Introduction

Bhagabata is the soul of Oriya culture. It is also a literary masterpiece. It is not only a religious scripture but also it's a manual of making mind, body and the soul healthy. Atibadi Jagannath Das translated bhagbat Mahapurana of Vedabyasa into Oriya language in the early decades of 16th century. No where except in Orissa such type of endeavor was done by anybody. Jagannath das’s bhagabata mahapurana is a literary masterpiece. It is not alone the translation of Bhagabata of Vedabyasha, but also unique in itself. The bhagabata contains messages of high import for the whole mankind. Besides being a monumental work in Oriya literature, the Bhagabata has influenced the socio- cultural life in Orissa.

History behind the epic

There were then scholars in the time of yore, who used to read out the purans written in Sanskrit and interpret them to the people in the local language. They were known as purana pandas. Jagannath Das’s mother who was a widow, was an intensely religious lady who used to attend such spiritual sessions. But she had to return home often dissatisfied and pained, because quite a few of the purana pandas were rude and greedy and remained adamant in making the lay men understand the sanskrit verses properly. Jagannatha's mother , therefore once approached her own son who had then acquired the reputation of being a great Sanskrit scholar, to write the Sanskrit bhagabata in Oriya so that semi literate, illiterate and also the literate and the learned could read and interpret for themselves the meaning of the sacred text. And the obedient son, sat down to write vyasa’s Bhagabata in Oriya. The Oriya bhagabata then became not a mere translation but a work of art, in other words a great poetic creation of the great poet Jagannath Das written in decade of the sixteenth century.

Meaning of Bhagabata tungi

In the past, a palmleaf copy of jagannath das’s bhagabata constituted the most precious possesion of an Oriya householder . In most oriya homes there was then a special corner in which the book was kept and read with devotion. It was read out to the aged and dying to enable them to face death with equanimity. Most villages had their bhagabata ghara which were known as Bhagabata Tungi, where the villagers old and young, the learned and the illiterates, gathered to read and discuss and find the meaning of their lives from the bhagabata. It was also the place where the physical exercises were done. The bhagabata ghara was in fact the cultural center of the villages which looked after the health, both of body and mind of the people. It is a pity that this revered institution is dying out like similar institutions elsewhere in India which grew up to promote the value systems which refined and ennobled individual lives and sustained the collective ethos in the society.