The Bhakti Movement in Orissa

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The tradition of Bhakti Movement in India is very old, Srimadbhagavatagita and Bhagavatapurana popularised it so much that the other religious cults of India like Buddhism and Jainism were subsequently influenced by it and occupied the mind of the people. prior to sixteenth century, Bhakti movement pervaded all corner of the country and influenced all other religious movements. Like other religious movements it has also produced literatures of various forms and moulded all the people irrespective of their caste, creed and status. Orissa and Bengal were not away from its influence. Vaisnavism was gaining ground in Orissa even before Srichaitany's arrival. It started changing the religious thinking of people so muchthat even in His life time Srichaitanya regarded as the incarnation of Krsna in both Orissa and Bengal. The influence of Srichaitanya was so much on the people of Orissa and Bengal that after His death, His life and teachings were perennial source for writing Kavyas, puranas and songs of different forms.

The tradition of Bhakti Movement in India is very old. Historical evidences put it in the 3rd century A.D. Srimadbhagavatagita and Bhagavatapurana popularized it so much that the other religious cults of India like Buddhism and Jainism were subsequently influenced by it and occupied the mind of the people. Prior to sixteenth century we have seen that Bhakti movement pervaded all corner of the country and influenced all other religious movements. Like other religious movements it has also produced literatures of various forms and moulded all the people irrespective of their caste, creed and status. Orissa and Bengal were not away from its influence. Vaisnavism was gaining ground in Orissa even before Srichaitanya’s arrival. It started changing the religious thinking of people so much that even in His life time Srichaitanya regarded as the incarnation of Krisna in both Orissa and Bengal. The influence of Srichaitanya was so much on the people of Orissa and Bengal that after His death, His life and teachings were perennial source for writing Kavyas, puranas and songs of different forms.

In order to study Srichaitanya’s influence on Orissa and Bengal, we have divided the present thesis into nine Chapters.

In the First Chapter we have tried to discuss the historical development of bhakti cult from Vedic age upto Sixteenth Century A.D. and we have seen how the different concepts of Visnu-Krsna-Gopala have been assimilated with each other, and have prepared a solid ground to develop the bhakti movement, and have influenced in both adjoining provinces, Bengal and Orissa.

The Second Chapter deals with the socio-religious background of Bhakti Movement and also political impact which in course of time has helped to strengthen the foundation of bhakti cult in Orissa. The role of kings, queens, and of the religious leaders has also been taken into consideration.

Similarly in the Third Chapter we have portrayed socio-religious picture of Bengal and the impact of Muslim influence on society and literature.

In the Fourth Chapter, we have given a short biography of Srichaitanyadev and his influences on Orissa and Bengal.

The Fifth Chapter deals with the important followers of Srichaitanya in Orissa and their activities and the impact of his teachings and preachings on Oriya literature. This Chapter has been divided into three sub-sections. In the first section we have enumerated the names of some followers who have no other identifications except their names. In the second and in the third sections we have tried to give detailed informations available about Vaisnava poets of the period.

In the Sixth Chapter we have followed the line of the Fifth Chapter to give the accounts of Vaisnava poets in Bengal.

In the Seventh Chapter, we have tried to place the position of Srichaitanya in the Orissan Vaisnavism and his influence on other cults of the period like Jnana-bhakti and Yoga-bhakti.

The Chapter Eight shows the later development of Srichaitanya’s philosophy in the hands of Vaisnava thinkers and its cumination in Krsnabhakti and lastly in priti.

In the Chapter Nine, we have tried to show the similarities and dissimilarities between Orissan and Bengali Vaisnavas of 16th century.

In the concluding lines we have given the findings of our study in a nutshell.

The author desires to express his deep sense of gratitude and sincere regard to Dr. K. C. Sahoo, M.A., Ph.D., Reader in Oriya, Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, for his sustained enthusiastic interest, ever willing help, valuable guidance and constructive inspiration in the conduct of the present study. It is because of his constant encouragement and active interest that the work could ultimately be completed.

The author also expresses his deep sense of gratitude to Dr. B. Mohanty, Professor and Head of the Department of Oriya, Utkal University, Bhubaneswar for providing him with all necessary facilities for utilizing the Departmental Library.

His thanks are also due to Dr. P.C. Kar, Reader in English, Utkal University for the valuable help and advice in the preparation of manuscript. The help rendered by Srinivas Rath of Utkal University Library is gratefully acknowledged. He is indebted to Dr. B. Sahu, Reader in Oriya, Utkal University for his keen interest and constructive suggestions in the matter from time to time.

His thanks are to the management of different institutions such as State Museum and Sachchidananda Math etc. for their generous cooperations.

The author also owes his gratitude to Fakirmohan Das of Oriya Department for his kind cooperation in the matter.

Lastly the author expresses his profound gratitude to his wife Reba and son Ananya for their inspiration, physical and moral help throughout his work.