LORDBALABHADRA
MAA SUBHADRA
JAGANNATH
DASIA BAURI
Dasia Bauri
In a village called Baligram, two kilometers from Puri, there lived a
low-caste tribal person named Dasia Bauri. Dasia was very much in ignorance and
didn't understand very much about what was pious behaviour and what was sinful behaviour.
He had no children; he and his wife were very poor. Dasia was a weaver, and the
money he made selling the cloth barely maintained him and his wife. During
festival days, Dasia would visit the homes of brahmanas in his village and
listen to the songs that glorified the Lord. Even though he could not
understand anything, he liked to listen. In this way, he was spending his
life—working to maintain himself and occasionally hearing some kirtana on
festival days. At one point he accepted mantra initiation from a guru and
started to wear kanthi mala and apply tilak on his forehead. He was associating
with devotees and hearing Hari-katha from them. Slowly he came to learn more,
and soon he came to feel that Lord Sri Hari was the only truth. Whatever came
Dasias way, he was content in both happy and distressful conditions. Yet he
often thought to himself, "Vidhata, destiny, has given me birth as a
low-caste person. How can I get a-bhakta born in this low-caste family?"
Then it was time once again for the Jagannath Ratha-yatra at Puri.
Thousands of people traveled to Puri from all over the country just to see
Jagannath coming out of His temple and riding in His cart. Dasia thought that
he should go to Puri and see the Lord. He wondered how the Lord looked.
Thinking in this way he went to Puri, accompanied by others from his village.
Arriving in Puri, he found a place on Grand Road during the festival. He stood
in front of Nandighosh Ratha, the chariot of Lord Jagannath, taking darshan of
the Lord. Dasia was overcome with joy. Seeing Lord Jagannath sitting on the
chariot, Dasia offered his obeisances. He started to shed tears as he gazed upon
the black snmukh (beautiful face) of the Lord. He was in ecstasy to see the
beautiful reddish lips and black eyes of the Lord. He offered his prayers
saying, "O my Lord Jagannath. I am the most sinful person in this world.
Please do not neglect me. Please enlighten my heart with knowledge. You are
known as Patita-pavana, deliverer of the fallen souls. O Bhagavan! Please
deliver me." Calling out in bliss, he offered prostrated obeisances to the
Lord. He got up and said, "You are the only truth in this universe.
Everything else is false. From now on, You are everything to me!" After
saying this Dasia left for his village.
Dasia arrived at his house and his wife called him to eat. After washing
his feet and hands, he sat down and his wife served the food she had prepared,
which included rice and spinach. She put the freshly cooked rice, which looked
very white in the middle of a red clay pot. On top of the rice she put black
spinach. When she set it down in front of her husband, Dasia saw the red circle
of the clay pot, in the middle was white rice, and on top of that was the black
spinach. To Dasias mind it resembled the eyes of Lord Jagannath. He said,
"Oh! This looks like the white lotus eyes of my Lord! How can I eat
this?" His body started to tremble and he could not speak. Tears were
rolling down from his eyes, and the hairs of his body were standing on end. He
became like a mad man and started to say different kinds of things that no one
could understand. He was clapping and dancing. When his wife saw the strange behaviour
of her husband, she called some of the village leaders and asked them to please
come and see how her husband had become mad. She was thinking that since he had
gone to Puri maybe someone did some tantra to him to make him mad. The villagers
asked Dasia, "Why are you jumping like this and not eating rice?"
Dasia replied, "This looks exactly like the eyes of my Lord. How can I eat
this?" After saying this Dasia started to dance. When the villagers heard
this from Dasia, they were surprised to see his devotion. They asked,
"Where did you get this bhava?. Did Bhavagrahi, Lord Jagannath, give His
mercy to you? From today you will be known as Baligram Das." They told his
wife, "Please serve rice and spinach in two separate bowls." When she
served accordingly, Baligram Dasia ate peacefully.
