LORD JAGANNATHA - LORD NILAMADHABA & KING INDRADYAMNA

Lord Jagannatha - Lord Nilamadhaba & King Indradyumna

Lord Balabhadra, Maa Subhadra, Lord Jagannath

King Indradyumna

Lord JAGANNATH temple at Puri

Lord NILAMADHABA temple at Kantilo

Ratha-yatra festival, the parade of the chariots of Lord Jagannatha, Subhadra and Balarama, is yearly celebrated at the home of Lord Jagannatha in India called Jagannatha Puri. At Jagannatha Puri, Lord Jagannatha is worshiped in one of the oldest temples in India. The story of how Lord Jagannatha appeared is a very interesting episode in Vedic history.
King Indradyumna was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu and was very eager to meet Him face to face. One time, by the Lord’s arrangement, a devotee of the Lord arrived in the court of King Indradyumna, and in the course of discussion he began to talk about an incarnation of Lord Vishnu named Nila- madhava. After hearing these topics, King Indradyumna became very inspired and sent different brahmanas in different directions to search for and inquire about Lord Nila- madhava. All of them, however, were unsuccessful and returned to the capital city of the King, except for one priest of the name Vidyapati. After wandering in many places, Vidyapati finally came to a district whose population was of a non-Aryan type called Sabara. There he took shelter in the house of a local of the name Vishvasu. When he arrived, the master of the house was not there, but his young daughter, Lalita, was there alone. In a short time the master of the house returned and instructed his daughter to render all service needed for hospitality to the brahmana guest. For some time Vidyapati stayed there, and later, by the special request of the Sabara, he married the Sabara’s young daughter.

While Vidyapati lived in the house of the Sabara, he noticed some peculiarity in his host’s behavior. Every night the Sabara would go out, and on the next day at about noon he would return to the house scented with various fragrances such as camphor, musk and sandalwood. Vidyapati inquired from his wife about the reason for this, and she informed him that her father would go out to a secret place to worship Sri Nila-madhava.

After that day, Vidyapati’s joy knew no bounds. Actually Lalita had been ordered by her father not to tell anyone about Sri Nila-madhava, but she overstepped that order by telling her husband. Vidyapati immediately became eager to see Sri Nila-madhava, and finally one day, by the repeated request of his daughter, the Sabara Vishvasu bound the eyes of Vidyapati and took him to see Sri Nila-madhava. As they were leaving, Vidyapati’s wife. secretly bound some mustard seeds in the border of Vidyapati’s cloth, and so while passing on the path he threw them down to mark the way. When they reached Sri Nila-madhava the Sabara removed the blindfold, and Vidyapati, seeing the unprecedented beauty of the Deity of Sri Nila?madhava, began to dance in ecstasy and offer prayers.

Here it is clearly seen that Sri Nila-madhava was a Deity incarnation of the Supreme Lord. Deity incarnations are called arca-vigraha.The Lord appears in Deity forms to benefit His devotees, especially those who are less advanced. Since the Lord cannot be seen by any but the most advanced devotees, He appears as the Deity to accept worship. Krishna says in Bhagavad-gita (9.34),

man-mana bhava mad-bhakto
mad-yaji mam namaskuru

“Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me and offer Me your obeisances.” Therefore He appears as the Deity to accept the worship and obeisances of His devotees. He puts Himself in the hands of His devotees to receive their service and help them develop love for Him. This is an aspect of Krishna’s great mercy and His desire to free all the conditioned souls from bondage in this material world. Thus Vidyapati personally witnessed the mercy of Sri Nila-madhava.

After Vidyapati finished his prayers, the Sabara kept him near the Deity and went out to collect roots and forest flowers for worship. While the Sabara was out, Vidyapati witnessed an astounding thing. A sleeping crow fell off a branch of a tree into a nearby lake and drowned. It immediately took a four-armed Vaikuntha (spiritual) form and started back to the spiritual sky. Seeing this, the brahmana climbed up the tree and was about to jump into the lake, following the liberated crow.

As he was about to jump, however, a voice in the sky said, “O brahmana,since you have been able to see Sri Nila-madhava, you should before all else inform King Indradyumna.” Thus the brahmana climbed down from the tree and waited.

The Sabara soon returned carrying forest flowers and roots and started his daily worship of Lord Nila-madhava. As he was engaged in the service of the Lord, the Lord spoke to him, saying, “I have for so many days accepted the simple forest flowers and roots offered to Me by you. Now I desire the royal service offered to Me by My devotee King Indradyumna.

