Home || Car Festival in Jagannatha Puri
Author: Dr. K. S. Behera
There is evidence to suggest that Purusottama-Jagannatha was worshipped in puri long before the conslruction of lhe present temple of Jagannath by Anantavarman Codagangadeva in the 12th century. The existence of the three divinities i.e. Purusottama, Batabhadra and Subhadra during the 12th century has been attesied by epigraphic evidence of the Narasimha temple located in the inner courtyard of the Jagannatha temple.It is likely that the car festival was in vogue in the 12th century or even earlier to it.
The Anargha Reghava of Murari refers to the Yatra of god Purusottama(1) which may denote the car festival. This drama composed by Murari is assigned to 1Oth or 11th century. Hence. we may believe that ihe car festival was known durng that period. With the construction of a grand tempte for Jagannalh at Puri in lhe 12th century and other temples subsequently the fame of Purusottama Jagannatha reached far and wide. During the Ganga period Jagannatha was honoured as the State Deity of Orissa, and the Ganga monarchs from the time of Anangabhima III (1211-1238 A.D.) regarded themselves as the viceroys of purusottama-Jagannatha.
The Ganga empire was considered as belonging to purusottama Jagannatha (Purusottama Serthrajya).ln such an atmosphere. the car festival of the State Deity Jagannath must have been held on a lavish scale. The sculptural evidence of chariots drawn by people comes from a ruined temple at Dhenmandala (in Cuttack District) which may date back to 13th or 14ih century. Those sculptured friezes are now placed in the premises of the Orissa State Museum, Bhubaneswar. The best preserved relief depicts a temple car with the deity paced on a platform with an arched doorway opening. The ratha is in the form of Orissan pidha temple crowned by an amalakasila and Kalasa. lt seems to be supported on 12 wheels of which 6 wheels are visible. In the l3th century, the Sun Temple of Konark was built as a veritable stone chariot with 24 wheels of exceptional workmanship. The visual evidence of chariot ln temple art suggests that the car festival has already become popular during the later Ganga period.
