Geeta panda

Long, long ago there was a panda in Puri named Arjun Mishra. Every day he used to read the whole
Bhagavadgita. Because he spent a lot of his time studying the Gita, and due to his unflinching faith,
the local people called him Gita Panda. He was a great devotee of Lord Jagannath, a very
surrendered soul. He depended upon his Lord for everything. Whatever happened, he accepted as
the desire of the Lord. Nothing could affect Gita Panda. He was a very poor person, and lived by
begging. Once there was heavy rain for about a week in Puri, and there was no scope for Gita
Panda to go out begging. Whatever little stock he had, he finished very quickly. He and his family
were forced to fast, yet Gita Panda was not disturbed. He spent his days happily reciting the Gita.
He was happy that he could not go out, and felt it was a good opportunity for him because he had
more time to read the Gita.
His wife became very angry with him. She chastised him. “Unless you go out and beg, how do you
think your family will survive? We have three children. They will all die if you do not go out and get
something for them!” Gita Panda was undisturbed. He showed her a verse from Bhagavad-gita:
ananyas cintayanto mam yejanah paryupasate
tesam nityabhiyuktanam yoga-ksemam vahamy aham
“But those who always worship Me with exclusive devotion, meditating on My transcendental form—
to them I carry what they lack, and I preserve what they have.”
She became even angrier by her husbands behaviour. She waited for days, but still her husband
brought nothing. He just kept telling her, “If we simply depend upon the Lord, He said He will take
care of everything.” The wife wondered how long she could wait. The children were very hungry due
to want of food. She was very angry. Taking her husbands Bhagavad-gita, she opened it at the
verse he quoted and scratched three lines through the verse. Afterwards, frustrated and hungry, she
and her children went to sleep. Some time later, Gita Panda also took rest. Soon after, Gita Pandas
wife heard a knock at the door. She rose from her bed and opened the door. There stood two very
beautiful boys, and they had brought with them so many ingredients for preparing food. The
brahmani was very surprised to see these two very beautiful boys. One of them was dark and the
other had skin, the colour of milk. The dark boy told the brahmani ,“Please take these foodstuffs
which have been sent by a friend of Gita Panda. Please cook and then eat to your hearts content.”
The brahmini was very pleased to see these very beautiful boys, and when she heard the boys
voice, her heart filled with joy. She felt  very affectionate towards them. She requested them to kindly
wait until she prepared the food and take prasada with them. But the boy replied, “Yes, we desire
greatly to take prasada with you and your good husband, but my tongue has been cut, and I cannot
eat anything.” After this, the boys took their leave.
Gita Pandas wife placed all the ingredients in the store room and went to call her husband to tell him
of their good fortune. When Gita Panda came and saw that the entire storehouse was filled with
varieties of ingredients, he asked his wife, “Did you feed these boys? I hope you were able to return
their kindness and give them some prasada” His wife replied, “I asked them to wait and eat
something, but the dark boy said that someone had cut his tongue in three places and he was
unable to eat.” When Gita Panda heard this, he immediately understood that the boy was the Lord
Himself. Because his wife had scratched the verse in the Gita three times, the words, which
emanated from the lotus mouth of the Lord, reflected on His tongue. Gita Panda s wife realized that
the Lord, to prove His promise that He maintains His devotees, had brought bhoga to His dear
devotee. Immediately Gita Panda and his wife prepared to go to Jagannath temple to beg
forgiveness and thank Him for His kindness. When they approached the altar, they saw that
Jagannath had three spots on His lips.

RAGHU DASA – A TRUE DEVOTEE of LORD

JAGANNATH
There was once a great devotee of Lord Ramachandra named Raghu Dasa. He lived in Puri under a
big umbrella near the Lion Gate of the Jagannath temple. Once when he went to see Lord
Jagannath he saw Rama, Laxman, and Sita on     Jagannath’s altar. From that day on he was
convinced that Lord Jagannath was non-different from Lord Ramachandra. Raghu developed
friendly love, sakhya rasa, for Lord Jagannath.
Once Raghu prepared a nice garland for Lord Jagannath and gave it to the pujari to offer to the Lord.
But the pujari did not want to offer it, since Raghu had used a string made from the bark of the
banana tree. At that time use of such things was prohibited in Jagannath’s temple. Raghu felt very
sad that his garland was not offered to Lord Jagannath. He left the temple feeling very down. Later in
the day, the pujari was finishing the evening arati. Before the Lord goes to bed the pujaris dress Him
in a special dress called bada sringar-vesa. After dressing the Lord, the pujari started to decorate
His body with flowers. But to his surprise, whatever he did, not a single flower would remain on the
Lord’s body. The Lord would not accept any of the flowers. All the pujaris became very worried,
thinking that they must have committed some offense. But what could it have been? They all
decided that to try to understand what offense they had committed, they would all sleep in the
temple and fast until the Lord appeared to them in their dreams to inform them of their offense. Sure
enough, that same night Lord Jagannath appeared in the dream of the head pujari, and told
him,  “My devotee Raghu Dasa brought a flower garland for Me. He prepared it with so much love
and devotion. You saw the external feature of the string and denied him permission to give the
garland to Me. You could not see how nicely he prepared the garland. He strung it with love and
devotion. Now my devotee, being deprived of my service, is lying in his house keeping die garland in
front of him. He has not eaten anything and is constantly crying. He has not yet slept. How can I
accept any garland from you and sleep peacefully unless My devotee’s desire has been fulfilled?”
Immediately the head pujari woke up and told everything to the other pujaris. Then all of them went
to Raghu Dasa and explained their offense, and asked him to give his garland to Lord Jagannath.
Raghu Dasa was very happy to hear that the Lord is so merciful that He was personally waiting to
accept his garland. Raghu Dasa was in ecstasy.

Once, Raghu Dasa suffered from a very serious disease. His health deteriorated to the point that he
could not get up from bed. He had to pass stool in his bed. The smell was very bad. Raghu Dasa,
being very ill, passed in and out of consciousness, unable to help himself. One small boy was
coming to serve Raghu Dasa. He cleaned his body and put on chandan and offered nicely scented
things to remove the smell and purify the room. When Raghu came to his external senses, he found
that the boy was Lord Jagannath Himself. Raghu told Lord Jagannath, “My dear Lord, what are You
doing here? By doing this low service to me, You are making me an offender. I am becoming more
sinful by receiving service from You. O Lord, You are very merciful. You are the Lord of the universe.
You are able to do everything. If you want, You can easily cure my disease. Instead of curing me,
why are You doing this low service for me?” The Lord replied, “Yes, I could easily cure you. But I
want you to be free from all your prarabdha karma so that you will come back to My abode at the
end of this life. Also you should know that as My devotees get pleasure by serving Me, I also get
pleasure by serving My devotees. I always desire to serve you. There is no difference between Me
and My devotee.” In this way the Lord and Raghu had a very intimate relationship.