When the Sabara heard this, he thought, “I shall be cheated from the service of Sri Nila-madhava!” Therefore he bound his son?in?law Vidyapati and kept him in his house. After a time, however, at the repeated request of his daughter, he freed the brahmana and allowed him to go. The brahmana then immediately went to King Indradyumna and informed him of the discovery.

The King, in great ecstasy, went forth with many people to bring back Sri Nila-madhava. From the mustard seeds thrown along the path by Vidyapati, small plants had grown. So by following these plants the King was able to trace the path to Sri Nila-madhava. When they reached the spot, however, they did not find Him.

Not being able to see the beautiful form of the Lord, King Indradyumna besieged the village of the Sabaras and arrested the Sabara named Vishvasu. Suddenly, however, a voice in the sky said to the King, “Release this Sabara! On top of Nila Hill you should construct a temple. There as Daru- brahman, or the Absolute Truth manifest in a wooden form, you will see Me. You will not see Me as Nila-madhava.”

To build the temple, King Indradyumna made arrangements to bring stone from a place called Baulamala by building a road from there to the Nila-Kandara Hill. The holy abode of Sri Kshetra, or Puri, is in the shape of a conch, and in the navel of that conch the King established a town of the name Rama- Krishna-pura and constructed the temple. The temple extended 60 cubits beneath the earth and rose 120 cubits above the surface. At the top of the temple the King built a kalasa,or round pinnacle, and on top of that a cakra,or disc. He also had the temple decorated with golden ornamentation. Then King Indradyumna, desiring for Lord Brahma to consecrate the temple, traveled to Brahmaloka and spent a long time there waiting for him. During that time, the temple, which is very near the sea, became covered with sand from the shore.

When King Indradyumna was away, first Suradeva and then Galamadhava took over as the kings of that area. it was Galamadhava who raised the temple from within the sands, where it had been buried for a long time. Shortly after the temple was uncovered, however, King Indradyumna returned from Lord Brahma’s abode. Indradyumna claimed that he had constructed the temple, but Galamadhava put forward the claim that he was its constructor. In a banyan tree near the temple, however, lived a bhushandi crow who had been living through many ages, constantly singing the name of Lord Rama. From his abode on the branches of that banyan tree, the crow had seen the whole construction of the temple. Therefore he made it known that actually King Indradyumna had constructed the temple and that in his absence it had been covered by sand. He further said that King Galamadhava had later merely uncovered the temple. Because King Galamadhava had concealed the truth, Lord Brahma then ordered him to reside outside the grounds of the temple, on the western side of the lake called Indradyumna-sarovara.

Indradyumna then prayed to Lord Brahma to consecrate the temple and the surrounding area, known as Sri Kshetra which gives the highest type of liberation. But Lord Brahma said, “This Sri Kshetra is manifested by the Supreme Lord’s own internal potency, and the Supreme Lord manifests Himself. Therefore it is not within my power to install the Lord here. Lord Jagannatha and His abode are eternally situated in this material world by His own mercy. Therefore I shall simply place a flag on top of the temple and give this blessing: anyone who from a distance sees this flag and bows down, offering his prostrated obeisances, shall easily become liberated.” After some time, King Indradyumna became discouraged at so much delay in seeing Sri Nila-madhava. Deciding that his life was useless, he lay down on a bed of kusha grass, being determined to give up his life by fasting. At that time Lord Jagannatha spoke to him in a dream as follows: “My dear King, don’t be anxious. I shall come floating in from the sea in My wooden form as Daru-brahman at the place called Bankimuhan.” With a company of soldiers, the King then went to that place and saw on the shore a huge piece of wood marked with a conch, disc, club and lotus. Although he engaged many men and elephants to move that Daru-brahman, or woody Brahman, they couldn’t even budge it. But that night in a dream Lord Jagannatha again spoke to the King, saying, “Bring My previous servant Vishvasu, who used to serve Me as Nila- madhava, and place a golden chariot in front of Daru- brahman!”

The King began to work according to the instruction of that dream. He brought the Sabara Vishvasu and put him on one side of Daru-brahman, and on the other side he put the brahmana Vidyapati. Placing a golden chariot before the Daru-brahman, he then started kirtana, chanting of the holy names of the Supreme Lord. Then the King caught hold of Daru-brahman and prayed for the Lord to mount the chariot. Daru-brahman was then easily placed on the chariot and taken to an appointed place. There Lord Brahma began a sacrifice and established a Deity of Lord Nrisimhadeva on the raised platform of the sacrifice. It is said that the place where the present temple stands is the place where the sacrifice was performed and that the Nrisimha Deity now standing at the western side of the Mukti-mandapa in the temple compound is that original Nrisimha Deity.

