CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTON
 CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Place of Bhagavata in the Religious Traditions of India

The Vedas, the Upanisads, the Ramayana and the

Mahabharata, and the Astadasa (eighteen) Mahapurana form the massive
basement on which stands the magnificent edifice of Indian religion,
thought, culture and literature. Of these, the Vedas were confined mainly to
the priestly and aristocratic classes, and the Upanisads to the intellectuals
and philosophers.1 It is the epics and the Puranas that have been the real
Vedas for the masses and acting upon them to mould their life and character
for more than two thousand years. Srimad Bhagavata is one among the
eighteen Mahapuranas which has been influencing the life, culture and
philosophy of India since the hoary past. Bhagavata is considered to be a
splendid treatment on the Indian philosophy, life and culture. It embodies
not only the religious traditions of India but also depicts the socio-cultural
ethos, morality, laws and ethics of the time.
The original Bhagavata (in Sanskrit) is said to be composed
by Vyasadeva. The sage Vyasa, having edited the Vedas and composed the
Mahabharata, had never been satisfied, and the Bhagavata was, as it is
stated, composed on the advice of Narada, who told Vyasa that he could
attain peace of mind only by the contemplation as a true devotee of the
Deity (Krishna) and His incarnations.2
Bhagavata is written in the form of dialogue between different
exponents and enquirers. Different aspects of life have been explained in
the Bhagavata through simple stories and illustrations. Its teachings are
 2

based on the actual problems of life. However, as Sanskrit was the language
of the intelligentsia who had dominated and monopolized education and
higher learning, the common mass had little scope to reap the benefit from
that. This status of Sanskrit or the Devabhasa (language of the Gods), as it
was called, remained strong in many parts of India including Orissa, a state
situated on the eastern coast. This imposing status of Sanskrit continued in
Orissa till the rise of Panchasakha Movement3 in the 15th century.4

1.2 Importance of Oriya Bhagavata of Poet Jagannath Dasa

Before 15th century the conservative Hindus, especially the
brahmins, dominated the field of learning in Orissa. They believed that it
was impossible to translate the Sanskrit literature into any regional language
without doing any harm to its basic ideas and sweetness. They also thought
that such things would denounce the prestige of the language and make the
Shastra impure.5 This type of narrow linguistic attitude of the then
custodians of knowledge deprived the large mass of people of the
philosophically rich literary work in Sanskrit. In that critical hours, five
saint poets of Orissa rebelled against the traditions and authorities of the
time to win a rightful place for their mother tongue, the people’s language.
The five personalities popularly known as the ‘Panchasakha’ (the five
fellow saint writers) characterised the life and literature of the Oriyas for
about a century (from about 1450 A.D. to 1550 A.D.). The five saints were
Balarama Dasa, Jagannatha Dasa, Achyutananda Dasa, Jasobanta Dasa and
Ananta Dasa. They rendered the sacred books of the Hindus from Sanskrit
into the people’s language in order to make them available to the masses.
The foremost among them are the Jagamohan Ramayana by Balarama Dasa
and the Bhagavata by Jagannatha Dasa.
Subsequently, the Bhagavata became very popular in Orissa
and Bengal influencing the religious and moral thoughts of these people.
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Just as Lord Jagannath is the favourite God of all Hindus, so Atibadi

Jagannatha Dasa is the favourite poet, and Bhagavata, the most adored
Purana to listen to . There is not a single village in Orissa where at least a
portion of Jagannatha Dasa’s Bhagavata is not kept and daily not recited.6
Not only during the life- time, but also at the time of death, one hopes to
enlighten his soul by listening to the Bhagavata. There is hardly any other
work whose influence on all aspects of life in Orissa has been so profound,
lasting and continuous as that of the Bhagavata. And no poet of old time
enjoys as much of popularity as poet Jagannatha Dasa does.
The Oriya Bhagavata is written in Navaksari Chhanda (nine
lettered metre). It has 12 Skandhas or volumes and 339 addhyayas or
cantos. It is most beneficial, people believe, to listen to the pieces of advice
of the Bhagavata. In. the Bhagavata the moral values are described through
examples in simple language of the people. In fact, Oriya Bhagavata is not
the exact translation of the original Sanskrit Bhagavata. Rather it is a
transcreation of the original work, with the utmost sense of freedom in
letters but keeping its spirit in tact.
Despite the opposition from the contemporary brahmin
pundits the fame of Jagannatha Dasa and his Bhagavata spread far and
wide. When the people learnt that the Bhagavata, which is the most sacred
of all sacred books, was within their easy reach, they took to the study of
vernacular with uncommon zeal and energy. The Oriya Bhagavata even
crossed the borders of Orissa and played a very commendable role in
bringing the common mass of Orissa in direct contact with the cultural
heritage of India and opened their eyes to a new awareness and
involvement. Four hundred years ago, when the Oriya language started
declining, the Bhagavata tied the Oriya people in a single thread and kept it
alive.
 4

