Thursday 30 June 2022
Friday 24 June 2022
Ganapati Bhatta
Ganapati Bhatta
There was a brahmana
by the name of Ganapati Bhatta who lived in a small village called Kaniari in
the state of Karnataka. He was a great devotee of Lord Sri Hari and was very
merciful to others. He was free from greed, had no attachment to sense
gratification, and was well-versed in all the scriptures. All of his senses,
including the mind, were completely under his control. He only worshiped Lord
Vishnu, and had no interest in worshiping any demigods. He knew that Lord
Jagannath is all-in-all, the controller of everything. Anyone who takes shelter
of His lotus feet will be freed from material bondage. Without the mercy of that
Parambrahma, no one can be delivered. Ganapati Bhatta was always thinking, "If I
can see that Parambrahma in His transcendental form with my own two eyes, then
my life will be successful."
One day Ganapati Bhatta was reading Brahma Purana about how the Lord manifested in Nilagiri in His transcendental form. If one sees Him in this form, he will be freed from material bondage and will get liberation. He will not face Yamaraj ever again. When Ganapati Bhatta read this, it touched his heart. Then he understood this life is useless. He thought, "What is the use of wife, children and wealth? Parambrahma has manifested on this earth in Nilagiri. I am spending my time uselessly, being unaware of this fact. Why should I be so foolish to stay here after knowing that the Lord has manifested in Nilagiri? As long as I have strength in my body, my wife, all these children and relatives will be with me. No one will accompany with me when I leave this body. When I become old, my children and wife will think I am great burden upon them. In this material world, no one is the friend of any one."
Ganapati Bhatta thought, "Better I go to Nilagiri and take darshan of Parambrahma so that I can get liberation." Thinking in this way, he left his house and started the journey to Pun. He was living on what he attained through begging on his way to Puri, and was happy to get whatever was available. Sometimes he fasted because food was not available to him. He would pacify his hunger by eating some leaves and drinking water. Finally, Ganapati Bhatta reached Athara Nala, a place just at the entrance of Puri. It is believed that once someone crosses this place to enter Pun dham, they will not face any punishment from Yamaraj. Ganapati Bhatta purified himself by taking darshan of that place and sat down to meditate upon Brahman. Later Ganapati Bhatta saw some people returning from Puri. They were looking very happy and holding pots of Jagannath prasada in their hands. Ganapati Bhatta asked them, "Kindly tell me where you have all come from? Why are you all so happy? What have you achieved?"
The travelers replied, "O dear brahmana, we are returning from Nila-kandar (Jagannath temple). There we spent five days, taking darshan of Parambrahma. Now we are all going to our homes, very happy and satisfied. It is very rare to have darshan of the Lord. After taking darshan of the Lord, what else is there to achieve?"
Hearing this from the travelers, Ganapati Bhatta was very-surprised. He asked them, "Have you really seen Brahman?" They replied, "Yes, we took His darshan."After this exchange, the travelersanyone continued on their way. Ganapati Bhatta thought to himself, "This cannot be true that Brahman is here. They have not seen Brahman. If they had, why are they coming back? They should have all merged into Brahman. That is what I have heard from the Purana: that any one who takes darshan of Brahman at Nilagiri immediately attains liberation. So how can these people be going back to their houses even after getting darshan of Brahman?" He asked many people who were coming from Puri. They were all coming back after taking darshan of the Lord. Ganapati Bhatta became very confused. He opened the Pu-rana and checked it again and again. He saw that the Purana clearly mentioned that Brahman resides in Puri. If one sees Him, he will get liberation immediately. Ganapati Bhatta was very confused and thought, "What should I do now? Now I do not know what to do. I do not know what is right and what is wrong. Better I commit suicide and give up this body. But then again, it is not good to commit suicide."
Lord Jagannath understood the mind of Ganapati Bhatta. He came to meet with Ganapati Bhatta in the form of an old brah-mana. He asked Bhatta, "Where have you come from? Where are you planning to go? Why are you sitting here and looking so sad? Bhatta replied, "My dear brahmana, please listen. I read in the Purana that Brahman is in Nilagiri. Just by getting darshan of Him one attains immediate liberation. But now I found there is no Brahman in Puri." The Lord in the form of old brahmana asked Ganapati Bhatta, "How did you decide that there is no Brahman in Puri?" Bhatta replied, "As far as I know, if someone sees Brahman then he is supposed to merge into His body and thus get liberation. But now I have seen many people coming back from Puri even after seeing the form of the Lord. From this I conclude that there is no Brahman there. If there was, then after taking darshm of Brahman all of these people would have attained liberation." Hearing this, the He smiled and replied, "Lord Hari is known as kal-pataru. That means He fulfills everyone desires. These people had come with a desire to go back to their house so the Lord fulfilled their desire. Otherwise how can He be vanca-kalpataru, a wish ful¬filling tree? If some one comes here thinking to be happy here, or to get liberation or to go back to His abode to serve Him, they will get the result according to their desire. Please do not think that there is no Brahman here." After saying this, the Lord in the form of the brahmana left Ganapati Bhatta. He prepared himself to enter Puri dham.
He reached the Lion Gate of the Jagannath temple and took darshan of Patita-pavana. Coincidentally that day was Deva-snana purnima. Lord Jagannath, Baladeva, Subhadra and Sudarshan Chakra were brought to snana-mandap (the bathing platform) for taking bath (abhishefc). Many pujaris were pouring water on the deitites of the Lords. Thousands of devotees were there calling, "Jaya!Jaya! All glories! All glories!" Many demigods were there dis¬guised in human form. Ganapati Bhatta was a believer of the Ganesh form of the Lord. Ganapati Bhatta took darshan of the Lord Daru-brahma. But he did not see the elephant face of the Lord. He had strong faith that Brahman had a face like an elephant. But here he saw some different face. He thought the deities could not be Brahman since they did not have elephant faces. Dissatisfied, he left the place without even offering obeisances. He was very disappointed. He was convinced that Brahman had a face like an elephant. Understanding his firm conviction, Lord Jagannath immediately appeared to Mudirath, the representative of the King of Puri. The Lord told him, "My devotee came from a great distance to see me. But now he is going back, being very much disappointed at not seeing the elephant-faced form of Mine. You go immediately and call him back. Tell him that he should come back and have darshan of My form with an elephant face."
Mudiratha immediately got up and ran to bring Ganapati Bhatta back to Puri. He explained to Ganapati Bhatta, "Lord Daru-brahma is able to give chatwbarga, four kinds of benedictions. Please take darshan of the Lord. All your desires will be fulfilled. The Lord is here in the form of Daru-brahma in Nilagiri to fulfill everyone's desires. Why are you so foolish, going back with out taking darshan of the Lord?" Bhatta replied with great anger, "Where is Brahman? Why are you cheating me? I did not see an elephant face. How can there be Brahman without an elephant face? If I do not see a trunk on the face, I do not accept this as a deity of Brahman. I do not care what you say. Why are you trying to bring me back?" Mudiratha replied, "You must give up your wrong impression. Just come back and look very attentively. You will see the elephant face of the Lord. There is no doubt about this."
After hearing this, Ganapati Bhatta returned to the temple. He looked upon the Lord, and there he saw the face of an elephant. There was a very big trunk and one beautiful tusk on His face. Manifesting His wonderful Viswarup, the Lord called His devotee. Bhatta offered his respectful obeisances and prayers. "O my Lord Gajanana, Daru-brahma, Ganapati, Lord of everyone! Now I am satisfied to have Your darshan. All my doubts are dispelled. Now I have one request to You: from today onwards, whenever you come to this snana-mandap on this day, please manifest this form and give Your darshan to everyone." After saying dies, Ganapati Bhatta fell on the ground meditating upon Daru-brahma. He immediately merged into the body of the Lord. Everybody could see his soul entered into the body of the Lord like lightning. The crowd was shouted, "All glories! All glories!" Even today, Sri Jagan-nath, Sri Baladeva and Srimati Subhadra are dressed in hati-vesa after taking Their bath on Snan Purnima day.
Just see die greatness of the Lord Jagannath! This Lord is worshiped by Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva. Just to satisfy His devotee, He accepted an elephant face. That is why He is known as bhava-grahi, one who accepts the mood of His devotee.
One day Ganapati Bhatta was reading Brahma Purana about how the Lord manifested in Nilagiri in His transcendental form. If one sees Him in this form, he will be freed from material bondage and will get liberation. He will not face Yamaraj ever again. When Ganapati Bhatta read this, it touched his heart. Then he understood this life is useless. He thought, "What is the use of wife, children and wealth? Parambrahma has manifested on this earth in Nilagiri. I am spending my time uselessly, being unaware of this fact. Why should I be so foolish to stay here after knowing that the Lord has manifested in Nilagiri? As long as I have strength in my body, my wife, all these children and relatives will be with me. No one will accompany with me when I leave this body. When I become old, my children and wife will think I am great burden upon them. In this material world, no one is the friend of any one."