To carve the Deity of Lord Jagannatha from the Daru- brahman, King Indradyumna called many expert sculptors. None of them, however, was able to touch Daru-brahman, for as soon as they started, their chisels broke and fell to pieces. Finally the Supreme Lord Himself came in the disguise of an old artist who introduced himself as Ananta Maharana.* [According to the Narada Purana (Utkala Khanda 54.22-65), the artist Vishvakarma, the architect of the demigods, carved the Deities in pursuance of the desire of Lord Vishnu, who had assumed the form of an old brahmana.] He promised that if he were allowed to work behind closed doors for twenty-one days, the Deity would be carved. Immediately preparations were made. According to the old sculptor’s directions, all the other artists were engaged in making three chariots. The old sculptor then took Daru-brahman into the temple and closed the doors, after making the King promise that the sculptor would reside alone and the King would not open the doors of the temple even slightly before the twenty- one days were up. After fourteen days had passed, however, the King was unable to hear the sounds of the artist’s tools, and so he became full of anxiety. Although his minister again and again forbade him, the King, on the advice of his queen, by force opened the door of the temple with his own hand.

Inside, the King did not find the old sculptor, but instead he saw that Daru-brahman was manifested in three forms, as Lord Jagannatha, Subhadra and Balarama. Going forward in front of these three Deities, he saw that Their fingers and toes were unfinished. The King’s wise minister then informed him that the architect was none other than Lord Jagannatha Himself and that because the King had broken his promise by opening the doors seven days too soon, Lord Jagannatha had manifested Himself in that way.

Then the King, thinking himself a great offender, decided to end his life. Thus again he lay down on a bed of kusha grass and began fasting. When half the night had passed, Lord Jagannatha appeared to the King in his dreams. The Lord said, “I am eternally situated here in Nilacala in the form of Lord Jagannatha as Daru-brahman. In this material world, I descend in twenty-four Deity incarnations with My abode. I have no material hands and feet, but with My transcendental senses I accept all the items offered in service by My devotees, and for the benefit of the world I move from one place to another. You have broken your promise, but that is just a part of the sweetness of My pastimes to manifest this Jagannatha form, which protects the eternal words of the Vedas.Anyway, those devotees whose eyes are smeared with the salve of love will always see Me as Syamasundara, holding a flute. If your desire is to serve Me in opulence, then from time to time I may be decorated with hands and feet made of gold or silver. You should certainly know, however, that My limbs are the ornaments of all ornaments.”

The Vedas assert, specifically in the Svetashvatara Upanishad (3.19):

apani-pado javano grahita
pashyaty acakshuh sa shrinoty akarnah
sa vetti vedyam na ca tasyasti vetta
tam ahur agryam purusham mahantam

“Without legs and hands, He moves and accepts. Without eyes He sees, and without ears He hears. He knows all that is knowable, but no one knows Him. They call Him the original Supreme Person.” To protect this assertion of the Vedas,Lord Jagannatha takes His form without hands and legs. Still, Lord Jagannatha is able to accept fifty- six different types of food, offered eight times daily, and He tours the world in His splendid carts.

Hearing the words of Lord Jagannatha in his dream, the King became satisfied and prayed to Him as follows: “My Lord, grant that those who appear in the family of the sculptor who manifested Your form may age after age assist in constructing the three carts.”

Lord Jagannatha, slightly smiling, replied, “That shall be. “ Then Lord Jagannatha said to the King, “The descendants of Vishvasu, who used to serve Me as Nila-madhava, should generation after generation serve Me. They may be called My dayitas.The descendants of Vidyapati born from his brahmana wife should perform the Deity worship for Me. And his descendants born from his Sabari wife, Lalita, should cook My food. They shall be known as suyaras.”

Then King Indradyumna said to the Lord Jagannatha, “My Lord, kindly grant one favor to me. Let the doors to Your temple be closed for only three hours a day. The rest of the time, let the doors be open so that all the residents of the universe may have access to see You. Further, let it be that all day long Your eating may go on and that Your lotus fingers may thus never become dry.”

Lord Jagannatha replied, “Tathastu,so be it. And for yourself, what benediction do you ask?”

The King replied, “So that no one in the future will be able to claim Your temple as his own property, I desire to be without descendants. Kindly just grant me this one benediction.”

Lord Jagannatha replied, “ Tathastu,so be it.”

