage and on the way he met Chaitanya and it is said hereceived Harinam initiation from Him. The mula mantra he chanted and taught was the

Radha mantra. Achyutananda is mostly famous for the book of prophecies called

Achyutananda Malika, composed of 13 chapters. Achyutananda also translated into Oriya

and commented Harivamsa. Tattva bodhini, Sunya samhita, Jyoti samhita, Gopala Ujjvala,

Baranasi Gita, Anakara Brahma Samhita, Abhayada Kavacha, Astagujari, Sarana panjara

stotra, Vipra chalaka, Mana mahima. Among his other creations,Brahmasankuli, Akalita

Samhita, Amara-Jamara Samhita, Sabdabrahma Samhita, Manivarana Gita, Manibandha

Gita, Garuda Gita, Janapradipa Gita, Sunya Gita, Kaliyuga Gita, Kali Kalpa Gita, Adilila

Gita, Avada Samhita, Dasa Patala, Udaya Kahani, Nirghanta Sabda, Nitya Rahasa, Varuna

Charita, Sarasvata Malika etc. are important. 18 The Shunya Samhita is regarded as one of his

top compositions that dealt with supreme spiritual science where the description is recorded

as a conversation between Guru Achyuta and Shishya Ram Das. Achyutananda Das who

claims himself as a Sudra and one of the great poet Philosophers of the Panchasakhas rightly

mentions in his Sunyasamhita. This wooden form is the sum total of the ten incarnations.

Once again all the manifestations of ten incarnations were assimilated in the wooden form.

It is too difficult to attain salvation by Yoga. So it is indispensable on the part of human


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beings to chant the Name and obtain salvation. 19 To identify Lord Jagannath as the sum

total of ten incarnations means an acceptance of the theory of soc ialism, i.e. all are equal

before the eyes of the God; and He has not made discrimination and distinction between

man and man; He is omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent. Lord Jagannath is the supreme

sovereign of the Odia nationality. Describing Lord Jagannath as supreme-infinite who made

Himself to be emerged from an absolute Zero (Sunya / great vaccum) to a form. A number of

folk lores and legendary sayings relating to Lord Jagannath are found attesting to the fact of

socio cultural unity and integrity of the Odia society where liberty, equality and fraternity

played a vital role. Let it be considered that the struggle against the caste system in Odisha

was developed under the leadership of Lord Jagannath. The classic paradigm was the story of

Dasia Bauri who was born in a Scheduled Caste called bauri who resided near Baligaon. Hewas a great devout of Lord Jagannath who was not allowed to enter inside the temple. Lord

Jagannath was so pleased with the absolute devotion of Dasia that he offered two boons to

him out of which one was that Lord Jagannath would personally receive. In one occasion,

Dasia Bauri gave a coconut of his tree to a Brahmin of his village who made a pilgrimage to

Puri requesting him that after offering his personal naivedyas, he must come down to the

back side of the Garuda Stambha where he would offer the coconut to Lord Jagannath telling

that it was sent for Him by Dasia Bauri. Further he told him that if it was not personallyreceived by Lord Jagannath, then it must be returned back to Dasia. The Brahman followed

accordingly what was told by Dasia. To his surprise, the Brahmin found the hands of

Jagannath extended like the tusks of the elephant towards him and the coconut was lifted

within no time. Another interesting incident happened when Dasia Bauri personally

proceeded to Puri to offer sweet mangoes to Lord Jagannath. He was obstructed by the

Sevakas who insisted upon him to hand over the mangoes to them. Dasia Bauri s polite

refusal to the sevakas stating that the mangoes would be directly received by the Lord made

them to be curious. The sincere meditational devotion of Dasia Bauri made the mangoes to be

vanished within an wink of the eyes and to the utmost surprise of the sevakas the seed stones

of the mangoes were found lying on the ratna simhasana. This proves to the fact that the god

belongs to all in an equal manner. Further, a group of persons of vestedinterests describe

Lord Jagannath as Patitapaban which literally means who is the uplifter or saviour of the

Patitas, i.e. dalita or down-troddens. He claimed that no one is patit in front of Lord

Jagannath. Since all are equal, the patitas (down troddens) were created by the unruly social

behavior. Similarly, the account of Bhakta Salabeg and Kabir proves to the fact that

Jagannath culture knows no racial, social and cultural discrimination. It stands for socializing


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the Odia-society where there is no place for discrimination between caste, creed and religion.

