Image(s), Temples and Conflicts

 In 1841, in a Topographical Survey along the river Hooghly, ranging from Bandel in the north to Garden Reach in the south, Charles Joseph gave a detailed description of Mahesh, known for its centuries-old Jagannath temple and Rath Yatra. The oldest and most popular Rath Yatra in Bengal, Mahesh was declared as 'Navya-Nilachal' (the new Nilachal or Puri, the seat of Jagannath in Odisha) by Chaitanya himself. Unlike the pilgrims’ attention on the temple and its image, Joseph focused on the temple patrons and the activities behind the sojourns of images of deities, revealing representatives of multiple identities underneath the surface of festivities, exerting power over the image of deities.

Temple of Jagannath, Mahesh

While today the trio of Jagannath, Subhadra and Balaram are carried by the massive rath from their temple to the Kunjabari/Gunjabari, popularly called the 'mashir bari,' the earlier destination used to be further up the road, in the temple of Radhaballabh in Ballabhpur.

Kunjabari/ Mashir Bari, Mahesh 

Radhaballabh Temple, Ballabhpur, Serampore

For a week between Rath Yatra and Ultarath, the images of the trio and Radhaballabh together drew immense crowds, day and night. And such an arrangement was not only in resolution of the convention, but also pragmatic, for it would mean greater donations from pilgrims who would see the two popular images, both with age-old origin legends, associated with Chaitanya and his disciples, displayed together.

However, the arrangement was not without tensions. As early as in the 1820s, Charles Joseph noted the eruption of conflicts among the temple priests over the sharing of offerings and donations between the two temples. He observed that the offerings over 8 days amounted to around Rs 2000, and the calculation was made further complex by the varying intensity of devotees and offerings on different days. In 1826 for instance, the priests of the Radhaballabh temple withheld a portion of the offerings from the Jagannath temple authorities. The latter retaliated with fury, by refusing to house the image in the Radhaballabh temple, instead sending him off to a private residence. The diversion of crowds and resources from Ballabhpur turned out to be so devastating from the forfeiture that a settlement, rather a bargain, was reached.

However, this resolution seemed to be far from permanent. Tensions presumably broke out again, as by 1855, a split between the two temple priestly authorities became formal, manifesting in the form of a legal battle. Rangamayi Dasi of the Mullick family of Barabazar, whose predecessor Nayan Chand Mullick had built the current Jagannath temple, stepped forward and also built the alternative Kunjabati and established Radharaman (Radha-Krishna images) we see today. This is where Jagannath is housed between Rath Yatra and Ultarath.

Lord Jagannath, Subhadra and Balaram in the Kunjabati

Meanwhile, the absence of the complementary image in Radhaballabh temple during this time was resolved by a wealthy patron by the name of Shibkrishna Dutta, who built a replica image of Jagannath, displayed in the Radhaballabh temple during this period, as a reminder of the power of images in lending power to others, and crafting and reworking of traditions that we often assume to be age old and continuous, instead of disruptive.

The replica idol of Jagannath with Radhaballabh, Radhaballabh Temple

The sanctum of Radhaballabh temple | clicked by Aniruddha Datta