Captain Beatle
Lord Jagannatha's Miracle (True Story)
Pranam to all Vaishnavas!
lord Jagannatha’s MIRACLE !!!
The small ship had just left Chandanapur and was a few miles out to sea in the Bay of Bengal. The first mate was surveying the ocean through his telescope. Suddenly his eyes fixed on a particular point. Could that be a giant whale, or some monstrous sea animal big enough to swallow the whole ship? It was amazing. The mate saw that the ship was heading directly towards the creature. Preventative measures had to be taken to prevent a catastrophe.
Without a moment’s delay, he called out, “ Captain! All alert!” The French captain was taking a reading of the ship’s course from the chart in the control room. Hearing the call, he rushed out, a little perplexed. “What is the problem?” he inquired. The speechless mate pointed his finger towards the whale. Captain Beatle observed the approaching whale with his binoculars. There was also an impending storm on the horizon. The winds were gusting and tearing at the sails.
The captain first thought of releasing the lifeboats from the ship. But could the small boats even reach the shore in such high winds. There might be heavy loss of life. The captain realized the gravity of the situation, but was haunted by a sense of helplessness. Huge waves were making the sea turgid and black. The more he observed the approaching danger, the more frightened he became. He had no idea what course of action to take.
Finally, he decided the only thing to do was ring the warning-bell. He shouted to the crew to look out for themselves. There was no way to avert this imminent disaster.
The French ship departed for Pondicherry, (in South India), from France two months before. It was just a routine journey. In the 1650’s much trade of spices such as cardamom, clove, and cinnamon was going on between India and the European continent. Only a few days more were left to complete the journey. “To see Baruna, the next port, right now would make me so happy, “ mused the Captain sadly. “ It would look so lovely and inviting to me right now. Oh how I wish we could leave behind us the awful fury of this storm. Then there would be only three stops more till port in Madras and Pondicherry.”
Most of the crew and passengers of the ship were French. They were going to the small French settlement of Pondicherry, a short distance south of Madras. A special bell for the Pondicherry Church was on board the ship. Unloading the cargo at Pondicharry, the ship was then to return to France.
Now, in the wake of this storm, Captain Beatle was running about the ship frantically. All the frightened passengers encircled him. Any hope to save even lady passengers was thin. Beatle was an experienced saw captain, having spent eighteen years at sea. Yet now he was completely bewildered. Then a lady passenger ran towards him and appealed, “ Oh Captain, I don’t mind if I die, but please save my baby!” The baby was of angelic appearance, about one year old, and gave an innocent look at its mother’s face, without sensing anything. Tears ran down the captain’s cheek, and the little baby began to cry along with its mother. The captain was beside himself, having no way to console them. The shadow of death loomed large, a transition between life and death about to be violently enacted. Everyone was panicking. Some were crying, while others were taking half-measures to save their lives. Only a few moments remained before the unavoidable end.
Only one man was sitting quietly and without anxiety. He was looking at a picture of his worship able Lord and keeping it close to his heart, whispering something to himself. His mind was fixed on that picture. He was on old Indian man, who had boarded the ship at the last port. Captain Beatle rushed past him many times, still he was hardly noticed. The ship was about to be battered by the storm. Captain Beatle ran to the upper deck of the ship and snatched the binoculars from a deck hand so he himself could see their approaching fate. He muttered to himself, “ Oh dear God, we are so close to that deadly whale! What a harrowing sight!” He felt as if his blood was about to clot, seeing death itself approaching steadily. Now only the touch of death remained to be felt.
The captain’s relatives were all far away in Europe, and a sense of deep despair overcame him. He was unable to act at all. Then again he caught sight of the old man, sitting still amidst all the fright and confusion. Captain Beatle bent over to see the picture, which the old man held. It was a hand drawn painting, with three Deities sitting close to each other (Deity of Jagannath, Baladeva & Subhadra). One was black, one yellow, and the third white. “ The eyes of that black Deity look so big and terrible,” thought the captain. “ They remind me of the eyes of the whale, two of the whale, two huge eyes in a black face, looking straight at you, so prominent and overpowering.
“What are you doing?” shouted the captain. Straightening up, the poor man stared at him. Each eye was adorned with a tear.
“I am praying to Lord Jagannatha to rescue us from this catastrophe,” he said quietly.
“ Jagannatha? Who is He? Where is He? What can He do for us? Can He kill the whale with a weapon ? Can He save the ship?” retorted the captain.
A trace of a smile came over the old man’s wizened face. He appeared so calm and collected in this moment of crisis. “ Lord Jagannatha is my only resort. Danger is dispelled if one prays to Him,” the old man said passionately. “He makes a human response. His mystery is inscrutable, even to the demigods, what to speak of mere human beings. Yet when we call to Him, He comes and helps us.”
“ Can He save our ship from the clutches of death?” asked the captain in disbelief.
“ He will do the needful, that is His work.” Replied the man simply.
“ What power does your God have to do that! Can He act as a controlling force over nature?” asked the captain. If He can save the ship, I will offer Him all the treasures on board the ship and myself as well.”
Then the old man returned to his praying. The captain rushed to the upper deck of the ship again, and to his greatest surprise he saw the whale change its direction! The whale’s forward movement was slowing down and slowly he veered out to deep sea. The more the captain observed this, the more his face filled with amazement.
But the ship never stopped tossing about from the onslaught of the storm. ‘ One danger is removed, but still there is another with its own fury,’ thought the captain. It seemed the ship might be wrecked within a minute’s time. The old man’s curious picture began flashing before Captain Beatle’s eyes. Then he prayed, “Oh Lord Jagannatha, you controlled the whale, but are you able to check the storm?”
A huge thunderclap was heard and a bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, so powerful that it seemed as if the whole world would be destroyed. But all at once the storm died down and the ship was saved. The captain announced in a joyous booming voice, “We are saved! We are saved! Go ahead. Lord Jagannatha has freed us from all danger!”
Captain Beatle rushed to the old man’s side and embraced him tightly. The old man was still doing his prayers before the picture of Jagannatha. “The Lord of the universe has answered our prayers,” he said simply. A benign smile appeared on the old man’s tried and time worn face.
Tears filled the captains eyes and his voice choked. “ No one is foreign to your Lord Jagannatha. He deserves all the diamonds, precious gems, gold ornaments, and even the old French church bell be taken from the ship storeroom and given to this old man’s Lord Jagannatha temple”
Then Captain Beatle announced to all, “ Our ship has been saved, due to the mercy of God Jagannatha .”
Happily the Captain saw all the vast treasures leave in the boat and asked, “Do they have a storeroom in their temple spacious enough to house all these treasures for the Lord?”
Then the ship set sail again. Captain Beatle ran to the upper deck to observe whether any shore was in sight. The top of a huge temple, looking like a Blue Mountain, was clearly visible. His mate told him, “ That is the earthly home of Lord Jagannatha of Puri.”
Captain Beatle lowered his head in respect to the Lord “ All your glory, Jagannatha” !
Note : Even now we can see that old French church bell in the old courtyard of the original office of Jagannatha temple, known as Garad .
Om Jagannathaya Namah!
Jagannatha’s Dasi Jayamma
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Now the very bell is exhibited in the south
of the main temple within the inner compound at
Niladri Vihara with the following lines, carved on
it in French:
IN LIBERATES DE PEDRO MOUDELL
COURT : DE LA COMP DE FRANCE ME
NOM ME PIERE”
A PONDICHERY 1746
BETPSALLAMINGEN
CANTA TIBUS
magazine/Orissareview/2012/June
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