Raghu was very simple and his nature was like a small boy’s. His relationship with Lord Jagannath
was very friendly. Sometimes the Lord would come to him in the form of a boy, and they would both
play together. It was known to people in general that the Lord came to Raghu to play with him.
Everybody respected Raghu. He was very famous and known among the people as the friend of
Lord Jagannath.
Once Jagannath came to Raghu and told him to go with Him to steal jackfruit from the Kings garden.
Raghu said, “Why do You want to steal jackfruit? If You have a desire to eat jackfruit, then let me
know and I will get a nice jackfruit for You.” Lord Jagannath replied, “In this way I am getting
everything from My devotee. In fact, I have everything. Mother Yasoda would feed Me so much
butter and give Me pleasure. But still I go to the homes of others for the purpose of stealing butter.
There is a special pleasure in eating stolen things. Today I want you to experience that pleasure of
stealing. Please come with Mel”
Helpless, Raghu agreed to the Lord’s proposal and accompanied Him. Both of them entered the
King’s garden. Jagannath told Raghu, “You should climb the tree. I will stand on the ground. You will
pluck the best and biggest jackfruit and throw it down. I will stand here and catch it. Then both of us
will run away.” Raghu followed the order of the Lord exactly as He had instructed. He climbed the
jackfruit tree and located the best and biggest jackfruit and plucked it. “Jagannath!” he called out.
“Are You ready?” Jagannath replied, “Yes! I am ready, throw it.” Raghu threw the jackfruit down,
expecting Jagannath to catch it. But where was Jagannath? He had run away. No one was there to
catch the jackfruit. It crashed to the ground, making a big sound and split open. When the King’s
gardener heard the sound, he understood that someone had entered the garden to steal jackfruit. He
immediately ran to the spot and found the big jackfruit lying split open on the ground, yet he didn’t
see anyone around. When he looked up he saw Raghu Dasa sitting in the tree. The gardener
immediately ran to the King and told him that Raghu Dasa was stealing jackfruit from his garden. “He
is still there sitting on the top of the tree!” he told the King excitedly. The King could not believe that
Raghu had entered his garden to steal jackfruit. So the King gathered his ministers and went to the
spot where the gardener indicated. He was surprised to see Raghu Dasa sitting in the tree and the
jackfruit lying on the ground. On the request of the King, Raghu came down from the tree. The King
asked Raghu, “My dear . Prabhu, if you desired to eat jackfruit, why have you gone to the trouble of
coming to my garden in the middle of the night and climbing a tree? You could have told me. I would
have picked the jackfruit and sent it to your house.” Raghu told the King the whole story about how
he was cheated by Lord Jagannath. Everyone enjoyed hearing the pastime of the Lord, and they all
laughed. They glorified Raghu for his greatness. In this way, Raghu would have pastimes with Lord
Jagannath in the mood of friendship.

A devotee gave an eye witness account of one lila of Raghu Dasa with Lord Jagannath. Once during
the Ratha-yatra, the Lords had taken Their seats on the chariot. After the King swept the road,
everything was ready for the chariot to move. Thousands of people pulled the rope, but the chariot
would not move. Seeing the situation, the British Saheva arranged for a powerful elephant to pull the
chariot. Still the chariot would not move. The Saheva told Raghu Dasa, “Raghu Dasji, what kind of
Lord is this? I have engaged elephants, yet this chariot will not move.” Hearing this, Raghu climbed
the chariot and went close to Lord Jagannath. He spoke into the Lord’s ear. Immediately the chariot
started to move. Saheva was surprised to see this. He told Raghu Dasa, “You are perfect and your
Lord is also perfect.” Wherever Raghu Dasa lived he would leave a pot full of prasada outside for
anyone to take. He would take prasada from the same pot the animals and birds took from. This was
his wonderful nature. He was very dear to Lord Jagannath.

