CHAPTER-II

SOCIO-RELIGIOUS REFORMS

By the time of British arrival on the scene, the cult of

Jagannath was already established as a synthesis of so many
strands of Hindu cults and its sister religions like Buddhism
and Jainism. Essentially, the people, both lay and enlightened
were deeply pious, often more ritualistic and conservative in
their approach to religion. All sorts of religious superstitions
and irrational social practices thrived and Hinduism had
protected the vicious practices like caste discrimination.

The 19th century was a period of socio religious reforms

engineered by the socio-religious reform movements and
spread of modern education. Two major movements that
influenced the socio religious life of the people in this period
were Mahima cult and Brahmo Samaj. While the Brahmo
movement of Bengal was the product of the impact of the
western culture, Mahima movement was greatly indigenous in
character.

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 The main purpose of Mahima movement may have been
nothing other than the reform of Hindu social system that
showed cracks, it was driven with conflicts because of caste
practice and high ritualisation of religion. Christian
missionaries at their advent in Odisha wanted to propagate
Christianity by exposing the blemished in existing form of
Hinduism, mainly its idolatry and rituals. Mahima movement
was a wakeful response to the challenges of Christianity by
reforming Hinduism to give it a more humane look.

Mahima Goswami, the founder of this cult, is said to

have appeared for the first time at Puri and died in 1876 at
Joranda in Dhenkanal. He may have known Christianity at a
close range. He made disciples, mainly from the members of
the depressed classes and low castes. His famous disciple,
Bhima Bhoi was also a poet and he came of the tribe of
Khonds. His devotional poems saturated with pity for the
downtrodden and sympathy for the depressed, rang from
hamlet to hamlet drawing people in large number to his fold.

The cult accepts that there is only one God who is the
Supreme Being. He is formless, indescribable, without

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beginning. It spurns idolatry as an evil form of ritual that
bears no significance. It is opposed to all forms of casteism.
The means to salvation lie in control over the body and mind,
in living a disciplined life and meditation on the nature of the
supreme. Social equality, brotherhood among the members
and the abolition of untouchability served as noble objectives
of this new cult.

On the other hand Brahmo cult was imported from

Bengal. Some enlightened men like Madhusudan Rao, Pyari
Mohan Acharya, Fakir Mohan Senapati and Viswanath Kar
became its principal advocates. This cult received an impetus
when a Brahmo Mandir was built in 1869 at Odia Bazar in
Cuttack and M.S. Rao adopted an elaborate programme to
catch the people’s attention. Unlike Mahima Dharma it was
the cult of an elitist order and was more sophisticated than the
indigenous offshoot. It too denounces rituals and ceremonies
as meaningless. It accepts that god is supreme and he
formless, without beginning, and without end. It appears to be
a synthesis of Upanishadic monotheism with some liberal
elements in Christianity. It propagates the ideal of casteless
society. The members of this cult sincerely worked for

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combating superstitions and diffused enlightenment among
the educated class.

The official efforts of the British Government for

reforming Odia society and for removing the deep rooted
forms of abuses were, on the whole, too meagre to produce
any significant socio-cultural change. The administration, of
course, found some practices like sati, infanticide, human
sacrifice too abominable and brutal to be allowed to persist.
They banned such practices, enforcing laws to stamp out such
inhuman customs. At the start such measures of reform
aroused the hostility in the conservative elements of society,
but with the spread of humanist ideology through reforming
agencies; such degenerate practices were virtually stamped
out.

As the waves of reform surged, orthodoxy became

suspect. The newly educated urban elite gradually became
aware of the evils that accrued from the continuation of
irrational bias and prejudices in the social structure. They
made attempts at removing prejudice against women
education, widow-remarriage and other blemished that had

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greatly degenerated Hindu Society. A stout champion of
social reforms, Fakir Mohan Senapati not only examined
different aspects of social system but also exposed and
attacked social evils in his writings.
A number of reformist organizations were set up in
Odisha before and after the nationalist movement in order to
combat social evils. The spread of western education fostered
liberal humanism among the ranks of the educated. Transport,
communication, urbanization effected great change in the
attitude of the literate. During the struggle for national
freedom, action groups were organized to fight against
untouchability. The movement also brought a good number of
women into the mainstream of politics, thus elevating their
prestige to a rank of equality with their male counterparts.
Harijan activists and political workers from low caste began
to work side by side with the members of high caste.
Interlining and intermarriage went a long way towards
liquidating long groomed caste prejudices. The feminist
movement and anti caste movement owed their genesis to the
great days of nationalist movement in 20’s and 30’s. The
untouchables and the women have already come into the
arena of politics that alone can alter the social infrastructure.

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 It needs to be admitted that the women of Odisha have
kept pace with the strides of men in the political and cultural
life in modern age. The participation of women as important
social, cultural and political actors clearly suggest that a new
social order is about to emerge in which sex discrimination
will no longer be a phenomenon of any significance.

In spite of the impact of western scientific ideology and

materialism, Odishas still remain imbued with deep religiosity
which often creates an anomalous situation. The urban elite is
separated by a great cultural cleavage from the rural folk who
remain rooted in their soil and somewhat medieval in their
outlook. Yet rapid urbanization and expansion of education
with proportionate rise in literacy signals the beginning of
new epoch in consonance with the emergence of a new
ideology essentially secular and scientific to be used as an
apparatus for radical social changes1.

