Gajan is a Hindu folk festival celebrated in West Bengal. This festival is a worship-centered festival of Shiva, Neel, Manasa, and Dharmathakur. Gajan’s name in Malda is Gambhira, Gamira in Jalpaiguri. During the last week of the month of Chaitra in the Bengali calendar, Shiva’s gajan is performed by the monks or devotees. The festival concludes with Charak Puja on the occasion of Chaitra. Gajan of religion is usually celebrated in the months of Baishakh, Jaistha, and Ashar. When Shiva’s Gajan is held at any other time of the year except Chaitramas, it is called ‘Hujuge Gajan’. Gajan usually lasts for three days. An integral part of this festival is the fair.
The monks or devotees of Gajan try to satisfy the deity Ishta through austerity by torturing their bodies in various ways. On the occasion of Gajan, they go to the temple of the deity in procession. In Shiva’s Gajan, two monks, Shiva and Gauri, dance, and others dance in the company of Nandi, Bhrungi, Bhootpreet, Daityadanav, etc. Various folk rhymes of Shiva are recited and sung. Kali dance is a significant event in Chaitra Sankranti. A special part of Dharma Gajan is dance or Marakhela (Kalika Patari dance) with Normund or molten corpse. In the month of Jaistha, female monks or devotees take part in the Gajan of Mansa, they perform the same rituals as the monks of Charak.
Naming:
The Bengali word Gajan is derived from the word “roar”. The festival is so named because of the roar of the monks participating in it. In other words, the word “ga” means village, and the word “Jan” means people; this form of festival is named as it is a festival for rural people.
According to folklore, Shiva is married to Goddess Harkali on the day of the Gajan festival. The monks take part in the wedding ceremony as the bridegroom. On the other hand, Dharmathakur’s Gajan is the wedding ceremony of Dharmathakur and Goddess Mukti.
History:
Gajan is a special part of the Shaivite culture of Radhbanga. Gajan means (village = village, people = people) is the festival of the people of the village. Kantichandra Radhi, the author of Navadwip Mahima, has called Gajan a corruption of Dharmagajan. Bharatkoshkar said about Gajan, “It is a folk festival in Bengal. It is very common among the lower class people. … In Bengal, it is associated with the names of various mythological and folk deities, such as Shiva’s Gajan, Dharma’s Gajan, Neel’s Gajan, Adya’s Gajan, but the real target of this festival is Surya and his imaginary world as his wife. The purpose of this ceremony is to marry the earth with the sun. From the month of Chaitra to the onset of monsoon, when the sun is in a fiery form, the agrarian society has come up with this idea in the hope of subduing the sun and bringing good rain. The festival is centered around the rural Shiva temple. ”
The Shiva that is kept by the Brahmins all year round, is worshipped by a few crores of people in Gajan. There is no discrimination, no caste, no cool, and no contempt for the upper castes. These days everyone is equal in status. This is the true passage of Shaivite culture. At the time of Gajan, Shiva was literally the god of the people.
Gajan from Navadwip
The Shivlings of Navadwip are mostly Buddhist influences. Navadvipa was the seat of Buddhism in the Pala period. There was a mound to the west of the new island. Its former name ‘Pardanga’ is now “Parpur.” The Buddhist-influenced Shiva idols of Navadvipa are derived from the ruins of Pardanga. Many people consider the architectural style found after the excavation of ‘Ballalalsen’s mound’ to the east of Navadwip to be a Buddhist temple. Panshila Subarnavihar is located near Navadwip. Buroshiva, Yognath, Baneshwar, Hansbahana, Shiva of Pardanga, etc. of this class are Buddhist-influenced Shivalingas of Navadvipa. They have no gauripatta.
The number of Shiva in the new island is Buroshiva, Yognath, Baneshwar, Dandapani, Hansbahan, Alaknath, Balaknath, Bhavastaran, Polosvara. Among these are the established Shiva with symbols of Bhavataran and Aloknath Brahmanical culture. The kings of Nadia are the founders of these two Shiva. Alaknath was founded by Maharaja Krishnachandra Roy, and Bhabataran was founded by Maharaja Girishchandra Roy (1825 AD). Bhavastaran is not the gajan of Shiva. Balaknath Shiva was collected and established by Shyamacharan Das. The idol that was found while fishing with polo is called Poloswar Shiva. The swan-carrying Shiva is immersed in the swan-bearing bill all year round, staying in the temple for a few days. Originally it was a Buddhist statue, the stone caged stone placed on the goose is now worshipped as Shiva.
During the five days of Gajan, the people of Navadwip come to the festival. Satgajan, flower-fruit, blue and charak .
Gajan in other places in Bengal:
In Chaitra Sankranti in West Bengal, Taraknath Shiva of Harkli district, Ghanteshwar of Khanakule, Yogishiv of Kamarpukur, Fulleshwar of Badanganj, Dolleshwar, Bhubaneswar, Ishaneshwar Shiva of Kurmun of Burdwan, Ekteshwar Shiv of Bankura, Basantirashwar of WestMansa Gajan of Ayodhya village in Bishnupur of Bankura on the tenth day of Jaishya month and Gajan of Dharmaraj Tagore of Beliatore in Bankura on Ashadi full moon are famous. Kansaripara and Jalepara were once famous for the Gajan festival in Calcutta. In the village Jhantipahari of Chhatna police station of Bankura, on 25/26 of the month of Jaistha, Shiva-centric ‘Hujuge Gajan’ is famous. Indigenous dance is a special attraction at this fair.
In Dharmaraj Tagore’s Gajan, a procession of Bratcharinidals marched on three proof-sized wooden horses with Mahamana, Swarupnarayan, and Dharmaraj (Buddha, Sangha, and Dharma, respectively), innumerable devotees-monks and open incense burning on their heads. In the Gajan of Kurmun, the monks are painted on their faces and the cremation monks are danced with their heads. At the fair of Kurmun, the competition for pottery made by potters is interesting. Sacrificing in front of a huge earthen idol of Lord Shiva at Gajan in Kotalpara and bathing the idol in the blood of the sacrifice is a special feature.