Lord Jagannath’s Devotee Bandhu Mohanty

Once there was drought in his area, and people were dying due to want of food. Bhandu Mohanty
went to some villages to beg alms, but the people had no food even for themselves—how could they
give alms to Bandhu Mohanty? He returned to his house without any food, all the while meditating
on the Lord. His wife told him that the children were very hungry. They could not tolerate their
hunger pangs any longer. She asked, “Don’t you have some relative who can help us during this
difficult time? Let us leave this place and go to some other place where your rela¬tives are staying.”
Bandhu Mohanty replied, “I have no relatives to help me, but I do have a friend. But He lives far from
here. He is the best among all the people. There is no one equal to him. He lives in Sri Kshetra Pun
dham. If some how or other we can man¬age to reach him, our problems will be solved.” His wife
was very happy to hear this. She said, “Then let us go there immediately. I will carry one child. You
will carry the other. Let us go there now without any delay. Otherwise all of us will die.” Bandhu
Mohanty was very happy to hear this from his wife. He thought it would be very nice to go to Sri
Kshetra and take darshan of Lord Jagannath, Baladeva and Subhadra.
They started their journey to Sri Kshetra, arriving four days later. They approached die Jagannath
temple at die Lion Gate. Thousands of people were visiting the temple, and security was very tight.
Many guards were there widi sticks in their hands. As it was not possible for tliem to enter die
temple, they took darshan of Patita-pavana, the deity of Lord at the entrance of the temples eastern
gate. Whoever is not allowed to enter the temple can take darshan of this deity. Then Bandhu
Mohanty went towards the southern gate near Peja Nala, where all the starch from the cooked rice
from Jagannaths kitchen gathers. The cows drink this liquid known as peja. Bandhu Mohanty was
very tired. He sat down there near the south gate. His wife said, “Why are you sitting here? It is
getting late. Now it is already evening time. Let us go to your friends house to get refreshed and eat
something. We all are very tired and hungry. Where is your friends house?” At this time all the
children also started to cry, saying, “We are very hungry. We cannot tolerate our hunger any more. If
you do not feed us, we will die very soon.”
Bandhu Mohanty said to them, “Today there are many guests at my friends house. The gate-
keepers are allowing only selected guests inside. If anyone tries to enter by force, they’ll be beaten.
Let us sleep here tonight. We can drink some starch from Jagannaths kitchen and spend the night
here. Early in the morning we will go to meet with my friend and ask him to give us shelter and food.
My friend is very merciful.” His wife agreed to die pro¬posal. They arranged a broken clay pot, and
all of them drank the rice-starch water, and got a litde relief from their hunger. All the members of the
family were very tired and soon fell asleep. Bandhu Mohanty started to offer his prayers to Lord
Jagan-nath: “O Lord of the universe. You are maintaining everyone in your creation. Am I out of your
creation? We are dying here due to want of food. Please bless us. Otherwise we loose our lives.
Please consider our case.” While he was praying to the Lord in this way, he fell asleep.
In the meantime the Lord Jagannaths pujari completed the evening offering to the Lord. After
finishing the puja, he locked the temple door, and with the key in hand, headed towards his home.
During the night, Lord Jagannath became very worried that His devotee was sleepmg without having
eaten anything. He could not sleep. “My friend has come from so far. How can I sleep peacefully
without feeding him? He has come here thinking I am his only friend, to seek My help at this time.”
Then the Lord of the universe entered into the storeroom and took one golden plate in His hand. He
collected many varieties of foodstuffs like cakes, sweet rice, vegetable rice, all kinds of dry sweet
prasada. Then He came to south gate of the temple. The Lord called, “Oh my dear Bandhu, please
come here.” Bandhu Mohanty heard someone call¬ing his name. He thought, “Maybe they are
calling someone else. There must be so many people here with this name. No one knows me here,
so who could be calling my name?” Thinking like this, he did not respond. Then the Lord called
again, “Oh, Bandhu Mo¬hanty from Jajpur, please listen. You are staying near Peja Nala along with
your family. Please come here. I have brought food for you.” Hearing this, Bandhu went and saw an
old brahmana ready to hand him a plate filled with so many varieties of foodstuffs. The Lord, in the
form of this old brahmana, told Bandhu, “Please ac¬cept this food and feed your family members.
Tomorrow morning I will arrange everything for you.” Saying this, the Lord disappeared from there.
Bandhu Mohanty took prasada very happily. He woke up all the family members, and they all
honored prasada very hap¬pily, then once again slept, content with full bellies. After cleaning the
plate, Bandhu Mohanty went to the south gate to return the plate. He pushed the door, expecting
that the brahmana would be there and he could return the plate to him. But to his surprise the
brahmana was not there. Bandhu went back to his sleeping place and wrapping the plate in his
cloth, decided he would return it in the morning.
Early the next morning, Lord Jagannath s pujaris opened the temple gate. Everybody was busy with
their individual services. When they opened the store room they discovered the golden plate of Lord
Jagannath was missing. The plate had been stolen! The pu¬jaris reported the theft to temple
management, and the police ar¬rested all the pujaris and beat them, thinking that it could only have
been a pujari who had stolen the plate from inside the store room. It happened that by chance some
people saw one person  along with his family sleeping near the south gate of the temple. They could
see the golden plate wrapped in his cloth. The plate was dazzling in the sunshine. Immediately
several people caught hold of Bandhu Mohanty. They bound him with rope, beat him severely, and
took away the golden plate. Bandhu Mohanty and his wife both explained how one bralunana gave
them this plate filled with prasada in the middle of the night. After eating he went to return the plate
to the brahmana but could not find him, and that was how the plate ended up with in his cloth.
Bandhu Mohanty and his wife appealed to the police: “We are not at fault. Why are you all beating
us with out any fault?” But nobody cared for what they said. He was arrested and put in prison.
Bandhu Mohanty stayed in the prison house. He fixed his mind on Lord Jagannath and started to
offer prayers: “Dear Lord Jagannath, I am the greatest sinful person in this universe. You are an
ocean of mercy. There is no one as sinful as me, and there is no one like You, the great deliver of
the fallen souls. Whatever You wish to do with me, please do it. I have no other shelter than You.”
Thinking like this he meditated upon the lotus feet of the Lord.
Later that evening all the temple devotees completed their services to the Lord and went back to
their respective houses. That Lord, who is all pervading and always worried for His devotees, could
not tolerate the suffering of His devotee. He immediately climbed on the back of Garuda and went to
the palace of the King. At that time the King was sleepmg. The Lord appeared to the King in his
sleep and told him, “Oh King, please listen: when guests come to your house, do you let them stay
without feeding them and caring for them? Is there anyone in your palace who stays with out eating?
My friend had come all the way from Jajpur along with his whole family with so much faith in Me. I
provided him food. Did I spend your fathers property? I served My friend prasada on My gold plate.
What is the problem for you? Your people caught him along with his whole family, and they were
beaten severely.  They bound them hand and foot and threw them in the prison house. Now my
friend s whole family is suffering so much. I order you to go immediately to Puri to release them from
jail and wash their lotus feet with the greatest humility. Give them the best cloth and ornaments.
Place a turban on my friends head in order to give him topmost respect. My friend deserves the
same service from you as you give to Me. You will provide him and his family with the best food and
accommodation for their whole life. If you do not follow My order, your whole family will be
destroyed.” After saying this, Lord Jagannath woke the King, and then left the palace.
The King immediately called all his ministers and explained everything to them. He personally went
to the prison house to re¬lease Bandhu Mohanty, and embraced him with affection. The King said,
“My life has become successful simply by taking your darshan. Now I am blessed. Please forgive me
for all the offenses committed by my people.” After saying this, the King performed abhishek to
Bandhu Mohanty with holy water, gave him opulent cloth for wearing, and placed a turban on his
head with great re¬spect. He arranged for the. maintenance of Bandhu Mohanty s whole family for
the rest of their lives. The King respected them as if they were his own relatives. He arranged a
house for them near the south gate of the temple. Bandhu Mohanty was happy to stay next to his
friend Lord Jagannath. He happily served Lord Jagan¬nath along with his whole family for the rest of
their lives.
This is an example of the bhakta-vatsalya mood of Lord Jagannath. Whoever serves Him with great
faith, He reciprocates with him in this way. He is very dear to His faithful devotees. Whoever lacks
faith, for him Lord Jagannath is very far away. Whoever hears this pastime of Bandhu Mohanty will
be free from the reaction of all sinful activities. He will achieve success in all his attempts and will
never see Yama-loka. This is the verdict of all the Vedic scriptures.

Lakshmi Devi and Shriya Chandalini

In Orissa people perform special worship to Lakshmi Devi during the month of
Margashirsha (Dec/Jan). Every Thursday during this month, women perform elaborate
worship of Goddess Lakshmi Devi following different rules and rituals. On this day, it is
said Mother Lakshmi leaves the temple with the permission of Jagannath to visit her
devotees. Usually she visits anyone who is devoted to her, and who performs their puja
according to her rules and regulations.

One day Lakshmi Devi, disguised as an old woman, went to visit different houses on the
auspicious Thursday.

She found the ladies of one merchant's house still sleeping, and so the home had not
been cleaned.

Lakshmi Devi met the elderly woman of the house and explained to her how they
should follow certain rules on this particular day to worship the Goddess Lakshmi for
the continued prosperity and happiness of their household.

But the old lady did not care for the instructions of Lakshmi  Devi. In response, Lakshmi
Mata withdrew her opulence from that home, and the family became very poor. They
had to live by begging from house to house.

Then Lakshmi Devi went to a village where chandalas (most outcaste community who

make their living desposing of corpses) lived. She went to Shriya Chandalini’s house.
Shriya Chandalini was observing the fasting regulation on that day for worshiping
Lakshmi Devi. She had woken up very early and cleaned her entire house, decorating it
nicely for the worship of the Goddess. Seeing this, Lakshmi Devi was very pleased and
blessed Shriya Chandalini with more opulence,  thus fulfilling all her desires. Devi
Lakshmi then returned to the temple.

In the meantime, the Lords Jagannath and Balabhadra had also gone out for a morning
walk. On Their way back, They saw Lakshmi Devi returning from a chandala's house.
Upon seeing this, Baladeva became very upset and spoke to his brother rather sharply.

