Vimala Temple, Puri – Religious Significance

Vimala Temple, Puri – Religious Significance

Sakthi Peetha inside Vishnu Shrine:

The Vimala Temple is considered one of the Shakti Pithas, the most sacred temples of the Hindu Goddess, identified with Parvati or Durga. It is considered to be a prime example of the importance of the Shakti cult in Odisha. It is customary to worship the god Shiva (Parvati's consort) at each Shakti Pitha in the form of Bhairava, the male counterpart or guardian of the presiding goddess of the Shakti Pitha. In Goddess-oriented worship, Vimala (Bimala) is regarded as the presiding goddess of the Purushottama (Puri) Shakti Pitha. Jagannath, a form of the god Vishnu / Krishna (Krishna is generally regarded as an avatar of Vishnu), is worshipped as the Pitha's Bhairava.

This is a departure from the usual tradition of Bhairava as a form of Shiva. So, in this temple complex, Vishnu–one of the Hindu trinity–is equated with Shiva, another of the trinity; this is interpreted to convey the oneness of God. In this regard, Vimala - generally associated with Shiva's consort - is also considered as Lakshmi, the consort of Vishnu. Conversely, Tantrics consider Jagannath as Shiva-Bhairava, rather than a form of Vishnu.

The main sanctum of the Jagannath Temple has three deities: Jagannath, Balabhadra (elder brother of Krishna, sometimes identified with Shiva) and Subhadra (the younger sister of Krishna and Balabhadra). In Jagannath-centric traditions, while Lakshmi is the orthodox consort of Jagannath in the temple complex, Vimala is the Tantric (heterodox) consort and guardian goddess of the temple complex. Vimala is identified with the goddesses Katyayini, Durga, Bhairavi, Bhuvaneshvari and Ekanamsha in various texts and rituals.

She is considered the shakti of Vishnu as well as Shiva in the climactic Durga Puja festivities in the temple. She appears as Mahishasuramardhini (Durga as slayer of the demon Mahishasura) or Vijayalakshmi (the warrior form of Lakshmi) in New Delhi Konark stele, 13^th century stone stele originally from Konark Sun Temple and now housed in National Museum, New Delhi.

Adi Shakti Peethas

Religious texts like the Shiva Purana, the Devi Bhagavata, the Kalika Purana, the Astha Shakti and Pithanirnaya Tantra recognize four major Shakti Peethas (centers), like Bimala (Pada Khanda) (inside the Jagannath Temple of Puri, Odisha), Tara Tarini (Sthana Khanda, Purnagiri, Breasts) (Near Berhampur, Odisha), Kamakhya Temple (Yoni Khanda) (Near Guwahati, Assam) and Dakshina Kalika (Mukha Khanda) (Kolkata, West Bengal) originated from the parts of the corpse of Mata Sati in the Satya Yuga.

References in Purana:

The list of Shakti Pithas differ in various religious texts. Many mention Vimala or Jagannath temple complex as a Shakti Pitha and calls the location by various names. In the Kalika Purana, four Pithas (centers of Tantrism) are mentioned, corresponding to the four cardinal directions. The Oddiyana or Uddiyana (now clearly identified as Odisha) in the west hosts the temple of Katyayini (identified with Vimala) and her consort Jagannath. The Hevajara Tantra, which has a similar list, also mentions Katyayini as the Bhairavi and Jagannath as the Bhairava in the Pitha of Udra (Odra, identified with Odisha).

The Pithanirnaya or Mahapithanirupana section from the Tantrachudamani mentions Viraja-kshetra in Utkala (present-day Odisha) as a Shakti Pitha, with Vimala as the presiding goddess (Devi), Jagannath as Bhairava and her navel as the body part that fell here. One version of this text, however, demotes the site from a Pitha to an upa-Pitha (subordinate Pitha). Here, the Uchchhishta (i.e. left-over or partially eaten food) of Sati is said to be the "fallen part" ( anga-pratyanga) and the temple location is called Nilachal or "Blue mountain", which is the traditional name of the site of the Jagannath temple complex. Nilachal or Nila Parvat is mentioned as an upa-pitha also in the Shiva-Charita with Vimala and Jagannath as the Devi and Bhairava respectively.

The Tantric work Kubjika Tantra names Vimala among 42 Siddha Pithas, where Siddhis - a set of supernatural powers - can be gained. The Devi Bhagavata Purana, Prana Toshini Tantra and Brihan Nila Tantra name the Vimala temple as a Pitha in their list of 108 temples. The Matsya Purana mentions Purushottama Kshetra with goddess Vimala as a Shakti Pitha. The Vamana Purana notes it as a sacred pilgrimage site. The Mahapitha Nirupanam also mentions Vimala and Jagannath as deities of the Pitha. In the Namasttotra Sata, a Puranic list of 100 mother goddesses, Vimala of Purushottama is named. The Devi Purana also mentions it as a Pitha where feet of Sati fell.