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Monday, 2 September 2024

Udiyana and Oddiyana - Modern Day Odisha, India

Guru Padmasambhava is revered across the world. He is also called Guru Rinpoche. 

There are several texts about him. Udiyana or Oddiyana is believed to be his birthplace.

While looking for Udiyana and Oddiyana, the above image and the following posts on X (Twitter) were accessed:


The posts in the above thread about Guru Padmasambhava are written in Spanish-

camino sutrayana, Padmasambhava personifica el principio del guru, el corazón del budismo Vajrayana, y por lo tanto es conocido como el ‘segundo Buda’

Padmasambhava apareció por primera vez en la tierra de Udiyana (Pakistan) En ese momento, el Rey de Oddiyana no tenía (sigue)

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heredero para sucederle como gobernante. Así que se había embarcado en un viaje por el lago de Dhanakosha para encontrar una joya llena de deseos. Cuando regresó con la joya, se encontró con el niño increíble adoptó al niño y lo llevó  al reino donde lo instaló como el (Sigue)

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príncipe heredero.

Padmasambhava se casó con Prabhavati y gobernó el reino de acuerdo con el Dharma, marcando el comienzo de un tiempo de felicidad y paz. Al ver que, como gobernante, no podría realmente servir a los demás y brindarles un beneficio espiritual a gran escala(sigue)

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The English Translation-

sutrayana path, Padmasambhava personifies the guru principle, the heart of Vajrayana Buddhism, and is therefore known as the 'second Buddha'

Padmasambhava first appeared in the land of Udiyana (Pakistan) At that time, the King of Oddiyana had no (continues)

heir to succeed him as ruler. So he had embarked on a journey across the Dhanakosha lake to find a jewel full of wishes. When he returned with the jewel, he met the incredible boy, adopted the boy and took him to the kingdom where he was installed as the (Continue)

crown prince.

Padmasambhava married Prabhabati and ruled the kingdom according to the Dharma, ushering in a time of happiness and peace. Seeing that as a ruler, he could not truly serve others and bring them spiritual benefit on a large scale(continues)

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From the above, we can find two names of places- Udiyana and Oddiyana.

Most believe Udiyana/Uddiyana (and similar words) is in Pakistan.

However, Udiyana/Uddiyana/Uddayana/Udiana/Udyana and Oddiyana, etc., refer to the same place—Odisha, India.

This is very significant as it refers to the birthplace of the Second Buddha- Guru Padmasambhava, also called Guru Rinpoche.

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Uddiyana is mentioned in several ancient texts-

Uddiyana is linked with Shree Jagannatha of Puri, the deity of Odra or Utkala i.e. Odisha.

Shree Jagannatha finds mention in tantric texts like Kalika Purana, Rudrayamala, Brahmayamala, Tantrayamala. 

In the Tantric tradition, Shree Jagannatha is considered as the Bhairava of Bimala, who is the Mahadevi- "bimala sa mahadevi jagannatha tu bhairava". 

As per the Kalika Purana-

"udrakhyam prathama pitham dvitiyam jalasailajam tritiyam purnapithantu kamarupam chaturthakam"

Meaning- “Among the Tantric Pithas, the first and foremost is Udra or Uddiyana (Odisha), the second is Jalasaila, the third is Purnapitha and the fourth is Kamarupa.” 

As per the Devi Bhagabata-

"srishtibhuta mahashakti manipura nivasini bimala sa parashakti uddiyana pureshvari anjuna dehi me devi bahiryoge mamambike madhavah bhairava sakshat pranatosmi jagatpate"

Meaning- “In Uddiyana (Odisha), Bimala is Parashakti and Pureshvari, the source of the creation of the universe, residing in the City of Jewels. I offer my homage to You, O Goddess, together with Your Bhairava, Madhava! Please bless me.” 

 


As per the Kubjika Tantra-

"mahalakshmimaya pitha uddiyanamtah param."

Meaning- The Pitha (temple) of Mahalakshmi (i.e. the Shreemandira in Puri) is the supreme/best in Uddiyana (Odisha) 

 

As per the Mukti Chintamani (written by Gajapati Purushottama Deva), the invocation for Goddess Bimala is-

"dhyayet vidyut samaprabha muddiyana puresvarim nr munda kundali kumbhan dadhanam paramesvarim akshyamala dharam devim sarva sakti pradayinim padma padam aham bande bimalam bimala pradam"

Meaning- I meditate upon the embodiment of lightning, the Goddess of Uddiyana Tantra. O Supreme Goddess! You wear a garland of severed human heads and hold rosary beads in your hand. O Narayani, you are the bestower of all powers. I bow to your lotus feet, O Bimala! Please grant me success. 

Source of the above Uddiyana texts-  "PURI -THE HOME OF LORD JAGANNATHA" :

A comprehensive pilgrimage guide to Sri Purushottama Kshetra; Compiled by: Parama Karuna Devi 

Published by: Jagannatha Vallabha Research Centre - First Print- April 2009.


As per A Dictionary of Buddhism by Damien Keown, as cited in the Oxford Reference.com, Oddiyana is-

"A small country in early medieval India associated with the rise of tantric Buddhism. Its actual location is open ... "

Map Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/East-Hem_100bc.jpg

Though many texts by western writers state that Uddiyana/Oddiyana is in Swat Valley, Pakistan, the reality is that Uddiyana/Oddiyana is Odisha, India.

King Indrabhuti, who adopted Padmasambhava as his son, belonged to Sambalpur, Odisha, India.

Shree Jagannatha is mentioned in the ancient texts associated with Indrabhuti e.g.-

"In his famous work Jñānasiddhi, King Indrabhūti opens it with an invocation to Shree Jagannātha, a deity intimately associated with Odisha and with no other area of India"
- Source: Donaldson (2001: p. 11) - Wikipedia- Oddiyana

A well-researched book by researcher and author, Sri Prabir Kumar Pattanaik, has been published by BK Publishers this year - Uddiyana Guru Padmasambhava - The Second Buddha. 

This book has more information and references that Oddiyana/Udiyana/Uddiyana refers to Odisha, India.

This needs to be established and accepted by all.

Have you heard of Uddiyana or Oddiyana before? Did you know about Guru Padmasambhava?

Please share your comments below.

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