Madala Panji

"Madala Panji" is a a chronicle of the Jagannath in Puri, Orissa state, India. It describes the historical events of Orissa related to Lord Jagannath or Jagannath Temple. Though the actual date of starting of Panjis is not known, but it is believed that it might be started from 13th or 14th Century AD. the book is a classic and literary master piece of the first order, parallel to which very few vernacular of India possess. It can be compared with Rajvansham of Srilanka, Rajtarangini of Kashmir or Burunji of Assam. The earliest use of prose can be found in the Madala Panji or the Palm-leaf Chronicles of the Jagannatha temple at Puri, which date back to the 12th century.

Madla Panji’s role in Orissan History

While writing Orissan history, historians like Sir W.W.Hunter and Andrew Stirling considered the facts related in Madala Panji as base. The Madala Panji was traditionally written on a year-by-year basis. On Vijaya-Dashami day, the Karanas of Puri, an intellectual caste of Orissa, involved in keeping the chronicle. This ritual is cited as a proof that the tradition of keeping this chronicle began with Orissan king Chodaganga Dev (1078-1150 ) himself. There are some , like Dr. Harekrushna Mahatab, Dr.Nilakantha Dash and Dr. Krushna Chandra Panigrahiwho hold that the Panji dates from the reign of Ramachandra Deva I who reestablished the worship of Jagannath after the debauches of Kala Pahar.The arguments are complex, but it is likely that much of the early record was indeed lost in the period that followed Kala Pahar and was rewritten in a fashion that mixed legend with history.

Writers of Panji

The reference to "some Panjis" above should be explained. 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
*Tadan Karan -- writes the Madala Panji
*Deula Karan -- enforces the Madala
*Kotha Karan -- the main compiler
*Baithi Karan – assistant

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 Tadan Karan.
*Desh Khanja -- Records gifts of land and money. Recorded occasions when Jagannath 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

The Madala Panji has not been kept officially for more than 50 years now, though it is still said that there are Karanas who keep an unofficial record.

Overall, there have been some published editions, but these have been based on a limited number of manuscripts. A real thorough study of the Madala Panji using all the different source materials has apparently not yet been done.

See also

*Oriya script
*Oriya language
*Oriya literature

References