Dharmathakur

Last updated

The traditional shrine of Dharmaraj at a Barddhaman,Bankura District's villages. Dharmarajtala Surmanagar Arnab Dutta.JPG
The traditional shrine of Dharmaraj at a Barddhaman,Bankura District's villages.

Dharmaraj (also called Dharma Thakur, Dharmaraj or simply Dharma) is a Hindu deity of death and justice, worshipped by villagers in the traditional Rarh region in the present day Indian state of West Bengal as one of their special village gods ( gram devata ). He is represented by a shapeless stone daubed with vermillion and is normally placed under a tree or placed in the open, but sometimes enshrined in a temple. The worship takes place in the months of Baisakh, Jaistha and Asarh on the day of full moon and sometimes on the last day of Bhadro. [1] Dharmaraj is worshipped mainly by all castes. [2]

Contents

A temple of Dharma stood in the Jaun Bazaar street in Calcutta during the late 19th century. [3]

Origins

Dharmaraj has been linked with many gods such as Sun-god Surya, Varuna, Vishnu, Yama, Shiva and even with Buddhism. Fundamentally, it all started with the magical beliefs related to harvesting in the primitive days and thereafter layers of Aryan Hindu and Buddhist beliefs transformed it in many ways at different places and has now become too complex to trace its roots properly. [4]

Suniti Kumar Chatterji says, "Dharma who is however described as the supreme deity, creator and ordainer of the Universe, superior even to Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva and at times identified with them, and he has nothing of the abstractions of Buddhist Dharma about him." He has further opined that the songs and dances linked with Gajan of Dharma is clearly non-Aryan in origin. It could be Dravidian or Tibeto-Chinese. [4]

Sukumar Sen says that Dharmaraj has come down with the so-called lower category of common people. They formed a majority at one point of time and had no right to Brahminical learning. Brahmins who started migrating to Bengal in large numbers during the Gupta period were mostly not the original inhabitants of Bengal and as such had no links with Dharmaraj. He was not a personal-god but a community-god worshipped by many at a time. He was worshipped by large groups of non-Brahmins. [4]

It is notable that very important patrons of his worship were Brahmins and that they wrote most of the scriptures dedicated to his worship. These include works Dharma Purana of Mayura Bhatt, [5] the Dharmamangal of Mayura Bhatta, Manik Ganguly, Ghanarama, Sahadeva Chakravarty, [6] and Ruparama. [7] Perhaps the Ghanarama festival, [8] in which modern-day adherents worship Dharmaraj is named after the Brahmin Ghanarama Chakravarti.

Frank Korom, a Professor of Religion and Anthropology at Boston University, wrote his PhD dissertation on Dharmaraj. He found that Dharmaraj is perceived and worshipped differently from district to district. [9]

Vahan

Hindu gods and goddesses have vahans – an animal on which the deity rides. Horse is the vahan of Dharmaraj. However, in some cases the elephant is also used as a vahan. In the Rarh region where Dharmaraj is worshipped there is no end to the symbolic use of terracotta and wooden horses. Symbolic sacrifice of horses for fulfilment of wishes is common for many village gods and goddesses, but an assembly of terracotta horses of various shapes and sizes representing sacrifice on wish fulfilment is perhaps peculiar to Dharmaraj. It is a possibility that the horse symbolises links with the Sun-god. [10]

Gajan

The festival associated with Dharmaraj is called Dharmer gajan or Dharma's gajan. [11] Shiva’s gajan and Dharmaraj's gajan are similar. The horse is essential in Dharmaraj's gajan but it is not so in Shiva’s gajan. The sannyasis (hermits) of gajan are called bhakta of bhaktia. They observe certain rituals which are similar to those observed on a person’s death. There is certain amount of confusion regarding the interpretation of the rituals as gajan is supposed to celebrate the marriage of Dharmaraj with Mukti. [12] The skull dance is part of Gajan. This is believed to be of non-Aryan origin. [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Birbhum district</span> District of West Bengal in India

Birbhum district is an administrative unit in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the northernmost district of Burdwan division—one of the five administrative divisions of West Bengal. The district headquarters is in Suri. Other important cities are Bolpur, Rampurhat and Sainthia. Jamtara, Dumka and Pakur districts of the state of Jharkhand lie at the western border of this district; the border in other directions is covered by the districts of Bardhaman of Purba Bardhaman, Paschim Bardhaman and Murshidabad of West Bengal.