"Your wife Lakshmi Devi has been visiting the home of a chandala. They are
contaminated people, and do not follow any rules. How can she enter our temple after
visiting the home of a chandala? Our temple will be contaminated. You should ask her
to leave."
Jagannath tried to pacify Balaram, saying that Lakshmi Devi should be excused this
time and told not to do it again. But Balaram was very adamant to enforce His
judgment that she should not be allowed in the temple. "If you allow Lakshmi Devi in
the temple, then You will have to give Me up. I will stay out of the temple."

Since Jagannath is very obedient to His elder brother, He followed the order of Lord
Balaram. He called for Lakshmi Devi and informed her that she was no longer allowed
to enter the temple by the order of Balaram. Lakshmi Devi was very surprised to hear
this kind of statement from the Lord.

At the time of marriage, Jagannath had promised her father that He would excuse ten
offenses committed by His wife. Moreover, her visit was not offensive since it was
agreed that on each Thursday of the month of Margashirsha she would go out to visit
the villages to bless her devotees. That day was exempted for her. Still she was
punished unjustly. This made Lakshmi Devi very angry. She cursed Jagannath that for
the next twelve years He would not get enough food to satisfy Him, and that He would
only be able to eat food cooked and served by her. After cursing Lord Jagannath,
Lakshmi Devi left the temple, along with all her assistants. As soon as she left, the
temple became bereft of all opulence. The storehouse was empty.

The next morning, Jagannath and Balaram were waiting for breakfast, but nothing
came. It was getting late but still nothing had been served. Balaram asked Jagannath,
"What is happening with our breakfast? Why is it so late?" Jagannath replied, "No
breakfast has been prepared because Lakshmi Devi has left the temple, along with all
her associates, so there is no one to cook."

Then Balaram and Jagannath entered the kitchen to prepare some food. Due to their
anger at the dismissal of their mistress from the temple, Lakshmi's associates had
broken all the ovens in the kitchen. Jagannath and Balaram then entered the storeroom
to gather some ingredients for cooking, but they found the storeroom empty because
Lakshmi Devi had withdrawn all her opulence. By that time both the brothers were very
hungry. Being deprived of Lakshmi Devi and suffering from hunger, both of Them
decided to go out begging.

Although the Lord possesses all opulence and is the maintainer of the universe yet He
went out to beg like an ordinary person just to prove the greatness of His devotee
through this particular pastime. Thus Lords Jagannath and Balaram, in the disguise of
brahmanas, went to the city to beg from house to house. No one could recognize Them.
Being deprived of Lakshmi, They both looked very inauspicious, and so no one would
give Them alms. No one treated them nicely, or even allowed Them on their doorstep.

In the meantime, by the order of Lakshmi Devi, the sun god had increased the heat of
the sun. Both brothers had to walk on very hot sand with much difficulty. They were
feeling very thirsty, and were happy to come to a pond where They could quench Their
thirst. Suddenly, as soon as the brothers approached the pond, the water dried up.
Finally they approached a tree, thinking to eat some tender leaves. But as soon as They
approached the tree, immediately the leaves dried and shrivelled. Both the brothers
were extremely hungry. Usually They ate many times throughout the day, as requested
long ago by King Indradyumna. In fact, They ate so often that no sooner had They
washed Their hands after eating, that it was time to eat again. Both brothers had been
following this system and were habituated to eating constantly throughout the day. Yet
now almost a whole day had passed, and still They had eaten nothing.

Soon the brothers reached a temple where there had recently been prasada
distribution. Many people were returning to their homes with prasada. Jagannath and
Balaram approached one of the ladies. Out of kindness she agreed to give Them some
food. She had some puffed rice that she had offered to the deities, and she was happy
to share it with the brothers. Just as she picked up the puffed rice to give to Jagannath
and Balaram, a strong wind blew by the instruction of Lakshmi Devi, and all the puffed
rice blew away. Both the brothers again lost Their chance to get some food.

Finally They asked some people where they could go to get some food. Someone
directed them to a village of chandalas where one very charitable personality lived.
Jagannath and Balaram went to that house and asked for some food. The householder
was happy to feed them, but Balaram did not want to eat food cooked by a chandala.
Rather, He wanted to cook the food Himself and eat.  He asked the householder to
provide some raw food materials and facilities for cooking. According to Balarama's
request, all the facilities for cooking were prepared. A new oven was made, and all the
ingredients and clay pots to cook were provided. Balaram told Jagannatli to prepare
food and went to take bath. In the meantime Jagannath tried to cook, but he could not
even set fire to the wood, what to speak of cooking a meal.

After some time Balaram came back after taking His bath, expecting to find a meal
ready. He had been thinking happily about sitting down to eat at last. Unfortunately on
His arrival He came to realize that Jagannath was not able to cook, as He could not set
fire to the wood. This made Balaram very upset. He scolded Jagannath for His
incapability and began to prepare the food Himself. But when Balaram tried to set fire
to the wood, it would not burn, but simply created a lot of smoke. The whole house
filled with smoke, making everyone's eyes burn. Tears rolled from their eyes and
everyone was coughing.

Then Jagannath and Balaram requested the house owner to bring some cooked food.
The lady servants of the house served the brothers. As they ate, They agreed the food
was very tasty—in fact, as tasty as it was in temple, when it was cooked by Lakshmi
Devi. At the end of the meal, some sweet cake was served. Usually in the Jagannath
temple at the end of the meal Lakshmi Devi served special cake to both the brothers.
Jagannath and Balaram thought that Lakshmi Devi must be residing in the house. The
Lords were convinced that Lakshmi Devi herself cooked the tasty food. How else would
someone know that They took special cake at the end of Their meal ? Balaram, being
the elder brother of Jagannath, could not speak to or face Lakshmi Devi, since she is
the wife of His younger brother. That is the custom of Orissa. Balaram requested
Jagannath to go to Lakshmi Devi and beg forgiveness from her and bring her to the
temple by holding her hand. He told Jagannath to tell Lakshmi Devi that she will never
be denied to leave the temple to visit her devotees, and that she could go anywhere
she liked as long as she always returned to the temple.

Being approached by Jagannath, Lakshmi Devi was satisfied. She made Jagannath
promise that there would be no distinction between low-caste and high-caste for
honouring Jagannath prasada. To this day, prasada in Jagannath temple is served to
all, irrespective of caste and creed. Brahmanas and chandalas can eat prasada together
from one plate. 

