Balaram Das, a major poet of Oriya literature

Oriya literature

Oriya is an official language of the state of Orissa, India. The region has been known at different stages of history as Kalinga, Udra, Utkala, or Koshala. The language is also spoken by minority populations of the neighboring states of Jharkhand, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh. The...

, and considered as the senior most poet in the Age of Panchasakha

Oriya literature

Oriya is an official language of the state of Orissa, India. The region has been known at different stages of history as Kalinga, Udra, Utkala, or Koshala. The language is also spoken by minority populations of the neighboring states of Jharkhand, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh. The...

  wrote the Laxmi Purana in 15th century .

Synopsis of Laksmi Purana

In this Purana, once the goddess Laxmi had visited Shriya, a scavenger low caste woman , for which Balaram, the elder brother of God Jagannath

Jagannath

Jagannath is a transcendental non-anthropotheistic Hindu god worshiped primarily by the people of Indian state of Orissa, and, to a great extent, West Bengal...

 (Lord Vishnu) got angry with Laxmi and she was turned out from Jagannath Temple of Srikhetra or Puri , the most sacred place and one of four places of pilgrimage

Pilgrimage

A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...

 (Dham) in Hindu religion. Laxmi leaves the temple and avenges the insult by cursing her husband and elder brother-in-law to go through a prolonged ordeal without food, water or shelter. The Puran raises voice against the evil practices of Untouchability

Dalit

Dalit is a designation for a group of people traditionally regarded as Untouchable. Dalits are a mixed population, consisting of numerous castes from all over South Asia; they speak a variety of languages and practice a multitude of religions...

 in society. It also stresses importance on feminism

Feminism

Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...

 and empowers the female power to resist male hegemony

Hegemony

Hegemony is an indirect form of imperial dominance in which the hegemon rules sub-ordinate states by the implied means of power rather than direct military force. In Ancient Greece , hegemony denoted the politico–military dominance of a city-state over other city-states...

.

Premier of Feminist Movement

It is perhaps the first attempt in India towards feminism. The Purana describes the social structures and gender inequality persisting in the society. It is also a protest against male hegemony. Laxmi was thrown out of her home by her husband. But it also gives a guideline for the women to perform their duties and responsibilities honestly. This Purana starts a feministic movement in Orissa

Orissa

Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...

 India as a ritual form of Laxmi Puja or worship of the goddess Laxmi.

Popularity of Laxmi Purana

In Orissa , Laxmi Purana is considered as a sacred book in every household. In every corner of Orissa and the neighboring regions in Chhatisgarh, Jharkhand

Jharkhand

Jharkhand is a state in eastern India. It was carved out of the southern part of Bihar on 15 November 2000. Jharkhand shares its border with the states of Bihar to the north, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to the west, Orissa to the south, and West Bengal to the east...

, West Bengal

West Bengal

West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...

 and the srikakulam

Srikakulam

Srikakulam is a town, municipality and headquarters of Srikakulam district in the north-eastern Andhra Pradesh, India. It is part of Srikakulam Assembly constituency and Srikakulam Parliament Constituency. Srikakulam was formerly called as Gulshanabad during Muslim rule and was headquarter of...

 area of Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...

, the ladies perform a special one month long Laxmi Puja in the Hindu

Hindu

Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

 month of Margashirsha or Agrahayana

Agrahayana

Agrahayana or Margashirsha, is a month of the Hindu calendar and Tamil calendar. In India's national civil calendar, Agrahayana is the ninth month of the year, beginning on 22 November and ending on 21 December. Since Vedic times, this month is known as Maargashirsha after the Nakshatra ...

. The Laxmi Puja (Mana osha) is celebrated weekly on every Thursday

Thursday

Thursday is the fourth day of the week according to the ISO 8601 international standard adopted in most western countries. In countries that use the Sunday-first convention and in the Judeo-Christian calendar it is the fifth day of the week. It falls between Wednesday and Friday...

of that month and mostly the females worship the Goddess Laxmi with all rituals. jay jagannath jay maa laxmi.