Vimalā

Vimalā Devī is the chief śakti (divine power) of Puruṣottama Kṣetra. Her shrine stands inside the prāsāda (temple) of Jagannātha on the hill Nīlācala. She is one of the eight great śaktis of the kṣetra (sacred land). She is a mahā-śakti-pīṭha (great seat of the Devī) of the highest rank. As the kṣetra-devī (the Devī of the land) of Puruṣottama, she is never apart from Jagannātha.

Her place in Puruṣottama Kṣetra

The Vaiṣṇava Khaṇḍa of the Skanda Mahā Purāṇa lists eight śaktis and eight Śiva-liṅgas. Together they form a sacred ring of protection for Puruṣottama Kṣetra. They stand in the eight directions as a maṇḍala (circle) around Nīlācala. Vimalā Devī is the first of the eight śaktis. Her place is inside the Jagannātha prāsāda itself and not at the edge. (Chapter 4)

Vimalā as a śakti-pīṭha

The text counts Vimalā’s temple in the Jagannātha prāsāda as a śakti-pīṭha of the highest rank. Jagannātha is the Viṣṇu-tattva (the reality of Viṣṇu), and Vimalā is his śakti. So Puruṣottama Kṣetra is both a Vaiṣṇava kṣetra and a mahā-śakti-pīṭha, where the Vaiṣṇava and Śākta ways meet at the highest level. (Chapters 4, 28)

Her part in the pratiṣṭhā

Brahmā came down from Satyaloka to perform the pratiṣṭhā (installation) of the wooden mūrtis. The whole ceremony took place in the presence of all the divine powers of the kṣetra, including the eight śaktis. Vimalā, as the chief śakti, watched over the pratiṣṭhā and blessed it. The text describes her presence in the prāsāda as essential to the nature of the kṣetra as a mukti-kṣetra (land of liberation). (Chapters 26, 27)

Vimalā and śakti

The text names the hill Nīlācala as the body of Viṣṇu, and the whole kṣetra as the śarīra (body) of Svāmi, that is, Jagannātha. In this picture, Vimalā is the śakti that is never apart from the śaktimān (the one who holds the power), the energy that cannot be parted from its source. Subhadrā is Viṣṇu-māyā in the form of the wooden mūrti. In the same way, Vimalā is that same śakti in the form of the kṣetra-devī, spread through the whole holy land. (Chapter 28)

The sarvadeva-sannidhi

The text calls Puruṣottama Kṣetra a sarvadeva-sannidhi, the meeting place of all the devas. Vimalā’s presence makes it Vaiṣṇava, Śaiva and Śākta together. The eight śaktis stand in the eight directions, with Vimalā at the centre inside the prāsāda. They form a complete maṇḍala of the Devī, guarding the home of Jagannātha. (Chapter 4)

Sources

• Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Vaiṣṇava Khaṇḍa, Puruṣottama Kṣetra Māhātmya, Chapters 4, 27, 28 (and Chapter 26 for the pratiṣṭhā)