Thus the merciful Lord Jagannatha, Subhadra and Balarama appeared in this material world to benefit all living beings. What is the benefit They bestow? That is stated in the Narada Purana (U. Kh.52.12):

pratimam tatra tam drishtva
svayam devena nirmitam
anayasena vai yanti
bhavanam me tato narah

The Supreme Lord Narayana tells Lakshmi-devi, “In that great abode known as Purushottama-kshetra, which is rarely achieved among all the three worlds, the Keshava Deity, who was fashioned by the Supreme Lord Himself, is situated. If men simply see that Deity, they are easily able to come to My abode.” In this way Lord Jagannatha is delivering the whole universe, especially as He rides on His cart before the eyes of all. Therefore I offer my prostrated obeisances to Lord Jagannatha, Subhadra and Balarama on the occasion of Their chariot ride and pray for Them to forgive me for any offenses I have committed in my clumsy attempt to describe Their glorious appearance.

source : http://www.krishna.com/appearance-lord-jagannatha

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THE ORIGIN OF MARUDGANAS

THE ORIGIN OF MARUDGANAS

Bheeshma requested Sage Pulastya to describe how all the Marudganas came into existence.

Pulastya replied--- All the sons and grandsons of Diti had perished in the battle fought between the deities and demons. Diti---the mother of daityas (demons) wanted to take revenge, so she started doing a penance at the bank of river Saraswati, which lasted for 100 years.Being pleased by her austere penance Sage Kashyap arrived and expressed his desire to bless her with a boon. Diti wanted a mighty son who could kill Indra. Sage Kashyap then implanted his sperms in Diti's womb and instructed her to remain there (where she had been doing penance) for 100 years. He also instructed her on various do's and don'ts which a pregnant woman is expected to observe. Diti agreed to follow his instructions.Mean while, Indra got wind of her pregnancy and became scared. He wanted to destroy the foetus at any cost, so he arrived at the place where Diti was staying. He had disguised himself to avoid being recognized by Diti. He engaged himself in her servitude, waiting for an opportune moment to destroy the foetus.

This way, ninety-nine years had passed and only three days were remaining after which Diti was expected to give birth to a son. As the inevitable day approached nearer, Indra started becoming restless.One day, Diti was very tired and fell down asleep. Her hair was untied and her head had stooped down while she was sleeping, just opposite to the instructions Kashyap had given to her. Finding the moment opportune, Indra entered into Diti's womb and cut the foetus into seven pieces with his Vajra. The seven fragments of foetus instantaneously got transformed into seven infants and started wailing. Indra became furious and once again he attacked them with his vajra and severed them into seven pieces each. But to Indra's sheer amazement, there were 49 infants, all wailing loudly. He tried to stop them from crying by shouting 'Marud' (don't cry), but to no avail.

Indra realized that the infants had attained immortality on account of the 'Pournamasi Vrata', which Diti had devoutly observed during the course of her penance. Indra named the infants as Marudganas and blessed them. He then begged for Diti's forgiveness and took her along with the Marudganas to heaven. The Marudganas, despite being born in the clans of demons, never associated with them and hence were revered even by the deities.Bheeshma expressed his curiosity to know about the detailed description of all the fourteen manvantars.

Pulastya said--The first manvantar was called Swayambhuva, named after Swayambhuva- Manu. Yamya was the prominent deity of this manvantar. Marichi and other six prominent sages were the Saptarishis of this manvantar. Swayambhuva- Manu had ten sons---Aaghnigha, Agnibahu, Vibhu, Savan, Jyotishman, Dyutiman, Havya, Medha, Medhatithi and Vasu.

The second manvantar was named after Swarochish--Manu. Swarochish--Manu had four sons--Nabh, Nabhasya, Prasriti and Bhavan. Tushit was the prominent deity of this second manvantar. Dattatreya, Atri, Chyavan, Stanba, Pran, Kashyap and Vrihaspati were the saptarishis of this manvantar.

The third manvantar was called Autam and derived its name from Autami Manu, who had ten sons--Isha, Urj, Tanuj, Shuchi, Shukra, Madhu, Madhav, Nabhasya, Nabh and Saha, Bhanusangyak was the prominent deity of this manvantar. Sage Urj and other six sages were the saptarishis then.

The fourth manvantar was called Taamas--named after Taamas-manu, who also had ten sons like his predecessor. The names of his sons were--Akalmash, Tapodhanva, Tapomool, Tapodhan, Taporashi, Tapasya, Sutapasya, Parantap, Tapobhagi and Tapoyogi. Kavi, Prithu, Agni, Akapi, Kapi, Janya and Dhama were the Saptarishis of this manvantar, while Saadhyagana was the prominent deity.

The fifth manvantar was called Raivat--named after Raivat Manu, who had ten sons as well--Varun, Tatvadarshi, chitiman, Havyap, Kavi, Mukt, Nirutsuk, Satva, Vimoh and Prakashak, Bhutrajaa and Prakriti were the two prominent deities of this manvantar and the names of the saptarishis were--Devabahu, Subahu, Parjanya, Somap, Muni, Hiranyaroma and Saptashva.

