International Journal For Multidisciplinary Research

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The Impact of Mahima Dharma on Socio-Religious Life of Rural Odisha

Author(s) Mr. Nisikanta Nayak, Dr. kamal Prasad Mohanty, Dr. Sishir Kumar Tripathy
Country India
Abstract This paper examines Mahima Dharma: an indigenous religious movement in Odisha state, its influence on the socio-religious life of rural population. The movement, which emerged in the late 18th century under the leadership of Mahima Swami and was preached by mystic poet Bhima Bhoi, criticized ritual orthodoxy, caste discrimination and the rule of Brahmanical authority. It supported the formless, all-pervasive God (Sunya Brahma), moral living, plain living and spiritual equality. The key purpose of the study is to examine the process of Mahima Dharma reshaping the religious life of the rural Odisha, social orders, and group thinking based on its egalitarianism ideology and literary religious texts written in vernacular languages. The paper also explores the role of local rituals, oral traditions and community spaces in relation to maintaining the movement. This study attempts to evaluate Mahima Dharma not only as a spiritual movement but as a grass root socio-religious upheaval, using the historical evidence, textual interpretation, as well as ethnographic understanding. It makes a durable case about the sustainability of the movement over the years in raising social exclusion related issues, especially among the Dalits and Adivasis, and provides a case study detailing the ways indigenous religiosity can be used as a means of social empowerment and as a means of ethical resistance among the rural Indian populace.
Keywords Sunnya Purusha, Sarana, Darshana, Mahima Maha Meru, Maha mahi Mandal, Sadguru, Gruhi Sannyasi, Bhekabana.
Field Arts
Published In Volume 7, Issue 4, July-August 2025
Published On 2025-07-08
DOI https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2025.v07i04.50276
Short DOI https://doi.org/g9s9g9
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