From that day he fixed his mind on the lotus eyes of the Lord and always
remembered the sound vibration of mridanga, karatal and ghanta (bell) during
Ratha-yatra. Everything material he considered to be like poison. He became
very peaceful, merciful, humble, and truthful. He was always thinking about
Lord Padmanabha. He controlled all his senses and, closing his eyes, mediated
upon the beautiful face of Lord Jagannath. Jagannath is very dear to His devotees.
The devotional mood of His devotee is everything for Him. He does not consider
caste and creed and activities. No austerity, charity, religious activities,
vrata, or travelling to holy places can please Him. What is the use of pious
activities and charity? What is the use of worshiping the demigods? No one can
attain Him by these things. He is Bhavagrahi, the abode of bhava. If one chants
His holy name with firm conviction, the Lord belongs to him.
Day and night Dasia was thinking about the Lord. He knew nothing except
the Lord. One night, he went to sleep meditating upon His lotus feet. He
prayed, "Will that Lord be merciful upon me so that I can see that four
handed form of the Lord?" Under-standing his mind, Lord Jagannath left the
altar of His temple and appeared in front of Dasia. Dasia took darshan of the
Lord to his heart's content. He said, "What I had seen on the chariot is
the same as the form before me now. I am directly seeing the Lord! Brahma and
all of the demigods and asuras, yakhsas, gandharvsa, kirnars, siddhas, yogis
and munis meditate constantly the lotus feet of Lord Hari. They are not able to
see Him. I am ignorant, a low born. I have not done any devotional service. O
Lord of the universe, You have come to my cottage." The Lord, who was
wearing yellow garments said, "Dasia, please listen. My heart is not attracted
to heaven or liberation. Whoever worships me with devotion, My mind is
attracted to him. Your mood of devotion is everything for Me. My dear devotee,
please ask me what boon I can bestow upon you." Being very pleased Dasia
replied, "O my Lord, all I want is to remember your lotus feet constantly.
I do not need any other boon from you. Please bless me so that I can fix my
mind at the lotus feet of Your devotees. Please bless me so that 1 can have
your darshan whenever I meditate upon You. I do not need
anything else."
Hearing this, the Lord said, "Your life is blessed. Whenever you go
to Puri, look upon Nila-chakra on the top of My temple. I will manifest to you
there. Whatever you offer Me, I will accept that." After saying this, the
Lord disappeared. One day Baligram Dasia went to the home of one brahmana to
sell some cloth. He saw a nice coconut in the tree. He asked the brahmana,
"Can you give me this coconut? I would like to offer this to Lord
jagannath. Whatever the cost, please deduct from the cost of my cloth."
The greedy brahmana said, "I can give you this coconut in exchange for the
cloth." Baligram Dasia had only this cloth to sell to maintain his livelihood.
But he was not worried about that. He received the coconut in exchange for the
cloth, and returned to his village. That day, one brahmana was going to Puri to
offer many kinds fruits and milk to Lord Jagannath. Baligram Dasia went to him
and requested him to take his coconut to offer Lord Jagannath. Baligram Dasia
told the brahmana, "Please take this coconut. After finishing offering of
your ingredients, please think about my offering. You hold my coconut standing
behind Garuda stambha and appeal to the Lord that your devotee Baligram Dasia
has sent this coconut. Please accept this. If the Lord will accept this coconut
by extending His hand, then give it to Him. Otherwise, bring this coconut back to
me." Hearing this, the brahmana laughed and left for Puri. Baligrama Dasia
went back to his house. The brahmana reached Jagannath temple and completed his
puja to Lord Jagannath. When he was about to return, he remembered the coconut
given to him by Baligrama Dasia. He thought, "Let me see what
happens." Out of curiosity, he went behind the Garuda pillar. Holding the
coconut in his hand and closing his eyes, he said, "O Darubrahma! Baligram
Dasia has sent this coconut for You. Please accept it by extending Your lotus
hand, otherwise I will take it back." Suddenly the Lord extended His long
arm from the altar and took the coconut from the hand of the brahmana. In this
way, the coconut was offered to Lord Jagannath. Just see the strong faith of
the devotee. Even Laxmi Devi cannot understand this. By seeing this, the
brahmana started to cry in ecstasy. He said, "Oh Baligram Dasia! Your life
is blessed! Your father and mother are blessed! All glories to them! Your village
is blessed. Lord Pitavas is so pleased with you." This news spread among
the people in the temple. Everybody glorified Baligrama Dasia for his unalloyed
devotion.