Mahima Movement:
The Mahima Movement was a great socio-religious
reform that arose in Odisha in the first half of the 19 th century.

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It gave birth to Mahima Dharma. Mahima religion raised its
head in Odisha during the early part of 19 th century A.D. It is
religion of the soil which subsequently spread into the
neighbouring states, namely, Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Madras
and Central Provinces. At present this religion is very popular
in many parts of India.

Mahima religion is a manifestation of the traditional

religious thoughts found in Odisha since long time. This
religion gives positive emphasis on the concept of void which
is regarded as Sunya, Alekha (unwritten), Nirakar (formless)
and Nirgun (without attributes).

Mahima religion is concentrated on the base of pure

Hinduism. Some says it is the another form of Budhism. But
is not quite right. There may some similarity between
Budhism and Mahimaism. Mahima religion strongly opposes
idol worship and believes upon the indestructible Brahma
which is the real Supreme Being and creator of the Universe.
The disciple of Mahima religion considered self denial and
refuse for anything in the world not do they appears in many

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ways to be the same as that of a principle the Buddhist
Bhikshus and Dasya Bhakti in Vaishnavism.

Mahima Dharma has its own theory regarding the

universe. Unlike the dual concept of Sankhya and the Tantra,
it attributes all creation to “Sunya” (Void) or the Anam (the
nameless) to which the sun and Moon, Brahma, Vishnu and
Shiva owe their existence. Mahima religion believes in a
divine dispensation. When the Mahima becomes dynamic
which the urge for creation and comes down to the universe it
is called ‘Ajna’ or the divine command. Ajna is the sources of
what it is and what it is not. The Mahima or Alekha religion
does not recognize the caste system of Hindus. It enjoins
people to have faith only in the one visible power that created
this world and to worship to Him and Him only. It has no
ceremonies, it emphasizes the observances of a few simple
moral principles, like honesty, trustfulness, non-adultery etc.
It is remarkable also that unlike the Hindu faith it does not
pure a premium on asceticism, but assures its follower the
great religious merit of an honestly lived family life.

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 A mystic prophet named Mahima Gosain was the
profounder of this religion, But he has not put to writing
anything about the principle, Philosophic thoughts and
concepts of Mahima Religion. His direct disciple a Khond
poet and prophet Bhima Bhoi has written a lot of forceful
song and prayers which embody the ideology of this religion.
Bhima Bhoi admits in his work ‘Adi Anta Gita’ that he owes
his inspiration to his preceptor Mahima Gosain.

Mahima Gosain was first known as ‘Dhulia Gosain’ and

he appeared at Puri, in 1826 A.D. Mahima Gosain was a
historical person not a legendary as declared by his direct
disciples like Bhima Bhoi, Jayakrushna Pradhan, Gangadhar
Baba and many other saints of this religion like Biswanath
Sahoo, Mahindra Baba, Kshetrabasi Baba etc. Utkal Gourab
Madhusudan Das is known in contact with Mahima Gosain in
his boyhood near Damana of Bhubaneswar. From the
Government records and Utkal Deepika the only daily of the
last part of 2+th Century A.D. and versions of Madhusudan
Das it is proved that Mahima Gosain was a historical
character and not a mystical person.

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 During 19th century, A.D. Raja Ramamohan Roy and
Swamy Dayananda Saraswati have also raised their voices
against idol worship and other rituals propounded by the
Hindu priests. The Brahma Samaja and Arya Samaj worked
for rescue of the common from the club of Brahmins. The
Mahima or Alekha movement started by Mahima in Odisha
was not an isolated movement, it was part of the Renaissance
of India led by Raja Ramamohan Roy, Dayananda Saraswati,
Swami Vivekananda, Dwarakanath Tagore, Mahadev
Govinda Ranade etc.

During the year 1826 A.D. Mahima Gosain was appeared

for the first time on the Baradanda of Puri as “Dhulia Gosain”.
He had a discussion with the well-known priests of the
Jagannath temple against idol worship very strongly. But the
priests did not accept the thoughts of Mahima Gosain, for
which Mahima Gosain left Puri and reached Khandagiri Hills
of Bhubaneswar. There he took his meditation for twelve
years without taking any food. People from far and near used
to visit him daily for getting boons and succeeded also. It is
heard, a pious man named Bhagyadher Dalai of Baramunda
village was supplying clean water daily to Mahima Gosain as

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his food Wandering from place to place probably in the year
1938 A.D. Mahima Gosain arrived at Kapilas hills of
Dhenkanal State and took his meditation there for a period of
24 years continuously in two phases. It is very clear from a
legend that a tribal man named Sadananda used to visit
Kapilas Hill sites for collection of forest produces as his
livelihood. One day while he was returning to his home it was
night at mouth and he missed the way. Helplessly he
proceeded towards the top of the hills and suddenly saw a
luster from a distance and with great anxiety he proceeded
towards the luster and saw” a saint was sitting on a stone
covered with a seven headed cobra. Sadanandda honoured his
respect and said- Oh Lord Shiva why you have left the temple
and staying here in a secluded place ? “Mahima Gossain
opening his eyes with a smile replied, I am not Shiva. I myself
Mahima Gosain and appeared in the world to preach Mahima
religion. Do not disclose my appearance here and supply me
fruits daily for use as my food. Sadananda did so and became
the first follower of Mahima Gosain. During his stay at
Kapilas hills Malihma Gosain was known as “Phalahari
Sanyasi”2.

