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Orissa Review

The ancient Temple of Lord Jagannath at Puri ever since itsinception has been an institution of unique importance in

which millions of Hindu Devotees have reposed their faith andbelief regarding it as the epitome of their tradition and culture.

The affairs of Shri Jagannath Temple at Puri were lookedafter with great devotion and care by the successive Hindu rulingdynasties of Odisha for whom Shri Jagannath Mahaprabhu hadcome to be regarded as the family or the State deity. The famousGanga monarch Chodoganga, after constructing the presentedifice in the 12th Century A.D., conferred the old endowmentsof Shri Jagannath, made new endowments and laid thefoundation of a sound administration for managing the affairs ofthe temple. Madala Panji, the chronicle of Shri JagannathTemple, Puri eulogistically records the extensive endowmentsin land and fabulous gifts of gold metal made by AnangabhimaDeva. He is also credited with organizing the Chhatisa Nijogaor as many as thirty six genres of temple servitors and institutingnumerous Bhogas and Yatras (festivals). The Suryavamsi rulers who succeeded the Gangavamsis weregreat devotees of Shri Jagannath and from some of their inscriptions in the Temple it is evident that theynot only enriched the coffers of the Temple by their numerous gifts, but also looked to the strict andpunctual performance of the rituals (nitis) of the deities.

Political power of Odisha fast declined from the time of Gajapati Prataprudra Deva and withthe death of Mukunda Deva, the last independent Hindu King or Orissa, in 1568 A.D., the governancethereof passed into the hands of the Afghan powers of contemporary Bengal, for a time span.

The bigoted Afghan-General Kalapahad who has earned a great deal of notoriety in populartradition as a cruel iconoclast desecrated and plundered the temple of Jagannath in 1568 A.D. Accordingto Madalapanji Shri Jagannath had been removed from the temple and hidden, but Kalapahad foundout the deities and taken them away and consigned to flames on the banks of the Ganges.

A devotee namely Bisara Mohanty who had followed in disguise somehow succeeded inrecovering the Bramha from the charred remains and kept in custody of the Khandayat of Kujang.

Shri Jagannath Temple Management

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King Ramachandra Deva (I) of Bhoi dynasty had carved out a small Hindu kingdom on the ruins of thevast Gajapati empire with its capital at Khurda. After stabilizing his powers and position in the newkingdom, lost no time in retrieving back to Puri the Bramha from Kujang Garh and performed theNabakalebar ceremony of Jagannath. The deities were installed in the great temple at Puri in 1575 A.D.King Ramachandra Deva not only re-installed Jagannath in the temple, but also re-established thesanctity of Mahaprasad, the offering of which had been stopped for about a decade. For reviving theworship of Jagannath at Puri after the temple was desecrated by Kalapahad, Raja Rama ChandraDeva of Khurda was popularly called as ‘Abhinava Indradyumna’ or incarnation of Indradyumna. In1590 A.D. Raja Mansingh, the great Mughal General, proclaimed Rama Chandra Deva as the Gajapatiruler of Khurda, under the Mughal Emperor and also as the Superintendent of the Jagannath Temple.The The Rajas of Khurda continued to be the hereditary superintendents. The temple affairs weremanaged under their direct supervision till Odisha passed into the hands of the Marathas.

By the treaty concluded between Nawab Alivardi Khan of Bengal and Raghuji Bhonsla ofNagpur in 1751 A.D., the province of Cuttack i.e., Orissa (Odisha) as far as the river Suvarnarekhawas ceded to the Marathas over which they became the de facto rulers. The Marathas kept themanagement of Shri Jagannath Temple, Puri in their own hands and being Hindus encouraged theworship of Jagannath. They got the ceremonies and festivals properly conducted, and made good ofthe deficit between the receipt and the expenditure of the temple. The day to day affairs of the templewere managed by the Parichhas, appointed by the Maratha Government. There were three types ofparichas, viz. Shewaji Ungits (3rd Parichha), Jagannath Rajguru (2nd Parichha) and morar Pandit(Head Parichha), whose sole duty it was to take care of interior management of the temple and anycomplaint against them were referred to Ekadee Pandit at Cuttack, who decided upon them finally. Theauthority of the Rajas of Khurda was very limited in the temple during the time of the Maratha governmentwhich assumed almost the entire control.

Gajapati Dibyasingh Deva-II was loyal to the Marathas. During his time, the Jagannatha templewas again plastered. Jhulan Yatra was introduced in the temple. The Arun Pillar was brought fromKonark and installed infront of main entrance way of the Jagannath Temple.

The Marathas were defraying the expenses of the temple from the tax they collected from thepilgrims. Besides, they also set apart some lands for the worship of Lord Jagannath in the Praganas ofRahang, Sirai, Chabiskud and Lembai which they received from the Raja of Khurda in lieu of paymentfor rendering military services. This endowment yielding a revenue of Rs.27,000/- was known as SataisHazari Mahal. But the discipline and the administration of the temple seem to have much deterioratedduring the Maratha rule.