Probably the Sikhs langar cult (inter dinning) was borrowed from the Anand Bazar cult of

Lord Jagannath where people irrespective of their social status could dine together. Apart

from it, people from Chhatisa Pataka (36 patakas -castes and sub-castes) are employed to

render their respective services to the God. Achy utananda s teachings present a fusion of

Saguna and Nirguna worship, uniting the doctrines of Dvaita and Advaita, and knowledge

from Upanishads and Kundalini yoga. He left his body on Jyestha sukla Ekadasi.

Yasobanta Das

Jasovanta Das was born in 1487 near Aranga Nandi village, district of Cuttack, in a kshatriya

family. His father was Balabhadra Mala, his mother was Rekha Devi. 20 The mula mantra

chanted and taught by him was the Shyama mantra. He wrote Govinda chandra, Shivasarodaya, Sasti mala, Prema bhakti, Brahma gita, Atma pariche gita, a Malika and several

bhajans. The Govinda Chandra became very famous in Assam, Bengal and north India which

is basically related with traditional dance and teaching of dance connected with the

Vaishnava tradition.

Jasovanta Das is well remembered only through his ballad of "Govinda Chandra" sung by

Natha cult medicant singers. Jasovanta became indifferent towards the world while he was

twelve years of age. He was determined to be a sanyasi. Since his early age Jasovanta used totravel over many parts of India and lastly returned to Puri. Jasobanta Dasa composed many

devotional songs among which Premabhakti Brahmagita, Govinda Chandra Gita, Svaraday,

Chaurashi Ajna, and Rasa etc. were important. He has deciphered a number of methods of

yoga in' his Siva Svaraday". His language was very simple and intelligible to all. He also

propagated the knowledge-cum-devotion ideology among the people and discussed the

philosophy, ethics and principles of nirakara, anakara and omakr Brahma. The relation

between the soul and the great soul (Paramatma) was also investigated by him. He loved

Orissa, to him "Neelachal Purushottam Kshetra" was a rare place in the Universe, and the

shrines like Gopa, Mathura, Vrindaban, Dwaraka and Kashi were prevalent here. 21 The

picture of the contemporary society, family and the eternal love between the mother and son

are to be found in his book "Govindachandra Gita". It deals with the tradition of social

behaviour in human society. Mother Mukta Devi taught her son, the prince Govinda.

Sacrifice was given a higher position than enjoyment. Another important thing the treatise

preaches that the gurus should be accepted irespective of caste, creed and colour-, if they

were to possess real knowledge. The prince Govinda Chandra had worshiped his guru

Hadipa, who was a sweeper by caste. 22 Jasovanta Dasa also protested 'against the existing


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norms of socio-economic domination and discrimination. According to him meditation and

dvotion to God can never be monopolised by a particular caste or community, it is open to all

mankind. He bglieved in Premabhakti propagated to worship the God with' the Gopibhava. In

his Premabhakti Brahmagita he has made Sri Krishna to speak to his devotees. He comes to

closer to them who worship Him with premabhakti.There is no better devotion than love-

based devotion.

Ananta Das

Ananta Das who was another distinguished members of Panchasakha born in Balipatna

village, near Bhubaneswara, in 1488. His father s name was Kapila, and his mother s name

was Gaura Devi. 23 He was a contemporary of King Prataprudradev and was an associate of

Sri Chaitanya. He wrote the Bhakti mukti daya gita, one of the oldest and most important popular scriptures of Orissa, and other texts like Sisu Deva gita, Artha tarani, Udebhakara,

Tirabhakana, a Malika and several bhajan songs. In Udaya bhagavata he describes Lord

Jagannatha as the combined form of Radha and Krishna. He composed number of treatises,

namely, the Garuda-Keshav Sambad, Thikabahar, Agatbhabishya Malika Arthatareni,

Chumbak Malika, Bhaktijuktidayak Gita, Anakar Sabad, Dibi Dibi Dhola, Pinda Brahmanda