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 At this time a pious man named Jagannath das arrived
Kapiklas Hills and became the disciple of Mahima Gosain.
Mahima Gosain has him a piece of Kumbhibarh for his dress,
endowed him supreme power converted as a disciple and
changed his name from Jagannath Das to Govinda Baba.
Govind Baba stayed for some times at Kapilas hills to give
service to his preceptor and then proceeded towards Western
Odisha to preach Mahima religion as desired and directed by
Mahima Gosain.
At theBaba,
2. Vishwanath time ofMahima
Satya commencement
Dharma Itihasa,of his
1880 second phase
meditation the then queen of Dhenkanal State dreamt in a
night about the appearance of Mahima Gosain at Kapilas hills
and informed the King Bhagirathi Mahinda Bahadur. Next
morning the King and the queen along with the soldiers
arrived at Kapilas hills and saw Mahima Gosain there.
Mahima Gosain taught them about the principle, thoughts and
philosophies of Mahima religion and converted them as his
followers. Mahima Gosain has order to supply cow-milk daily
in new earthen pots for his use. Kind agreed and supplied
cow-milk daily for 12 years. At that time Mahima Gosain was
well known as “Khirahari Sanyasi”.

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Bhima Bhoi
During this period Mahima Gosain and Govinda Baba
reached in the house Khondha Boy named Bhima Bhoi at
Kanakanapada a village of Rairakhol State and taught him
about Mahima religion. Bhima Bhoi was very much grateful
to see the saint the time of their departure. He saw the figures
of Supreme Being inside the body Mahima Gosain and
automatically a lyric came out from his mouth.

Mahima Gosain was very much happy upon Bhima Bhoi

and gave him power for poetship, since that day Bhima was
able to compose series of literatures. As Bhim Bhoi was non-
literate Mahima Gosain sends him two persons named Hari
Panda and Basudev Panda from Sambalpur to write down his
literatures. At present the literature of Bhima Bhoi are
honoured in high esteemed irrespective of religion case and
creed.

After completion of his meditation Mahima Gosain

started preaching of Mahima religion. He first built a tung
(cottage) at Malabeharpur of Banki Tahasil in Cuttack district
and subsequently he also built cottages at Andharua,

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Daruthenga, Patia and Dammana of Khurda; Mangarajpur,
Sapanapur, Daligoda of Cuttack, Kasipr, Kantapal, Khanduali,
Joranga, Jakka, Madhi (Kamnakshyanagar) and Baulpur of
Dhenkanal, Rangagola Badalo, Berhampur, Ranja of Hindol
and Narbandha of Angul.

Thousands of people of different places of the State

became his followers. He created number of mendicants for
wide spread of this religion. There were 84 numbers of
Kaupinadhari and 90 numbers of Balakaladhari disciples of
Mahima Gosain. Out of them thirty-four numbers of
Kaupinadhari disciples and sixty-four numbers of
Balakaladhari disciples were endowed with supreme powers
and designated as Sidha (powerful).

Rapidly Mahima religion was spread and honoured in

almost all the Gadjats of Odisha and stood as bar for the
spreading of Christianity in the Gadajat areas. Subsequently
this religion also spread beyond Odisha towards neighbouring
states like Bengal, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra.

Ideals and teaching Mahima Gosain

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 Mahima Gosain has prescribed some virtue to be adhered
to Ahinsa is the man usage. The people must never swerve
from right path under the influence of pleasure of pains,
profit, or loss, honour or dishonor; God is formless and all
pervasive. It is not possible to make idol of him. He is
Supreme Being; caste system is a great bar for the society that
should be condemned; each and every body has equal right to
worship the Supreme Being; offering of oblation deceased
ancestors and obsequi rites are superstition. Mahima religion
is only meant for the uplift of downtrodden group of the
society.

Mahima Gosain was having Supreme powers like

hearing and seeing from desistance and walking in the heaven
etc. He cured blindness and gifted life to the deadbody also.
He was honoured by the middleclass people in the society
who were trampled by the Brahmins. The people from
Brahman and Karan caste were not willing to be the follower
of Mahima Gosain.

Mahima religion was propagated after the British

occupation of Odisha, Odisha was occupied by the British in

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1803 A.D. At the time of Mahima movement the socio-
economic status of the people of Odisha was badly damaged
under the patronage of Brahmins as the leaders of the society.
The people of lower caste were very much tortured by the
leaders of the society. They were not allowed to enter into the
temples or to sit in the religious places. The Brahmins were
only allowed to plant coconut trees. Other class of people was
denied to plant coconut trees. The coconut tree is the only
economical plantation and that was in the hands of Brahmins.
The Brahmins will not plough the lands for cultivation. The
‘Sati’ tradition was also in force in Odisha society at the time.
Due to all the socio-cultural barrier and superstition the lower
class people were not able to get proper place in the society.
So the Christian missionaries began their vehement attach on
the religion and culture of Odisha. They established
missionary press and published journals, newspapers, booklet
etc. to attract the simple folk of Odisha. They started their
voices against the blind beliefs and superstitions as well as
traditional thoughts imposed by the Brahmins in the society.
At that time the living conditions and economical backbone of
the people of Odisha was completely damaged due to frequent
famines as well as the severe famines of 1866 A.D. So the

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missionary got the scope and golden chances to convert the
simple and poor people of Odisha towards Christianity at the
outself .The missionaries established some of their religion
centres in Cutack, Puri, Balasore, Ganjam and Sambalpur
districts to popularize their religion amongst the simple folk.

