Shrimadbhagabata, which is how Pandit Nilamani Mishra spelt it, was composed by AtibadiJagannath Dash(the commonly-used spelling of the surname, i.e., “Dash”, is caste-sensitive; the brahmins use the letter “h”; the non-brahmins do not)in Odia in the sixteenth century andit has all alongremained the pre-eminent sacred text for the people of Odisha. In many households, it is worshipped andritually read daily. It is firmly believed that reading it (ritual reading of it is reading it aloud) and listening to it are acts of great punya (religious merit). It is indeed the most popular work ever written in Odia language. Some say with all seriousness that Odia language will never be extinctsolely because of Shrimadbhagabata. Incidentally, “atibadi (literally, very great)” is the title given to him by themost venerable Vaishnava saint, Sri Chaitanya, who was his guru (spiritual preceptor). It is said that some of his disciples, who did not share Jagannath Dash’s language, became jealous of Dash after he received this title. If that was indeed the case, it is not un-understandable.
It may be mentioned that despite its overwhelming popularity, there doesn’t seem to have been much scholarly engagement with this great work over the centuries. Maybe because people relate to it emotionally, more specifically, devotionally, rather than intellectually. When that happens with a text, one is disinclined to analyze it and critique it. But this may not be a totally satisfactory explanation of the fact but let us set this issue aside for the present. Considering the way people relate to it, it must not surprise us that barring the Shrimadbhagabata scholars, not many know that Jagannath Dash did not compose Dwadasa Skanda (Twelfth book) of this composition. It is Mahadeba Dash who composed it. But he credited it to Jagannath Dash: the last couplet of the Twelfth Book contains this: kahai Jagannatha dasa (says Jagannatha Dasa), not mahadebadasa.
Now, who was MahadebaDash, why did he credit his work to Jagannath Dashand how was his work accepted as part of Shrimadbhagabata?This Madadeba Dash was certainly not, as scholars agree, the Mahadeba Dash, the famous seventeenth century poet, who composed many mahatmyas, which are minor puranic compositions, including Kartika Mahatmya, Magha Mahatmya and Purushottama Mahatmya. Mahatmyasare narratives in verse, that celebrate the glory of months, places of pilgrimage, rivers, plants, sacred texts, specific days, etc. These can be said to be minor sacred texts, like the sixteenth century poet Balarama Das’s Lakshmi Purana, but far less popular and venerated. Kartika Mahatmya and Magha Mahatmya are ritually recited at home and in the temples in the month of Kartika and Magha respectively.Now, there is no reason to think that coming after more than a hundred years of Jagannath Dash’s passing away, Mahadeba Dash would add a book to Shrimadbhagabata. Besides, composing mahatmyaswas his forte. Why would he want to do something else – rendering a puranic composition into Odia in order to complete an unfinished work by someone he did not personally relate to, like, say, a shishya does to his / her / their guru? There does not seem to be any strongmotivation for him to compose the Twelfth Book.
According to Pandit Nilamani Mishra, who edited Shrimadbhagabata, for Orissa Sahitya Akademi,in the early nineteen nineties, the composer of Dwadasa Skanda, was one Mahadeba Dash, who must have been one of the disciples of Jagannath Dash and who must have belonged to his matha (roughly, monastery). He was a brahmin, Mishra observes, giving reliable evidence, whereas the author of the mahatymas mentioned above was not a brahmin. Beyond this, almost nothing is known about his life. One would guess that he must have composed Dwadasa Skanda not long after the passing away of the Atibadi. He composed Trayodasa Skanda (the Thirteenth Book) of Shrimadbhagabata. But unlike Dwadasa Skanda, Trayodasa Skanda is not generally accepted as part of Shrimadbhagabata.
Dr. Debasish Mohapatra, linguist and academic told me that his “impression”is that in Khordha, near Bhubaneswar, and its neighbourhood, the first eleven books are read in the ritual readings of Shrimadbhagabata. Dwadasa Skanda is not read, which obviously means that in these parts of the State, only the skandas that Jagannath Dash wrote are considered to constitute Shrimadbhagabata.According to Dr. Mitali Madhusmita Mohanty,researcher and Odia literature specialist, in Jajpur and its neighbourhood, Dwadasa Skanda is also read. Suvash Satapathy, the eminent journalist, writer and award-wining translator, has told me that in Shri Jagannath Temple in Puri, Dwadasa Skanda is also read during sandhya dhupa (Food Offering in the evening)rituals. His servitor acquaintance told him that it does not matter who wrote the Twelfth Book and that it is considered to be part of the sacred text.
But why is the Thirteenth Book not viewed as part of the sacred text? It is repeatedly mentioned in Shrimadbhagabata that it is the story of Krishna: krushnacharitabhagabata. In the Eleventh Book, Lord Krishna leaves the mortal world and returns to Vaikuntha, his heavenly abode. Now, if this sacred text is Krishna’s story, why is the Twelfth Book (Dwadasa Skanda) viewed as part of it, which is not Krishna’s story? A plausible answer to these questions could be the following: Srimad Bhagavatam (the English spelling of the text), composed in Sanskrit, has twelve books. Without the Twelfth Book, Shrimadbhagabata is incomplete. This explains why the Twelfth Book of Srimad Bhagavatam was rendered into Odia. Mahadeba Dash completed what was left incomplete on account of the passing away of Jagannath Dash. “krushnasangate Jagannatha chalilegolaka je patha (With Krishna, Jagannath left for Golaka)’ writes Mahadeba Dash in Dwadasa Skanda. Incidentally, “Golaka” is the name of the heavenly abode of Lord Krishna. Mahadeba Dash says that he wanted to write the Twelfth Book of Srimad Bhagavatam in Odia so that the Odia Shrimadbhagabata, Jagannath Dash’s composition, would be complete. He attributed his composition to Jagannath Dash, his guru, but, it must be noted, he did not conceal the fact that he was the author. He says he mentioned Jagannath Dash as the composer because he was great, spiritually elevated, highly venerated by all and was famous: se je mahatamahajana, writes Mahadeba Dash about Jagannath Dash. He gave authorship to his guru, not because of any pressure from any quarters on him (there is no evidence for that), but out of genuine respect. He did so, as just mentioned, also because of the consideration that Dwadasa Skanda would receive ready acceptance from all, if his guru’s name is mentioned as the author. But his was not an act of dishonesty because he had mentioned in the Twelfth Book that he was the author and had thus taken the responsibility for the composition.This is untypical of those who write and give the authorship to others.
Mahadeba Dash is unknown outside the circle of the specialists in Odia literature. His work, Dwadasa Skanda, is celebrated but people know it is Jagannath Dash’s composition. In all probability, there is no other like him, in these respects, in the long and glorious history of Odia literature.
(The views expressed are the writer’s own)
Prof. B.N.Patnaik
Retd. Professor of Linguistics and English, IIT Kanpur
Email: [email protected]
(Images from the net)