Part 1 - Śaivism in Ekāmra Purāṇa

The Ekāmra Purāṇa is accepted as one of the oldest works of Odisha. It deals with the glory and greatness of Ekāmra kṣetra, Bhubaneswar, the new capital of Odisha. At the title of the kṣetra, it is said that due to the presence of a lovely tope of a single Mango tree (ekāmra vṛkṣa) in the area, it was named after it.^[1] Another account seeks to differ from the above slightly and states that the Kṣetra was so named as it was surrounded by hundreds of Mango groves.^[2] Even through these two accounts do not agree literally, it is evident that due to the presence of a Mango grove the Kṣetra was so named. Thus the text derives the title.

The text professes to be an Upapurāṇa or Minor Purāṇa. Following the orthodox religious tradition the Mahāpurāṇas like the Kūrma, the Skanda (in different parts), the Brahmavaivarta, the Garuḍa, and the Padma also try to enumerate the names of the traditional eighteen Upapurāṇas. Like the above Mahāpurāṇas the Upapu. viz. the Devī-Bhāgavata, the Bṛhaddharma, the parāśara, the Bṛhadauśanasa, the Vāruṇa and the Ekāmra also set out the name of the eighteen Upapu. Though in these accounts there seems to be no complete agreement as to the title of the orthodox eighteen Upapu, the name of the Ekāmra is conspicuous by its absence in other works except the Ekāmra but they appear to be fully conscious of the existence of a large number of such other texts. The Ekāmra Purāṇa, on the other hand, emphatically tries to establish it as one of the Upapu. by including it among the names of the eighteen Upapu. in the very first chapter of the text. Thus the claim of the Ekāmra as an Upapu. cannot be completely negelected, like other Upapu, the Ekāmra styles simply “Purāṇa’ not UPapu. and thus tries to pass on its own merit without caring to attach itself for the sake of authority to any of the principal Purāṇas. Though it is designated as Purāṇa, it is of very late origin.

So far as the period of composition of the text is concerned different views have been developed by different scholars. Hazra holds that it is a work of the Āgamic Pāśupatas as it refers to Śiva Saṃhitā, Śiva Tantra on several occasions as authorities on Vrata, pratiṣṭhā etc. In its list of the eighteen Mahāpurāṇas it includes Narasiṃha Purāṇa and in the enumeration of the Upapu it includes Devī Purāṇa, Kālikā Purāṇa, Bṛhadnāradīya Purāṇa etc. Because of its copious references in Gadādhara’s Kālasāra and in the Uttara Khaṇḍa of the Bengal recension of the Śiva Purāṇa he is inclined to fix the date of its composition between C. 950 A.D. and 1150 A.D. On the other hand, in view of the occurrence of Ananta–Vāśudeva temple, which was built by 1278 A.D. and the reference to Mahāpātra as the designation of a high officer during the Gaṅga period, which was first accepted by Kapilendra Deva before he was crowned as the first King of Gajapati dynasty, K.C. Panigrahi attempts to date the text to date the text to the fourteenth century A.D.^[3] Besides these, probably the scholars concerned failed to take note of one Śiva shrine named after Kapilendra Deva (1435-1467 A.D.), which is popularly known as Kapileśvara. Though the work refers to certain events and traditions, which are much earlier than the actual date of its composition, the upper age limit of the work can be held to be as old as the 15^th century A.D.

The Upapus are mainly sectarian in character and try to glorify this divinity or that along with the place of their origin. Like the Nīlamata Purāṇa, which seeks to sing the religious and cultural traditions of Kāśmīr together with its mythic origin, the Ekāmra Purāṇa also tries to highlight the Ekāmra Kṣetra, a well-known Śaiva Kṣetra of Odisha together with the historical, cultural and religious traditions prevailing there at the time of its composition. Though it is included in the group of four Sanskrit texts which praise the Ekāmrakṣetra, it appears to be by far the oldest and the best and is Voluminous in size. It consists of 70 Adhyāyas and claims to have six thousand verses, whereas the other three works like the Kapila Saṃhitā, the Svarṇādri Mahodaya and the Ekāmra Candrikā contain 21,31 and 15 Adhyāyas respectively and are comparatively smaller in size. Out of these the Ekāmrapurāṇa is comprehensive in character and seems to be the oldest among them as its phraseology has been borrowed by the other three works either directly or indirectly.

The work is divided into five Aṃśas or parts; and the Aṃśa consist of 10,22,14, 16, and 8 Adhyāyas respectively. It is a Śivaite text and puts Śiva in superior position to Brahmā, Viṣṇu and other gods. In the usual pattern of the Purāṇas it opens with an account of the origin of the universe as well as of Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Rudra from Śiva after the description of Mahāpralaya or great dissolution and the cosmography in the first part. In subsequent parts it professes to deal with the origin and history of the notable temples in the Ekāmra Kṣetra at Bhubaneshwar along with other matters as the rituals, Festivals and the merits that accrue from the worship of the particular deities. As it is avowedly a Śaiva work and advocates throughout the superiority of faith in the ŚivaLiṅgaṃ (Liṅga cult) over all other forms of worship, we come across number of legends in connection with the establishment of all the principal Śaiva shrines and sacred spots together with their respective distance and direction. Among them mention may be made of the sanctums namely, The Rāmeśvara, The Paraśurāmeśvara, The Liṅgarāja, The Brahmeśvara, The Megheśvara, The Yameśvara, The Bhāskareśvara, The AnantaVāsudeva etc. Besides, the work informs us about the number of temples existed at the time of its composition. Some of the Adhyāyas have been devised to serve as Pilgrims” guide for various purposes. In view of its notable contribution towards the reconstruction of the history and culture of region, the critical edition of the text was a long-felt need.

Footnotes and references:

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[1]:

Ekāmravṛkṣas tatra āsit purā kalpe dvijottamāḥ/ Brahmapurāṇa,Ch.41.12

[2]:

tatra ca kṣetraṃ ekāmraṃ āmrārāmaśatāśritam/ Epigraphia Indica, Vol. XIII, PP.150-155

[3]:

Archeological Remains at Bhubaneshwar,pp-22-23