Literature by Subhas Chandra Pattanayak
SRI JAYADEVANKA BAAISI PAHACHA
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Sri Jaya Dev of the 12th Century Orissa, erroneously depicted as Sri Jayadev or Jayadeva, was not a Baishnav as he is being projected; he was a social revolutionary and proponent of Sahajajana sect of Buddhism. He had authored his love lyrics to provide a supportive literature to this cult which was essential in his time to check spread of Brahminic aparthied in his motherland Orissa.
The lyrics having immense Sahajia impact and being matchlessly popular, different agents of Brahminism, in course of time, had tried to transform them into Brahminic literature through interpolations and by editing them in a style conducive to their own cult and by captioning the interpolated compilation as Gita-Govinda when, in fact, the poet was so much against the cult of Govinda that he had never used that name even for once in his lyrics. His lyrics supporting the female factor in consonance with Sahajayana were so much threatening to patriarchal political system that they were banned from the temple of Lord Jagannath by the great patron of Brahminism in Orissa, Emporer Purushottam Dev. The Emperor had replaced the lyrics of Jaya Dev with a book captioned as Abhinav Gita-Govinda of which he had claimed to be the author; but which was allegedly authored by a Brahmin namely Dibakara Mishra wherein attempts were tactfully made to transform Sri Jagannath from Buddha of Orissa to Krishna of Dwaraka in order to terminate the Buddhist flow of philosophy till then active in his abode, Sri Mandira.
People of Orissa had revolted against this conspiracy and had compelled the said Emporer to withdraw his own order and work and to restore recital of the lyrics of Sri Jaya Dev before the Lord as before. Purusottam Dev withdrew his work but the selected Brahminic interpolations continued in the guise of orders of the Lord in dreams. Agitation of the public could somehow be managed with his son and successor Emporer Prataprudradev promulgating an ordinance to the effect that no other song than that of Sri Jaya Dev would ever be recited in the temple. Unable to write off the Buddhist impacts of this revolutionary poet, Brahminism in Orissa has interpolated 72 verses on his original works and given it a misleading title called Gita Govinda, editing the same in a style to usurp him for Brahminic Vaishnavism. The Bengalis, without knowing the truth on Jaya Dev, have joined the bandwagon of claiming him for Vaishnavism as well as for their homeland. In the process, the immortal love lyricist has been buried under baseless legends.
Sri Pattanayak has freed him from the labyrinth of legends and set him as history permits. He has shown how both the segments, the chauvinist section of the Bengalis and the agents of Brahminism are wrong in their claim over Sri Jaya Dev. He has done a unique work. He has completely dismantled the fort of Bengali claims over Sri Jaya Dev. He has, for the first time, exposed how the Central Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi has been misused by Bengali chauvinists in the matter of Sri Jaya Dev. He has, for the first time, freed Sri Jaya Dev from legends on the basis of historic perspectives. He has brought to records all the relevant but missing episodes of Orissan history for the first time through interpretative research.He has shown how Radha, now a Hindu Vaishnav deity, was created by Sri Jaya Dev as Nayika of Buddhist Sahajayan. He has shown how Orissa is the place where Buddha was born. He has shown how Buddha became Sri Jagannatha. He has shown how Sri Jagannatha is in reality the female factor. He has opened up new avenues for research on the now extinct Mahodadhi Civilisation of Orissa. He has opened up new vistas for research on extinguishment of Buddhism in the soil of its origin, Orissa, vis-a-vis the the role of Asoka. Over and above the most perspicacious discussion on Sri Jaya Dev and his times, this book contains the Oriya translation of his lyrics in poetic form with the most measured meticulousness typical of the acclaimed wordsmith Subhas Chandra Pattanayak.
Originally published in 1998, his translations are regarded as the best in the category so far. A better book than this in the subject so far is not available.
Vidyapatinka Premageeta
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As Sri Jay Dev occupies the heart of Oriya nation as its finest bard of feminism in philosophy of love, so also Vidyapati occupies the hearts of the peoples of Mithila. Sri Jay Dev created Radha as symbol of female superiority in cause of creation as well as of individualism getting its fulfilment by merging in socialsm rejecting barriers like casteism and other factors of separatism according to analysis depicted by Sri Subhas Chandra Pattanayak in his masterly work "Sri Jaya Devanka Baisi Pahacha" published by Bharata Bharati, Cuttack in 2005. Vidyapati, inspired by Sri Jay Dev has used Radha in his love songs. This book is a compilation of a selected few of his love songs translated into Oriya in equally lucid poetic form by Sri Pattanayak.
Sabitapaeen Kabita
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Linguistic Survey of India has unambiguously declared that Oriya, amongst Indian Languages, is so rich in vocabulary that “neither Bengali nor Hindi nor Telugu can vie with it”. Naturally, therefore, Orissa’s contribution to the world of poetry has remained superb. But contribution of this book to the world of Oriya poetry would remain forever matchless.
So far poetic works depicting love between paramours have enthralled human hearts. But this book is totally different. It is a magic canvas of loyal love where spousal joy has been painted live as lucidly and elegantly as magnificent is the poet’s mother tongue Oriya.
Written in 1974, around his marriage held on 24 June 1974, the anthology begins from betrothment and proceeds through pre-nuptial and post- nuptial ecstasies captured in beautiful sonnets.
Smrutirekha
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This is not an anthem of individual poems, but a poetic depiction of a saga of a living tally that was lost to the hero of the book, who renders a faithful narration thereof to his wife on the nuptial bed in the words of eminent scribe Subhas Chandra Pattanayak in his young days, as far back as in 1972.
Manana
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It is a catena of single verse poems written by eminent journalist Subhas Chandra Pattanayak.
One may call it a sample of his spiritual quest; but in introduction of the book he says that it is only a depiction of negotiation between mind and conscience, the two indiscernible but undeniable controllers of human activities.
Sri Pattanayak, in this book, has made a peculiar experimentation in poetic expression that has given birth to a new but unique pattern where the second one on wards every poem is developed on a catch line from the preceding one to further proceed towards the purpose.