Forms of Krishna by Steven Rosen

Author:Steven Rosen
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Lexington Books
Published: 2023-04-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Five

Jagannāth

The Entire Universe in a Block of Wood

The image of Jagannāth—superficially reminiscent of Native American totem poles, and indeed traceable to tribal origins—is revered among Vaishnavas as God in the form of wood. While scholars have referred to the “unfinished, premature, aboriginal, savage, exotic look”1 of Jagannāth, devotees have praised this simple and unrefined form—with his reddish crescent-moon smile, jutting arms, rectangular, legless torso, and large, perfectly symmetrical black-and-white eyes—as the epitome of beauty. For Vaishnavas, He is God in a most confidential and intimate feature.

The ancient literary backdrop for Jagannāth goes back to the Ṛgveda (10.155.3): “In the beginning, the primeval Lord manifested as the transcendental dāru-brahman on the shore of the ocean. Those who take shelter of this Supreme Personality are delivered from all difficulties” (ado yād dāru plāvate sindhoh pāre apūruṣām/ tādārabhasya durhaṇo tena gaccha parastarām//).

The famous Vedic commentator Sāyaṇācārya (1300–1387 CE), who flourished under King Bukka Raya of the Vijaynagara Empire, writes in reference to this verse: “On the seashore, in a place that is not accessible by material vision, God, who is beyond the perception of the senses, the self-born who is without any human component, exists in a wooden form and is named Puruṣottama [a common name for Jagannāth]. He delivers His devotees from the ocean of material sufferings. O learned persons, take shelter of that wooden form of the Lord, and through His worship attain the supreme abode of Vishnu.”2

As the centuries passed, Jagannāth indeed became synonymous with dāru-brahman, the term suggested in the above statement from the Ṛgveda, and devotees today know him as the only major manifestation of God made from wood.

The word “Jagannāth” literally means “Lord of the Universe.” It refers to the wooden Deity of Krishna who for centuries has been worshipped and adored at Purī’s main temple, located in the State of Odisha on the eastern coast of India. It is significant that the name “Jagannāth” gives us the English word “juggernaut,” which means “a massive and unstoppable force.”

Modern science recognizes an all-pervasive energy at the core of the universe, a “force,” if you will, often divided into four distinct categories: (1) gravitational force, (2) electromagnetic force, (3) weak nuclear force, and (4) strong nuclear force.3 While the specifics of these energies are complex and beyond the scope of this chapter, it should at least be understood that these fundamental forces inform the entire theoretical dynamics of the material universe. Nonetheless, they do not account for the subtle nuances of life itself—they do not account for consciousness—and so scientists search for a unifying force, a fifth force, something that speaks to larger and more subtle issues that undergird the mysteries of the mind and the heart. Some have called this fifth force “Quantum Brahman,”4 but it could just as easily—and in some ways most appropriately—be called “Jagannāth.”5

This “unstoppable force,” without direct reference to Jagannāth, of course, has been the subject of much scientific discussion, the roots of which draw on a well-known philosophical conundrum: “The Irresistible Force Paradox.

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