Mekhan Jha
The Sacred Complex of Janakpur (in Nepal) was studied (1971) intensively by M. Jha following the theoretical model of Gaya, but he also tested certain hypotheses in the great traditional city of Nepal, raised by Redfield, Singer, Vidyarthi and others in the study of Indian civilization.
Among other things, Jha argued that the concept of Sacred Complex has a greater applicability and universality. He also supported the hypothesis of Milton Singer that in primary civilization, the cultural continuity with the past is so interlinked that even the acceptance of modernising and progress ideologies does not result in linear forms of social and cultural change, but may result in the “traditionalizing” of apparently “modern” innovations.
However, the most significant theoretical postulation that came out from the study of The Sacred Complex of Janakpur (1971) was this that the “boundary of a nation is not always the boundary of a civilization” (Jha: 1971, 1978). Jha’s study of Janakpur also brought into light that the civilization has a great historic depth as well as territorial extension, which also supported the hypothesis of Redfield. Again, he pointed out that although Janakpur today is located in Nepal, where the spirit of nationalism and political awareness are of different types, yet due to the common cultural consciousness prevailing in both the countries, the civilization has extended beyond the political boundary of India.
After studying Janakpur in Nepal, Jha took up the study of the Sacred Complex of Ratanpur (1973, 74, 78), which was the ancient Hindu kingdom of Mahakoshal and Chhatisgarh in central India. Again, it was for the first time when an anthropologist attempted to study an ancient Hindu kingdom, located in the midst of the tribal population of central India, as a dimension of Indian civilization. The Sacred Complex of Ratanpur, like Janakpur, was also studied both at the textual and contextual levels. At the textual” level it was found that the kingdom of Ratanpur had mythological origin, and the name of Ratanpur appears in a number of purans where we are told that it was a famous city during the Mahabharat time. At the historical level, Jha also tried to reconstruct the cultural history of Chhatisgarh with special reference to the Ratanpur kingdom, since the days of famous Jain king Kharvel (2nd Century B.C.) to the modern period. However, at the contextual level it was found in the study of Ratanpur kingdom that various types of sacred centres belonging to different sects are represented such as the Shakta, Saivites, Vaishnav, Kabirpanth etc., and this shows that the ancient and medieval Hindu kingdom has been centres where different religions and faiths got the royal patronage and flourished together. Therefore, the study of Ratanpur also supported the contention that there is a synthesis and systematisation of various Indian religions, faiths and beliefs at one place and this coexistence and cooperation of various traditions are the unique characteristics of Indian civilization.
As the anthropological researches on different dimensions of Indian civilization made some progress, it was found that the concept of Sacred Complex should be re-examined not only in form of cross-regional situations, but also in the nature of things that have been perpetuated, and both in respect of textual categories and contextual transformation. Again, it would be the re-appraisal of the concept which would be most desirable for understanding the different aspects of Indian civilization.
For such a study in India, Kashi was the most appropriate Hindu place of pilgrimage which has been called the microcosm of Indian civilization and has been studied recently by Vidyarthi, Saraswati and Jha (1978). Kashi has been considered as a more complex sacred centre so far as the continuity, co-existence and varieties of sacred traditions are concerned. The study of the Sacred Complex of Kashi has further revealed that the trichotomic elements viz. the Sacred Geography, the Sacred Performances and the Sacred Specialists, have wider application in the study of Hindu places of pilgrimage as a dimension of Indian civilization. Again, out of these inter-related trichotomic phenomena the Sacred Geography, when considered both in time and space, demonstrates the continuity of India’s great and little traditions, and the process of combination and compromise operating between them. The ecological settings of the sacred centres of Kashi and analysis thereof, lead us to conclude that there is a textual and contextual continuity in the Tirthas of India, which may also be called an all India pattern of the Hindu Tirthas, specially in the context of Indian civilization. The typologies of the sacred performances, as we have followed in the study of Kashi, have also wider applicability. These sacred performances combine among themselves various elements of , socio-religious importance, tantrik, folk as well as pauranic. The study of the sacred specialists also throws light as to how the sacred intelligentias of a Hindu place of pilgrimage maintain a distinct style of life, which may also be called as a universal phenomena of the pauranic tirthas of the Hindu universe . However, the types of services rendered by these specialists may differ from place to place, as these are primarily based on different modes, manners and methods of worship adopted by the people. For instance, at Gaya (Vidyarthi: 1961) the sacred performances move around the main theme of Pinda-dan (offering of rice-cakes to the passed ancestors) and other forms of ancestors worship, at Janakpur in Nepal (Jha: 1971, 78), the sacred performances mainly associated with various sanskars (sacraments) viz. Vivah (marriage), Janma(birth) etc., celebrations of Lord Rama and Sita, but at Kashi there are varieties of sacred performances ranging from different sacraments to the fulfilments of various ‘ vows, ailments and finally ,for obtaining moksha (salvation) and, therefore, a corps of sacred specialists are engaged in the industry of sacred complex of Kashi. It is probably due to this multiplicity of function that the sacred specialists of both Kashi and Puri always identify themselves on the basis of their function rather than their castes. Again, where there are number of sacred services, caste consideration is loosened and relaxed and functional aspect of the sacred specialists gets prominence, as in the case of the organisation of the sacred specialists of Kashi and Puri.