Next arrived the sixth manvantar---Chakshush. This Manvantar derived its name from Chakshush--Manu, who had ten sons and among whom Ruru was the most prominent one. Lekh, Ribhu, Prithagbhoot, Varimool and Divau were the prominent deities of this manvantar. The names of Saptarishis were--Bhrigu, Sudhama, Viraj, Vishnu, Narad, Vivaswan and Abhimani.

The present manvantar, which is the seventh in order, is called Vaivaswat. The Saptarishis of this manvantar are---Atri, Vashishth, Kashyap, Gautam--yogi, Bhardwaj, Vishwamitra and Jamdagni.

The eighth manvantar will be called Savarnya and will be named after Savarni Manu, Savarni Manu will have ten sons---Dhriti, Variyan, Yavasu, Suvarna, Dhrishti, Charishnu, Aadya, Sumati, Vasu and Shukra. The Saptarishis of this manvantar will be--Ashwatthama, Rishyashringa, Kaushikya, Galav, Shatanand, Kaashyap and Parashuram.

The nineth manvantar will be named after Ruchi--Manu and will be called Rauchya manvantar. Ruchi--manu will have a son named Rauchya.

The tenth manvantar will be called Bhautya and will derive its name from Bhautya Manu--Son of Bhuti.

The eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth and fourteenth manvantars will be named after Merusavarni, Ribhu, Veetdhama and Vishkvasen Manus respectively.

All these fourteen Manus successively rule this world for the total period of 1000 Chaturyugas. At the end of Kalpa each of them unite with Lord Brahma.

source : http://www.bharatadesam.com/spiritual/padma_purana.php

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THE MANIFESTATION OF GODDESS LAXMI

THE MANIFESTATION OF GODDESS LAXMI 

Samudra Manthan

Goddess Laxmi manifested herself

Bheeshma expressed his desire to know about the manifestation of goddess Laxmi.

Pulastya replied-- Once, after being defeated by the demons, the deities went to Lord Vishnu and sought his help. Lord Vishnu instructed them to collect all the medicinal herbs, and put them in the Ksheersagar, so that after the churning of the ocean ambrosia could be retrieved.Lord Vishnu also advised them to use the Mandar mountain as a Churner and the serpent--Sheshnag as a rope for churning the ocean.The deities then reached an agreement with the demons according to which both the groups were supposed to unitedly churn the ocean. The great Mandar mountain was uprooted and placed on the back of the tortoise--the embodiment of Lord Vishnu. Sheshnag coiled around that mountain and both the ends were held by the demons and the deities respectively. The deities intelligently chose the tail-end, while the demons in their foolishness chose the mouth-end. The vemon spilled by Sheshnag destroyed the power and strength off the demons. When the process of Churning began, the first thing to emerge from the sea-bed was Kaamdhenu--the holy cow. The deities claimed the ownership of this divine cow. Subsequently, Vaaruni (intoxicating drink) emerged from the sea-bed, which was claimed by the ignorant demons. During the process of ocean-churning, various kinds of things emerged out from the ocean--Parijat, sixty crore apsaras, the moon and the Kaalkut (poison), which were distributed among the demons and the deities. Lord Mahadev drank the Kaalkut when he saw that there was no taker for it.

The churning of ocean also resulted into the manifestation of ambrosia-pot, Uchchaishrava (horse) and Eravat (elephant). Ultimately, goddess Laxmi manifested herself, seated on a lotus. The deities eulogised her by chanting the mantras of Sri Sukta. The deities were desirous of having goddess Laxmi on their side, so were the demons, but Lord Brahma instructed Vishnu to accept her as his consort. The demons became furious and snatched the ambrosia-pot from the hands of Sage Dhanvantari. Lord Vishnu then disguised himself as the most enchanting woman and fooled the demons into giving back the ambrosia-pot. Lord Vishnu gave the pot to the deities who became immortal after drinking ambrosia. A tremendous battle was fought between the demons and the deities. But, the demons were defeated in this battle and fled to the netherworld to protect their lives. The deities eulogised Lord Vishnu and returned to heaven.

source : http://www.bharatadesam.com/spiritual/padma_purana.php

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MAHA SHIVARATRI

                            M A H A   S H I V A R A T R I

Shiva Puja with Bilwa leaf

Swami Chidananda Saraswati - Shiva Puja

Samudra Manthana

Legend on Suswara

Maha Shivratri or Maha Sivaratri or Shivaratri or Sivaratri (Night of Shiva) is a Hindu festival celebrated every year on the 13th night/14th day in the Krishna Paksha of the month Maagha (as per Shalivahana) or Phalguna (as per Vikrama) in the Hindu Calendar. The most significant practices on this day are offerings of Bael (Bilva) leaves to the Lord Shiva, fasting and all night long vigil. In North India and Nepal many people consume bhang lassi, which they believe is lord Shiva's favorite drink.