One day, Baligram Dasia was planning to go to Puri to take darshan of
Lord Jagannath. He was thinking to take something to offer to the Lord. At that
time one mango vender came along. He had very nice looking, big, sweet mangoes.
Baligram Dasia bought about forty mangoes and carried those mangoes in a basket
to Puri. When he reached the Lion Gate, all the pandas were behind him to take
the mangoes inside the temple' to offer to the Lord. They were fighting with
each other to take the mangoes. Baligram Dasia said, "I do not need any of
you to offer these mangoes." The pandas said, "Then what will you do
with the mangoes? If you do not give them to us, how can they be offered? What
will you do with them if you take them back without offering them to the Lord? These
mangoes are meant for offering to Lord. No one can touch them without first
offering them to Him."
Baligram Dasia went ten feet back and placed the basket of mangoes on
the ground. He looked upon the Nilachakra. There he saw Lord Jagannath. He
offered his obeisances and said, "O Bhagavan, these mangoes are Your
property. You please enjoy them by your own sweet will. What is the need of
these brahmanas fighting unnecessarily?" After saying this, Baligram Dasia
picked up two mangoes and showed them to the Nilachakra. Immediately those
mangoes disappeared and went to the hand of Lord Jagannath. Jagannath ate the
mangoes happily. In this way, Lord Jagannath enjoyed all the mangoes. This is
the nature of the Lord. It does not matter how low born one may be, if he has
strong devotion, the Lord will be pleased to accept leaves, fruits and flowers
from his hand. Whatever high caste one may be, if he has no devotion, if he
offers many varieties of tasty food, still the Lord will not touch it.
After eating all the mangoes the Lord disappeared from the place. All
the people were watching how the mangoes were vanishing from Baligrama Dasias hand.
They asked him, "What happened to all mangoes? Is it some sort of
mesmerism? Black magic?" Dasia told them, "The Lord of the universe
ate all mangoes. Go and check inside the temple." All the pandas ran to
temple. They were surprised to see mango seeds and peels lying all over the
deity room. The brahmanas said, "You are a great devotee of the Lord. You
have purchased the Lord by your devotion. Who is there like you in this
universe? We are nothing compared to you." The brahmanas gave Baligrama
the prasada, garland of Lord Jagannath and blessed him to achieve the highest
destination of life. Hearing this, Baligrama Dasia fell at the feet of all the
brahmanas. He smeared the dust of the feet of brahmanas all over his body. He
offered them obeisances again and again. He said, "Oh brahmanas, I am so
fortunate to be blessed by all of you." After blessing Baligram Dasia in
this way, all the brahmanas left. Baligrama Dasia meditated upon the Lord with his
heart. He said, "Chakrapani, I offer my obeisances to that all cognizant
Lord. I have a humble request to you: Please show me all Your forms. Let my
life be purified by taking darshan of Your different forms!" Lord
Jagannath, understanding the mind of Baligrama Dasia, appeared on top the
temple at Nilachakra in His different forms from the fish incarnation to His
Kalki incarnation. Baligrama Dasia fell to the ground to offer obeisances again
and again, and said, "Now I am delivered!" Then he went back to his
house to live, happily engaging himself in the devotional service of the Lord.
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Dasia Bauri
One of the
most famous non-Brahmin devotees of Jagannatha, Dasia Bouri is said to have
been a contemporary of the Pancha sakhas, but there is no clear information
about the time frame of his life. He was a devotee born in a low caste family
of sweepers in the village of Baligram near Puri, but he gave up the
traditional occupation of his family, which he considered too dirty, and became
a weaver by profession.