Gita Govind Padma

Once upon a time, The Gita Govinda song was very famous among the people of Orissa. In a
small village near Puri, there lived a girl named Padma. She was the daughter of a gardener, and
was very expert in singing Gita Govinda. One day while Padma was plucking eggplant from the
garden, she was chanting Gita Govinda very melodiously. When Lord Jagannath heard this song
of Gita Govinda, He became so attracted and He could not keep Himself in the temple. At once
He left the altar and went to the garden where Padma was singing. Lord Jagannath followed
behind the girl, listening to her singing. He was so much enchanted withi this song of Gita
Govinda that He forgot Himself. While He was walking behind the girl His dhoti was torn by the
thorns of an eggplant tree. The top piece of His cloth fell on the ground, but the Lord was so
much engrossed in hearing Gita Govinda that He did not notice.
After some time, Padma filled her basket with eggplants and left the garden. Lord Jagannath,
completely satisfied by hearing Padma's singing, returned to the temple. The next morning, the
pujaris came to perform their morning service. When they opened the temple gate, they were
very surprised to see that Lord Jagannath's cloth was torn and His top piece of cloth was missing.
Pieces of cloth were scattered here and there. It was as if the Lord had not been dressed the
previous evening. After seeing this, the pujaris became very worried and immediately informed
the King. No one could understand how this had happened. Everyone considered it very
inauspicious. The King started to fast and fell in front of the Lord, praying to Him to excuse any
mistakes in their service.
 Lord Jagannath appeared to the King in his dream and told him, "Oh King! Do not be worried. I
am very fond of hearing the Gita Govinda song written by my great devotee, Jayadeva. Last
night there was a village girl who was chanting Gita Govinda very nicely. I became attracted by
her song and left temple to listen to her. When I was following her in the eggplant garden, My
cloth was torn by the thorns on the eggplant trees. Unknowingly I have left My top piece of cloth
there in the eggplant garden. You do not have to be worried at all. You have no fault in any of
this. But I request you to please bring that girl every day and let her sing Gita Govinda in front of
Me in the temple before I go to bed."
 Immediately the King sent people to find the girl. When they located her house, they found Lord
Jagannaths top piece of cloth lying in the garden. When the King heard this, he was very
surprised: this confirmed that the Lord had gone last night to her garden. The King wanted to
fulfill the desire of the Lord to hear Gita Govinda every day from Padma. He personally went to
Padmas house and told her of his dream and of the Lords desire to hear her sing. He told her that
if she had no objection that she could come and reside in Puri. All facilities for her and her
family members to stay in Puri would be arranged. Then she could sing Gita Govinda every day
in front of the Lord Jagannath. Hearing this, the girl was very happy. How fortunate she was that
the Lord wanted to hear her personally sing Gita Govinda! And so Padma, along with her family
members, agreed to go to Puri to serve Lord Jagannath.
 They all came to Puri and met the King. He gave them all facilities to stay in Puri and gave
Padma the special service of chanting Gita Govinda in front of Lord Jagannath. From that time
the system of chanting Gita Govinda before Lord takes rest was introduced in the Jagannath
temple. The King gave lot of respect to the song Gita Govinda written by Jayadeva. He fixed the
time for singing this song, and the method for singing was determined. A special order was given
by the King for this service and was engraved in stone as a permanent order. From that day
onwards, Padma, the most fortunate girl, started singing Gita Govinda every day in front of the
Lord during the midnight arati before Lord Jagannath takes rest. Padma became known as Deva
Dasi, or maidservant of the Lord.
Jagannath as sadhu singed for His devotees
Once Jayadeva Goswami desired to offer his masterpiece Gita Govinda in the form of a garment to
Jagannath Swami.
Some weavers from the village of Kenduli agreed to weave the verses of Gita Govinda on cloth
provided that Jayadeva sang it while they worked.
While singing one day, Jayadeva entered a trance of divine ecstasy.
The weavers stopped working, but then started again when an unknown sadhu suddenly arrived and
said “I am Jayadeva’s elder brother and I will sing Gita Govinda so you can continue your sacred
work.”
Shortly later, the sadhu departed and Jayadeva woke up.
The weavers narrated everything and even showed the line form Gita Govinda that they had woven
after hearing it from that sadhu.
Jayadeva replied, “How is that possible? I have no brothers.
Besides, only Padmavati and I know Gita Govinda.
Surely, Jagannath Swami Himself must have sung it to you.

Rasagolla Pastime of Lord Jagannath

Lakshmi gets angry on Jagannath and a century or millennium old tradition of offering
Rasagolla starts in Sri Mandir. This tradition has been there since perhaps the temple existed.
Dandi Ramayan', an Odia adaptation of Valmiki Ramayan, written in the 15th century
provided evidences of the existence of rasgulla in the state much before it appeared anywhere
else. Even the 'Madala Panji', a chronicle of the Jagannath temple, mentions it. Rasgulla has
been mentioned in Odia literature before 1893 when its supposedly claimed to have been
made by a sweet seller. GI tag or no GI tag Rasgulla originating in Sri Mandir is as true as
the existence of the Lord of Jagannath. What time which year ? Well that the Lord only
knows and this mystery of Rasogolla is as mysterious as HIM.
But what's the story behind this very intresting ceremony of the Lord of the Universe.

During the anavasara period, as an ideal newly-wedded wife, Lakshmi completely devotes
herself to nursing her sick husband. For fourteen days she gives up sleeping, after which she
understandable becomes a little tired and falls asleep. As soon as he sees that Lakshmi has
fallen asleep, her husband Jagannath unties his cloth from Lakshmi’s and immediately leaves
for the Gundicha temple . This takes place on the second day of the bright half of the month
of Asadha, and is known as Gundicha-yatra or Ratha-Yatra.

Lakshmi Devi wakes up a few days later to find her husband gone. When she inquires where
he is, Jagannath’s servant explains that he went to see his Mausi(Aunty). Hearing this,
Lakshmi leaves the alter, and goes to stay in the storage room of the Jagannath Temple – just
like a depressed wife would. She refuses to take opulent food, and dines like poor people on
dalua rice and kalamba saga.
The sixteenth chapter of the Vamadev-samhita describes that Lakshmi went to Bimala Devi
and said,
“O dear elderly lady, you already know about the misdeeds of Jagannath. I don’t know where
he and his sister went. Being his wife, do I now at least have the right to know where he
goes? What wrong did I do to deserve such a thing ? What can I say about his promiscuous
nature ?
Bimala replies:
“When a husband loses his intelligence, it is well known that one has to make him aware.
Therefore take this magic powder and go to where your husband is, o queen of the
demigods.”

The following morning, on the fifth day after Jagannath’s departure, Lakshmi wakes up in a
sulky mood. She finally has a bath and puts on ornaments. Then, collecting some of her
associates, she is carried on a palanquin to the Gundicha Mandir to see Mahaprabhu. This
festival is known as Hera-Panchami and takes place on the fifth day after Ratha Yatra. The
festival is also sometimes called. Lakshmi-vijayotsava, or “the victory celebration of
Lakshmi”.