Thus Bhagavata is nothing less than a revolution and poet

Jagannatha Dasa. a revolutionary. He was, as usual, condemned by the
orthodox brahmins and the authority of the time but accepted as their very
Q
own by the people - the innocent as well as the sophisticated.

1.3 Need of The Study and Statement of The Problem

If the aim of literature is to do good to the society and if the
beauty of society and culture finds its best expression in it, then the
Bhagavata of Jagannatha Dasa is one of the most valuable jewel of Oriya
literature. The essence of Indian thought and philosophy are beautifully
expressed in it.
Besides its spiritual and social value, Bhagavata has its
historical importance as well. King Prataprudra Deva(ruling over Orissa
from 1497 A.D. to 1540 A.D.) had been defeated repeatedly in the hands of
the enemies. The great Kalinga (the then Orissa) empire lost its importance
and was surrounded by darkness. There was a question mark on the
existence of the brave Oriya people. At that critical moment Jagannatha
Dasa gave spiritual leadership to the Oriyas. The Oriya Bhagavata united
the Oriya people. Bhagavata Tungis (small huts where Bhagavata is recited)
were opened in each and every village. With the help of Bhagavata, Oriya
language has remained alive till date.
Besides being a scripture of spiritual, social and historical
importance, the Bhagavata can also be studied as an educational scripture.
Each and every pada (stanza) of every addhyaya is filled with educational
messages. One, who intensively reads or hears this, can surely become a
man of innumerable virtues, it is believed. Hence, it should be studied
intensively to find out the educational ideas of the Bhagavata, which is
supposed to contribute to the world of knowledge in the field of education.
 5

Therefore, the researcher intended to critically analyze the

Bhagavata and its educational implications. The title of the problem is:
EDUCATIONAL IDEAS IN THE PHILOSOPHY OF
SRIMAD BHAGAVATA : A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF ORIYA
BHAGAVATA OF POET JAGANNATHA DASA.

1.4 Objectives of The Study

The objectives of the present study were as follows:
1. To draw a brief historical account of Orissa during , the time of
Jagannatha Dasa
2. To draw a brief sketch on the life and works of Poet Jagannatha
Dasa
3. To present a Canto wise account of Skanda XI of Oriya
Bhagavata
4. To study the general philosophy of Bhagavata
5. To study the educational ideas implied in the philosophy of
Bhagavata in relation to
a) Concept of education
b) Aims of education
c) Curriculum and Methods of Instruction
d) Characteristics of teacher
e) Characteristics of learner
f) Teacher -taught relationship
g) Concept of discipline

6. To study the contribution of Oriya Bhagavata to the field of mass

education in Orissa.
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1.5 Scope and Delimitation

The Oriya Bhagavata of poet Jagannatha Dasa is a
voluminous work of transcreation of the original Sanskrit Bhagavata.9
Like the original Bhagavata it has twelve Skandhas. It is almost
impossible to handle such a voluminous work for analysis and
interpretation. The innumerable stories and biographical accounts of the
ancient rulers are likely to confuse the basic objectives of research. It is
therefore not desirable from research point of view to undertake a
voluminous work, which is likely to lack focus. The researcher has
delimited her study to Skandha XI of the Bhagavata. It may be
mentioned here that Skandha XI is considered to have contained the
essence of the philosophy of Bhagavata reflected in all other Skandhas.
Due to the mass impact of Skandha XI on the socio-cultural and
educational life of common people of Orissa the researcher has
purposefully delimited the study. However, when a thematic reference
was required the other Skandhas were also consulted.
The Oriya Bhagavata of Jagannatha Dasa has many versions
edited by different people in different areas of Orissa, Bengal and Bihar
at different points of time.'°For the present purpose the researcher has
consulted Srimad Bhagavata published by the Orissa Sahitya Academy
(1989) and another version edited by Sushil Kumar Dash (1988) as the
primary source of reference.