Although he
married, he had no children. Every evening he used to sing new songs for
Jagannatha in his hut, composing beautiful poetry even if he was illiterate.
Once he heard the voice of Lord Jagannatha saying, “I have created everybody,
and all are My sons and daughters. For Me there is no difference between low
caste and high caste, as nobody is ever separated from Me”.
When the Ratha
Yatra day arrived, Dasia Bouri traveled to Puri with other pilgrims from his
village, and reached the city when the chariots were already starting to move.
So he waited at Balagandi instead of going all the way to the temple, and he
remained immersed in the contemplation of the Lord, humbly feeling that because
of his birth he was not worthy of getting on the chariot to embrace Jagannatha.
When he came back home that night, he was so immersed in the ecstasy of love
for Jagannatha that he was seeing Jagannatha everywhere, including within his
bowl of watery rice, and thus he was unable to eat.
In the
night, Jagannatha appeared to him and offered a boon, so Dasia Bouri asked to
be able to offer Him something personally in spite of his low social position.
The next morning Dasia Bouri purchased a coconut from his landlord, then he
entrusted the coconut to the head priest of his village who was going for Darshana
to the temple of Lord Jagannatha, together with several devotees carrying many
offerings from the village. The priest was perplexed, but Dasia Bouri insisted,
saying, “”Do not give the coconut to Jagannatha unless He takes it directly
from your hand. Just say that I am sending this coconut and ask Him to take it.
If He doesn’t, bring back the coconut to me.”
The Brahmin
decided that after all he could at least show the coconut before the Deity in
the temple hall, and then return the coconut to Dasia Bouri. So when he reached
the temple he stood in a little empty space near the Garuda stambha holding the
coconut in his hands, and mentally presenting it to Jagannatha in the name of
Dasia Bouri. Suddenly the coconut disappeared from his hands, to the great
amazement of everyone. Almost immediately, one of the Puja Pandas cried out
from the altar, saying that something very strange was happening: pieces of
coconut shells were falling around there.
Some time
later, Dasia Bouri personally went to Puri with a basket of mangoes and while
standing outside the temple, contemplated Lord Jagannatha in the Nila chakra
above the temple dome. Immediately the mangoes disappeared from his basket.
Some temple priests who had seen the miraculous event rushed inside the temple
and found mango peels and seeds laying around the altar, and drops of mango
juice dripping down the face of Lord Jagannatha’s Deity. Some say that Dasia
Bouri used to send a basket of mangoes every year to the Lord, and that the
same miracle would happen again and again.
Several
other miracles are also ascribed to Dasia. It is said that once he showed his
wife Malati the reflection of Jagannatha, Balabhadra and Subhadra within the
Gothagadia pond behind their hut; this pond is still considered sacred and
nobody uses it to bathe or wash utensils or clothes. Nobody also uses it to fish,
especially since then a villager who was cooking some fish caught from the pond
found his pot filled with blood. The local people also say that the pond is
protected by black cobras.
The story of
another miracle, similar to the story of Draupadi’s pot, says that once Jagannatha
visited Dasia Bouri’s house one night, disguised as an ordinary traveler, and
asked for food. Dasia’s wife offered whatever scraps she could from the pot,
and the traveler was satisfied. At the same time, the King of Purihad a dream
in which he was alerted about Dasia
Bouri’s precarious conditions, and he arranged for food to be sent to his
house; it is said that it was the King’s duty to send the first Mahaprasadam to
Dasia Bouri’s house. After the death of Dasia Bouri, the King of Puri granted
his relatives the service of carrying the wooden horses and the charioteers to
the Rathas for the festival.
Source : http://indiaconmassimotaddei.com
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Very informative. Thank you for wonderful article on Dasia Bauri.
ReplyDeleteHare Krishna!
Chandan Yatra Das
www.Holy-Pilgrimages.com