However, at that time, Mahima Gosain appeared in the

holy soil to escape the people of Odisha by the preaching of
Mahima religion and establishing Mahima Tungis (the
religious centres) at various places of the State. The call of
Mahima Gosain and Bhima Bhoi for a classless society by
worshipping the only God who is formless, shapeless and he
is the omnisent and omnipresent .Everybody has equal right to
worship him. The God is not available only inside the temple.
Such calls of Mahima religion vibrated in the ears of the
simple folk of the society and they attracted towards this
religion. So, Mahima religion was a great bar for spreading of
Christianity in the State. It is sure that less people of Odisha
than other States have been converted towards Christianity at
that time. Alike that also not a single persons of Gadjhats of
Odisha was converted towards Christianity at that time.
Because Mahima religion was stood as bar for the rapid

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spreading of Christianity in the State of Odisha. While
Mahima Gosain was staying at Dalijoda Berhampur of
Cuttaclk for preaching the ideology doctrines of Mahima
religion a group of Christian missionaries met him there. They
discussed with Mahima Gosain on the cause for preaching of
Mahima religion and details about the ideology and doctrines
of the cult. They satisfied with the view of Mahima Gosain
and left the place.

Mahima Gosain has done his self abnegation at Joranda

on the 4th day of second fortnight of Falgun in the year 1876
A.D. Thousands of followers and disciples were gathered to
observed the cremation ceremony of Mahima Gosain. His
dead body was covered in the soil and a temple of 10, ½ was
constructed by his Kauponadhari disciple Paramananda Baba.
Then a bid temple over the burial was constructed. Now this
temple is known as “Mahimagadi Temple”. This place is
known as sacred place for the followers and disciples of
Mahima religion3.

Brahmo Movement

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 The Brahmo movement appeared in Odisha in the
beginning of the second half of the nineteenth century.
Accidentally the visit to Odisha province by Devendranath
Tagore in connection with the supervision of his estates paved
the way for Brahmo movement in Odisha. It was in 1849, that
Mahesh Chandra Roy, the Munsiff established a Brahmo
Samaj for the first time at Cuttack. Later on, Jaganmohan
Roy, the Deputy magistrate of Cuttack, organised this Samaj
in the model of the Adi Brahmo Samaj of Devendranath
Tagore. He also gave away his own house at Odia Bazar to
the Brahmo Samaj. This samaj was by and large composed of
Bengalis. So the religious services were conducted in that
language. Persons of repute like Garushankar Roy and
Jagmohan
3. OdishaLala were members
State Archives, of Cuttack
our documentary Brahmo
heritage, Vol III, Samaj. But
pp 15-18
the membership of this Samaj was not encouraging and it
could not make any spectacular progress outside Cuttack
town. It is known that the Cuttack Brahmo Samaj sent its
contribution of twenty-four rupees to the fourth session of the
Brahmo Samaj held at Calcutta on May, 7, 1865. Meanwhile
the necessity of a journal to reflect the Brahmo faith in Odia
language was felt. With the assistance of the members of the
Cuttack Brahmo Samaj, “Utkal Subhakari”, was published on

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the 8th September 1869 with Trailokanath Mukhopadhyay as
its editor. With the financial help of Maharshi Devendra
Natha Tagore, a beautiful Brahmo temple was constructed by
Jaganmohan Roy in 1871, where prayers were held.

Another Brahmo organization entitled the “Utkal

Brahmo Samaj’ was established at Cuttack in 1869. It was a
branch of the ‘Brahmo Samaj of India’ founded by Keshab
Chandra Sen. This new Samaj worked well under the
leadership of Haranath Bhattacharya, a Professor of the local
College. The Tattvabodhini Patrika, in its issue of 23 rd
January, 1870, made a mention that many educated Young
Odias under the influence of Haranath Bhattacharya came
under the fold of the Brahmo faith. Students in particular were
fascinated by the Brahmo ideas. The Utkal Brahmo Samaj
was strengthened when the renowned educationist and
celebrated poet Radhanath Ray joined in 1871. Subsequently
he also became the Secretary of the Utkal Brahmo Samaj.

However, both the ‘Cuttack Brahmo Samaj’ and the

‘Utkal Brahmo Samaj’ were established y Bengali gentlemen,
and the pastors made their living by some secular vocation as

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 they received no stipend for their ministrations. But this
reformed faith was not regarded in Cuttack as a distinct
religion from Hinduism and its Professors occupied the
position belonging to their different cases, irrespective of their
religious persuasion. Initially some people started to say that
the Brahmo faith was the religion of the Printing Press. That
was because a considerable number of Brahmos were working
then in the Cuttack Printing Company and were engaged in
propagating the Brahmo faith in the streets and market places
of the town4.