Gita and 'Hetu Uday Bhagavat'. The "Hetu Uday Bhagavata" was the most important work in

which he described the implications of the guru mahima (significance of the religiousguides), Pancha mana (five stages of the mind) and Pachis Prakriti (twenty-five natures of

human-being) and also defined the philosophy of the creation of the Universe: Chauda

Brahmanda (Fourteen Worlds), Gayatri Tattva, Pinda Brahmanda Tattava and Abdhut Charita

etc. His predictions regarding the future of society was simple and was understood in

vernacular by the common men. Ananta Dasa, like his other comrades, was also one of the

exponents of the bhakti cult. He asked his devotees to submit their mind and soul to the God

as a wife submits herself to her husband. This was the way of bhakti and the method to

achieve the consciousness of the supreme God, Vishnu. Apart from this he propagaed that

God has no colour and He is avarna. 24 According to him everything depends on mana (mind

or motive) and God is inside one's heart and not in the temple. The control of mind is real

meditation. The poet did not recognise the worship of God by the priests. He personified the

system of worship which is mental and is in the realm of thought.

The Panchasakha strove so much to elevate the status of the lowly-placed people in society

and wrote special books to make them feel equal to others and also indispensable for the total

functioning of the society. It is not surprising that these saints and writers who proclaimed the


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same presence of God in every man did not find much justice in the contemporary caste

society. And they had their own way of dealing with the problem in order to solve it. 25

The main common characteristic of the panchasakha are:

They preferred meditation on the Formless to images, though the idol of Buddha-Jagannatha

represented to them not only Vishnu, but even the Sunya and Alekh (the void, the imageless)

they were preaching about.

They accepted all-surrounding devotion as a means of salvation, but advocated a preparatory

stage of inner purification through meditation and Hatha-yogic and Raja-yogic practices.

They hated rituals and showed hostility to professional priests as a class. They preached

against caste and claimed the right of the Sudra to read and expound the Vedas and the

Vedanta.They were souls dedicated to the spiritual upliftment of the common man and were

deliberately writing in the language of the people in order to accomplish their purpose like

the Buddhists, even though some of them were erudite scholars. 26

In a society where caste had gradually come to be looked upon as a divine

dispensation as it were and its whole ethics was built securely on that clever insinuation, the

Panchasakha declared themselves to be Sudras. In fact they belonged by birth to different

castes in society, at least one of them was a Brahmin, but became Sudra by choice. They hadtheir own way of explaining the origins of caste as a system. To say it with Achyutananda

again, all the four castes have been born out the great luminosity of the Lord only. According

to him, Vaishya is the eyes of God, Kshetriya His ears, the Brahmin is the very breathing and

exhalation of God and Sudra represents His face. He says that though his father was a

Kayastha and his mother was a Kshetriya by birth, he belongs to neither of these categories,

because he does neither of the functions intended for both of them. His real caste should

therefore be determined according to his function in the society. He argues that his case in the

following way. The Sudra takes birth upon earth to act as a servant to the three other castes.

Lord Jagannatha has made himself manifest in this world in all the three eras in three

different forms, I am His servant and thus I am a Sudra too. I am nothing but a Sudra,

because I have the Sudra attitude dominating all others. 27

The attitude or the inner dominant propensity is the true determinant. Brahmin,

Kshetriya, Vaishya and the Sudra, these do not stand for the four castes, they stand for the

corresponding propensities. The one that is preponderant in a person will determine his real

caste. The Sudra attitude is the attitude of service. It is the propensity to give one to be of use

and to con secrate. This is how Achyutananda seems to have drawn a conclusion; I have no