Ganapati Bhatta thought, "Better I go to Nilagiri and take darshan of Parambrahma so that I can get liberation." Thinking in this way, he left his house and started the journey to Pun. He was living on what he attained through begging on his way to Puri, and was happy to get whatever was available. Sometimes he fasted because food was not available to him. He would pacify his hunger by eating some leaves and drinking water. Finally, Ganapati Bhatta reached Athara Nala, a place just at the entrance of Puri. It is believed that once someone crosses this place to enter Pun dham, they will not face any punishment from Yamaraj. Ganapati Bhatta purified himself by taking darshan of that place and sat down to meditate upon Brahman. Later Ganapati Bhatta saw some people returning from Puri. They were looking very happy and holding pots of Jagannath prasada in their hands. Ganapati Bhatta asked them, "Kindly tell me where you have all come from? Why are you all so happy? What have you achieved?"
The travelers replied, "O dear brahmana, we are returning from Nila-kandar (Jagannath temple). There we spent five days, taking darshan of Parambrahma. Now we are all going to our homes, very happy and satisfied. It is very rare to have darshan of the Lord. After taking darshan of the Lord, what else is there to achieve?"
Hearing this from the travelers, Ganapati Bhatta was very-surprised. He asked them, "Have you really seen Brahman?" They replied, "Yes, we took His darshan."After this exchange, the travelersanyone continued on their way. Ganapati Bhatta thought to himself, "This cannot be true that Brahman is here. They have not seen Brahman. If they had, why are they coming back? They should have all merged into Brahman. That is what I have heard from the Purana: that any one who takes darshan of Brahman at Nilagiri immediately attains liberation. So how can these people be going back to their houses even after getting darshan of Brahman?" He asked many people who were coming from Puri. They were all coming back after taking darshan of the Lord. Ganapati Bhatta became very confused. He opened the Pu-rana and checked it again and again. He saw that the Purana clearly mentioned that Brahman resides in Puri. If one sees Him, he will get liberation immediately. Ganapati Bhatta was very confused and thought, "What should I do now? Now I do not know what to do. I do not know what is right and what is wrong. Better I commit suicide and give up this body. But then again, it is not good to commit suicide."
Lord Jagannath understood the mind of Ganapati Bhatta. He came to meet with Ganapati Bhatta in the form of an old brah-mana. He asked Bhatta, "Where have you come from? Where are you planning to go? Why are you sitting here and looking so sad? Bhatta replied, "My dear brahmana, please listen. I read in the Purana that Brahman is in Nilagiri. Just by getting darshan of Him one attains immediate liberation. But now I found there is no Brahman in Puri." The Lord in the form of old brahmana asked Ganapati Bhatta, "How did you decide that there is no Brahman in Puri?" Bhatta replied, "As far as I know, if someone sees Brahman then he is supposed to merge into His body and thus get liberation. But now I have seen many people coming back from Puri even after seeing the form of the Lord. From this I conclude that there is no Brahman there. If there was, then after taking darshm of Brahman all of these people would have attained liberation." Hearing this, the He smiled and replied, "Lord Hari is known as kal-pataru. That means He fulfills everyone desires. These people had come with a desire to go back to their house so the Lord fulfilled their desire. Otherwise how can He be vanca-kalpataru, a wish ful¬filling tree? If some one comes here thinking to be happy here, or to get liberation or to go back to His abode to serve Him, they will get the result according to their desire. Please do not think that there is no Brahman here." After saying this, the Lord in the form of the brahmana left Ganapati Bhatta. He prepared himself to enter Puri dham.
He reached the Lion Gate of the Jagannath temple and took darshan of Patita-pavana. Coincidentally that day was Deva-snana purnima. Lord Jagannath, Baladeva, Subhadra and Sudarshan Chakra were brought to snana-mandap (the bathing platform) for taking bath (abhishefc). Many pujaris were pouring water on the deitites of the Lords. Thousands of devotees were there calling, "Jaya!Jaya! All glories! All glories!" Many demigods were there dis¬guised in human form. Ganapati Bhatta was a believer of the Ganesh form of the Lord. Ganapati Bhatta took darshan of the Lord Daru-brahma. But he did not see the elephant face of the Lord. He had strong faith that Brahman had a face like an elephant. But here he saw some different face. He thought the deities could not be Brahman since they did not have elephant faces. Dissatisfied, he left the place without even offering obeisances. He was very disappointed. He was convinced that Brahman had a face like an elephant. Understanding his firm conviction, Lord Jagannath immediately appeared to Mudirath, the representative of the King of Puri. The Lord told him, "My devotee came from a great distance to see me. But now he is going back, being very much disappointed at not seeing the elephant-faced form of Mine. You go immediately and call him back. Tell him that he should come back and have darshan of My form with an elephant face."
Mudiratha immediately got up and ran to bring Ganapati Bhatta back to Puri. He explained to Ganapati Bhatta, "Lord Daru-brahma is able to give chatwbarga, four kinds of benedictions. Please take darshan of the Lord. All your desires will be fulfilled. The Lord is here in the form of Daru-brahma in Nilagiri to fulfill everyone's desires. Why are you so foolish, going back with out taking darshan of the Lord?" Bhatta replied with great anger, "Where is Brahman? Why are you cheating me? I did not see an elephant face. How can there be Brahman without an elephant face? If I do not see a trunk on the face, I do not accept this as a deity of Brahman. I do not care what you say. Why are you trying to bring me back?" Mudiratha replied, "You must give up your wrong impression. Just come back and look very attentively. You will see the elephant face of the Lord. There is no doubt about this."
After hearing this, Ganapati Bhatta returned to the temple. He looked upon the Lord, and there he saw the face of an elephant. There was a very big trunk and one beautiful tusk on His face. Manifesting His wonderful Viswarup, the Lord called His devotee. Bhatta offered his respectful obeisances and prayers. "O my Lord Gajanana, Daru-brahma, Ganapati, Lord of everyone! Now I am satisfied to have Your darshan. All my doubts are dispelled. Now I have one request to You: from today onwards, whenever you come to this snana-mandap on this day, please manifest this form and give Your darshan to everyone." After saying dies, Ganapati Bhatta fell on the ground meditating upon Daru-brahma. He immediately merged into the body of the Lord. Everybody could see his soul entered into the body of the Lord like lightning. The crowd was shouted, "All glories! All glories!" Even today, Sri Jagan-nath, Sri Baladeva and Srimati Subhadra are dressed in hati-vesa after taking Their bath on Snan Purnima day.
Just see die greatness of the Lord Jagannath! This Lord is worshiped by Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva. Just to satisfy His devotee, He accepted an elephant face. That is why He is known as bhava-grahi, one who accepts the mood of His devotee.
🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆
Hare Krishna 🙏
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Talicha Mohapatra Sambad
Talicha Mohapatra Sambad
There was a brahmana
in Puri named Talicha Mohapatra. He was one of the pujaris of Lord Jagannath,
and was very expert in all the scriptures. He was always clean and very fixed in
his sad-hana. He was humble, sober, and was very dear to all the devotees. He
always fed poor people and was fond of hearing krsna-kadia. He was engaged the
whole day, from morning to night, in the personal service of Lord Jagannath,
Baladeva and Subhadra. These deities were everything to him.
One day the King came to Puri along with his entourage. When he entered the temple through the Lion Gate, some pujaris ran to inform Talicha Mohapatra about the arrival of the King, who wanted to take darshan of the deities. Talicha Mahapatra rushed to the deity room to make sure the King received proper darshan, but he saw that the deities were not wearing flower garlands. Usually when the King came to the temple he would ask for maha-prasada garlands of the deities. 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, other wise 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."
One day the King came to Puri along with his entourage. When he entered the temple through the Lion Gate, some pujaris ran to inform Talicha Mohapatra about the arrival of the King, who wanted to take darshan of the deities. Talicha Mahapatra rushed to the deity room to make sure the King received proper darshan, but he saw that the deities were not wearing flower garlands. Usually when the King came to the temple he would ask for maha-prasada garlands of the deities. 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, other wise 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, "O great-armed Lord, what more can I say to You? You have given such a big position to an ordinary person like me. As a result, now Your greatness is in question. Even if one pacifies and kisses a dog, or feeds nectar to a snake, at some time they will definitely vomit the poison. A sinful person like me was never fit to serve the Lord. Those lotus feet where Brahma and Shiva place their heads; those lotus feet which are served by Laxmi Devi constantly; the water washing those lotus feet which is carried by Lord Shiva, which has purified three planetary systems; those lotus feet which are rarely obtained by Suka, Sanatana, and Sanaka; those lotus feet which are served by all the great demigods; those lotus feet which are meditated upon by all the great yogis I have a chance to serve those lotus feet even though I have an ordinary human body. I am worse than an insect and not eligible for this great service.
"O my Lord, You are Bhavagrahi, and I am an ordinary proud man. I am too puffed up. I could not recognize the Lord and so I committed such sinful actions. I dared to put flowers from my head onto Your head. I am still here to say this. By now You should have chopped off my head with Your Sudarshan-cakra. You kill me; I have no objection. But I do not want to live and be punished by the King. What more should I tell you? You are always engaged in the welfare of Your devotees. I have heard that for devotees continued You accept so much trouble. To prove this You are holding the mark of Srivasta on Your chest. I have seen this by my own eyes. That is why I have no fear. You are very merciful." The pujari continued, "You know that by the end of the night the King will take me and give me heavy punishment. How can I tolerate that? Better to take poison and commit suicide before I get caught by the King." 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 Nila-chala, 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, saying, "Please save me. I am such a fool. I have now become a great offender of the Lord. Now I am doomed. How could I have known that the Lord has so much mercy upon you? Now I understand that the Lord is non-different from His devotee. Any offense done to a devotee the Lord accepts as if it has been done to Him. I am the greatest fool to commit this offense. I have jumped into the fire and eaten poison by offending you." The King fell at the feet of Mohapatra. The pujari picked him up and said, "You have no fault. This is the greatness of the Lord. He has forgiven my offenses and has shown His mercy to me." While they were talking like this, they both went behind the Lord. But they saw there was no hair on his head. The King said, "O my Lord, You can do anything. Your glo¬ries are unknown even to the devas. How can I understand Your mood? Please excuse my offenses. You are equal to every one. You have no enemy and no friend."