Angry and jealous, Lakshmi Devi is in the mood of an adhira nayika, - restless, aggrieved.
She takes the magical powder given to her by Bimala Devi and goes to see Jagannatha via a
different route than the one her husband used. Jagannatha is not expecting Lakshmi to come
by that route, and seeing her, he feels embarrassed. She uses the magical powder on
Jagannatha, then goes to Jagannath’s cart, and unnoticed by anyone, breaks part of it.
Without saying a word to Jagannatha, Lakshmi goes to his chariot driver and says to him,
“Tell your master that Lakshmi is going back to the palace.”
She then returns to the temple via the neighbourhood known as Hera Gohiri Sahi , where the
devotees give her an enthusiastic greeting at their homes with offerings of fruits and other
worship.
After staying at the Gundicha Temple for seven days, Jagannatha, along with Balaram and
Subhadra devi return to the main temple on their chariots. At this time the king of Puri tries
to help patch up the misunderstanding between the couple by arranging a reunion known as
Lakshmi Narayana Bheta.
Lakshmi is brought to the Chahani Mandapa near the Lion-gate to see that her husband has
returned. An elephant is then brought to bring her from the temple, but the sulkily refuses.
When the offer is made again, she finally comes out in a palanquin to Jagannath’s cart. She
circumambulate her husband and then quietly goes back inside of the temple. Having
returned to the Sri Mandir,
Lord Jagannath wants to pacify his sulky wife. Some say that it is for this purpose that on
the evening of Bahuda Ekadasi he wears the Suna-vesa, golden dress. This most opulent of
all Jagannatha’s dresses consists of solid gold hands and feet, and many, many gold
necklaces, earrings and various gold ornaments. It’s said that on this day, between the three
deities they are wearing more that one ton of gold – and appropriate dress to pacify the
goddess of fortune.
Three days later, the deities go back inside of the sri mandir. First Balaram and Subhadra
return to their place on the alter. However, when Jagannatha is about to get down from his
cart to go inside, Lakshmi’s maidservants slam the Singa Dwara (Lion-gate) shut and bar
Jagannatha’s entry. Following this there is a dialogue carried out between representative of
Jagannath and representative of Lakshmi.
Jagannatha’s spokesperson goes to the gate and loudly proclaims something to the effect of,
“Jagannath loves his wife Lakshmi very much. He feels very bad, and is begging for her
forgivenss”
The voice of Lakshmi’s maidservant comes from the other side, “Go away !”
After some more sweet words, finally Jagannath is allowed to enter the Lion-gate. But when
he arrives at the inner jaya-vijay-gate, again Lakshmi’s maidservants close the door and deny
is entrance. The dialogue continues between the two parties. Lakshmi tells her maidservants
to tell Jagannath the following.

Atra sthale smakam api devi candi sthita vibho

Asmin-sthale pi tvat-saukhyam deva nasty priyana hi ||

“Only goddess Chandi is presen there, O Lord. Your beloved is not here; there is no
happiness for you here (thereforeyou should go elsewhere)”

Candanadi-sugandham yad bhaksya-bhojyadikam ca yat

Idam virahini-sthanamtat-sthanam gaccha he vibho ||

“All fragrant substance such as chandan and all nice eatables and so on are there in the place
of your aunt you visted. Go to her place, O Lord.”

Lakshmi is nursing her neglect and humiliation. In this mood she is called the manini-nayika
Jaganantha replies, “I was with my elder brother, Balaram. How could you accompany me”
Jagannath then promises Lakshmi various valuable gifts. But Lakshmi says that she does not
deserve them for she comes from a poor family.
So finally, after giving her asari, nice ornaments, and Rasagullas. Lakshmi relents and allows
Jagannath to re-enter the temple. This festival of angry words from the goddess of fortune,
and Jagannatha’s ultimate triumphant return to the Sri Mandir, is called the Niladri Vijaya.
Once Jagannath has returned to the temple ther is another ceremony wherein they again tie
together Lakshmi’s and jagannath’s cloth. The couple is fanally reunited. ................Jai
Jagannath..

Jagannath Lila at battlefield for his

devotee King

There was a great devotee king named Purusottama Deva (1467-1497) who ruled over the state of
Orissa. The King was supposed to be married to a beautiful princess Padmavati of a kingdom south
of Kalinga. It was the time of Ratha-yatra, which was a favorite time of year for the King. The
marriage proposal added to his happiness.
 
The father of the princess King Saluva,  had sent his minister to Odissa during that time. Every year
during the festival, Purussottama Deva would personally sweep the road in front of the chariot for the
pleasure of the Lord. The visiting minister, however, did not understand the greatness of the service.
He considered this behavior an insult to a king, as sweeping the road was the duty of the Chandala.
The minister immediately left Puri and informing the King Saluva of all he had witnessed, especially
how Purusottama Deva engaged in the behavior of a Chandala. The King objected to his daughter
marrying the King of Puri because Purusottama Deva was merely a street sweeper.
This news saddened Purusottama Deva and naturally got offended. So he gathered his troops and
went south to teach King Saulva a lesson. Unfortunately, King purusottama Deva was badly
defeated during his first attempt.
While the King was returned to Puri with his army in a depressed mood, they stopped at a simple
cottage of Saikatacarya, a great ascetic householder devotee of Lord Jagannatha. Hearing what
happened, Saikatacharya pointed out that the King had forgotten to ask permission from Lord
Jagannatha before he went to attack. The King returned to Puri and visited the temple.  He cried
over his defect and was asking Jagannatha, Why the Lord allowed it. He spent entire night in the
temple. Before the night came to an end, the Kind heard a voice. The King was instructed to go
again and fight and the two brothers, Jagannath and Baladeva would go along to fight on the King’s
behalf.

King Purusottama Deva started his journey to South to fight for the second time. This time Lord
Jagannath and Balarama personally went with him to fight on his behalf. Disguised as soldiers,
Jagannath rode a black horse and Baladeva rode on a white horse.  They stopped to quench Their
thirst at a small village near Chilika Lake. They noticed one old cowherd lady carrying a pot of
buttermilk on her head. Her name was Manika and she was devoted to Jagannatha of Puri . Both the
Lords desired to drink the buttermilkfrom there devotee, so they stopped the old lady and drank to
Their hearts' content. When they finished, They prepared to leave and continue Their journey. The
old lady Manika was very concerned that Jagannath and Baladeva were not going to pay for the
buttermilk, so she stopped them and asked them for money. They said They had no money. Instead,
They gave her a golden ring and told her to give it to King Purusottama Deva, who would give her
money.
The old lady Manika stood on the roadside awaiting the King’s arrival. After some time she saw him
approaching with his army. Manika stopped the King to give him the ring and ask for payment for the
soldiers who drank her buttermilk. When the King saw the ring he was very surprised: it was no
ordinary gold ring, but Lord Jagannath's diamond ring. King regained his confidence that Their
Lordship had certainly come with him. As a payment, the King gave her the whole village, which is
still named Manika patna.
After this, The King and his troops were victorious over the King Saluva. Purusottama Deva
Captured Princess Padmavati. To teach lesson to King Sailuva for cancelling of his marriage to the
princess, planned to marry her to a chandala road sweeper. He called for his minister and ordered
him to look for one chandala boy to marry Princess Padmavati. King Purusottama's minister was
very clever. He kept Princess carefully protected until Ratha-yatra.
On the day of Ratha-yatra, the streets were full, and Lord Jagannath, Baladeva and Subhadra Devi
were already sitting in Their chariots. The King of Puri walked to the front of Jagannath's chariot,
carrying in his hand a golden broom to sweep the road for the pleasure of the Lord. He swept with
great pleasure, his heart filled with devotion for Lord Jagannath. When Purusottama Deva finished
sweeping, the clever minister brought forth beautiful Padmavati and said “You ordered me to marry
Princess to a street-sweeper; today you are the street sweeper. Please accept her as you had also
desired to marry her". The King gladly accepted Princess Padmavati as his queen, and appreciated
the minister for his wisdom.
A famous painting depicting this pastime now adorns the Jagannatha temple complex. And After
winning the battle the deity of Ganesh was brought to Puri from King Saluva. The same Ganesh can
be seen in Jagannath temple complex.

