Hundreds of servitors offer their services during the annual Sri Gundicha Yatra of the Trinity. Besides, there are over a hundred mutts in Puri that contribute immensely towards the success of the festival. Among them are Gobardhan Mutt, Raghab Das Mutt, Emar Mutt, Radhakanta Mutt, Jhanjipita Mutt, and Bada Odia Mutt to name but a few. Srimandir is surrounded by these mutts which are involved with some important rituals and services connected to Rath Yatra. Services include transporting of timber for construction of chariots, cleaning of wells in the temple premises, tahia making, carving thermocol ornaments and so on. Orissa POST takes a look at how these mutts contribute to the festival.
Raghab Das Mutt: Located in Balisahi near Srimandir, this mutt is closely associated with many rituals of the temple. It supplies seven-and-half kg of sandalwood, camphor and saffron for the Anasara ritual of the Trinity. It also supplies 24 handloom sarees of 24 ft length, two sarees of 31 ft in length and 27 lotas for the same ritual. This mutt is also entrusted with cleaning the well in the premises of the Gundicha temple ahead of the arrival of the deities from Srimandir. This apart, the mutt also supplies two large tahias (headgear) for Lord Jagannath and Lord Balabhadra and two small tahias for Devi Subhadra and Lord Sudarshan before the Pahandi Bije. While the mutt offers khichdi as prasad to the Trinity during Rath Yatra and Bahuda Yatra, it also offers dry food delicacies like puri, sola, and ‘Mohan bhog’ during Sunabesha. This apart, the rasagola offered by Lord Jagannath to goddess Laxmi after a mini war during Niladri Bije is also supplied by this mutt.
Govardhan Mutt: Set up by Jagadguru Shankaracharya, this is known as the most ancient mutt of Puri and is located along the main road connecting Balisahi and Swargadwara. The Shankaracharya of this mutt gets the first opportunity to have a darshan of the deities on the chariot during Rath Yatra and Bahuda Yatra. The mutt offers ‘panti bhog’ to the deities during Rath Yatra.
Rajguru Goswami Mutt: The mutt associated with the Madhwa Gaudiya Vaishnab community is located at the right side of the road connecting Labanikhia Chhak and Marichikote Chhak and performs the sanctification of the Ratna Singhasan in Gundicha Temple ahead of Rath Yatra. It supplies items like flowers, sandalwood paste, roasted rice sweetened with jaggery, ladoo and fruits.
Jhanjipita Mutt: This monastery is situated in Patra Sahi near Dola Mandapa Sahi. The inmates join their counterparts in Rajguru Goswami mutt in the sanctification of Gundicha Temple.
Radhakanta Mutt: This mutt is located on the eastern side of the road connecting Singhadwara and Balisahi. This mutt carries significance as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu lived here during his Puri sojourn. Vaishnavites take out a sankirtan procession in front of the chariots during Rath Yatra and Bahuda Yatra.
Bada Odia Mutt: This mutt is located in Baseli Sahi of Puri town. According to legend, the queen of Gajapati Prataprudadev gifted this place to Jagannath Das, one of the five great poets of ancient times and a great devotee of Lord Jagannath. The mutt has a close link with the rituals of Jagannath Temple. It offers ‘Alata Chamara’ services during Pahandi Bije of the deities during Rath Yatra. The mutt also offers ‘panti bhog’ during the Adapa Bije on the day of Gundicha Yatra. This apart, it offers 16 kg of sandalwood, Amalu and kheeri on the sixth day of the festival as ‘bhog.’ It also offers 30 ‘handis’ of dry foods on Bahuda Dasami.
One of the major contributions of this mutt is to the ‘Adhara Pana’ ritual. It supplies three Adhara Handis (large size terracotta pots), three kg of cream, three kg of cheese, 300 gm of pepper dust, 150 gm of camphor, nine cotton towels with red border and 42 ripe bananas. It also supplies 500 gm of sandalwood paste, musk and other aromatic substances required for the rituals before Niladri Bije. The repair work of Kanakamundi at the top of Ratna Singhasan is undertaken by this mutt. It also supplies the triangular appliqué to be tied under Kanakamundi. About 43 mt cloth is required for the making of this appliqué. The flag on top of the Jagannath Temple is contributed by the mutt on the day of Niladri Bije.