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.
🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆
Hare Krishna 🙏
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The Tailor and Lord Jagannath
The Tailor and Lord Jagannath
There was a tailor in
Delhi whose name was Paramesthi. Although he was very ugly and hunchbacked, he
possessed all good qualities and had taken birth in a devotee family. He was a
self-realized person, and worshipped Lord Vishnu as his life and soul. He had
control over all his senses, was truthful, and free from envy, anger and pride.
He was detached from material objects and was always blissful. He understood
the temporary nature of die material world, and thus was always engaged in
chanting the holy name. His wife, Vimala Devi, was very beautiful, humble and
also possessed many good qualities. She was always engaged in the service of
her husband. They had two daughters and three sons.
Paramesthi was very expert in his tailoring job. He was so famous for his good tailoring that the Muslim King of Delhi would send his cloth to Paramesthi. Once the King sent some very expensive cloth embroidered with gold and decorated with pearls and diamonds. The King requested diat two pillows be made from the cloth. He said to Paramesthi, "You should make it very nicely with flower designs sewn onto the cloth. Make sure no one can see the stitching. If you do a good job, I will pay you handsomely." When Paramesthi saw die cloth, he thought to himself, "This cloth looks and smells so nice. It is only suitable for Lord Jagannath. These pillows the King wants sewn are really meant for Lord Jagannath how can such beautiful cloth be enjoyed by a human being?"
It so happened that Paramesthi received the cloth from the King during the Ratha-yatra period, when Lord Jagannath would ride in His chariot through Pahandi vijaya. Paramesthi started to make the pillows, and when they were ready, he was very satisfied, as the pillows looked so beautiful. Paramesthi closed his eyes dreamily, and began meditating on the Pahandi Vijaya pastime of Lord Jagannath. He saw that Jagannath looked so beautiful. Thousands of people were there to see the Lord and He attracted everyone's minds. During Ratha-yatra, there is no difference between low-caste and high-caste; devotees from the fourteen planets come to take shelter at the lotus feet of Lord Jagannath. When Jagannath was moved from the temple, He was resting on a pillow. The sevaks moved the pillow forward, and moved Jagannath onto the pillow, and in this way He moved forward, out of His temple and onto His chariot. Paramesthi saw all of this in meditation. Suddenly he saw the pillow burst. He knew the Lord needed another pillow, and so he handed over the pillow he was making for the King, just as if he were standing next to Lord Jagannath. Jagannath took the pillow, and the sevaks. continued moving Him towards His chariot.
When Paramesthi came to his external senses, he saw that he had only one pillow instead of two. He suddenly realized that one pillow had actually been taken by Lord Jagannath! Paramesthi was surprised to see this, and felt himself so fortunate that a pillow he had sewn was used in the Lord's intimate service. He was feeling that Jagannath was so merciful to him. He felt fear along with his happiness: one pillow was missing, and there was no doubt that the King would punish him! Then Paramesthi thought to himself, "This person has become the king due only to the mercy of my Lord. He is powerful due to the power of my Lord. So in reality, what can he do to me?"
While Paramesthi was thinking these thoughts, the King's messenger came with an order from the King to bring the two pillows to the palace. Paramesthi immediately went to the King with the one pillow. He offered his obeisances many times then presented the pillow to the King. The King looked bewildered and said, "I ordered two pillows. Where is the other pillow? Have not you prepared another pillow? Tell me the truth what happened to other pillow?" Paramesthi immediately fell at the feet of the King and explained that the other pillow had been taken by Lord Jagannath. "I have only this one pillow with me, which I am giving to you now. Please accept this one and do whatever you want with me." The King smiled, but inside he was seething with anger. He glared at Paramesthi, and said, "Have you become mad?! Where is your Lord Jagannath? How powerful is He? What can He do by His hand? How is it possible for Him to take the pillow from you? Sri Kshetra Pun is so far from here. How is it possible that He could have come so far in one day and take this pillow from you?"
Hearing all these questions, Paramesthi started to chant the holy name of the Lord. He said to the King, "I do not fear death. I will explain to you the potency of Lord Jagannath. He is there in His Daru-Brahma form. But at the same time, He is all over the universe. He is the supreme controller of this universe. He lives at Niladri nagar but is maintaining the whole universe. Whenever you call Him, wherever you are in the universe, He can hear you, even though He is sitting in Pun. According to the devotion of His dear most devotees, He will accept things from them, regardless of the seeming distance between Him and His devotee. He accepts according to mood of the devotee." When the King heard this explanation from Paramestiii, he became very angry. He said, "You sinful, low-caste person! Now listen to me! I do not have a devotional mood, and yet you are filled with bhava and devotion. Now I will put you to death. You can then remember your istha-deva. Let us see then how your Lord can save you!" The King ordered his people, "Arrest this man! Take this hunchback to the prison house and tie him in ropes. Shackle his legs then bolt the door. Do not give him any food. Let him die of starvation. Let us see then how his Lord will save him!"
Paramesthi was carried away and thrown in the prison house. He started to pray to Lord Jagannath. "O Bhavagrahi, please protect me! O Kamala-caran, please protect me! O Jagat-karan, please protect me! O, Protector. Chakrapani! You protected Drau-padi, and You protected Gajendra the king of the elephants when they were in trouble. O Rama-dhanurdhar-dhan! O Knpasrndhu! O Bhakta-vanca-kalpataru! O Dina-natha, Einajana-bandhu! O Sila-abala-karaka! O Nilacala! O Janaranjan-nayan! O Ghora-vipad-nasan, Prahlada-uddharan! O Hiranya-hruda-vidaran! O Girigovardhan-dhan! O Indra-garba-kharba-kan! Lord Mahadeva and Brahma meditate on Your lotus feet. Your glories are unlimited. How can a wretched person like me be able to know all Your glories? How can I understand your bhaval You are rarely attained even by great yogis. This universe is Your playground. Please protect me from the punishment of this Muslim king. You may do whatever You like with me, as I have no control over anything."
Praying like this, Paramesthi chanted the Lord's holy name, his eyes closed in meditation, his mind dwelling on the four-armed form of the Lord. Gradually he fell asleep. Lord Jagannath, the Supersoul, knew the situation of Paramesthi. Lord Jagannath is known as the deliverer of the fallen. He cannot tolerate the suffering of His devotees. Immediately He reached Delhi and entered the prison house where His devotee was detained. The Lord looked very effulgent, and He cast His merciful glance upon Paramesthi. As soon as the Lord's glance fell upon him, Paramesthi was immediately released from the shackles on his legs and the ropes around his arms. When he opened his eyes, he saw Lord Jagannath before him. That Adimula, the original cause of everything, who is Ab-haya-vara-data, the giver of fearlessness; Bhrutya-kalpataru, He who fulfills the desires of His servants, was smiling at Paramesthi. He said to him, "Why are you worried? As long as I am with you, you need not fear anyone or anything. As long as I have My sudarshan in My hand, My devotees are most powerful and are well protected." Then the Lord put His lotus feet on the head of Paramesthi. Immediately his hunch disappeared, and he became very beautiful. Just see the good fortune of this person! Even Indra, the . king of the demigods, could not receive blessings such as this! Paramesthi, holding the lotus feet of the Lord on his head, was in so much ecstasy that he could not speak. In this way he was completely purified.
Then Lord Jagannath went to the house of the Muslim king in Delhi. The King was sleeping deeply, and the Lord appeared near him and said, "Foolish, ignorant King! I have given you this position, yet you are unaware of this. You have punished My devotee for giving Me a simple pillow. Everything in this universe is belongs to Me. He simply returned my possessions to Me. Did he give Me your fathers property? Now I order you to immediately release him from the prison house! Fall at his feet and worship him. If you do not do this, then I will finish you along with your entire family dynasty. I will cut you all into pieces." The Lord started to whip the King s back. After whipping him, Jagannath disappeared from the palace. After being whipped heavily, the King felt so much pain and woke up shouting and crying. He thought he had been having a nightmare, but then he saw the red marks on his back and understood that it was not an ordinary dream. The King said to himself, "Who could possibly do this? He must be God! He came here to teach me a lesson. He did this for His devotee. If I delay in carrying out His orders, then I will be in great trouble."
Early the next morning, the King went to the prison house and personally unlocked the cell door. He was surprised to see that Paramesthi was free from his bindings. He also noticed that the hunch was gone from his back, and that his appearance was very beautiful and effulgent. He was sitting peacefully and chanting the holy name of Lord Rama. By seeing this, the King, out of fear, picked up Paramesthi and put him on his lap. He offered him a flower garland and chandan, and decorated him with many ornaments. He placed a patani sari (turban of respect) on his head. With great humility, the King said, "You are very fortunate and blessed. You have purified this planet. I say to you with the utmost sincerity, from today you will be our family guru."
