The temple town of Puri in Orissa, one of the four most sacred sites of Hindus, has been a major centre of Vaishnavism for almost a millennium. A deity of great antiquity, earlier known as Purushottama and Nilamadhava, Sri Jagannatha, the presiding deity of its main temple, considered as the creator of incarnations and a manifestation of the supreme divinity is identified with Krishna and Vishnu. His palatial temple, Srimandira, was built in the twelfth century and is one of the finest specimens of the Kalinga style of architecture. The elevated grounds on which the temple stands in known as Blue Hill, Blue region and blue mountain, also used as popular appellations of Jagannatha. He represents a new consciousness, the essence of which is simple surrender and the triumph of intimate devotion. Numerous saint poets have poured out their most intimate personal communication to their dark darling of the Blue Hill in enchanting lyrical compositions. These songs, hymns to Jagannatha have been sung by devotees for ages and are part of a living tradition even today. Blue Hill, Hymns to Lord Jagannatha includes several of the most popular songs composed over twelve centuries. Subas Pani, who has specialised in translating lyrical compositions in Sanskrit and Oriya, captures the flavour of the original musical compositions in a simple, lyrical style in English verse, besides providing a deep insight into the cultural content with a rich tradition of myths, legends, history, rites rituals and colourful festivals. A comprehensive introduction and detailed notes are included with the translations.
There are no reviews yet.