Chhauni Mutt: This monastery is located to the left side of Singhadwara of Srimandir. During Rath Yatra, the thermocol ‘tilaks’ for the Trinity are brought from the home of the ‘Bania’ servitor and kept in this mutt. They are placed on the foreheads of the deities after they board the chariot following Pahandi Bije. This apart, this mutt offers ‘panti bhog’ during Rath Yatra, Bahuda Yatra and Niladri Bije. The water required for ‘Adhara Pana’ is also drawn from the well of this mutt.
Ramdas Mutt: As this mutt is located to the right side of Jagannath Temple, people call it Dakhina Parswa mutt also. It is also known as Bada Mutt. Earlier, the timber required for the construction of the chariots was brought to the Kanchi riverbank. The mutt supplied bullock carts to bring the logs from the riverbank near Malatipatapur to ‘Ratha Khala’ (chariot construction workshop). Besides, the logs of palm trees required to make the charamala (staircase) were supplied by this mutt. The ‘mahant’ of Ramdas Mutt also offers ‘Alata Chamar’ services to the deities on the chariots.
Emar Mutt: This famous and prosperous mutt belonging to the Ramanuj community is situated in Kalikadevi Sahi, not far from Srimandir. The mutt supplies bullock carts to carry the logs required for chariot construction. Its ‘mahant’ offers ‘Alata Chamar’ services during Rath Yatra and ‘panti bhog’ at Gundicha temple and for Hera Panchami and Niladri Bije.
Jatia Baba Mutt: This mutt is located at the northern side of Narendra Pond known as the burial ground of Jatia Baba, a sadhu. Though it has no active involvement with the rituals of Srimandir, on the request of the Srimandir administration, this mutt supplies four ropes required during the Pahandi ritual of the deities. It supplies the material on behalf of the Bijaykrushna Mutt of Varanasi.
Jagannath Ballav Mutt: Located along the Grand Road, this mutt is called the ‘pleasure garden’ of Lord Jagannath. It supplies floral ornaments like ‘tilak’ and ‘jhumpa’ for Bada Singhara Besha. Besides, ‘dayana’ is brought from this mutt during the observance of ‘dayana chori’ ritual.
Mutts lend a hand
The mutts set up in Puri contribute to various rituals of Srimandir and also offer hospitality to the sadhus from different parts of the country who visit the city during various festivals. They also help poor and meritorious students. Many mutts have some special rights such as operating inside Srimandir’s kitchen and the privilege to offer ‘Alata Chamar’ services. Many affluent and generous persons have gifted land and money to Lord Jagannath which are handled by these mutts. Most of the mutts in Puri were financially well endowed in the past. But over the years, their condition worsened due to the inefficiency of some ‘mahantas’ and their lavish lifestyle, say some inmates. In 1868, the British Indian Government set up an inquiry commission after a person named Kedarnath Dutta lodged a complaint against the wrongdoings of several mutts. The commission, after a thorough probe, noted that “There is erosion in the fundamental ideologies of these mutts. The in-charges of many mutts are leading luxurious life like royals forgetting their principal duties. The properties of these mutts are not only being misutilised, the ownerships have been transferred in many cases.”
It is often alleged that many mutts stay away from participating in Srimandir rituals, adversely affecting the functioning of the temple. However, well known researcher Bhaskar Mishra who has authored Matha Parampara, a book on mutt tradition, denied this. “When some mutts discontinue their services, the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration steps in immediately and ensures that the rituals are not affected. For example, a mutt was earlier contributing for Hatibesha of the Lord but stopped that a few years ago. But the temple administration took over the responsibility immediately and the ritual continued,” he said.
BIJAY MANDAL, OP