The Madala Panji is a chronicle of the

Jagannath Temple, Puri The Jagannath Temple is an important Hindu temple dedicated to Jagannath, a form of Vishnu - one of the trinity of supreme divinity in Hinduism. Puri is in the state of Odisha, on the eastern coast of India. The present temple was rebuilt f ...

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. It describes the historical events of Odisha related to Lord Jagannath and the Jagannath Temple. The ''Madala Panji'' dates from the 12th century.

Madala Panji's role in Odia history

While writing Odia history, historians like Sir W.W.Hunter and Andrew Stirling considered the facts related in Madala Panji as a base. The Madala Panji was traditionally written on a year-to-year basis. On Bijaya-Dashami day, the Karanas (official history writers of Puri, a caste of Odisha, involved in keeping the chronicle. This ritual is cited as a proof that the tradition of keeping this chronicle began with Odia king

Anantavarman Chodaganga Gangesvara Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva () was an Eastern Ganga monarch who reigned between 1077 CE to 1150 CE. He was the ruler of the Kalinga region from river Ganga to Godavari, and later the early medieval Odisha region with the incorporati ...

Dev (1078–1150) himself. There are some, like Dr.

Harekrushna Mahatab Harekrushna Mahatab (21 November 1899 – 2 January 1987) was the leader of the Indian National Congress, a notable figure in the Indian independence movement and the Chief Minister of Odisha from 1946 to 1950 and again from 1956 to 1961. He wa ...

, Dr.Nilakantha Dash and Dr.

Krushna Chandra Panigrahi Krishna Chandra Panigrahi (1 December 1909 – 25 February 1987), often referred to as K.C. Panigrahi, was a notable Indian historian, archaeologist and literary expert from Odisha. Early life and education He was born in Khiching, the former ...

who hold that the Panji dates from the reign of Ramachandra Deva I who re-established the worship of Lord Jagannatha after

Kalapahad Kalapahar ( bn, কালাপাহাড়; died 24 April 1583), also known by his daak naam Raju ( bn, রাজু), was a military general of the Sultanate of Bengal under the Karrani dynasty. He is credited for conquering Orissa, which ...

said to have destroyed it. The arguments are complex, but it is likely that much of the early record was indeed lost in the period that followed Kala Pahad and was rewritten in a fashion that mixed legend with history.

Writers of Panji

According to the tradition, Chodaganga created 24 families of Karanas to preserve the temple records. Of these, five were entrusted with the writing and preservation of the Madala Panji. They are: * Panjia Karan—preserves the Madala Panji * Tadau Karan—writes the Madala Panji * Deula Karan—enforces the Madala * Kotha Karan—the main compiler * Baithi Karan – assistant

Classification

In subsequent stage, due to the bulky size of Madala Panji, its content covering different dimensions related to temple management, it was divided into four parts: # Bhandara Khanja Madala (maintained by Pattajoshi Mohapatra) # Deula Madala / Karmangi Madala (maintained by Deula Karana) # Deshapanji Madala (prepared by Deula Karana) # Rajakhanja Madala (prepared and maintained by Tadhau Karana),

Types of Panjis

There are also five different categories of Panjis. No one has seen them all. * Raja Khanja—important events of the Rajas. Read on Paush Purnima (Pushyabhishek). Kept by Tadau Karan. * Desh Khanja—Records gifts of land and money and occasions when the Jagannath temple was plundered. Kept by Kotha Karan. * Karmangi. Daily rituals. Important events related to the rituals recorded. Announced daily at the Beherana. * Dina Panji—The daily almanac read by the temple astrologer at the time of the Avakash. These were prepared annually and finalized on Vishuva Sankranti. Besides the Madala, there were other Karans who wrote regional chronicles, known as Chakadas. "All the Kadatas and Chakadas taken together will be about a cartload."

Madala Panji in recent years

Madala Panji language is Odia and was recorded in Odia and Telugu script, preserved in the Manuscript Library in Madras, which speaks about the story regarding image of

Neela Madhava Nilamadhava (, ) is a manifestation of Vishnu and Krishna featured in Hindu literature, with its origin in Odia tradition. According to traditional accounts, prior to his syncretism into Vaishnavism, this was the name of a deity made of sapphire t ...

or Lord Jagannath of Udra desa, as Odisha was known in Middle Ages. It seems to have re-written during 16th century when the King of

Khurda Khordha is a town and a municipality area in Khordha district in the Indian state of Odisha. Bhubaneswar, is the capital of Odisha located within the Khordha district and is only 25 km from Khordha town. Odisha State Highway 1 and Nation ...

had newly installed the images after destruction made by

, the notorious general of the Sultan of Bengal. Notable Odia writer and

Padma Shri Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...

awardee

Artaballabha Mohanty Artaballabha Mohanty, was a notable writer and literary critique. Career He was born in Cuttack. He received Master of Arts in Odia literature and M.A. in Sanskrit. Then he became a professor at Ravenshaw University, Cuttack, Odisha. He was t ...

has published the only available print record of Madala Panji.

References