There are many stories associated with Shivaratri and its origins.

During the samudra manthan by the Gods and demons, haalaa-hala, a poison came out of the ocean.It was so toxic, that its effect would have wiped out the entire creation. At this juncture, as per the advice of Vishnu, the gods approached Mahadev and prayed to him to protect their lives by consuming this poison. Pleased with their prayers, out of compassion for living beings, Lord Shiva drank this poison and held it in his throat by binding it with a snake. The throat became blue due to the poison (Thus Lord Shiva is also known as Neelakantha) and Shiva remained unharmed. This shows that shiva is also the protector. In another story, it is said that the whole world was once facing destruction and the Goddess Parvati worshiped her husband Shiva to save it. She prayed for the Jivas (living souls) remaining in space like particles of gold dust in a lump of wax during that long period of pralaya (deluge) night, should, upon becoming active again and in the enjoy­ment of their short day and night, have his blessings, but only if they worshiped him just as she did then.

Her prayer was accordingly granted. Parvati named the night for the worship of Iswara by mortals Maha-Sivaratri, or the great night of Siva, since pralaya is brought about by him. This period is really his night from the great night or pralaya which was the cause for the origin of this Sivaratri.

After creation was complete, Parvati asked Shiva of which rituals pleased him the most. The Lord replied that the 14th night of the new moon, during the month of Maagha, is my most favourite day. It is known as Shivaratri. Parvati repeated these words to her friends, from whom the word spread over all creation.

Once upon a time, a hunter worshiped Lord Shiva unknowingly on Shivaratri. He did this by dropping bael leaves on a shiva linga at the base of a bael tree from its branches where he was hiding and fasting all night. For this he was forgiven of all his sins. This forms the basis behind the offerings of bael to the Lord on Shivaratri.

In the Shanti Parva of the Mahabharata, Bhishma, whilst resting on the bed of arrows and discoursing on Dharma, refers to the observance of Maha Shivaratri by King Chitrabhanu. The story goes as follows -
Once upon a time King Chitrabhanu of the Ikshvaku dynasty, who ruled over the whole of Jambudvipa, was observing a fast with his wife, it being the day of Maha Shivaratri. The sage Ashtavakra came on a visit to the court of the king.

The sage asked the king the purpose of his observing the fast. King Chitrabhanu explained that he had a gift of remembering the incidents of his previous birth.

The king said to the sage that in his previous he was a hunter in Varanasi and his name was Suswara. His only livelihood was to kill and sell birds and animals. One day while roaming through forests in search of animals he was overtaken by the darkness of night. Unable to return home, he climbed a tree for shelter. It happened to be a Bael tree. He had seen a deer that day but let it live, after seeing the deer's sad family. As hunger and thirst tormented him, he was kept awake throughout the night. His canteen leaked water as he thought of his poor wife and children who were starving and anxiously waiting for his return. To pass away the time that night he engaged himself in plucking the Bael leaves and dropping them down onto the ground.
The next day he returned home and bought some food for himself and his family. The moment he was about to break his fast a stranger came to him, begging for food. He served the food first to stranger and then had his own.

At the time of his death, he saw two messengers of Lord Shiva. They were sent down to conduct his soul to the abode of Lord Shiva. He learnt then for the first time of the great merit he had earned by the unconscious worship of Lord Shiva during the night of Shivaratri. The messengers told him that there was a Lingam at the bottom of the tree. The leaves he dropped fell on the Lingam. His canteen, which leaked water, washed the Lingam and he had fasted all day and all night. Thus, he unconsciously worshiped the Lord.

As the conclusion of the tale the King said that he lived in the abode of the Lord and enjoyed divine bliss for long ages and now he has reborn as Chitrabhanu.

Tripundra refers to the three horizontal stripes of holy ash applied to the forehead. These stripes symbolise spiritual knowledge, purity and penance (spiritual practice of Yoga), so also they represent the three eyes of Lord Shiva. Wearing a rudraksha when worshipping Lord Shiva is ideal. A rudraksha is reddish in colour with yellow stripes and is flat like a fish. The rudraksha converts light frequencies of deities from the universe into sound frequencies in the body of humans and vice versa.

