The monasteries (maṭhas) in Puri continue to have numerous connections with the main cult of the Jagannath triad in the temple. Several of the maṭhas render services to the temple, in significant ways keeping pace with the changing time. The rituals and other associated elite functions conducted and observed at the temple as well as at the maṭhas are structurally and functionally intertwined in such a manner that one cannot exist without the other.
The aim of the presentation is to discuss the structure and organization of some important maṭhas and ask how the maṭhas serve as resource centers for the propagation of the Jagannath cult, both at the ideational and practical level? How are the Jagannath temple and the maṭhas interrelated and interdependent on each other? The key hypothesis is that the various dimensions and the dynamics of the Jagannath temple’s relationship with the maṭhas can be described as a form of ‘complement-ary filiation’.
Managing the myriad daily rituals of the temple and festivals around the Jagannath triad is an immense and challenging task for the temple administration. All in all, despite the changing set-ups of the maṭhas, their transforming status positions and resource potentials in the wake of modernization, the maṭhas’ role towards the temple continues to be paramount.