Puja Rituals in Srimandir

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Upaantras also. Tantric system has some Acaras; out of them Bamacara and Kaulacara are most important. Bamacara is not suitable for Vaishnavite system. In Tantra, Yantra and Mantra play the major role. Yantra - Yantra is the body of the deity. Puja of a deity is required to be taken up on a Yantra, so Yantra is very important. 'Sarbeshameb Devanam Yantrapuja Prasashyate' (Gautami Tantra). Without a Yantra, Puja can not be taken up. If the Yantra is not known then eight-petalled lotus is to be accepted as Yantra and the puja is to be undertaken accordingly. 'Bina Yantren chet puja Devata na prasidati, Anuktakalpe Yantram tu likhet Padmadalastakam '. (Gautami Tantra) Mantra - Mantra is the soul of the deity on a Yantra. - 'Mantrayate guptam paribhasate iti Mantrah'. Mantra is secrete, to be learnt from the best Guru. The sound of the Mantras being chanted combined with the power of the resolve made by the person performing the Puja, reaches the divine power that converts the chants into the desired blessings. It is a must that Mantras are very powerful. But they must be chanted in a balanced note and rhythm. - 'Manah santoshanam saucham maunam mantrarth chintanam, Abyagramanirbedah japamsapatti hetabah'. Mantras in a gross level are special sound patterns. On a deeper sense they are still much more. Along with Mandalas and Yantras, Mantras are most important and considered as the essence of the practical Tantra. Mantras and Yantras (Mandalas) are utilized in conjunction with each other to form powerful combination. A Mandala, Yantra or Devata is the form of consciousness. The Mandalas, Yantras or Devatas are the manifested forms, configurations of Shakti, while the Mantra, which is also Shakti, is the link Orissa Review June - 2009 16 between consciousness and form. This system applies to every thing in the world around us. The visible form is the expression, while the Mantra is the vehicle of expression. Mantra is the direct link with the beyond. The deities on the Simhasana of Srimandira have been placed on specific Yantras; Sri Balabhadra on Tara Yantra, Sri Subhadra on Bhubaneswari Yantra and Sri Jagannatha on Kali Yantra. The Daru Devatas (made of wood) themselves are Tantrics, because their construction has been made on Tantric background, with reference to Matsya Purana, Sanatkumar Samhita, Biswamitra Samhita and Hayasirsha Samhita etc., all Tantric Texts. The Vimana of Sri Mandir is a Siddha Pitha and the deities are the SiddhaYantras. To keep the Yantras; engines moving; the presence of a perfectly trained and experienced Yantree or Engineer is always required; he is the Pujak in the literature of Sri Mandira and he is charged on Tantra. 'Mananatt Mantrah' Mantra is very difficult; it can only be learnt from perfect Gurus or teachers; and it is the only means to take up Puja in a systematic manner. Who are the Gurus then ? They are Brahma, Vishnu and Maheswar. From the above analogy we conclude that in the Puja Paddhati of Srimandira, Guru is there in place of Mantra; Pujak is there in place of Tantra and the deities are there in place of Yantras. System of Pancaratram Pujapaddhati Narada Purana mentions that the Puja of Sri Purusottama was being undertaken according to the tenets of Pancaratra system during the time of king Indradyumna. The same system with some additions and alterations continues even at present. Among the different disciplines of Vaishnava worship the system of Pancaratram holds a very prominent position. The Supreme Narayana himself, who in turn taught it to Uddhab within
the span of five nights, directly imparted it to Sage Narad. Pancaratram literature glorifies image worship as even superior to the Vedas. Whatever that may be, under this system, the idols have been held as very necessary to conceive and meditate on God. Texts on Pujapaddhati Some ritual texts exhibiting the mode of worship of Jagannath, as available at present are mentioned below. Gajapati Purusottama Dev (1466-1497 A.D), the famous Gajapati king of Ganga dynasty, compiled 'Gopalarchanavidhi' on the rites and rituals of Sri Jagannatha and 'Muktichintamani' on the sanctity of Purusottama Puri. Gopalarchanavidhi otherwise known as 'Niladrinatha Pujavidhi' and 'Niladrimahodayarcanavidhi' have been compiled on the Vaishnava Skandha of Agamakalpataru. Narasimha Mishra Vajpeyee (1525-1580 A.D) was the famous Smrti writer and royal preceptor of Gajapati Prataparudra Dev (1497- 1533AD). Out of his 18 voluminous works 'Nityacarapradeepa' was the best and it has been published by the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1928. Nityacarapradeepa has been divided into 4 parts excluding its Parivasa Prakaran. In this work the author described in detail, about all the temples, tirthas, lakes, Gods and Goddesses of Srikhetra. Therein he has suggested for worshipping Sri Balabhadra in Sankarshana mantra, Sri Jagannatha in Krishna mantra and Goddess Subhadra in Devi mantra. Gadadhar Rajguru Mahapatra (1700- 1750 AD) was a reputed Smrti writer, his compiled work 'Gadadharpaddhiti' has also been published by the Asiatic society in 1904 and 1908. In his 'Kalasar,' in the Mangalacaran he has started with praying Lord Jagannath and mother Vimala. Sri Gautamiya Tantra is another Orissa Review June - 2009 17 work, stated to have been originated at Purusottam Khetra; it has also much influence on the puja system of Sri Jagannath. Niladri Mahodaya is a very popular work. It states the origin, rites and rituals of Sri Jagannath. But the period of its compilation and about it's actual author are not yet definite. Some say that it was compiled at the time of Ganga king Bhanudev IV (1414-1435 AD), but this book as a reference is not found to have been quoted by any author of Orissa till 18th century. So it comes to one's mind that it is a later compilation. Niladri Mahodaya contains 91 chapters, dealing in detail with all the rites and rituals and day-to-day functions in Jagannath temple. It is a compilation based on all Dharmasastras, Puranas and Tantras etc., hence it is called as 'Sthala Purana' in Orissa. However, the latest compilation of Niladri Mahodaya along with its Oriya translation has been edited by Dr B.K Swain and published by Sadgrantha Niketan, Puri recently in two volumes and available in the market. Over and above all references cited above, the fairs and festivals, rites and rituals of Sri Jagannath Temple have been discussed in the following works. (a) Gopalarchanapaddhati by Sri Basudev Tripathy (1700- 1750 AD). (b) Kalanirnaya - by Sri Raghunath Das (1715- 1750 AD) (c) Kalsarvasva - by Sri Krishna Mishra (1750 AD) (d) Virasarvasva - by Sri Gopinath Tripathy (1778 AD) (e) Bamdev Samhita - Published by Muktimandap Pandit Sava, Puri during 1972. (f) Surisarvasva - by - Govinda Kabibhusana Samantaray; edited by Sri Bhagaban Panda
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Puja Rituals in Srimandir

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