The King then brought his principal elephant, and Paramesthi rode around Delhi in a great procession while the King sang his glories. Afterwards, the King took Paramesthi back to the palace. Paramesthi continued to worship Lord Jagannath without any obstacle. At the end of his life, he went back home, back to Godhead.
Paramesthi was very expert in his tailoring job. He was so famous for his good tailoring that the Muslim King of Delhi would send his cloth to Paramesthi. Once the King sent some very expensive cloth embroidered with gold and decorated with pearls and diamonds. The King requested diat two pillows be made from the cloth. He said to Paramesthi, "You should make it very nicely with flower designs sewn onto the cloth. Make sure no one can see the stitching. If you do a good job, I will pay you handsomely." When Paramesthi saw die cloth, he thought to himself, "This cloth looks and smells so nice. It is only suitable for Lord Jagannath. These pillows the King wants sewn are really meant for Lord Jagannath how can such beautiful cloth be enjoyed by a human being?"
It so happened that Paramesthi received the cloth from the King during the Ratha-yatra period, when Lord Jagannath would ride in His chariot through Pahandi vijaya. Paramesthi started to make the pillows, and when they were ready, he was very satisfied, as the pillows looked so beautiful. Paramesthi closed his eyes dreamily, and began meditating on the Pahandi Vijaya pastime of Lord Jagannath. He saw that Jagannath looked so beautiful. Thousands of people were there to see the Lord and He attracted everyone's minds. During Ratha-yatra, there is no difference between low-caste and high-caste; devotees from the fourteen planets come to take shelter at the lotus feet of Lord Jagannath. When Jagannath was moved from the temple, He was resting on a pillow. The sevaks moved the pillow forward, and moved Jagannath onto the pillow, and in this way He moved forward, out of His temple and onto His chariot. Paramesthi saw all of this in meditation. Suddenly he saw the pillow burst. He knew the Lord needed another pillow, and so he handed over the pillow he was making for the King, just as if he were standing next to Lord Jagannath. Jagannath took the pillow, and the sevaks. continued moving Him towards His chariot.
When Paramesthi came to his external senses, he saw that he had only one pillow instead of two. He suddenly realized that one pillow had actually been taken by Lord Jagannath! Paramesthi was surprised to see this, and felt himself so fortunate that a pillow he had sewn was used in the Lord's intimate service. He was feeling that Jagannath was so merciful to him. He felt fear along with his happiness: one pillow was missing, and there was no doubt that the King would punish him! Then Paramesthi thought to himself, "This person has become the king due only to the mercy of my Lord. He is powerful due to the power of my Lord. So in reality, what can he do to me?"
While Paramesthi was thinking these thoughts, the King's messenger came with an order from the King to bring the two pillows to the palace. Paramesthi immediately went to the King with the one pillow. He offered his obeisances many times then presented the pillow to the King. The King looked bewildered and said, "I ordered two pillows. Where is the other pillow? Have not you prepared another pillow? Tell me the truth what happened to other pillow?" Paramesthi immediately fell at the feet of the King and explained that the other pillow had been taken by Lord Jagannath. "I have only this one pillow with me, which I am giving to you now. Please accept this one and do whatever you want with me." The King smiled, but inside he was seething with anger. He glared at Paramesthi, and said, "Have you become mad?! Where is your Lord Jagannath? How powerful is He? What can He do by His hand? How is it possible for Him to take the pillow from you? Sri Kshetra Pun is so far from here. How is it possible that He could have come so far in one day and take this pillow from you?"
Hearing all these questions, Paramesthi started to chant the holy name of the Lord. He said to the King, "I do not fear death. I will explain to you the potency of Lord Jagannath. He is there in His Daru-Brahma form. But at the same time, He is all over the universe. He is the supreme controller of this universe. He lives at Niladri nagar but is maintaining the whole universe. Whenever you call Him, wherever you are in the universe, He can hear you, even though He is sitting in Pun. According to the devotion of His dear most devotees, He will accept things from them, regardless of the seeming distance between Him and His devotee. He accepts according to mood of the devotee." When the King heard this explanation from Paramestiii, he became very angry. He said, "You sinful, low-caste person! Now listen to me! I do not have a devotional mood, and yet you are filled with bhava and devotion. Now I will put you to death. You can then remember your istha-deva. Let us see then how your Lord can save you!" The King ordered his people, "Arrest this man! Take this hunchback to the prison house and tie him in ropes. Shackle his legs then bolt the door. Do not give him any food. Let him die of starvation. Let us see then how his Lord will save him!"
Paramesthi was carried away and thrown in the prison house. He started to pray to Lord Jagannath. "O Bhavagrahi, please protect me! O Kamala-caran, please protect me! O Jagat-karan, please protect me! O, Protector. Chakrapani! You protected Drau-padi, and You protected Gajendra the king of the elephants when they were in trouble. O Rama-dhanurdhar-dhan! O Knpasrndhu! O Bhakta-vanca-kalpataru! O Dina-natha, Einajana-bandhu! O Sila-abala-karaka! O Nilacala! O Janaranjan-nayan! O Ghora-vipad-nasan, Prahlada-uddharan! O Hiranya-hruda-vidaran! O Girigovardhan-dhan! O Indra-garba-kharba-kan! Lord Mahadeva and Brahma meditate on Your lotus feet. Your glories are unlimited. How can a wretched person like me be able to know all Your glories? How can I understand your bhaval You are rarely attained even by great yogis. This universe is Your playground. Please protect me from the punishment of this Muslim king. You may do whatever You like with me, as I have no control over anything."
Praying like this, Paramesthi chanted the Lord's holy name, his eyes closed in meditation, his mind dwelling on the four-armed form of the Lord. Gradually he fell asleep. Lord Jagannath, the Supersoul, knew the situation of Paramesthi. Lord Jagannath is known as the deliverer of the fallen. He cannot tolerate the suffering of His devotees. Immediately He reached Delhi and entered the prison house where His devotee was detained. The Lord looked very effulgent, and He cast His merciful glance upon Paramesthi. As soon as the Lord's glance fell upon him, Paramesthi was immediately released from the shackles on his legs and the ropes around his arms. When he opened his eyes, he saw Lord Jagannath before him. That Adimula, the original cause of everything, who is Ab-haya-vara-data, the giver of fearlessness; Bhrutya-kalpataru, He who fulfills the desires of His servants, was smiling at Paramesthi. He said to him, "Why are you worried? As long as I am with you, you need not fear anyone or anything. As long as I have My sudarshan in My hand, My devotees are most powerful and are well protected." Then the Lord put His lotus feet on the head of Paramesthi. Immediately his hunch disappeared, and he became very beautiful. Just see the good fortune of this person! Even Indra, the . king of the demigods, could not receive blessings such as this! Paramesthi, holding the lotus feet of the Lord on his head, was in so much ecstasy that he could not speak. In this way he was completely purified.
Then Lord Jagannath went to the house of the Muslim king in Delhi. The King was sleeping deeply, and the Lord appeared near him and said, "Foolish, ignorant King! I have given you this position, yet you are unaware of this. You have punished My devotee for giving Me a simple pillow. Everything in this universe is belongs to Me. He simply returned my possessions to Me. Did he give Me your fathers property? Now I order you to immediately release him from the prison house! Fall at his feet and worship him. If you do not do this, then I will finish you along with your entire family dynasty. I will cut you all into pieces." The Lord started to whip the King s back. After whipping him, Jagannath disappeared from the palace. After being whipped heavily, the King felt so much pain and woke up shouting and crying. He thought he had been having a nightmare, but then he saw the red marks on his back and understood that it was not an ordinary dream. The King said to himself, "Who could possibly do this? He must be God! He came here to teach me a lesson. He did this for His devotee. If I delay in carrying out His orders, then I will be in great trouble."
Early the next morning, the King went to the prison house and personally unlocked the cell door. He was surprised to see that Paramesthi was free from his bindings. He also noticed that the hunch was gone from his back, and that his appearance was very beautiful and effulgent. He was sitting peacefully and chanting the holy name of Lord Rama. By seeing this, the King, out of fear, picked up Paramesthi and put him on his lap. He offered him a flower garland and chandan, and decorated him with many ornaments. He placed a patani sari (turban of respect) on his head. With great humility, the King said, "You are very fortunate and blessed. You have purified this planet. I say to you with the utmost sincerity, from today you will be our family guru."
The King then brought his principal elephant, and Paramesthi rode around Delhi in a great procession while the King sang his glories. Afterwards, the King took Paramesthi back to the palace. Paramesthi continued to worship Lord Jagannath without any obstacle. At the end of his life, he went back home, back to Godhead.
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Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
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Hare Krishna 🙏
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King Kulasekhara
King Kulasekhara
Once upon a time there
was a king in Orissa named Kulasekhara. He was a very powerful king. He was very
strict in his administration. His countenance was effulgent like the sun, and
his heart was as deep as the ocean. He was very charitable, like a
wish-fulfilling tree, and in learning he was compared to Brihaspati. He was as
tolerant as Mother Earth, as beautiful as Kamadeva, the God of love, and was
very pure in his mood and behavior. His wealth was like that of Kuvera, and he
took care of the citizens of his kingdom as if they were his own children. He
was very much surrendered to the devas and brahmanas. He was full of devotion
and sincerely served the lotus feet of his spiritual master. King Ku-lasekhara
always served the devotees, and was constantly engaged in hearing hari-katha.