The following list consists of notable concepts that are derived from Hindu culture and associated cultures’ traditions, which are expressed as words in Sanskrit or other Indic languages and Dravidian languages. The main purpose of this list is to disambiguate multiple spellings, to make note of spellings no longer in use for these concepts, to define the concept in one or two lines, to make it easy for one to find and pin down specific concepts, and to provide a guide to unique concepts of Hinduism all in one place.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rarh region</span> Geographical region in East India, India

Rarh region is a toponym for an area in the Indian subcontinent that lies between the Chota Nagpur Plateau on the West and the Ganges Delta on the East. Although the boundaries of the region have been defined differently according to various sources throughout history, it is mainly coextensive with the state of West Bengal, also comprising parts of the state of Jharkhand in India.

Ramai Pandit was a medieval Bengali poet from the Rarh region of Bengal. The exact date of his birth is not known, but some scholars believe that he was born in the later half of the 10th century and also lived in the 11th century AD, as he is a contemporary to Mayur Bhatt, the court-poet of King Lausen. Some scholars believe that he lived in the 13th or 14th century AD. He is famous as the author of Shunya Purana, the scripture of Dharma Puja Bidhan, written in the 11th century AD. The extant Shunya Purana refers to events that occurred in the 14th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suniti Kumar Chatterji</span> Indian linguist

Suniti Kumar Chatterjee was an Indian linguist, educationist and litterateur. He was a recipient of the second-highest Indian civilian honour of Padma Vibhushan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nanoor</span> Village in West Bengal, India

Nanoor, is a village in Nanoor CD block in Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district in West Bengal. Nanoor is the birthplace of 14th century lyric poet Chandidas of Vaishnava Padavali fame. It is developing as a craft centre with NGO support. With the massacres in 2000, Nanoor was in intense media focus.

Ilambazar is a census town, with a police station, in Ilambazar CD block in Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district in the Indian state of West Bengal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shasta (deity)</span> Hindu god

Shasta is a Hindu deity, described as the son of the deities Shiva and Mohini, Vishnu's female avatar. In South India, he is identified with the Ayyanar, Nattarayan or Sattan in Tamil Nadu, as Ayyanayake in Sinhala and the Ayyappan in Kerala. His principal function is to act as a kuladevata of a given clan, as well as act as a guardian of a village's boundaries.

Fairs in Birbhum refers to the many fairs that take place in Birbhum district in the Indian state of West Bengal.

Culture of Birbhum refers to the culture of Birbhum district in the Indian state of West Bengal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bankura horse</span> Terracotta horse produced in West Bengal

Bankura horse is the terracotta horse, produced in Panchmura village in Bankura district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It has been praised for “its elegant stance and unique abstraction of basic values.” Originally used for village rituals, it now adorns drawing rooms around the world as symbols of Indian folk-art. It is the logo of All India Handicrafts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Bankura district</span> History of Bankura, West Bengal, India

History of Bankura district refers to the history of the present Bankura district in the Indian state of West Bengal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gajan (festival)</span> Bengali Hindu celebration

Gajan or Shiva gajon is a Hindu festival celebrated mostly in the Indian state of West Bengal and Bangladesh. It is associated with such deities as Shiva, Neel and Dharmaraj. Gajan spans around a week, starting at the last week of Choitro continuing till the end of the Bengali year. It ends with Charak Puja on the last day of Chaitra, the last month in the Bengali Hindu calendar. The next day is Poila Baishakh,the first day of Bengali New Year. Participants of this festival is known as Sannyasi or Bhakta. Persons of any gender can be a participant. The complete history of the festival is not known. The central theme of this festival is deriving satisfaction through non-sexual pain, devotion and sacrifice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surul</span> Census Town in West Bengal, India

Surul is a census town in Bolpur Sriniketan CD block in Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district in the Indian state of West Bengal.

