Śrī Śrī Gurugaurāṅgau Jayataḥ
asmad gurobhyo namaḥ
In the recent times we have seen some transgression regarding the practise of Rathayātrā of Śrī Jagannātha by a certain denomination of our sampradāya. This article is to keep the records straight.
As we know from the Puruṣottama Mahātmya spoken by Śrī Jaimini, who has been duly glorified by Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmi in the Dṛgdarśani of Bṛhadbhāgavatāmṛta "catur-veda- śreṣṭhasya sāma-vedasyādhyāpakas tat-sāra-vettā bhagavad-bhaktiḥ-pravṛtti-tātparyeṇa karma- prādhānya-vādī-bhakti-mārgopadeṣṭā śrī-jagannātha-devasya māhātmya-bhara-vaktā [skandāntargata-puruṣottamakṣetramahātmya] śrī-jaiminiḥ". There are 3 primary days on which the Rathayātrā may be performed viz— "1. māgha śuklā paṃcamī 2. caitra śuklā aṣṭamī
3. āṣāḍha śuklā dvitīyā" there in we read the following "viśeṣānmokṣadāṣāḍhadvitīyā puṣyasaṃyutā | ṛkṣābhāve tithau kāryā sadā sā prītaye mama ||" "Particularly the second day in the month of Āṣāḍha in conjunction with Puṣya constellation is conducive to salvation. The festival shall be celebrated on the specified lunar day even if the constellation does not coincide. It is pleasing to me always."
As the Ācāryas have defined Bhakti in our sampradāya— "anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam | ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānuśīlanaṁ bhaktir uttamā ||", Here in the word ānukulyena is glossed as that which is pleasing to Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa "ānukūlyaṁ cāsminn uddeśyāya śrī-kṛṣṇāya rocamānā pravṛttiḥ" by Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmin. In the Bhaktirasāmṛta sindhu itself we find another definition quoting some Pañcarātra text viz "surarṣe vihitā śāstre harim uddiśya yā kriyā | saiva bhaktir iti proktā tayā bhaktiḥ parā bhavet ||" As a śaraṇāgata bhakta one must know the śloka "ānukūlyasya saṅkalpaḥ prātikūlya-vivarjanam" this is glossed as following in the Sārārtha Darśini "bhakti-śāstra-vihitā svābhīṣṭa-devāya rocamānā pravṛttir ānukūlyaṁ, tad-viparītaṁ prātikūlyam " "Engagement [alt., the proclivity] enjoined by the bhakti-śāstras and pleasing to one’s Abhīṣṭadeva [i.e., the object of one’s bhakti] is [called] favorability (ānukūlya), and the opposite of this is unfavorability (prātikūlya)." Thus, those who claim themselves as a devotee "Bhakta" of the supreme Lord, must endeavour to do what is pleasing to the Lord and not the opposite. But rather we find them taking this on their fragile ego and try to degrade the status of Śrī Jagannātha to that of a Utsava-vigraha. They to substantiate their position they quote from all sorts of works they get in hand like the Vaikhānasāgamas and the rest. But they being misinformed as in most cases they are, don't know that Jagannātha worship in puri is based not on Śrī Praśna saṁhitā but the Paurāṇika [Puruṣottama Mahātmya etc.] / vaidika and other Tantrika traditions basing on the compendium of Śrī Keśava Bhaṭṭa Kāśmiri and some Pañcarātra Āgamas like the Vāmadeva Saṁhitā [mentioned in the list of 108 Āgamas in Puruṣottama saṁhitā, Bhāradvāja saṁhitā "maudgalaṃ romaśaṃ caiva vāmadevaṃ subodhakam | meru gaṃgā ca satyoktamaiṃdraṃ paramapūruṣam."] and the Hayaśīrṣa Pañcarātra [for Navakalevara Vanayāga]. The worship of Jagannātha Must be carried out by the process laid in the Vāmadeva saṁhitā and not the Śrī Praśna saṁhitā just as the Śrī Raṅgam Temple is ran by Śrī Pārameśvara saṁhitā which has explicit application for the Śrī Raṅgam temple alone like Śrī Jayākhyā for Kāñci Hastiśailanātha and Śrī Īśvara for Yadavādriśikharamaṇi. To mix the codes of conduct belonging to one temple to another result into unwanted homogeneity of ritual and culture, it should also be noted that any practise against the Vāmadeva Saṁhitā can't be entertained in the Puri temple just as any non Vaikhānasa practise is not entertained in Tirupati temple. We find the following in the Adhikpatha of Adyar library's publication of Jayakhya samhita—