One day King Kulasekhara was sitting on his throne, surrounded by his ministers
and soldiers. Many sadhus and sannyasis gathered around the King, who was
listening to them speak hari-katha. He was absorbed in the ecstasy of hearing.
At this time, the King's guru arrived. Immediately King Kulasekhara left his
throne to receive his guru. He offered him prostrated obeisances, washed his
lotus feet, and arranged a nice asana to seat him. Then by the order of the
guru, the King also sat and continued hearing hari-katha.
It so happened that a fly came and sat on the Kings forehead. The King was feeling very uncomfortable, and touched his forehead to chase away the fly. Immediately the fly flew away. When King Kulasekhara chased away the fly, his hand touched his forehead, and some of the dust that was on his forehead from paying obeisances to his guru fell to the ground when the King brushed it. When his guru saw this, he lowered his head so the King couldn't see his face. The King was very observant, and noticed the reaction of his guru. He asked his guru what was the cause of his apparent sadness.
The guru replied, "When one offers prostrated obeisances to his guru, he is immedi ately freed from the reaction of his sinful activities for as many past lives as there are dust particles on his forehead from paying his obeisances. Now you have removed those dust particles from your head. Can you imagine how much sin you have acquired by doing so? By touching your hand to your head, the dust particles fell back to the ground. That is why I feel sorry for you, because you have deprived yourself of being free from your sins of that many lives."
Hearing this statement from his guru, King Kulasekhara started to tremble, and no words came from his mouth. His eyes filled with tears and he became stunned. When he came back to his normal senses, he found that his guru had left the palace. The King asked the assembled learned persons, "Now I have committed a great offense at the lotus feet of my guru. Please check the scriptures and let me know how I can be free from this offense. Otherwise I will die. I have no desire for this kingly position." Hearing this, all the pandits present started to search the scriptures to find the remedy. They found that the scriptures recommend very hard and difficult atonement for this kind of offense. It was so severe an atonement that the brahmanas did not dare tell the King. The King asked them, "Why are you not telling me what atonement I will have to do? However difficult it may be, I must do it to make myself free from sin. I promise to undertake this atonement, keeping the sun god as my witness. Please tell me." The sages and brahmanas explained that if one offers prostrated obeisances to his guru and sits down in front of him, he becomes free from the reaction of as many lives as there are dust particles smeared on his body during the time he offers obeisances. But if one foolishly removes those dust particles out of pride, then he loses all sukriti, pious credits. To he free from this kind of guru droho, he must perform the following atonement: he must make a copper plate twelve feet long, three feet wide, and six inches thick. He should place that copper plate on top of four pillars, and put burning charcoal under the copper plate until it becomes as hot as fire. Then he should offer his prostrated obeisances one hundred and eight times on that copper plate. Only then will he be free from this offense to his guru. This is verdict of the scriptures. When the King heard this, his face became jubilant like the full moon, and his hair stood on end. Being very happy, he said, "Now I will be free from my offenses to my guru."
The King immediately called for the coppersmith. By his order one copper plate was made according to the proper scriptural standards. The plate was then placed on top of four pillars, and hot burning charcoal was kept under the plate. It started to become so hot that no one could even stay near it. The King went to take badi in holy water. He applied tilak to his body, and placed a tu-lasi mala around his neck. He dressed himself in simple white cloth, then took a few grains of nirmaly (Jagannath's dry rice prasad), and returned to where the copper plate was being heated. Thousands of people had come to witness this event. Many minis¬ters, soldiers, the King's relatives, many sannyasis and sadlius—all were present there. Drums and trumpets played, creating a tumultuous sound, and it appeared that the whole earth was shaking.
Everyone was concerned that the King would get too close to the heated copper plate, and would leave his body. They begged him not to approach the copper plate. They said to him, "If you leave your body, who will take care of us? Please do not do this. If you die we will be deprived of our master." The King replied, "Who is the real master? Lord Jagannath is master of everyone. Please do not be concerned about my death. One who has taken birth will die one day. I do not fear deatli. I do not want to be punished by Yamaraj for being offensive to my guru. Whether I die or survive by doing this does not matter to me. Lord Chakradhar knows everything. He will do whatever is good for me. But I must do my duty. Please, all of you kindly chant the holy name of Han. That will help me."
After saying this, the King started to meditate upon Niladribihari, Lord Jagannath. He said, "All glories to the Lord, who is holding a conch and disc in His hand. All glories to the life of Kamala, by whose order all the great demigods like Brahma and Indra are moving in this universe. The sun, moon, all the directions, mountains, earth, ocean, are eternal order-carriers of my Lord. Lord Haris lotus feet have been meditated upon by all the demigods like Lord Mahadev, Indra, Yaksha, Rakshsa, siddhas, yogin-dras, and munis. I am an ordinary human being. How can I understand His glories? O Lord! You are the root, and everything in creation are your branches and leaves. I am taking shelter of your ah-haya charan (fearless lotus feet). You are vancha-kalpa-taru (wish fulfilling tree). You are glorious and Your glories are like a great mountain. There is no one like You in this universe who can finish the suffering of the living entities. You are like a great fire burning die forest of material worries. You are like Agastya Muni, who can save one from the ocean of dangers. Your lotus feet are the gada (medicine) to free everyone from the influence of the poison of material existence. You are like the moon that maintains the lotuslike devotees. You are like cintamani to those who think about You constantly. Everything in this brahmanda is done by Your potency only. I know no one but You who can save me from this danger. O my Lord, please protect me from this great fire. It is my final decision that I will enter mto the fire, but whether I die or survive is entirely up to You. In any case, I need to free myself from this offense to my guru." After praying like this, King Kulasekhara started to chant the holy names of the Lord.
While chanting the holy names of Lord
Hari, hearing hari-kadia vibrating m his ears, meditating upon the form of Sri
Han, and surrendering his mind unto the lotus feet of the Lord, King Kulasekhara
very happily climbed on top of the hot copper plate after offering his
obeisances to the sun and moon gods. The plate was so hot even wet wood would
burn to ashes. But still without any fear the King offered his prostrated
obeisances on top of the copper plate. The King's body started to burn. His
head, hands and feet burned to ashes. But still the King was not scared, and
remembering Lord Jagannath, he again offered his prostrated obeisances on top
of the burning hot copper plate. Lord Jagannath, who is the cause of everything,
knew about the situation of his surrendered devotee and became very merciful
upon the King. Immediately the fire became cooling like water by the mercy of
the Lord. The King's burning body was immediately cooled.
Meanwhile, all of the assembled people were crying in great grief. They were beating their heads with their hands and saying, "Oh King! We are so unfortunate. Now you are going to leave us. Who will maintain us?" When everybody was crying like this the King got up from the copper plate. He looked effulgent, like a second sun. He again offered prostrated obeisance's on the copper plate, cool and unconcerned as a swan playing in the cooling water of a river. Those surrounding him were surprised to see this. The king offered his prostrated obeisance's on top of the burning hot copper plate thirty-six times. The earth started to shake, and all of the directions trembled. Understanding the severity of the situation, Lord Jagannath left Nila-giri. Accepting a very attractive form that even Lord Brahma cannot create, the Lord appeared near the copper plate in His Jagamohan form. In His one hand He took King Kulasekhara and lifted him off the burning copper plate. The Lord said, "Now you will be glorified all over the universe. Never before and never in the future will there be one as pious as you. Now you are free from all sins and offenses. Please accept the highest destination, param-gati" When the King heard this he fell at the feet of the Lord, who had appeared in the form of a brahmana. The King asked the Lord, "Who are you? I don't recognize you." The Lord replied, "Then see My real form." The Lord manifested His four-armed form holding a conch, disc, club and lotus. The Lord blessed the King, making him fearless, and then disappeared from the palace. Due to the illusory energy of die Lord, those present could not see all of this. They did not see the appearance of the Lord, nor His blessing upon the King.
The King was very fortunate to see the Lord. Everyone glorified him for his feat and left for their houses. What kind of destination this King will achieve at the time of death is unknown. The readers can decide for themselves. In this age of Kali this kind of description will sound very strange and people will find it difficult to believe. But devotees of Sri Hari will derive great pleasure from this narration. Ignorant and foolish people will definitely think this is a false story. But for the devotees this will increase their devotion to the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord.
It so happened that a fly came and sat on the Kings forehead. The King was feeling very uncomfortable, and touched his forehead to chase away the fly. Immediately the fly flew away. When King Kulasekhara chased away the fly, his hand touched his forehead, and some of the dust that was on his forehead from paying obeisances to his guru fell to the ground when the King brushed it. When his guru saw this, he lowered his head so the King couldn't see his face. The King was very observant, and noticed the reaction of his guru. He asked his guru what was the cause of his apparent sadness.
The guru replied, "When one offers prostrated obeisances to his guru, he is immedi ately freed from the reaction of his sinful activities for as many past lives as there are dust particles on his forehead from paying his obeisances. Now you have removed those dust particles from your head. Can you imagine how much sin you have acquired by doing so? By touching your hand to your head, the dust particles fell back to the ground. That is why I feel sorry for you, because you have deprived yourself of being free from your sins of that many lives."