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desire to be a Brahmin, neither a Kshetriya nor a Vaishya. To be humble and low gives you a

real sense of inner humility. That is why I have decided to be a Sudra and nothing el se. And

again, Only a S udra is eligible for real survive . A Sudra has indeed very little scope to

become egoistic while playing his roles. Genuine service and devotion make one worthy of

the heavens and bring him to the feet of God. 28

It is clear that the traditional society of the time must have totally disapproved of this

attitude at caste. The established order with the Brahmins at the highest rung must have very

much opposed it. They came forward with all sorts of measures to humiliate them. They

argued, for example, that the Panchasakha had to take recourse to an explanation like the

above mainly because of their ignorance about the Sastras. Grapes are sour to those who have

not reached up to them, they pleaded. The Panchasakha said in reply that they were of coursewell-versed in the Sastras and the Sadhanas, but nevertheless they proclaimed themselves to

be Sudras because of a choice, in view of a special propensity they bore within them. They

said they really wanted to be low and hence did not deem the Sudra in any way different from

them. They were servants at the feet of the Lord and thus could not discriminate between

high and low and chose to be Sudras. They very categorically announced that they were not

Brahmins, neither Vaishyas, nor Kshatriyas. 29

This reads very well together with the medieval saints in literature all over India. TheDasa of Karnataka also flouted all caste distinctions. A person, once he places himself on the

path of God-realization, has no more any need for a caste, no need to be high or low. This is a

proper context upon which we shall try to assess the scope of the Panchasakha s attainment

and works and to trace out the way and attitude which is so uniquely theirs. Achyutananda

has referred to the four stages of Bhakti following one another in an ascending order as it

were. He explains, the first attitude in the whole process of a Bhaktas evolution is the

Kshatriya attitude. At this stage, he destroys his lower nature and puts an end to the many

hostile elements within him that keep him stuck and staggering. At the second stage of the

evolution, the Bhakta goes out for commerce with the further stages of his development as a

Vaishya with the name of Krishna, the Lord, as his capital. As the second phase becomes

stable, the Bhakta takes to the propensities of a Brahmin and performs all the rituals and the

attendant paraphernalia and thus comes to realize what the path of a knower and thus

knowing Him in his real essence, he becomes a servant at His feet. This is the fourth and the

last station, the station of the Sudra, which ultimately makes the aspirant stable and sure in

the path of Bhakti. 30

Conclusion


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The Panchasakhas represented a movement of protest against all authoritarian interference

and imposition. Despite all obstacles on their path they raised their voice against caste

hierarchy and discrimination against the Sudras, low status of women, against all exploitative

institutions including the King's authority, Brahminical ritual and priest-hood and the

sanctified hegemony of Sanskrit Ianguage. Their protest was also against all authoritarian

Shastras and even against all authoritarian gurubada. They were themselves the gurus, but did

not approve of the dogmatic pretensions of the gurus. They sang the glory of Lord Jagannatha

and the great values. Luxmi Purana is a unique literary product, propagating the superiority of

the quiet and unostentatious life of a woman to the noisy activities of a man. Even today,

after five centuries of its creation this book provides one of the finest, most highly edifying

and intensely entertaining folk-plays in Orissa. Moreover, it is socially remarkable, and acrusade against untouchability and caste hierarchy. It preaches the triumph of love and

devotion.

So, the Panchasakha strove to bring out a new social order by removing the social barrier that

separated man from man and community from community. They were eminently successful

in their mission and made the people to believe in social equality through their writings. It is

also believed that minimization of caste tension and oppressian in Odisha is certainly a

contribution of the Panchasakhas. They brought the spiritual lore that was as yet a sealed book in Sanskrit to the doorsteps of the peasant's cottage. Through their Ramayana,

Bhaqavata and Laxmi puran they made all the esoteric teaching accessible to the common

Oriya, unschooled in Sanskrit. They wrote ballads to carry their messages of ideal living and

desirable attitudes to life even to the illiterate womenfolk in the inner courtyards. Even now

Balarama's Baula Gai, Laxmi Puran, Jagannatha's Mriguni Stuti, Jasovanta Chandra

constitute the main stack-in-trade of the wandering minstrels of Odisha. Their recitals of

these ballads door to door to the accompaniment of the mono-string Kendra, draw children

and womenfolk to the doors, windows and streets as though by magic. Their appeal is

undying because they were written by devout souls with eyes fixed on the common man s

spiritual benefits.


