Dhananjaya Mehta
In 1727 a
wealthy and proud man from Hyderabad came to Puri to accompany his family in
sacred pilgrimage. However, he lacked the faith and devotion manifested by his
family, and remained sceptical about the actual position of Lord Jagannatha as
the King of the Universe. In fact, he was convinced that his own great opulence
was superior to the properties and lifestyle of Lord Jagannatha.
He decided
to challenge Lord Jagannatha’s superiority by offering 100,000 rupees in
donation if the temple priests were able to use the entire sum to prepare one
single food offering. At that time 100 rupees were sufficient to pay for an
entire offering. So the Sevakas held a prayer meeting in front of Jagannatha to
ask Him what to do.
Lord
Jagannatha appeared in a dream to the head priest, suggesting that there was
not even need to prepare a full meal in order to spend that amount of money. In
fact, He said, that amount could be demonstrated insufficient even for a single
piece of pan – albeit a special one, worthy of the opulence of the Lord of the
Universe. In that single piece of pan, the betel nut within the pan leaf should
be smeared not with lime but with the powder of a rare pearl that is sometimes
naturally growing within the forehead of a bull elephant.
When the wealthy man
was informed, he realized he had been outsmarted, as one single ordinary
elephant cost 100,000 and such a rare elephant would cost much more. He was
unable to pay even for one single piece of pan! His pride was shattered, and
the only thing he could do now was to humbly offer his respect and devotion to
the Lord.
Source : http://indiaconmassimotaddei.com
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