Beyond the Empire of Jagannatha: Politics and Culture of Goddess Worship in Early-Medieval North Odisha

Contents: Introduction. 1. Magic of the Bhanja Name. 2. Rulers, Subjects and the Cult of the Goddess. 3. Power in Stone: The Many Voices of the Temple of Kicakesvari in Northern Odisha. 4. Revisiting the Empire of Jagannatha. Bibliography. Index.

The regional tradition of goddess worship is as important as the famous Jagannatha temple and its realm of ritual influence for the religious and cultural life of Odisha. Beyond the Empire of Jagannatha: Politics and Culture of Goddess Worship in Early-Medieval North Odisha studies the well-known temple of Kicakesvariat Khiching in the modern district of Mayurbhanj in north Odisha. This was the region over which the celebrated Bhanja rulers of medieval Khijjingakot.t.aman.d.ala ruled, with their centre of power in Khiching, during the early medieval times. The tradition of goddess worship also acted as an important catalyst in stabilizing the relationship between sub-regional rulers and the local population. Besides investigating the wider implications of sub-regional state formation, this book also analyses the fluctuating political relationship between the larger kingdoms of the coast and the local Bhanja principalities. The book brings together epigraphic, ethnographic and archival materials in an attempt to establish a connection between the history of early-medieval Bhanja rulership with developments in relatively modern times.