Kanchi Abhiyan
Once upon a time there was king named Purusottama Deva in the Ganga
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 in 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
considered 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 favourite
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 Goddess 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 in 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 behaviour 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 behaviour
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 behaviour, 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 Jagannath temple, and that They would
be placed behind Ganesh in Kanchi. The King began to pray to Lord Jagannath:
"O Lord Jagannath! 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 in this battle, is it not also Your defeat? It is a great
insult to You! How can You, the Lord of the universe, 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 situation. He became encouraged to fight again with the
King of Kanchi.
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
buttermilk, 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 the
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 marriage to the
princess, planned to marry her to a chandala road sweeper. He called for his
minister and ordered him to look for one chandala boy to marry Princess
Padmavati. 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 actions.
But King Purusottama’s minister was very clever. He told the King 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 her that she should get dressed in her
finest cloth because today was her wedding day. As soon as Padmavati heard
this, she scared 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 Subhadra Devi were already sitting
in Their chariots. Thousands of people lined the streets, and the sound of
nama-sankirtan filled the air. Devotees played mridanga 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 cleverly 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 minister 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 Lord Jagannath’s 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 Jagannath’s temple. These deities were worshipped on an altar that was
located between Jagannath's altar and the room where the bhoga is prepared. The
Jagannath 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.
Source : http://nitaaiveda.com
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Nicely written with details. Glad to read such legend.
ReplyDeleteNicely written.
ReplyDelete