In 1883, ‘Prarthana Sabha’, one form of Brahmo Samaj,

was founded at Mangalabag of Cuttack town. Some students
of the town were attracted towards the Brahmo faith. On 6 th
July 1883 a few students of the Medical School of Cuttack
4. P. Mukherjee, History of Odisha, Volt VI, Cuttack, 1964,
pp 465-467a Brahmo Samaj in the name of
established ‘Prarthana
Samaj’, Lalit Mohgan Chakrabarty and Ramalal Dasgupta
were its Secretary and Assistant Secretary respectively. At
Chandinichowk a Brahmo Samaj was established with ten
persons as its members. In the very residence of K.G. Gupta,
his wife founded one ‘Mahila Brahmo Samaj’. Besides the
Brahmo ladies, some other ladies from well-to-do families

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used to assembly there every fortnight to hold religious
discussions.

Meanwhile Chaturbhuja Patnaik, a renowned Brahmo,

came to Cuttack on being appointed as Odia translator. A
leading member for the Brahmo Samaj at Cuttack. But due to
some differences with its members, he resigned from this
post. In 1886, Chaturbhuja Patnaik alienated himself from the
Utkal Brahmo Samaj and organized another Brahmo Samaj. It
was named as ‘Bidhan Samaj’.

However, Brahmo organizations continued to work in

Cuttack, though the work was not very progressive or popular.
The persons who continued with the movement were
Haradhan Ghosh (Secretary, Cuttack Brahmo Samaj),
Bhushan Chandra Bhattacharya, Ramanath Roy Choudhury,
Govinda Chandra Ray, Ramanarayan Datta, Girish Chandra
Mitra (Secretary, Cuttack Brahmo Samaj), Dinanath
Bandopandhyaya, Dinanath Banerjee, Lalitmohan
Chakraverty, Rajkrushna Banerjee. Radhanath Ray,
Sidheswar Bose, Hemchandra Bose, Sadhu Charan Ray
(Editor, Naba Sambadas), Jagannath Rao, Bhagaban Chandra

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Singh, Jogesh Chandra Ray and Trailokyanath Chakraverty.
Another person of eminence who was attracted towards the
Brahmo faith was Pyari Mohan Acharya. Another established
writer, Biswanath Kar, joined the Brahmo Samaj and soon
became one of the leaders of the Brahhmo movement in
Odisha. Being an orthodox Brahmin, his conversion during
that time created havoc among the conservative Odias of
Cuttack. Thereafter Cuttack was visited by number of Brahmo
missionaries. Most of them were from Bengal. By delivering
speeches in different places, they tried to spread Brahmoism
in Cuttack and its adjoining areas. Aghornath Gupta, a
renowned Brahmo preacher, came to Cuttack in 1873 (25).
The speech that he delivered on religion on the 18 th May 1873
in the building of the Cuttack Printing Press was very much
appreciated by leading periodicals like Utkal Dipika.
Similarly, on being invited by the Utkal Brahmo Samaj,
Pratap Chandra Majumdar of the Brahmo Samaj of India
came to Cuttack on the 4th July 1875. By his powerful oratory
he could impress the audience, particularly the students, in
favour of the Brahmo faith. In 1876, another Brahmo
Missionary named Dinanath Neugi, a member of the Adi
Brahmo Samaj, came to Cuttack. Through he was blind, he

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could influence the Brahmos and other educated persons of
Cuttack by his depth of knowledge in Brahmoism and also
proficiency in Brahmo songs. Cuttack was also visited by
another Brahmo preacher, Ramkumar Vidyaratha of Calcutta.
He delivered his talk on the 5 th August 1879 in the building of
the Cutttack Printing Company. Another renowned Brahmo
Missionary, Firish Chandra Sen of Sadharan Brahmo Samaj,
came to Cuttack. In May 1881 and delivered his speech in
“Naba Bidhan”. He reiterated in speech that Naba Bidhan was
the matured firm of Brahmo Dharma. In this meeting, Pyari
Mohan Acharya and Dinanath Banerjee also spoke on the
Brahmo faith. In December 1886, a team of Brahmo
Missionaries headed by Nandalal Banerjee came to Cuttack to
popularize the Brahmo Dharma in the town. In the annual day
celebration of the Utkal Brahmo Samaj, Debendranath
Mukherjee delivered a beautiful talk on Raja Rammohan Ray.
Debiprasanna Choudhuri of Calcutta came to Cuttack in 1889
with a missionary objective. In his speeches he emphasized
that the Brahmo Dharma was the ‘Yuga Dharma’, the true
religion suitable for the modern age. He invited the people to
raise their voice against idolatry, Child-marriage and the
caste-system. Another Brahmo missionary of Calcutta, Sashi