Hasti vesha

Many centuries ago, a scholar called Ganpati Bhatta paid a visit to the court of the king
of Puri. The king invited him to see the Snana Yatra but the scholar declined stating that
he refused to worship any god except Ganesha. The king insisted and not wanting to
upset the royal patron, the scholar very reluctantly went to see the bathing ceremony. To
his astonishment, he was unable to see Krishna; in the place of Krishna was Ganesha.
Even Balabhadra had taken the form of Ganesha. He realized that Jagannath who is
Vishnu and Balabhadra who is a form of Shiva, in their compassion, had taken note of
his wishes and taken the form of Ganesha. The scholar also realized that the differences
between Ganesha and Vishnu and Shiva were all artificial and not divine. Since that day,
during the bathing ceremony of Jagannath, priests place the mask of an elephant on the
two brothers. This is the Hati-vesha or the elephant dress, when Krishna and Balarama
become black and white elephants respectively, each a form of Ganesha.
This Besha is chiefly conducted by the Palia Puspalak, Khuntia, Mekap and Daitapatis on
this day. Lord Jagannath and Balabhadra assume Gajanana Besha. Raghav Das Mutt and
Gopaltirtha Mutt supply the materials as per a prolonged tradition.

Lakhs of devotee throng Puri on this day to have a ‘darshan’ of the sibling deities during
the ‘Sahana Mela’ period, as it is believed that it would rid them of all sins.

Hair on lord Jagannath.

There was a brahmana in Puri named Talicha Mohapatra. He was
one of the pujaris of Lord Jagannath, He was engaged the whole
day from morning to night in the perosonal service of Lord
Jagannath, Baladeva and Subhadra. These deities were everything
to him.

One day the King came to have Jagannaths darshan. Usually when
the King came to the temple he would ask for maha-prasada
garlands of the deities. Jagannath was not wearing the garland.
Mohapatra thought, “It is a great discredit for me that the King
will not get Jagannath prasada.” He was very worried. Finally he
took a flower garland from his own neck and put it on Lord
Jagannath.The King arrived at the altar and took darshan of the
deities. As usual, after taking darshan, the King asked the pujari,
“Can I please have some flower garland prasada?’ The pujari
washed his hands and took the flower prasada from the Lord,
handing it to the King. The King received the prasada with
humility and devotion, and then left for his palace.

The flower garland was very beautiful. It was prepared out of jui
flower, a special flower that is pure white with a strong fragrance.
The King, while sitting on his throne, gazed upon the flower
garland, and suddenly found one long black hair. He thought,
“This is very strange. How can this hair be in the garland?
Jagannath has no hair on His head. This brahmana must have
taken the flower garland from his own head and put it on Lord
Jagannath, and then gave it to me, telling me it was the prasada of
the Lord.” The King was very upset. He ordered the presence of
Mohapatra immediately. When Mohapatra was brought in front
the King, he saw that the King was trembling in anger and hissing
like a snake. The King said, “I found a hair in the garland of the
Lord. Tell me, when did the Lord develop hair on His head? Tell
me the truth, otherwise you will face death.” Mohapatra became
very scared and prayed, “Lord, please protect me. I know this King
is very strict. Who knows what kind of punishment he will give
me! Better I lie and save myself from his punishment.” So he told
the King, “Yes. It is true. For some time now the Lord has been
growing hair.”

Then King said, “Tomorrow morning I will go to temple and you

can show me personally that the Lord has grown hair on His head.
If it’s true, then all auspiciousness to you. But if you cannot show
me hair on the Lords head, then you will be thrown out of my
country. You know very well how strict I am in punishing
someone.” Talicha Mohapatra went back to temple and engaged
himself in the service of the Lord. After finishing his services he
offered his prostrated obeisances and prayed to help him in this
situation. After saying this, Mohapatra closed the temple doors
and went back to his residence. He kept one glass of poison next to
his bed, with a plan to drink it by the end of the night if the Lord
did not arrange to protect him. He went to sleep expecting some
miracle.

Lord Jagannath understood the mind of His devotee. He came to

the place where Talicha Mohapatra was sleeping. The Lord
appeared to him in his dream, and said to him, “Why are you so
scared? After serving Me you have nothing to fear. As long as I am
here at Nilachala, what can this King do to you? Even if ten million
kings come they cannot harm you. Why are you so afraid of this
King? Why do you think that I have no hair? Am I bald-headed?
Don’t you see I have also hair on My head? Do not be fearful.
Tomorrow you go to temple. You can see I have so much hair on
My head, which you can show to your king.”

Mohapatra woke up and saw there was no one next to him. He

thought that the Lord must have given His mercy in the form of a
dream. Long before the end of the night he took his bath and went
to the temple. He opened the door and looked at the Lord. He was
surprised to see the Lord had long, thick black hair on His head,
decorated with so many nice flowers. The hair was very long,
reaching His waist and touching the ratna-simhasan. After seeing
this, Mohapatra was very happy. Then he engaged himself in the
service of the Lord. Now he was free from the fear of the King and
his punishment.

Early in the morning the King came to the temple and said to
Mohapatra, “Show me the hair on the head of the Lord.” Then
Mohapatra replied without any fear, “What is there for me to show
you? You just go near the Lord and see for yourself whether He
has hair on His head or not.” The King went behind the Lord and
was surprised to see the long, curly black hair of the Lord reaching
down to His waist. The King asked the pujari, “How did you fix
this hair on the Lord’s head? Did you fix some hair with the help of
glue, or is this real hair that the Lord has grown?” Mohapatra said,
“You can check yourself whether it is false hair or real hair.” The
King pulled a few of the hairs from Jagannath’s head. Immediately
blood started to flow from the Lords scalp. When the King saw this
he fainted, falling to the ground. When he awoke, he ran to the
Mohapatra and caught hold of his feet.

After offering his prayers, the King donated gifts of great opulence
to the pujari and left happily for his palace. People were surprised
to see this glorious pastime of Lord Jagannath. Talicha Mahapatra
engaged himself in the service of the Lord. These are the glories of
Lord Hari. He is the life and soul of His devotees. He is always
with his devotees to help them in their troubles. The Lord is the
friend of His devotees. He is always thinking about His devotees.

