Volume VI Special Issue II February 2026

Name of Author : Juhi Raza, Dr. Chandramani

Title of the paper : Devotion from the Margins: Salabega and the Poetics of Exclusion in Odia Bhakti Literature

Abstract: The Bhakti literature in India, since medieval times has been presenting its universalistic concepts together with its emotional content and its opposition to established religious practices Dimock 3 Hawley 12. The regional variations of Bhakti literature in medieval India demonstrate their existence within the wider framework of Bhakti literature. The Indian spiritual literature presents a vast range of texts but Odia Bhakti literature distinguishes itself because of its historical value and its display of divine love through poetry which rises above social and religious boundaries Mahapatra 78. The study of Odia Bhakti literature dedicated to Lord Jagannath provides researchers with an excellent framework to examine how devotion interacts with caste and religion and marginalization Eschmann, Kulke, and Tripathi 15. The system of patronizing inclusion had failed because caste and religion continued to operate as controlling forces. It was in this context of ambiguity and complexity prevailing in the region in the late 1600s, that the compelling figure of Salabega emerged Mahapatra 82. He was a Muslim by faith but attracted to Lord Jagannath and sang in a voice that was to be cherished forever. Salabega was born to a Muslim father and a Hindu mother and was not allowed to enter the Jagannath temple at Puri. Still today, owing to his intense devotional poetry, he is considered central to Odia Bhakti traditions, although at the same time, his identity situates him at the margins of orthodox religious structures.

Keywords : Poetics, Salabega, Odia Bhakti Literature

DOI :

Page Number : 81-87