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Bhushan Basu, paid his visit to Cuttack in November 1892.
Shivanath Sastri of Calcutta Sadharan Brahmo Samaj also
came to Cuttack to attend the annual day celebration of the
Utkal Brahmo Samaj. Professor R. Venkataratnam of Madras
came to Cuttack in January 1898. During his stay at Cuttack
he delivered his speeches at different places mainly on the
Brahmo faith. In the meeting of 8 th January 1898 held on the
occasion of the death anniversary of Keshab Chandra Sen,
Venkataratnum spoke on the Brahmo movement Janakinath
Basu, Madhusudan Das, Biswanath Kar,Rajmohan Basu and
Reverend Belly also delivered their speeches on the occasion.
In 1901, Cuttack was visited by Brahmo missionaries of
Calcutta. Mention may be made of Narendra Nath
Chattopadhaya and Girish Chandra Sen. In his speech
delivered in the building of the Cuttack Printing Company
Narendra Nath stated in argument against idolatry and caste
system. Thus, it is to be seen that in the second half on the 19 th
century, the Brahmo preachers from Bengal made frequent
visits to Cuttack. Performing Upasana in some places, they
delivered talks to the people about the Brahmo faith. Many
persons, particularly the educated Bengalis serving in the

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town, came under the influence of these preachers and joined
the Brahmo Movement5.

The Brahmos of Cuttack used to assemble once a week

for Upasana. After singing Brahmo songs, they held religious
discussions. The discussions were mostly aimed against
idolatry, casteism, child-marriage, polygamy, addiction and
some irrational socio-religious customs. Learned persons of
Cuttack town or the Brahmo preachers coming from outside
used to deliver their talks on the Brahmo faith. On special
occasions, community prayers and Nagar Sankirtan were held.
It reminds us of the similar method introduced by Shri
Chaitanya, the exponent of the Bhakti cult. The Brahmo
prayers were attended by the women too. Sometimes the local
British Officials were invited to the Brahmo functions. The
Brahmo function held on 22nd February 1870 in the house of
Ramnath Roy Choudhury was attended by W.W. Hunter, the
Commissioner of Odisha Division. Hunter has bestowed
lavish praise on the activities of the Brahmo Samaj. On
5. Odisha State Archives, Bhubaneswar, our Documentary
certain occasions,
Heritage, Vol III, pfood
23-27and clothes were given by the Brahmo
Samaja to the poor and the handicapped. To promote
charitable activities, the Utkal Brahmo Samaj opened a small

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dispensary in November 1886 to provide medical help to
leprosy patients. This dispensary worked under a committee
in which Rajkrushna Banerjee and Madhusudan Rao were
president and Secretary respectively. Besides, Radhanath Ray,
Sidheswar Bose, hemchandra Ghose, Sadhu Charan Ray,
Lalitmohan Chakraverty, Jagannath Rao, Bhagban Chandra
Singh and Jogesh Chandra Ray were members of this
Committee. The Brahmos of Cuttack town also tried to
perform missionary activities. In the gathering of Baliyatra,
they use to preach their faith like Christian missionaries. Thus
the Brahmo preachers could influence to youth of Cuttack.
Particularly the students, even the students belonging
conservative Brahmin families were attracted towards the
Brahmo faith. In July 1887, two students of the Cuttack
Medical School were converted to the Brahmo Dharma. They
were Lokanath Kar and Raghunath Singh. Lokanath Kaw was
the first Brahmin in Cuttack district who embraced this new
faith openly. Another Brahmin student named Anand of the
Cuttack Collegiate School was also converted to the Bahmo
Dharma. Thus the schools were very much influenced by the
Brahmo movement. Due to the efforts of Madhusudan Rao,
the Deputy Inspector of Schools, some other school boys also

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embraced the Brahmo faith. This was then condemned by
some Hindu residents of Cuttack. One association of Cuttack
named Bhagbati Bhakti Pradayini Sabha appealed to the
Government in 1887 to prevent Madhusudan Rao from
influencing the students to embrace the Brahmo faith. The
letter was also forwarded to the Government of Bengal. Due
to the effort of the Collector of Cuttack, Madhusudan agreed
not to discharge the duties of Acharya of the Brahmo Dharma
in future. The efforts of Sadhu Charan Ray, a teacher of the
Academy School to cajole the students to embrace
Brahmoism was condemned by the local people and the
leading periodical, Utkal Dipika as well, Some Brahmo
marriages were solemnized in Cuttack. The daughter of
Mahusudan Rao was given in marriage to Bijoy Kumar
Majumdar, a Bengali Brahmin. This marriage was also
performed according to Brahmo rituals. It was attended by
Hindus, Muslims and Christians. Similarly Sadhu Charan Ray
married Reba Bai, the daughter of Jagannath Rao. This
marriage ceremony was also conducted according to the
Brahmo custom.

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 Balasore was yet another chief centre of Brahmo
movement in Odisha. As early as 1855 Isan Chandra Basu, of
the Adi Brahm Samaj of Calcutta came to Balasore to preach
the Brahmo faith. Fakir Mohan Senapati used to discuss with
him about different religions including Brahmoism. Another
Brahmo, Prasanna Kumar Chatterjee, came to Balasore from
Bengal as a Clerk of the Nimakmahal. He started Upasana in
his home located near the Jhadeswar Mahadev temple. Fakir
Mohan used to meet him frequently and both of them used to
discuss the Brahmo faith. A Brahmo Samak was founded in
Balsaore town in October 1869. At first the congregation
consisted of only four members. They were Damodar Prasad
Das, Gobind Prasad Das, Jaykrushna Choudhury and
Bholanath Bab. The founder were vey zealous. So within a
period of six months the membership of the Samaj increased
from four to nineteen. However only seven were natives of
the province while the rest were Bengalis in Government
Service. The Mahjaraja f Mayurbhanj had building in the west
of Motiganz Bazar of Balasore. It was known as ‘Raja Kotha’.
The weekly prayer and discussions of the Brahmo Samaj held
in the building. Later on Brahmo activities in the Balasore
town and the neighbouring villages were continued by