The Dharmamangal is an important subgenre of mangalkavya, with narratives of local deities of rural Bengal, the most significant genre of medieval Bengali literature. The texts belonging to this subgenre eulogize Dharmathakur, a folk deity worshipped in the Rarh region of Bengal. According to tradition, the earliest poet of Dharmamangal was Mayura Bhatta. The Dharmamangal texts were meant for singing during the twelve-day ritual ceremony, known as Gajan. These texts are part of a larger group of texts associated with the worship of Dharma. In addition to the Dharmamangal texts, this larger group includes a number of works known as the Dharmapurans, which narrate the story of creation and the liturgical works known as the Samjatpaddhatis.

Monteswar is a village situated in Manteswar CD block in Kalna subdivision of Purba Bardhaman district in the Indian state of West Bengal.

Kurmun is a village in Burdwan I CD block in Bardhaman Sadar North subdivision of Purba Bardhaman district in the state of West Bengal, India.

Amarargar is a village in Ausgram II CD block in Bardhaman Sadar North subdivision of Purba Bardhaman district in the state of West Bengal, India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Purba Bardhaman district</span> District in West Bengal, India

Purba Bardhaman district is in the Indian state of West Bengal. Its headquarters is in Bardhaman. It was formed on 7 April 2017 after the division of the previous Bardhaman district. Great revolutionary Rash Behari Bose was born in village Subaldaha in the district of Purba Bardhaman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maniklal Sinha</span> Indian archaeologist and writer (1916–1994)

Maniklal Sinha, also Maniklal Singha; was an Indian archaeologist, writer, poet, folk-culture scholar (Lokasangskritibid), novelist and assistant teacher at Bishnupur High School. He was the main entrepreneur and founding director of Acharya Jogesh Chandra Pura Kirti Bhavan(museum) and Bangiya Sahitya Parishad – Bishnupur Branch in 1951 at Bishnupur. He was awarded an honorary D.Litt. degree by the University of Burdwan in 1989 for his contribution as an archaeologist, writer and novelist.

References

  1. ↑ O'Malley, L.S.S., ICS, Birbhum, Bengal District Gazetteers, p. 36, 1996 reprint, first published 1910, Government of West Bengal
  2. ↑ Mitra, Ajit Kumar, Birbhumer Loukik Debdebi, (in Bengali), Paschim Banga, Birbhum Special Issue, pp. 321–334, Government of West Bengal
  3. ↑ The Calcutta Review, Volume 106, 1898 p. 322
  4. 1 2 3 Mitra, Dr. Amalendu, Rarher Sanskriti O Dharmaraj, (in Bengali), first published 1972, 2001 edition, pp. 109–117, Subarnarekha, 73 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Kolkata
  5. ↑ P. 19 The history of medieval Vaishnavism in Orissa By Prabhat Mukherjee
  6. ↑ P. v History of Bengali language and literature: A series of lectures delivered as Reader to the Calcutta University by Dineshchandra Sen, University of Calcutta
  7. ↑ P. 30 Vaiṣṇavism in Bengal, 1486-1900 by Ramakanta Chakravarti
  8. ↑ P. 87 Spolia zeylanica: Volume 36 by National Museums of Sri Lanka, Colombo Museum, Colombo, Ceylon
  9. ↑ Frank Joseph Korom, "``To be happy: Narrative, ritual play and leisure in an annual Bengali religious festival" (1 January 1992). Dissertations available from ProQuest. Paper AAI9235162. http://repository.upenn.edu/dissertations/AAI9235162
  10. ↑ Mitra, Dr. Amalendu, pp. 156-159
  11. ↑ Nicholas, R. (2008). Rites of Spring. Gājan in Village Bengal. New Delhi: Chronicle Books. Ferrari, F.M. (2010). Guilty Males and Proud Females. Negotiating Genders in a Bengali Festival. Calcutta and London: Seagull.
  12. ↑ Mitra, Dr. Amalendu, pp. 165-169
  13. ↑ Ghosh, Binoy, Paschim Banger Sanskriti, (in Bengali), part I, 1976 edition, p. 67, Prakash Bhaban
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.