In addition to these major works a few anthropologists from other parts of India have also attempted to study Hindu places of pilgrimage and among them mention may be made of Mohapatra’s study of Lingraj Temple: Its Structure & Change (1900’1962); Chamundeshwari Temple (in Mysore) by Morab and Goswami (1975); Tarakeshwar Temple (1974) in West Bengal by P. Chakravarty etc. Out of these works Mohapatra’s study of the Lingaraj Temple deserves our special mention for, he attempted to study both from the theoretical and methodological points of view. Besides examining several concepts developed by a large number of anthropologists, he also developed the concepts of Temple Community, Sacred Area, Process of Secularization etc. Through these concepts he attempted to modify the concept of sacred complex, developed by Vidyarthi (1961). However, Mohapatra took into consideration a short period i.e. from 1900 to 1962 A.D. for studying the process of change in the temple structure.
Finally, considered from the methodological point of view, the concept of sacred complex, as developed by Vidyarthi (1961) is not only widely applicable to the pauranic tirthas of the Hindu universe, but it has also become an important theme in the study of both the complex and primitive societies in India as dimension of Indian civilization. Each analytical element of the Sacred complex is formed on both textual or scriptural canons and exists at/ the contextual level and both are upheld by creation, perpetuation and continuous tradition of sacred myths. These myths, when examined from the point of view of process of transmission, acquire omnibus character and absorb varieties of textual and oral traditions in time and space. Thus, methodologically the study of sacred complex of a Hindu place of pilgrimage, also unfolds, in addition to many other matters of theoretical importance, channels of transmission in the integration of civilization irrespective of geographical and ecological obstacles and many research works under progress on this theme in Indian anthropology.
Jha’s Concept of Civilizational Regions
Related to various other concepts of Indian civilization is the concept of Civilizational Regions applied by M.Jha (1978,81) for studying the—Civilization and Complex Societies of South Asia (1981). He argues that this regional approach may prove helpful in studying the complexities of the South Asian civilization.
According to Jha, such an approach indicates Civilization Region, which refers to an intermediate position between the uniqueness of a village or a town on one hand, and generally of the civilizational unit, on the other. Jha defines Civilizational Regions—“as an aggregate of local cultures and histories, inhabited by various castes, communities and sects having separate entities in terms of similar thoughts, action customs and habits, but an acute sense of belonging to a linguistic zone and an ecological setting”
According to Jha, a Civilization region and its varied significance find expression in ancient scriptures and texts. It is of historic depth and of territorial expansion” and constitutes core region of the civilization. Such a region, again, provides a network of sacred geography of varied spread and ritualistic importance. The civilizational region from the secular point of view constitutes an ancient kingdom and has been in politicoreligious interactions with other similar and lesser known kingdoms. Each civilizational region, again, has necessarily a civilizational centre which functioned as both religious and secular capital of the kingdom. Such a dimension of civilizational region in India: has been well illustrated through Mithila and Mahakoshal, by Jha, with their respective ancient capitals at Janakpur (now in Nepal) and Ratanpur (in central India). Both the kingdoms have mythological origins, which are mentioned in various sacred texts of the land. Again, both the civilizational regions have a set of lesser known sacred complexes through out the region to serve the sacred needs of the people. In spite of the modernisation processes these two civilizational regions reflect continuity of the great tradition as well as persistant style of life. Thus , in the field of historical anthropology, which is comparatively a new field in Indian anthropology, Jha’s approach of civilizational region seems to be very useful in understanding the civilizational complexities in India, in particular, and South Asia, in general.