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Brahmos like Jagabandhu Ghosh (Head Clerk, of Balasore
Collectorate), Pandit Ramkumar Vidyaratna, Aghornath
Gupta, Dqjadas Datta (Headmaster of Balasore High School),
Nandlal Banergee, Gobind Chandra Patnaik (Headmaster of
Balasore Normal School), Ramanath Das, Kalindi Kamula,
Bhagaban Chandra Das and Padmalochan Das. In the annual
session of the Brahmo Samaj held on 21 st January 1874 at
Calcutta, Odisha was represented by Chatrubhuj Patnaik and
Bhagaban Chandra Das. Both of them belonged to Balasore.
Staying for few months in Balasore. Ramkumar Bhattacharya,
a Brahmo preacher, not only preached Brahoism but also
looked after a Brahmo school at Balsore. A Brahmo periodical
named Dharmabodhini was published from Balasore in May
1874. Aghornath Gupta, the famous Brahmo spread from the
town to the rural areas of Balasore. In the village of Sindhia of
Balasore, a Brahmo Samaj was established. In its weekly
Upasana, ladies of the upper castes used to join along with the
male members. Many low caste people also participated in the
Upasanas. Brahmo Samajs were also founded in two or three
nearby villages. In July 1882, the Brahmo Samaj of Balasore
celebrated its annual day in which Chatrubnhuja Patnaik
addressed the gathering. Besides the Brahmos, many rich

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persons of the town came forward to contribute generously for
the construction of a Brahmo temple in the town. Kunja
Bihari De, a Brahmo preacher of Calcutta, came to Balasore
in October 1882 and delivered his speech in Motiganj Bazar.
It was attended by many ladies of the town. In April 1884
during his visit to Balasore School, Madhusudan Rao
delivered a brilliant speech on Brahmoism around Balasore
town were at Manikhamd, Nabagram, Amara Sorisakatha and
Vimadia. Two renowned Brahmos, namely Bhagaban
Chandra Das and Nandalal Banerjee, strengthened the
Brahmo movement in Balasore. Besides, Brahmo preachers
frequently visited places like Bhadak. Soro and Bahanaga.
The Balasore Braghmo Samaj also received financial help
from various quarters. The Raja of Mayurbhanj donated land,
timber and two thousand rupees in cash to establish a new
Brahmo Samakj at Balasore. Thus next to Cuttack, Balasore
emerged a leading centre of the Brahmo movement in
Odisha6.

The Brahmo Movement also spread to Puri. In 1866 a

Brahmo Samak was founded in the town. Prasanna Kumar
Ganguli, a Munsiff, was its founder. 18 members were

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enrolled in this Samaj. Brahmo preacher, Ramkumar
Bhattacharya came down to Puri and through speeches and
Upasanas he tried to preach Brahmoism. During 1880-90
Brahmo Samajas were established at different places of Puri
District. In Puri town Nilachal Brahmo Samak was founded
with Narendra Nath Sarkar as its Secretary.

Brahmo Dharma also spread to Southern Odisha. The

Prarthana Samaj (the name given to Southern India) extended
its activities to Ganjam District including Parlakhemundi. A
Samaj was established at Paralakhemundi where regular
meetings were held. A library was also maintained there. A
Brahmo temple was constructed at Berhampur. In Ganjam
District, Brahmoism was found to have been very popular its
popularity can be attributed to two factors, namely, the
influence from Bengal through Balasore, Cuttack and Puri,
and the presence of a fairly sufficient number of dedicated and
devoted workers. With Ganjam as the centre, the Brahmo
movement spread to the interior areas of Andhra as far as
Nellore.

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 The Brahmo movement also spread to the feudatory
states of Odisha. In 1883, Laxman Panda, a Brahmo Preacher
of Balasore, went to the states of Dhenkanal and Athgarh and
delivered his speeches on Brahmoism. By the effort of one
Damodar Samanta, a Brahmo Samaj was founded in the
village Dalar of Dhenjanal State. Similarly in Angul a Brahmo
Samaj was funded. In 1887, Nandalal Bandopadhyaya
preached Brahmoism in Dhenkal, Angul, Talcher, Pallahara,
Badamba and Sambalpur. In Mauy 1895, the members of
Utkal Brahmo Samak of Cuttack like Madhusudhan Rao,
Rajmohan Basu, Nandalal Bandopadhyaya and Biswanath
Kar visited Sambalpur and Bamanda to spread the Brahmo
faith. While the tide of the Brahmo movement was following
fast in Odisha, Mayurbhanj could not remain all of from its
influence. In 1873, the famous Brahmo preacher Aghornath
Gupta preached Brahmoism in Baripada town. But during the
early part of the twentieth century did the Brahmo Samaj get
some foothold in Mayurbhanj, In 1904 a few Brahmos
residing in Karanjia of Mayurbhanj District constructed a
Brayer House at Karanjia. But hardly a year later had they
shifted it to Baripada town. The Upasana Mandir (Temple) of
the Brahmo Samak, was later on constructed on a plot of 20

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gunths of land close to the High School. The Maharaka of
Mayurbhanj was inclined to this Brahmo faith. Because of his
great interest he helped in establishing a Brahmo Samaj at
Balasore town. Furthermore, he used to attend some Brahmo
meetings. In December 1906 a Brahmo conference was held
at Calcutta. The Maharaja of Mayurbhanj was the Chairman
of the Reception Committee constituted for the purpose from
Odisha. This conference was attended by Madhusudan Rao
and Biswanath Kar of Odisha.