कर्माबाई खिचड़ी

श्रीजगन्नाथ मन्दिर में प्रात:काल भगवान श्री जगन्नाथ को खिचड़ी का बालभोग

लगाया जाता है । प्राचीनकाल में एक भक्त कर्माबाई प्रात:काल बिना स्नान किए ही
ठाकुर जी के लिए खिचड़ी बनाती थी। कथानुसार ठाकुर जी स्वयं बालरूप में कर्माबाई
की खिचड़ी खाने आते थे लेकिन एक दिन कर्माबाई के यहां एक साधु मेहमान हुआ।
उसने जब दे खा कि कर्माबाई बिना स्नान किए ही खिचड़ी बनाकर ठाकुर जी को भोग
लगा दे ती हैं तो उसने उन्हें ऐसा करने से मना किया और ठाकुर जी का भोग बनाने व
अर्पित करने के कुछ विशेष नियम बता दिए।

अगले दिन कर्माबाई ने इन नियमों के अनुसार ठाकुर जी के लिए खिचड़ी बनाई

जिससे उन्हें दे र हो गई और वे बहुत द:ु खी हुई कि आज मेरा ठाकुर भख
ू ा है । ठाकुर
जी जब उनकी खिचड़ी खाने आए तभी मन्दिर में दोपहर के भोग का समय हो गया
और ठाकुर जी जूठे मुंह ही मन्दिर पहुंच गए। वहां पज
ु ारियों ने दे खा कि ठाकुर जी के
मुंह पर खिचड़ी लगी हुई है , तब पूछने पर ठाकुर जी ने सारी कथा उन्हें बताई। जब
यह बात साधु को पता चली तो वह बहुत पछताया और उसने कर्माबाई से क्षमायाचना
करते हुए उसे पर्व
ू की तरह बिना स्नान किए ही ठाकुर जी के लिए खिचड़ी बनाकर
ठाकुर जी को खिलाने को कहा। आज भी पुरी के जगन्नाथ मन्दिर में प्रात:काल
बालभोग में खिचड़ी का ही भोग लगाया जाता है । मान्यता है कि यह कर्माबाई की ही
खिचड़ी है ।
Appearance Pastimes of Lord in Rajapur
Appearance Pastimes at Rajapur

Five hundred years ago, at the time of Lord Chaitanya, there lived a very wonderful
devotee named Jagadish Ganguli. His residence was in a small village near Mayapur.
Although he was advanced in age, every year he would go on the 900 kilometer journey
to Jagannath Puri on foot to associate with his master Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, take
darshan of his beloved Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra Devi, and participate in the
all-auspicious Ratha-yatra festival.

One day, less than a month before his scheduled departure for Puri, Jagadish’s plans
were foiled. He was stricken with a terrible disease that left him completely blind.
Because he was optimistic by nature, this did not dampen his desire to make the yearly
padayatra to Puri. He would no longer be able to see the divine, all-merciful forms of
Lord Chaitanya and Lord Jagannatha, that was for sure. But still he could relish the
sound of sweet kirtana and discourses given by exalted Vaishnavas.

His friends and associates, however, were not so keen on him traveling. They considered
the annual pilgrimage too long and dangerous for a blind man and refused to take him
with them. Jagadish was heartbroken. His existence in this world became a cause for his
constant lamentation and despondency. Somehow he passed his days, calling out for the
all-merciful Jagannatha to be merciful to him.

Then, one night, Lord Jagannatha appeared to his devotee in a dream. The Lord told
him that on the following day when he went for his daily bath in the Ganges, a log would
touch his head and restore his vision. The Lord instructed Jagadish to take that log to a
nearby village and request a certain devotee carpenter there to carve a Deity of Lord
Jagannatha. The Lord also explained that at first the carpenter would refuse to do the
work because he was a leper and his hands were very deformed. It was Jagadisha’s task
to convince him to do the service. The Lord assured him that when the carpenter had
completed the Deity his leprosy would be cured.

At the break of dawn Jagadish woke from his dream and marveled at it. Eagerly he
readied himself for his daily bath. He paid his obeisances to Mother Ganga and then
entered her sacred waters. Lord Jagannatha’s words were quickly proven true. A log
touched his head and promptly restored his vision. Enlivened by the Lord’s shower of
mercy, he took the log and quickly proceeded towards the nearby village. After many
hours, an exhausted Jagadish found the leper carpenter, who flatly refused to carve the
Deity.

He showed his deformed fingers and asked his expectant customer, “How is it possible
for me to carve the divine form of the Lord with these hands?” An intense exchange
followed, each devotee speaking his mind. Finally the leper agreed to carve Lord
Jagannatha.
Jagadish lived with the devotee leper carpenter while he was carving his Lord. He saw
him suffering terribly. Blood and pus oozed from the stumps that were once his fingers
and his face was distorted by pain. He wanted to stop this torturous work. Somehow or
other Jagadish managed to convince him to continue and constantly spoke to him the
pastimes of his beloved Lord Jagannatha to distract his mind from the pain. Finally the
Deity was completed and to his amazement, the devotee leper was cured of his leprosy.

In great pomp and celebration, Lord Jagannatha was carried to the site of the present
temple and His worship was established there.

A few nights later Jagadish had another dream. This time Lord Jagannatha instructed
him to take some nearby neem wood and request the same carpenter to make the deities
of Lady Subhadra and Lord Baladeva. The devotee carpenter was delighted to offer his
service and very soon Their Lordships were installed with great love and attention by
their trusted devotee.

But then, one day Jagadish left this mortal world. His beloved deities were neglected.
Indeed, Lord Jagannatha, Subhadra Devi and Lord Balarama were completely forgotten
and over time their Temple deteriorated and collapsed around Them.

Some centuries later, a local villager noticed a unique, beautiful blue flower growing on
top of a termite hill. Curious, he ventured closer and was amazed to hear a voice calling,
“Please, please give Me some water”. Quickly he began digging, eager to search out the
owner of the voice that instructed and intrigued him. To his utter surprise he unearthed
the beautiful transcendental trio: Lord Jagannatha, Lady Subhadra and Lord Baladeva!
He was further astonished to see that although the deities had been residing in the
middle of a termite hill, Their wood was miraculously unharmed. This event happened
about sixty years ago. Once again a temple was constructed and elaborate worship
established.

In 1978 the aging pujari of their lordships, his health failing, began to worry. He was
fearful that history would repeat itself, and could not bear the thought of his beloved
Lords being neglected and inconvenienced again. He decided to offer their property to
ISKCON. On the Gaura-purnima day of 1978 the most auspicious transaction took place
and a beautiful new temple has since been constructed for Their Lordships’ pleasure.

The holy dhama of Sri Kshetra or Jagannatha Puri is eternally manifest in this holy
place and that all the benefits one can attain by visiting Jagannatha Puri may be
achieved visiting the Jagannatha Mandir at Simantadvipa in Sri Navadvipa-mandala.
One of these many benefits is the opportunity to partake of Lord Jagannatha’s famous
maha-prasadam. Lord Jagannatha’s mercy—in its most delicious form—is waiting for
your visit and surely you will be blessed once you visit their lordships.