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References:

1. M.Mansingh, A History of Oriya Literature, New Delhi, 1962, p.83.

2. Dibakara Dasa, Jagannatha Charitamruta, Puri, 1st Ed.,1963, p.51.

3. Madalapanji, Prachi, pp.54-55.

4. Sunya Samhita, Ch.I.

5. Chaurashi Ajna, Ch,III.

6. C.R. Das, Achyutananda o Panchasakha Dharma, Viswa Varati, Santiniketan, 1951,

7. M. Mansingh, History of Oriya Academy, New Delhi, 1963, p.95 Literature, Sahitya

8. K.C. Sahoo, Kavi Balarama Dasa, Orissa Sahitya Academy, Bhubaneswar, 1988, p.51.

9. Ibid. p.54

10. Ibid. p.55.

11. K.C. Sahoo, Kavi Balarama Dasa, Orissa Sahitya Academy, Bhubaneswar, 1988, p.51.

12. Luxmi Puran, pp.23-24.



15."Sakala dehe Narayana.; Basanti anadi karana. Sakala dehe Narahari; Basanti

atmarupadhari." Bhagavata

16. Jagannatha Charitamrita, p.112.17. "Tilakanare mu janam labhili kehi no chinhile more;

Agani ta boli mata dakuchanti anna na milai ghare." Sunya Samhita, Ch.l8

18. Jagabanhu Singh, Prachina Utkal, Odisha Sahitya Academy, 1964, P.108.

19. Achyutananda Das, Tattvabodhini , Dhrama Grantha Store, 1985, P.3.

20. B.M. Mohanty, "Mahapurusha Jasovanta Dasa" in B. Mohanty(ed) op cit., p.130, Vide

S.N. Das, op. cit.'pp.492-93.

21. Jasovanta Dasa, Premabhakti Brahmagita, Prachi Samiti, Bhubaneswar, 1st Ed., n.d.,Chapter.V, p.40.

22. B. Mohanty (ed.), op. cit., pp.130-33.

23. B. Sahu, "Hetu Udaya Bhagaba ta" in B. Mohanty ( ed. ) ,Konark, 1971, p.429

24. "Arekha avarna atai, Avarna barna se nuhain". Hetu Udaya Bhagabata.

25.Chitaranjan Das, A Glimpse into Oriya Literature , Odisha Sahitya Academy,

Bhubaneswar, 1982, p.80

26. M.Mansingh, op.cit., pp.83-84.

27. Chitaranjan Das, op.cit., p.81.

28.Ibid .


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29.Ibid .

30.Ibid.

Web Reference: http://odisha.gov.in/e-magazine/Orissareview/2014/Jun/engpdf/115-119.pdf http://anantahimalayas.blogspot.in/2012/07/blog-post_26.html http://anantahimalayas.blogspot.in/2012_07_01_archive.html http://puriwaves.nirmalya.in/saints/atibadi-jagannath-das http://odisha.gov.in/e-magazine/Orissareview/2011/july/engpdf/11-15.pdf
http://odisha.gov.in/e-magazine/Orissareview/2014/Jun/engpdf/115-119.pdfhttp://anantahimalayas.blogspot.in/2012/07/blog-post_26.htmlhttp://anantahimalayas.blogspot.in/2012_07_01_archive.htmlhttp://puriwaves.nirmalya.in/saints/atibadi-jagannath-dashttp://odisha.gov.in/e-magazine/Orissareview/2011/july/engpdf/11-15.pdfhttp://odisha.gov.in/e-magazine/Orissareview/2011/july/engpdf/11-15.pdfhttp://odisha.gov.in/e-magazine/Orissareview/2011/july/engpdf/11-15.pdfhttp://puriwaves.nirmalya.in/saints/atibadi-jagannath-dashttp://anantahimalayas.blogspot.in/2012_07_01_archive.htmlhttp://anantahimalayas.blogspot.in/2012/07/blog-post_26.htmlhttp://odisha.gov.in/e-magazine/Orissareview/2014/Jun/engpdf/115-119.pdf

Documents

A. Mishra, Role of Pancahsakha in Odisha