Hearing this statement from his guru, King Kulasekhara started to tremble, and no words came from his mouth. His eyes filled with tears and he became stunned. When he came back to his normal senses, he found that his guru had left the palace. The King asked the assembled learned persons, "Now I have committed a great offense at the lotus feet of my guru. Please check the scriptures and let me know how I can be free from this offense. Otherwise I will die. I have no desire for this kingly position." Hearing this, all the pandits present started to search the scriptures to find the remedy. They found that the scriptures recommend very hard and difficult atonement for this kind of offense. It was so severe an atonement that the brahmanas did not dare tell the King. The King asked them, "Why are you not telling me what atonement I will have to do? However difficult it may be, I must do it to make myself free from sin. I promise to undertake this atonement, keeping the sun god as my witness. Please tell me." The sages and brahmanas explained that if one offers prostrated obeisances to his guru and sits down in front of him, he becomes free from the reaction of as many lives as there are dust particles smeared on his body during the time he offers obeisances. But if one foolishly removes those dust particles out of pride, then he loses all sukriti, pious credits. To he free from this kind of guru droho, he must perform the following atonement: he must make a copper plate twelve feet long, three feet wide, and six inches thick. He should place that copper plate on top of four pillars, and put burning charcoal under the copper plate until it becomes as hot as fire. Then he should offer his prostrated obeisances one hundred and eight times on that copper plate. Only then will he be free from this offense to his guru. This is verdict of the scriptures. When the King heard this, his face became jubilant like the full moon, and his hair stood on end. Being very happy, he said, "Now I will be free from my offenses to my guru."
The King immediately called for the coppersmith. By his order one copper plate was made according to the proper scriptural standards. The plate was then placed on top of four pillars, and hot burning charcoal was kept under the plate. It started to become so hot that no one could even stay near it. The King went to take badi in holy water. He applied tilak to his body, and placed a tu-lasi mala around his neck. He dressed himself in simple white cloth, then took a few grains of nirmaly (Jagannath's dry rice prasad), and returned to where the copper plate was being heated. Thousands of people had come to witness this event. Many minis¬ters, soldiers, the King's relatives, many sannyasis and sadlius—all were present there. Drums and trumpets played, creating a tumultuous sound, and it appeared that the whole earth was shaking.
Everyone was concerned that the King would get too close to the heated copper plate, and would leave his body. They begged him not to approach the copper plate. They said to him, "If you leave your body, who will take care of us? Please do not do this. If you die we will be deprived of our master." The King replied, "Who is the real master? Lord Jagannath is master of everyone. Please do not be concerned about my death. One who has taken birth will die one day. I do not fear deatli. I do not want to be punished by Yamaraj for being offensive to my guru. Whether I die or survive by doing this does not matter to me. Lord Chakradhar knows everything. He will do whatever is good for me. But I must do my duty. Please, all of you kindly chant the holy name of Han. That will help me."
After saying this, the King started to meditate upon Niladribihari, Lord Jagannath. He said, "All glories to the Lord, who is holding a conch and disc in His hand. All glories to the life of Kamala, by whose order all the great demigods like Brahma and Indra are moving in this universe. The sun, moon, all the directions, mountains, earth, ocean, are eternal order-carriers of my Lord. Lord Haris lotus feet have been meditated upon by all the demigods like Lord Mahadev, Indra, Yaksha, Rakshsa, siddhas, yogin-dras, and munis. I am an ordinary human being. How can I understand His glories? O Lord! You are the root, and everything in creation are your branches and leaves. I am taking shelter of your ah-haya charan (fearless lotus feet). You are vancha-kalpa-taru (wish fulfilling tree). You are glorious and Your glories are like a great mountain. There is no one like You in this universe who can finish the suffering of the living entities. You are like a great fire burning die forest of material worries. You are like Agastya Muni, who can save one from the ocean of dangers. Your lotus feet are the gada (medicine) to free everyone from the influence of the poison of material existence. You are like the moon that maintains the lotuslike devotees. You are like cintamani to those who think about You constantly. Everything in this brahmanda is done by Your potency only. I know no one but You who can save me from this danger. O my Lord, please protect me from this great fire. It is my final decision that I will enter mto the fire, but whether I die or survive is entirely up to You. In any case, I need to free myself from this offense to my guru." After praying like this, King Kulasekhara started to chant the holy names of the Lord.
Sri Rama,
Sri Krishna, Sri Hari, Mukunda, Madhava, Murari,
Acyuta, Ananta, Govinda,
Shyamasundar, Sadananda.
Vraja Sundar, Vamsi Pani, Radha Vallabha prana
mani.
Daya-sagar, Dasarathi, Sridhara, Srikara, Sripati.
Laxminayak,
Chakra-pani, Sita-Ballabha, Raghumani.
O Vanamali, O Kamsari, Gopi Jivan
Dityaari.
Srivasta-lanchana, Kesava,Dina-bandhava, Vasudeva.
Bhavamochan,
Bhagavan, Jagatjivan, Janardana
Meanwhile, all of the assembled people were crying in great grief. They were beating their heads with their hands and saying, "Oh King! We are so unfortunate. Now you are going to leave us. Who will maintain us?" When everybody was crying like this the King got up from the copper plate. He looked effulgent, like a second sun. He again offered prostrated obeisance's on the copper plate, cool and unconcerned as a swan playing in the cooling water of a river. Those surrounding him were surprised to see this. The king offered his prostrated obeisance's on top of the burning hot copper plate thirty-six times. The earth started to shake, and all of the directions trembled. Understanding the severity of the situation, Lord Jagannath left Nila-giri. Accepting a very attractive form that even Lord Brahma cannot create, the Lord appeared near the copper plate in His Jagamohan form. In His one hand He took King Kulasekhara and lifted him off the burning copper plate. The Lord said, "Now you will be glorified all over the universe. Never before and never in the future will there be one as pious as you. Now you are free from all sins and offenses. Please accept the highest destination, param-gati" When the King heard this he fell at the feet of the Lord, who had appeared in the form of a brahmana. The King asked the Lord, "Who are you? I don't recognize you." The Lord replied, "Then see My real form." The Lord manifested His four-armed form holding a conch, disc, club and lotus. The Lord blessed the King, making him fearless, and then disappeared from the palace. Due to the illusory energy of die Lord, those present could not see all of this. They did not see the appearance of the Lord, nor His blessing upon the King.
The King was very fortunate to see the Lord. Everyone glorified him for his feat and left for their houses. What kind of destination this King will achieve at the time of death is unknown. The readers can decide for themselves. In this age of Kali this kind of description will sound very strange and people will find it difficult to believe. But devotees of Sri Hari will derive great pleasure from this narration. Ignorant and foolish people will definitely think this is a false story. But for the devotees this will increase their devotion to the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord.
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Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
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Hare Krishna 🙏
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Kanchi Abhiyan
Kanchi
Abhiyan
Once upon a time there
was king named Purusottama Deva in the Gonga dynasty who ruled over the state of
Orissa. He was a great devotee of Lord Jagannath. Every year during Ratha-yatra,
the King would personally sweep the road m front of the chariot for the pleasure
of Lord Jagannath. He considered the Lord as the proprietor of everything, as
the real ruler of the country. He con¬sidered himself a menial servant of the
Lord.
One time the King went on a tour to South India. He reached a kingdom called Kanchi, and set up his tent in a garden in the capital city. There, King Purusottama Deva met with the Princess of Kanchi, Padmavati, and both came to know and like the other. Later, the King was invited to the palace of the King of Kanchi who, along with the queen, was very pleased with Purusottama Deva, and proposed to offer their daughter in marriage to him. Purusottama Deva was very happy with this proposal, and accepted gladly. He then returned to Orissa. After some time, the King of Kanchi sent his minister to Orissa with an official proposal of marriage for his daughter. The minister was received nicely by King Purusottama Deva. It was the time of Ratha-yatra, which was a favorite time of year for the King. The marriage proposal only added to his happiness.
King Purusottama Deva requested the minister of Kanchi to stay a few days more so that he could attend the Ratha-yatra festival. The'minister saw that it was a good opportunity to experience the festival, and agreed to remain in Puri for a few extra days. On Ratha-yatra day, at the auspicious time, the deities of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, and Lady Subhadra along with Sudarshan Chakra, were brought from the temple to the chariots. Thousands of people had gathered to see the parade, and there was a tumultuous sound of kirtana, drums, and conch shells. The minister of Kanchi saw that the King of Puri was standing m front of the chariot with a broom in his hand. As he started to sweep the road, the minister became confused. Here was a great king sweeping the road like a common man! Although the King was doing it for the Lord, the minister could 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 chandalas.
The minister immediately left Puri and returned to Kanchi, informing the King of all he had witnessed, especially how Purusottama Deva engaged in the behavior of a chandala. The minister said to the King of Kanchi, "How can Princess Padmavati marry a man who would behave like a chandala?"The King, without understanding the purpose of Purusottama Devas behavior, agreed with his minister, and sent a message to Puri, telling Purusottama Deva that he did not want his daughter to marry a man who sweeps the road like a chandala. This news saddened both Purusottama Deva and Princess Padmavati. Even more upsetting to them was the fact that the King of Kanchi, in the meantime, had arranged Princess Padmavatis swayambara ceremony and had invited every suitable man in the district except the King of Puri. Purusottama Deva was very offended by this, and vowed revenge upon the King of Kanchi. He challenged the King of Kanchi to war. The King of Kanchi was a great worshipper of Ganesh, and he made one condition before entering the battle: should the King of Puri be defeated, he would surrender the deities of Jagannath, Baladeva and Subhadra, Who would be placed behind Ganesh on the King of Kanchi's altar. Similarly, if the King of Kanchi was defeated, he would surrender his deity of Ganesh, who would be placed behind Jagannath, Baladeva and Subhadra.
