Volume-I, Issue-II, November, 2024
Novel Insights A Peer-Reviewed Quarterly Multidisciplinary Research Journal |
| Volume-I, Issue-II, November, 2024 |
Odia Bhāgabat by Jagannath Dāsa: An Odia Literary Classic with Universal Knowledge Dr. Pratap Kumar Dash, Associate Professor in English, Rajendra University, Balangir, Odisha Email: pratapkumardash0@gmail.com |
Received: 06.11.2024 | Accepted: 22.11.2024 | Published Online: 30.11.2024 |
Page No: 79-88 | DOI: 10.69655/novelinsights.vol.1.issue.02W.008 | |
Abstract | ||
Odia Bhāgabat by Atibadi Jagannath Dasa is no doubt a classic treatise and a perfect translational localization as well as summarization of the original Srimad Bhagabat Mahapurana composed by Veda Vyasa. Since its date of composition in the form of palm leaf and copper plate engraving, it is invaluable in the nook and corner of Odisha. Many of its rhymed and simple lines motivate people of all sects and categories to deal with the critical moments of life. In this context, the present paper attempts at an appreciation of the book in focusing on its contents and contexts appropriately taken from the Vedas, Vedantas, Upanishadas, and the eighteen Puranas. Additionally, it epitomizes Srikrsna bhakti tradition as outlined in Vaishnavism which is characterized by spiritual exaltation and the devotion for lord Jagannath. What’s more, through its chronicling of mythological, spiritual anecdotes, it emphasizes on the moral and spiritual path to be adopted in day to day life; to plan and live a life with the best of intentions proving the worth of the much-valued human life. While telling stories poetically in couplets of nine letters in each line uniformly, it highlights how to distinguish between illusion and reality; true and false; believe in karma and its effects; how to revere parents and treat with the best of intentions to the gurus, women and guests; to become a mystic and a rationalist to strongly believe in the presence of the creator in all beings; and accept death as the inevitable and universal phenomena. This sort of classics could be placed as one that can ignite the human cognition and equals all other world-famous classics like The Odyssey, The Divine Comedy and The Paradise Lost. The tenets of mysticism, pantheism and transcendentalism could also be traced recurrently in its epical structure. Keywords: Mythological, Bhakti tradition, Spiritual path, Karma, Human cognition | ||