With the British occupation of Odisha in 1803, the Management of the Jagannath Temple wastaken over by the East India Company. The Governor General, Lord Wellesley in his dispatches to Lt.Col. Campbell, the Commander of the Southern Forces, had particularly stressed the need for respectingthe great sanctity attached to the temple of Jagannath at Puri. Before the British army marched into

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Odisha, Wellesley had instructed — “On your arrival at Juggernaut, You will employ every possibleprecaution to preserve the respect due to the Pogoda and to the religious prejudices of the Brahminsand the pilgrims. You shall furnish the Brahmins with such guards as shall afford perfect security to theirpersons, rites and ceremonies and to the sanctity of the religious edifices, and you will strictly enjointhose under your command to observe your orders on this important subject with the utmost degree ofaccuracy and vigilance…”

For the better administration of the temple and the endowed properties, the Government ofOdisha as a preliminary step towards undertaking a comprehensive legislation passed the Puri-ShriJagannath Temple (Administration) Act, 1952 providing for the appointment of a Special Officer toconsolidate and prepare a Record of Rights and duties of Sebaks, Pujaris and such other personsconnected with the Seva, Puja and management of the temple and for the endowments of the temple. ASpecial Officer of the rank of a District Judge was accordingly appointed who submitted his report onthe 15th March, 1954, that disclosed serious mismanagement of the affairs of the temple and inconsequence Shri Jagannath Temple Act, 1954 (Orissa) Act II of 1955was passed. The Act becamelaw in November, 1955. Raja Ramachandra Deva, the Superintendent of the Temple filed a writ petitionin the Orissa High Court challenging the validity of the Act. The High Court delivered judgment on30.4.1957 dismissing the writ petition. The main grounds of challenge interalia are, that JagannathTemple is founded, owned and controlled by the Gajapati kings to whom the temples belongs secondly,it is not necessary to prepare and promulgate a special Act, when a general Act was inforce. In themean time Birakrishore Deva became the Superintendent. The Act was brought into force on 27.10.1960under Law Department Notification No. 6619 dt.24.10.1960 by constituting a statutory committee.The Committee took over possession of the Temple and managed its Seva Puja and other affairs witheffect from the said date. Raja Birakishore Deva had preferred an appeal in the Supreme Court. TheSupreme Court passed an order granting an ad interim stay over the committee. Consequent uponvacation of the order, the Committee again took over possession and management of the Temple on17.12.1960.

The Temple Record of Rights was prepared in four volumes describing the rituals, duties &responsibilities of as many as 119 categories of Sevaks and including individual Seva.

Sri Jagannath Temple Act, 1954 (Orissa Act 11 of 1955) forms the basis of the existingadministrative pattern of the temple and its endowments. Section 5 of the Act states that “the administrationand the governance of the Temple and its endowments shall vest in a committee called Shri JagannathTemple Managing Committee constituted as such by the State Government. It shall be a body corporate,having perpetual, succession and a common seal, and by the said name sue and be sued. Section 6provides for the constitution of the Committee with the Raja of Puri as the Chairman. No person whodoes not profess the Hindu religion shall be eligible for membership. The Collector of the District of Puriis an ex-officio member and was designated as the Vice-Chairman of the committee till Feb, 2005.Sections 19 & 21 deal with the appointment, powers and functions of the Administrator (Now ChiefAdministrator) of the Temple who shall be the Secretary of the Committee and its Chief ExecutiveOfficer and shall be subjected to the control of the Committee, have powers to carry out the decisionsin accordance with the provisions of the Act. The Chief Administrator shall be responsible for thecustody of all records and properties of the Temple.

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After the introduction of Shri Jagannath Temple Amending Act, 2004 the Managing Committeeas well as administrative structure are upgraded with effect from Feb, 2005. Accordingly an I.A.S.Officer in the rank of Revenue Divisional Commissioner have been appointed as the Chief Administratorof the Temple in place of Administrator. Similarly the Committee constituted of the said Act consists 18members (at present) and is composed as follows:

a. The Raja of Puri (Chairman)

b. An Officer not below the rank of Additional Chief Secretary (nominated by the StateGovernment)-working Chairman.

c. The Chief Administrator appointed under Sub-Section (1) of Section- 19 (Ex officio member,who shall be the Secretary).

d. The Collector of the District of Puri (Ex-Officio Member)

e. The Commissioner of Endowments appointed under the Orissa Hindu Religions EndowmentsAct, 1951 (Ex-officio member).

f. The Additional Secretary, Law Department, Government of Orissa – (Ex-officio Member).

g. The Superintendent of Police, Puri – (Ex-officio Member).

h. The Superintending Archaeologist – A.S.I., Bhubaneswar Circle – (Ex-officio Member).

i. One person nominated by the State Government from among the persons entitled to sit on theMukti Mandap – Member.

j. Five persons to be nominated by the State Government from among the Sevaks of the Temple– Members.

k. One person nominated by the State Government representing the mathas and other institutionconnected with Seva-Puja or nits of the Temple-Member.

l. Three persons (one of whom shall be Charted Accountant) from among the persons who donot belong to any of the categories referred to in clauses (j) and (k) Members.

No person who does not profess the Hindu religion shall be eligible for membership. Thetenure of the said committee is 3 years as per the provisions of the Act.

During the period from 1960-2011 as many as 29 nos. of Administrators and 4 nos. of ChiefAdministrators have headed the Temple Administration.

Source : Shree Jagannath Temple Administration, Puri