Only cold water and bel is offered to Lord Shiv's pindi. Neither is it bathed with milk and panchamrut (a mixture of milk, curds, ghee, sugar and honey) nor offered turmeric, vermilion (kumkum) or white consecrated rice (akshata). Milk and clarified butter (ghee) symbolise sustenance while turmeric is an underground stem and represents fertility of the soil, that is creation. Vermilion is prepared from turmeric. Since Lord Shiva is the deity of dissolution, substances such as milk, vermilion and turmeric are not used in His worship.

source: http://spiritualsatsang.blogspot.in

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Goswami TULASI DAS - his darshan with LORDS , Saints & Miracles

                                       SANT   TULASI DAS

Lord Rama Laxmana and Sita Devi with Hanuman

SANKATAMOCHANA HANUMANJI at Varanasi

Main Gate to Sankatamochan Temple

Tulasi Das composing Ramcharitamanasa

Rama Ghat at Chitrakuta

Kamadgiri mountain at Chitrakuta

After renunciation, Tulsidas spent most of his time at Varanasi, Prayag, Ayodhya, and Chitrakuta but visited many other nearby and far-off places. He traveled across India to many places, studying different people, meeting saints and Sadhus and meditating.The Mula Gosain Charita gives an account of his travels to the four pilgrimages of Hindus (Badrinath, Dwarka, Puri and Rameshwaram) and the Himalayas.He visited the Manasarovar lake in current-day Tibet, where tradition holds he had Darshan (sight) of Kakabhushundi,the crow who is one of the four narrators in the Ramcharitmanas.

Kaka Bhushundi narating Ramacharitamanasa

Darshan of Hanuman

Tulsidas hints at several places in his works, that he had met face to face with Hanuman and Rama.The detailed account of his meetings with Hanuman and Rama are given in the Bhaktirasbodhini of Priyadas.According to Priyadas' account, Tulsidas used to visit the woods outside Varanasi for his morning ablutions with a water pot. On his return to the city, he used to offer the remaining water to a certain tree. This quenched the thirst of a Preta (a type of ghost believed to be ever thirsty for water), who appeared to Tulsidas and offered him a boon. Tulsidas said he wished to see Rama with his eyes, to which the Preta responded that it was beyond him. However, the Preta said that he could guide Tulsidas to Hanuman, who could grant the boon Tulsidas asked for. The Preta told Tulsidas that Hanuman comes everyday disguised in the mean attire of a leper to listen to his Katha, he is the first to arrive and last to leave.

That evening Tulsidas noted that the first listener to arrive at his discourse was an old leper, who sat at the end of the gathering. After the Katha was over, Tulsidas quietly followed the leper to the woods. In the woods, at the spot where the Sankat Mochan Temple stands today,Tulsidas firmly fell at the leper's feet, shouting "I know who you are" and "You cannot escape me".At first the leper feigned ignorance but Tulsidas did not relent. Then the leper revealed his original form of Hanuman and blessed Tulsidas. When granted a boon, Tulsidas told Hanuman he wanted to see Rama face to face. Hanuman told him to go to Chitrakuta where he would see Rama with his own eyes.

At the beginning of the Ramcharitmanas, Tulsidas bows down to a particular Preta and asks for his grace (Ramcharitmanas, Doha 1.7). According to Rambhadracharya, this is the same Preta which led Tulsidas to Hanuman.

Darshan of Rama

As per Priyadas' account, Tulsidas followed the instruction of Hanuman and started living in an Ashram at Ramghat in Chitrakuta. One day Tulsidas went to perform the Parikrama (circumambulation) of the Kamadgiri mountain. He saw two princes, one dark and the other fair, dressed in green robes pass by mounted on horsebacks. Tulsidas was enraptured at the sight, however he could not recognize them and took his eyes off them. Later Hanuman asked Tulsidas if he saw Rama and his brother Lakshmana on horses. Tulsidas was disappointed and repentful. Hanuman assured Tulsidas that he would have the sight of Rama once again the next morning.Tulsidas recalls this incident in a song of the Gitavali and laments how "his eyes turned his own enemies" by staying fixed to the ground and how everything happened in a trice.On the next morning, Wednesday, the new-moon day of Magha, Vikram 1607 (1551 CE) or 1620 (1564 CE) as per some sources, Rama again appeared to Tulsidas, this time as a child. Tulsidas was making sandalwood paste when a child came and asked for a sandalwood Tilaka (a religious mark on the forehead). This time Hanuman gave a hint to Tulsidas and he had a full view of Rama. Tulsidas was so charmed that he forgot about the sandalwood. Rama took the sandalwood paste and put a Tilaka himself on his forehead and Tulsidas' forehead before disappearing.