However there was a gradual decline of Brahmo

Movement in Odisha towards the beginning of the Twentieth
century. Because it could not attract the masses. It remained
confined mainly to the urban cities of Odishan society. The
people of Odisha also did not consider Brahmoism as a
distinct religion from Hinduism. The strong orthodox section
of the Hindus of the State afforded little prospect of
conversions. The pioneers of the Brahmo movement had little
contact with the common people. So the entry of the people to
the fold of the Brahmo faith was disheartening. The common
people could not understand the high ideals of Brahmoism. So
the average number of people attending a Brahmo worship

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hardly exceeded fifteen. Furthermore, the Brahmo movement
in Odisha, as elsewhere in India, did not adopt any
programme for the socio-economic regeneration of region. It
was towards the last decade of the 19 th century that there was
a growth of political consciousness in Odisha. And its
dominance over socio-religious reforms affected the progress
of the Brahmo movement. The young men took greater
interest in political activities than in socio-religious reforms
propounded by the Brahmo organizations. Furthermore, the
persons who joined the Brahmo Samaj were socially
boycotted by the conservative Hindus. Mention may be made
of young women in Cuttack town who died to drowning in the
tank Kajipokhari in August 1880. Nobody came to perform
her funeral rites because her brother was a Brahmo. This type
hurdles from their own community discouraged the people to
develop any fascination towards the Brahmo faith.
Furthermore, the internal quarrel and subsequent split in the
Brahmo Samaj weakened the movement in Odisha.

True, the Brahmo movement could not succeed as a

religious movement in Odisha. But it had its deep
repercussions on the socio-religious set up of the province.

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 First, the Brahmo movement helped to spread education
in Odisha. That was because Brahmo adherents of the
province created consciousness among the people for
education. Madhusudhan Rao founded the Town Victoria
High School. By the efforts of Haranath Bhattacharya,
“Cuttack Abaitanika Vidyalaya’ was established. Pyari
Mohan Acharya established an education institution entitled
‘Cuttack Academy’, which was subsequently renamed as
‘Pyari Mohan Academy the Female Brahmos of Cuttack
opened a ‘Sunday School’ to impart moral and spiritual
education to the children. Many teachers of the schools were
Brahmos. All these helped in the growth of education in
Odisha.

Secondly, the Brahmo movement led to the publication

of new periodicals which were the mouthpieces of the
different Brahmo Samaks, Those were “Utkal
Subhankari”, :”Dharmabodhini”, “Brahmo”, Naba Sambad”
and “Asha”.

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 Thirdly, the contribution of the Brahmo movement to
Odia literature was no mean affairs. Chaturbhuja Patnaik, a
renowned Brahmo, contributed a number of creative writings
to Odia literature. Those were ‘Tatvamala’, ‘Bhajanmala’,
“Sangeet Puspanjali’, Jatakarma’ and ‘Future Chirch of
Odisha’. Similarly, Madhusudhan Rao, the celebrated Odia
poet and a dedicated Brahmo, enriched Odia literature by his
writing. “Sangeetmala”, “Jeevanachinta”, “Atma Samarpana”,
“Staba Devavatarana”, “Naba Basanta and Basantagatha are a
few of his writings which highlighted his deep religious
thought. Biswanath Kar, the editor of the periodical Brahmo,
was a famous critic and essayist. Thus the Brahmo movement
played an important role in the growth of Odia language and
literature.

Lastly, the Brahmo activities also created social

consciousness among the people of Odisha. It advocated
women’s education and their gradual emancipation from
social restraints. The Brahmos professed widow-marriage and
inter-caste marriage and opposed polygamy and child-
marriage. The Brahmo faith denounced too many rituals of
Hindu marriage, which were also expensive. Some Brahmo

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marriages were also solemnized in Odisha. Sucharu, the
daughter of Keshab Chandra Sen, got married to Maharaka
Sriram Chandra Bhanjdeo of Mayurbhanj. Madhusudan Rao’s
daughter was also given in marriage to a Bengali Brahmin.
Furthermore, Rammohan Roy’s campaign against the Sait
custom influenced the British officials and the people of
Odisha to prevent Sati occurrences in the provinces. The
Brahmos also spoke against the addiction to opium and liquor
and criticized eroticism in literature and architecture.

The Brahmo movement also helped in synthesizing

religions, such as Hinduism, Islam and Christianity. As the
exponents of the Brahmo faith were much influenced by
Christianity, the Hindus of Odisha tried to assert the
supremacy of Hinduism over Christianity7.

*********

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