1.6 Methodology
Methods of study in the field of educational research can be
broadly divided into two, viz. qualitative methods and quantitative
methods. Whereas rationalistic studies are conducted through qualitative
methods, empirical studies are conducted through quantitative
methods.11 Philosophical inquiry is more rational than empirical. Hence,
 7

philosophical inquiries are met through qualitative analysis and

interpretations. A survey of the methods adopted by different
philosophical researchers as mentioned in different surveys of
educational research shows that library method, historical method,
biography method are the few names given to the methods of
philosophical inquiry. Although the names are different, all the above
methods have the same target of collecting materials from the sources,
critically analyzing and classifying them and drawing a conclusion on
the basis of the critical analysis. For the present study however, the
researcher needs to critically analyze materials available from different
sources. Keeping the above considerations in mind the researcher
proposed to employ the source analytic method for the present study.
In addition to studying the Oriya Bhagavata of Poet
Jagannatha Dasa, the researcher has consulted other primary and
secondary sources related to the study.
The primary sources include -
• Original Sanskrit Bhagavata
• Other versions of Bhagavata (Hindi)
• Related Upanisadic literature
• Bhagavata Gita and
• Other Puranas (Vishnu Purana, Markandeya Purand)
The secondary sources include -
• Available Santha (saint) literature
• Works of contemporaries of Jagannatha Dasa
• History of Sanskrit Literature
• History of Oriya Literature
• Research works conducted on the Bhagavata in other
disciplines
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The collected materials were critically analyzed to find

out the philosophy of Bhagavata and its educational implication on the basis
of the set objectives. An objective wise methodology applied in the study is
given below:
SI. Objective Methodology
No
1. To draw a brief historical account of Orissa Historical Method.
during the time of Jagannatha Dasa

2. To draw a brief Sketch on the life and work of Biography-cum-source

poet Jagannatha Dasa description method

3. To present a chapter wise account of Skandha Source description method

XI of Oriya Bhagavata

4. To study the general philosophy of Bhagavata. Source analytical method

5. To study the educational ideas implied in the Source analytical method

philosophy of Bhagavata

6. To study the contribution of Oriya Bhagavata to Source analytical method

the field of mass education in Orissa.
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CHAPTER NOTE

1. S .K. Dash, Preface to Srimad Bhagavata Mahapuranam,

(Bhubaneswar: Orissa Sahitya Academy), (1988).

2. J. Dasa, Srimad Bhagavata (Cuttack: Dharmagrantha Store), p.3

3. The socio-religious movement started by five devotional poets of Orissa

in the 15th century.

4. G.K. Brahma, Oriya Sahityara Sanskriti (Cuttack: Books and Books,

1974), p.96

5. B .Mohanty, Bhakta Kavi Jagannatha Dasa: Eka Samiska (Cuttack:

Nilamadhav Press, 1977), p.48

6. S.N. Das, Oriya Sahityara Itihasa (Cuttack: Grantha Mandir, 1966),

P.75. ■

7. B. Panda, Utkaliya Dharmashastra ( Cuttack: Grantha Parakasani,

1985), p.36

8. C.C. Das, Srimad Bhagavata Mahatyama (Puri: Bhagavata Ashram,

1978), P29

9. B. Mohanty, Op.Cit. p.18

10. G. Bal, Vaishnava Sahityara Tattwika Bhumika (Cuttack: Bidyapuri,

1982), p.36.

W.B. Roadman and R.R. Sherman, Qualitative Research in Education:

Focus and Methods (London: The Falmer Press, 1988), P. 11