When Purusottama Deva was forced to leave the battlefield when his camp caught on fire, he felt it was a great insult. He was immediately concerned that he would lose the deities from the Ja¬gannath temple, and that They would be placed behind Ganesh in Kanchi. The King began to pray to Lord Jagannath: "O Lord Jagan¬nath! Please help me. Due to being engaged in Your service of sweeping the road, the King of Kanchi was insulted and cancelled my marriage. If I am defeated m this battle, is it not also Your defeat? It is a great insult to You! How can You, the Lord of the uni¬verse, sit behind the deity of Ganesh?"
That night, Lord Jagannath appeared to the King in his sleep and told him, "Do not be worried. Go again to fight with the King of Kanchi and his army. This time I will personally help you during the battle." The King awoke, very happy to receive this indication from the Lord that He would personally amend the situa¬tion. He became encouraged to fight again with the King of Kan-chi.
King Purusottama Deva started his journey to Kanchi to fight for the second time. This time Lord Jagannath and Balaram personally went with him to fight on his behalf. Disguised as soldiers, jagannath rode a black horse and Baladeva rode on a white horse. The weather was very hot, since it was the summer month of Vaisakh. As They passed the Chilika lake, it reminded Them of Their thirst. They noticed one old cowherd lady carrying a pot of buttermilk on her head. Her name was Manika, and she was on her way to the market to sell the buttermilk. Both the Lords desired to drink the buttermilk, 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 Balaram were not going to pay for the buttermilk, so she stopped them and asked them for money. They said, "We are soldiers on our way to battle. We have no money with us." The old lady started to cry. The buttermilk was only her livelihood, and the money she earned at the market had to maintain her family. When she explained this to Jagannath and Balaram, Jagannath leaned down from His horse and gave Manika a golden ring from His finger and said, "Keep this with you. After some time, our king will pass by this way. When he comes through, give him this ring and ask him to give you the money for the butter¬milk, and he will do so." Reluctantly, the old lady took the ring, and the brothers continued on their journey to battle.
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 and said to him, "Two of your soldiers were going by this road riding a black horse and a white horse. They looked like brothers. They drank my buttermilk but had no money to pay for it." She held her upturned palm towards the King, showing him the golden ring. "They gave this ring to me to give to you. They told me to ask you for the money for the buttermilk in exchange for this ring. Please take this ring and give me the cost of the buttermilk, so that I might maintain my family!" When the King saw the ring he was very surprised: it was no ordinary gold ring, but Lord Jagannath's diamond ring! Then he understood that both the Lords had gone to Kanchi in die form of soldiers to keep Jagannath's promise. The King saw this as confirmation that victory would be his, and he was very happy. He told Manika, "You were very fortunate to have seen Lord Jagannath and Lord Balaram and to serve Them by giving Them buttermilk. I will of course reimburse you as the Lord requested." The King was feeling so magnanimous due to having the Lords fighting in his army that he generously rewarded the woman. He gave her ownership of several villages so that she could live comfortably from the tax of the villagers. The King immediately established a village at the very spot the Lords partook of her buttermilk, and named the village Manika Patana.This village is still there in'Orissa.
The King proceeded towards Kanchi. A huge battle took place between the soldiers of armies. The soldiers of the King of Kanchi saw two new soldiers in Purusottama Deva's army; one was riding on a black horse and one upon a white horse. These two soldiers fought so vigorously that no one was able to defeat Them.Many soldiers from the army of the King of Kanchi were killed. The King of Kanchi was defeated.Purusottama Deva arrested Princess Padmavati instead of the King of Kanchi, and in revenge for the cancellation of his mar¬riage 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. Everyone felt very sad to hear this news from the King. Princess Padmavati was especially very sad, because she had real affection for King Purusottama Deva. She knew he was acting out of revenge for her fathers ac¬tions. But King Purusottama s minister was very clever. He told the Kmg to be patient, as it would take some time to find a suitable chandala boy to marry the princess. In the meantime, the minister took Padmavati and gave her shelter at his house. Princess Padmavati felt very unfortunate that she was not destined to be the queen of Orissa. Nor would she be the maidservant of the King. She felt there would be no end to her suffering. Ratha-yatra day was approaching. Thousands of people were coming to Pun for the festival, and everyone in the entire area was happy. But Princess Padmavati was not happy due to thinking always of her upcoming marriage to a chandala boy. One day, the minister came to Padmavati and told here that she should get dressed in her finest cloth because today was her wedding day. As soon as Padmavati heard this, she stared to cry as she thought of spending the rest of her life in the house of a chandala.The minister pacified her, saying, "Please, Princess Padmavati. Do not be worried. Rely on Lord Jagannath. He will help you."
All of the ladies decorated Padmavati very nicely. She rode on a palanquin accompanied by the minister. As it was Ratha-yatra day, the streets were full, and Lord Jagannath, Baladeva and Sub-hadra Devi were already sitting in Their chariots. Thousands of people lined the streets, and the sound of nama-sankirtan filled the air. Devotees played mrdanga and kartals and blew conch shells. Everything was ready for the Ratha-yatra to begin. 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 minister brought Princess Padmavati to the King, and very clev¬erly said to him, "My dear King, I asked you to be patient in finding a suitable chandala for the Princess. I have come to you today to tell you that I have found a street sweeper whom I have deemed suitable to be her husband." The King said to his minister, "Very well, but I don't have time for this. Today is Ratha-yatra. Do as you will." The minister smiled at the King and replied, "But my dear King, the street sweeper I have chosen is you, Your Highness." The King stopped and looked in surprise at his minister, a small smile coming to his lips. The minister continued, "Your Highness, today you are a street sweeper. You instructed me to arrange the marriage of Princess Padmavati with a street sweeper, so I have chosen you." With that, the minister ordered Princess Padmavati to place a garland around the neck of King Purusottama Deva. The King happily accepted Princess Padmavati as his queen, and praised his min¬ister for his sneaky intelligence. Princess Padmavati was weak with relief, happy to be marrying the man for whom she had so much affection, and who could look after her properly according to her status as a princess.
According to the conditions set down by the King of Kanchi, the deity of Ganesh was brought to Puri and kept in a temple behind Jagannaths temple. Today that same Ganesh is still there. And to this day, the King of Puri sweeps the road in front of Jagannaths chariot before the start of the Ratha-yatra festival. The deities of Sri Sri Radha-Radhakanta which are worshiped at Gambhira were also brought from Kanchipuram. It is said that They were also worshipped in Jagannaths temple. These deities were worshipped on an altar that was located between Jagan-nath's altar and the room where the bhoga is prepared. The Jagan-nath temple cooks are very expert at making so many nice varieties of foodstuffs for the Lord. After Sri Sri Radha-Radhakanta came to stay in the temple, Lord Jagannath found that so many nice items were not being given to Him. Someone was taking them after they left the room where the bhoga was prepared, before they reached His altar. Lord Jagannath discovered that the deities of Sri Sri Radha-Radhakanta, were eating all the nice foods that had been brought to the temple and prepared in the bhoga room! At this time Lord Jagannath instructed the pujaris to remove the deities from the temple. By the Lord's order these deities were removed and kept in Kasi Mishra's house, which is now known as Gambhira, where Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu stayed for eighteen years. He worshiped these same deities of Sri Sri Radha-Radhakanta.
One time the King went on a tour to South India. He reached a kingdom called Kanchi, and set up his tent in a garden in the capital city. There, King Purusottama Deva met with the Princess of Kanchi, Padmavati, and both came to know and like the other. Later, the King was invited to the palace of the King of Kanchi who, along with the queen, was very pleased with Purusottama Deva, and proposed to offer their daughter in marriage to him. Purusottama Deva was very happy with this proposal, and accepted gladly. He then returned to Orissa. After some time, the King of Kanchi sent his minister to Orissa with an official proposal of marriage for his daughter. The minister was received nicely by King Purusottama Deva. It was the time of Ratha-yatra, which was a favorite time of year for the King. The marriage proposal only added to his happiness.
King Purusottama Deva requested the minister of Kanchi to stay a few days more so that he could attend the Ratha-yatra festival. The'minister saw that it was a good opportunity to experience the festival, and agreed to remain in Puri for a few extra days. On Ratha-yatra day, at the auspicious time, the deities of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, and Lady Subhadra along with Sudarshan Chakra, were brought from the temple to the chariots. Thousands of people had gathered to see the parade, and there was a tumultuous sound of kirtana, drums, and conch shells. The minister of Kanchi saw that the King of Puri was standing m front of the chariot with a broom in his hand. As he started to sweep the road, the minister became confused. Here was a great king sweeping the road like a common man! Although the King was doing it for the Lord, the minister could 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 chandalas.