In a verse in the Vinayapatrika, Tulsidas alludes to a certain "miracle at Chitrakuta", and thanks Rama for what he did for him at Chitrakuta.Some biographers conclude that the deed of Rama at Chitrakuta referred to by Tulsidas is the Darshan of Rama.

Darshan of Yajnavalkya and Bharadvaja

In Vikram 1628 (1572 CE), Tulsidas left Chitrakuta for Ayodhya where he stayed during the Magha Mela (the annual fair in January). Six days after the Mela ended, he had the Darshan of the sages Yajnavalkya and Bharadvaja under a banyan tree.In one of the four dialogues in the Ramcharitmanas, Yajnavalkya is the speaker and Bharadvaja the listener.Tulsidas describes the meeting between Yajnavalkya and Bharadvaja after a Magha Mela festival in the Ramcharitmanas, it is this meeting where Yajnavalkya narrates the Ramcharitmanas to Bharadvaja.

Attributed Miracles

A prince visits Tulasi Das Sisodia dynasty painting Udaipur

A Mughal prince visits Tulsidas. Early 18th century Sisodia dynasty painting from Udaipur, Mewar.
In Priyadas' biography, Tulsidas is attributed with the power of working miracles.In one such miracle, he is believed to have brought back a dead Brahmin to life.[57][58][59][60] While the Brahmin was being taken for cremation, his widow bowed down to Tulsidas on the way who addressed her as Saubhagyavati (a woman whose husband is alive).[58] The widow told Tulsidas her husband had just died, so his words could not be true.Tulsidas said that the word has passed his lips and so he would restore the dead man to life. He asked everybody present to close their eyes and utter the name of Rama, on doing which the dead Brahmin was raised back to life.

In another miracle described by Priyadas, the emperor of Delhi, Akbar summoned Tulsidas on hearing of his bringing back a dead man to life.Tulsidas declined to go as he was too engrossed in creating his verses but he was later forcibly brought before the Akbar and was asked to perform a miracle, which Tulsidas declined by saying "It's a lie, all I know is Rama." The emperor imprisoned Tulsidas at Fatehpur Sikri, "We will see this Rama."Tulsidas refused to bow to Akbar and created a verse in praise of Hanuman and chanted it ( Hanuman Chalisa ) for forty days and suddenly an army of monkeys descended upon the town and wreaked havoc in all corners of Fatehpur Sikri,entering each home and the emperor's harem, scratching people and throwing bricks from ramparts.An old Hafiz told the emperor that this was the miracle of the imprisoned Fakir.The emperor fell at Tulsidas' feet, released him and apologized.Tulsidas stopped the menace of monkeys and asked the emperor to abandon the place. The emperor agreed and moved back to Delhi.Ever since Akbar became a close friend of Tulsidas and he also ordered a firman that followers of Rama, Hanuman & other Hindus, should not be harassed in his kingdom.

Priyadas narrates a miracle of Tulsidas at Vrindavan, when he visited a temple of Krishna.When he began bowing down to the idol of Krishna, the Mahant of the temple named Parshuram decided to test Tulsidas. He told Tulsidas that he who bows down to any deity except their Ishta Devata (cherished form of divinity) is a fool, as Tulsidas' Ishta Devata was Rama.In response, Tulsidas recited the following extemporaneously composed couplet

Devanagari                     IAST
काह कहौं छबि आजुकि भले बने हो नाथ ।                     kāha kahau̐ chabi ājuki bhale bane ho nātha ।
तुलसी मस्तक तब नवै धरो धनुष शर हाथ ॥              tulasī mastaka taba navai dharo dhanuṣa śara hātha ॥
“
O Lord, how shall I describe today's splendour, for you appear auspicious. Tulsidas will bow down his head when you take the bow and the arrow in your hands. ”

When Tulsidas recited this couplet, the idol of Krishna holding the flute and stick in hands changed to the idol of Rama holding the bow and arrow in hands.Some authors have expressed doubts on the couplet being composed by Tulsidas

Literary life

Tulsidas started composing poetry in Sanskrit in Varanasi on the Prahlada Ghat. Tradition holds that all the verses that he composed during the day, would get lost in the night. This happened daily for eight days. On the eighth night, Shiva - whose famous Kashi Vishwanath Temple is located in Varanasi - is believed to have ordered Tulsidas in a dream to compose poetry in the vernacular instead of Sanskrit. Tulsidas woke up and saw both Shiva and Parvati who blessed him. Shiva ordered Tulsidas to go to Ayodhya and compose poetry in Awadhi. Shiva also predicted that Tulsidas' poetry would fructify like the Sama Veda.In the Ramcharitmanas, Tulsidas hints at having the Darshan of Shiva and Parvati in both dream and awakened state.

source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulsidas

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