As we know from the great grammarian Śrī Pātañjali "na cāpavādaviṣaye utsargobhiniviśate pūrvaṃ hyapavādā abhiniviśante paścādutsargāḥ prakalpya vāpavādaviṣayaṃ tata utsargobhiniviśate" "The general rule does not operate within the scope of an exception; for exceptions apply first, and only afterwards the general rules apply — that is, once the domain of the exception has been determined, then the general rule applies (to the remainder)." Keeping this in mind the general rule regarding Utsavavigraha etc. do not apply to Śrī Jagannātha, who is the Mūla Vigraha of Śrī Puridhāma as the Mahātmya revolves around the very Dāruvigraha not some other Mūla Vigraha. It is the nature of the sthalapurāṇas and mahātmyas to glorify the Mūla Vigraha alone as they are the presiding deity of the temple, Śrī Jagannātha doesn't get out of the Garbhagṛha multiple times a year but only twice during snānotsava and śrī guṁḍicāvijaya yātrā, these are exceptions to the general rule of Mūla Vigrahas. Śrī Dola Govinda and Śrī Madanamohana are the two utsavavigrahas of the Lord who represent him in all other yātrās. Thus, Śrī Jagannātha's being the calanti pratimā and the mūla beḍā simultaneously is an apavāda to the general utsarga of other āgamas, and as said the apavāda holds more strength than utsarga. If at all Śrīman Mahāprabhu was not satisfied with the worship of Śrī Nilādrināyaka he could have informed Śrī Gajapati for the same yet we do not find any such mentions thus by the maxim of "aniṣidhaṁ-anumatam" we safely assume that Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu had fully sanctioned the practises of Śrī Jagannātha Puri as we also understand from the Pastime of Śrī Puṇḍarika Vidyānidhi.
Any particular form of worship of the Lord must be carried out in the āgamas specific to that deity of the Lord, if at all the worship of the Lord in Puri was faulty why would the Lord himself, ask Rāmānujācārya to not change it ? Let's see the views of the Gosvāmis in this matter—
Śrīla Gopālabhaṭṭa Gosvāmi writes in Haribhaktivilāsa—
kintvīdṛgbhaktisandarśi-jagannāthānusārataḥ | dolācandana-kīlālarathayātrāiśca kārayet || [14.327] "But according to the tradition of Jagannātha, which reveals devotion of this particular nature, one should also observe and conduct festivals such as the Swing Festival (Dolā-yātrā), the Sandalwood Festival (Candana-yātrā), the Water-Sport Festival (Kīlāla-yātrā), and the Chariot Festival (Ratha-yātrā)."
In the digdarśini Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmi writes— "...īdṛśī mūrtipūjāyātrotsavādirūpā yā bhaktistasyāḥ samyagdarśanaśīlasya lokānugrāhakasya śrījagannāthadevasya anusārataḥ yasmin dine yathā tatkṣetre bhavettaddinepi tathā dolayātrāṁ candanayātrāṁ jalayātrāṁ rathayātrāñca kuryādevetyarthaḥ |..." "These limb of devotion such as worshipping the deity [of Jagannātha], dolayātrā, candanayātrā, jalayātrā and rathayātrā of Bhagavān Jagannātha, the homogenous benefactor of creation, must be carried out on the very specific days as done in His abode [Puri]"
The 17/10/1949 issue of the Gauḍīya Patrikā says the same, it even goes to the extent of saying "Celebrating these festivals on other days than those fixed as per the
utkalamata can't be accepted as a Vaiṣṇava conclusion in execution". The able readers are being the specific part below: [
source of the issue]
In the Mahātmya it is further said "pratyarcārūpamapi vā rathamāsthāpya yo hareḥ | kuryādyātrāmimāṃ śraddhābhaktibhāvena mānavaḥ ||" "If anyone makes a replica or a picture of Hari, places it on the chariot and carries out this procession with faith and devotion, that man shall obtain the merit of the festival of Guṇḍicā by the favour of Viṣṇu. He then goes to the abode of Vaikuṇṭha. There is no doubt about this." Here the word "imāṃ" includes the tithi etc. as well as they must be performed otherwise it is not possible as the ācaryas of our sampradāya say. Like children the Antiparty should not jump over to the conclusion that everything is non reproducible as per the Rathayātrā in puri, for this sage Jaimini has already said the party wanting to perform this may create a replica of the Lord and put it on a chariot nor do the Gosvāmis say anything as such, the only uniformity to be maintained is in terms of the time that too only for four festivals explicitly mentioned.
The antiparty lists various benefits of organizing the rathayātrā on days other than the prescribed ones, to be true none of them stand the test of scrutiny. The Lord of the Universe isn't subject to any mundane government, if you can't perform the Rathayātrā kindly refrain from it, there is no obligation in the sampradāya that one must do it. For intended to disrupt the practise of Vaiṣṇavism to the core one may say "The day today is very humid, so I must perform ekādaśi on a day which is suitable to my health" things do not work this way.
Jaya Jagannātha
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