The minister immediately left Puri and returned to Kanchi, informing the King of all he had witnessed, especially how Purusottama Deva engaged in the behavior of a chandala. The minister said to the King of Kanchi, "How can Princess Padmavati marry a man who would behave like a chandala?"The King, without understanding the purpose of Purusottama Devas behavior, agreed with his minister, and sent a message to Puri, telling Purusottama Deva that he did not want his daughter to marry a man who sweeps the road like a chandala. This news saddened both Purusottama Deva and Princess Padmavati. Even more upsetting to them was the fact that the King of Kanchi, in the meantime, had arranged Princess Padmavatis swayambara ceremony and had invited every suitable man in the district except the King of Puri. Purusottama Deva was very offended by this, and vowed revenge upon the King of Kanchi. He challenged the King of Kanchi to war. The King of Kanchi was a great worshipper of Ganesh, and he made one condition before entering the battle: should the King of Puri be defeated, he would surrender the deities of Jagannath, Baladeva and Subhadra, Who would be placed behind Ganesh on the King of Kanchi's altar. Similarly, if the King of Kanchi was defeated, he would surrender his deity of Ganesh, who would be placed behind Jagannath, Baladeva and Subhadra.
When Purusottama Deva was forced to leave the battlefield when his camp caught on fire, he felt it was a great insult. He was immediately concerned that he would lose the deities from the Ja¬gannath temple, and that They would be placed behind Ganesh in Kanchi. The King began to pray to Lord Jagannath: "O Lord Jagan¬nath! Please help me. Due to being engaged in Your service of sweeping the road, the King of Kanchi was insulted and cancelled my marriage. If I am defeated m this battle, is it not also Your defeat? It is a great insult to You! How can You, the Lord of the uni¬verse, sit behind the deity of Ganesh?"
That night, Lord Jagannath appeared to the King in his sleep and told him, "Do not be worried. Go again to fight with the King of Kanchi and his army. This time I will personally help you during the battle." The King awoke, very happy to receive this indication from the Lord that He would personally amend the situa¬tion. He became encouraged to fight again with the King of Kan-chi.
King Purusottama Deva started his journey to Kanchi to fight for the second time. This time Lord Jagannath and Balaram personally went with him to fight on his behalf. Disguised as soldiers, jagannath rode a black horse and Baladeva rode on a white horse. The weather was very hot, since it was the summer month of Vaisakh. As They passed the Chilika lake, it reminded Them of Their thirst. They noticed one old cowherd lady carrying a pot of buttermilk on her head. Her name was Manika, and she was on her way to the market to sell the buttermilk. Both the Lords desired to drink the buttermilk, 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 Balaram were not going to pay for the buttermilk, so she stopped them and asked them for money. They said, "We are soldiers on our way to battle. We have no money with us." The old lady started to cry. The buttermilk was only her livelihood, and the money she earned at the market had to maintain her family. When she explained this to Jagannath and Balaram, Jagannath leaned down from His horse and gave Manika a golden ring from His finger and said, "Keep this with you. After some time, our king will pass by this way. When he comes through, give him this ring and ask him to give you the money for the butter¬milk, and he will do so." Reluctantly, the old lady took the ring, and the brothers continued on their journey to battle.
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 and said to him, "Two of your soldiers were going by this road riding a black horse and a white horse. They looked like brothers. They drank my buttermilk but had no money to pay for it." She held her upturned palm towards the King, showing him the golden ring. "They gave this ring to me to give to you. They told me to ask you for the money for the buttermilk in exchange for this ring. Please take this ring and give me the cost of the buttermilk, so that I might maintain my family!" When the King saw the ring he was very surprised: it was no ordinary gold ring, but Lord Jagannath's diamond ring! Then he understood that both the Lords had gone to Kanchi in die form of soldiers to keep Jagannath's promise. The King saw this as confirmation that victory would be his, and he was very happy. He told Manika, "You were very fortunate to have seen Lord Jagannath and Lord Balaram and to serve Them by giving Them buttermilk. I will of course reimburse you as the Lord requested." The King was feeling so magnanimous due to having the Lords fighting in his army that he generously rewarded the woman. He gave her ownership of several villages so that she could live comfortably from the tax of the villagers. The King immediately established a village at the very spot the Lords partook of her buttermilk, and named the village Manika Patana.This village is still there in'Orissa.
The King proceeded towards Kanchi. A huge battle took place between the soldiers of armies. The soldiers of the King of Kanchi saw two new soldiers in Purusottama Deva's army; one was riding on a black horse and one upon a white horse. These two soldiers fought so vigorously that no one was able to defeat Them.Many soldiers from the army of the King of Kanchi were killed. The King of Kanchi was defeated.Purusottama Deva arrested Princess Padmavati instead of the King of Kanchi, and in revenge for the cancellation of his mar¬riage 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. Everyone felt very sad to hear this news from the King. Princess Padmavati was especially very sad, because she had real affection for King Purusottama Deva. She knew he was acting out of revenge for her fathers ac¬tions. But King Purusottama s minister was very clever. He told the Kmg to be patient, as it would take some time to find a suitable chandala boy to marry the princess. In the meantime, the minister took Padmavati and gave her shelter at his house. Princess Padmavati felt very unfortunate that she was not destined to be the queen of Orissa. Nor would she be the maidservant of the King. She felt there would be no end to her suffering. Ratha-yatra day was approaching. Thousands of people were coming to Pun for the festival, and everyone in the entire area was happy. But Princess Padmavati was not happy due to thinking always of her upcoming marriage to a chandala boy. One day, the minister came to Padmavati and told here that she should get dressed in her finest cloth because today was her wedding day. As soon as Padmavati heard this, she stared to cry as she thought of spending the rest of her life in the house of a chandala.The minister pacified her, saying, "Please, Princess Padmavati. Do not be worried. Rely on Lord Jagannath. He will help you."
All of the ladies decorated Padmavati very nicely. She rode on a palanquin accompanied by the minister. As it was Ratha-yatra day, the streets were full, and Lord Jagannath, Baladeva and Sub-hadra Devi were already sitting in Their chariots. Thousands of people lined the streets, and the sound of nama-sankirtan filled the air. Devotees played mrdanga and kartals and blew conch shells. Everything was ready for the Ratha-yatra to begin. 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 minister brought Princess Padmavati to the King, and very clev¬erly said to him, "My dear King, I asked you to be patient in finding a suitable chandala for the Princess. I have come to you today to tell you that I have found a street sweeper whom I have deemed suitable to be her husband." The King said to his minister, "Very well, but I don't have time for this. Today is Ratha-yatra. Do as you will." The minister smiled at the King and replied, "But my dear King, the street sweeper I have chosen is you, Your Highness." The King stopped and looked in surprise at his minister, a small smile coming to his lips. The minister continued, "Your Highness, today you are a street sweeper. You instructed me to arrange the marriage of Princess Padmavati with a street sweeper, so I have chosen you." With that, the minister ordered Princess Padmavati to place a garland around the neck of King Purusottama Deva. The King happily accepted Princess Padmavati as his queen, and praised his min¬ister for his sneaky intelligence. Princess Padmavati was weak with relief, happy to be marrying the man for whom she had so much affection, and who could look after her properly according to her status as a princess.
According to the conditions set down by the King of Kanchi, the deity of Ganesh was brought to Puri and kept in a temple behind Jagannaths temple. Today that same Ganesh is still there. And to this day, the King of Puri sweeps the road in front of Jagannaths chariot before the start of the Ratha-yatra festival. The deities of Sri Sri Radha-Radhakanta which are worshiped at Gambhira were also brought from Kanchipuram. It is said that They were also worshipped in Jagannaths temple. These deities were worshipped on an altar that was located between Jagan-nath's altar and the room where the bhoga is prepared. The Jagan-nath temple cooks are very expert at making so many nice varieties of foodstuffs for the Lord. After Sri Sri Radha-Radhakanta came to stay in the temple, Lord Jagannath found that so many nice items were not being given to Him. Someone was taking them after they left the room where the bhoga was prepared, before they reached His altar. Lord Jagannath discovered that the deities of Sri Sri Radha-Radhakanta, were eating all the nice foods that had been brought to the temple and prepared in the bhoga room! At this time Lord Jagannath instructed the pujaris to remove the deities from the temple. By the Lord's order these deities were removed and kept in Kasi Mishra's house, which is now known as Gambhira, where Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu stayed for eighteen years. He worshiped these same deities of Sri Sri Radha-Radhakanta.
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Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
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Gita Panda
Long, long ago there
was a panda in Puri named Arjun Mishra. Every day he used to read the whole
Bhagavad-gita. 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:
"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 behavior. 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 ingredi¬ents for preparing food. The brahmini was very surprised to see these two very beautiful boys. One of them was dark and the other had skin the color of milk. The dark boy told the brahmini, 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 for¬tune. 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 main¬tains His devotees, had brought bhoga to His dear devotee. Imme¬diately Gita Panda and his wife prepared to go to Jagannaths tem¬ple to beg forgiveness and thank Him for His kindness. When they approached the altar, they saw that Jagannath had three spots on His lips.
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
She became even angrier by her husbands behavior. 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 ingredi¬ents for preparing food. The brahmini was very surprised to see these two very beautiful boys. One of them was dark and the other had skin the color of milk. The dark boy told the brahmini, 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 for¬tune. 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 main¬tains His devotees, had brought bhoga to His dear devotee. Imme¬diately Gita Panda and his wife prepared to go to Jagannaths tem¬ple to beg forgiveness and thank Him for His kindness. When they approached the altar, they saw that Jagannath had three spots on His lips.
🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆
Hare Krishna 🙏
For Authorized Spiritual Articles,Posters , Quote etc . . kindly download Telegram application in Google play store and Follow the below link for telegram Suddha Bhakti channel 👇
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