SANT ROHIDAS

                           Pandharpur   Lord   Vitthal   &   Goddess   Rukmini

                                             Sant   Ravidas   ( Raidas ---  Rohidas )
Born : 1377 AD
Lived :  126 Years

Rohidas was a cobbler by profession. Though he was a cobbler by profession he would always be chanting and thinking about Vitthal. His heart was always filled with love for Vitthal. He would go to Pandhari every ekadasi and on other days he would sit in his shop and take care of his business. It so happened that the king who was ruling that city had to go on a war. The army started preparing for the war and had to acquire shoes for the soldiers. The king then asked each cobbler in the city to make 1000 shoes with in a week and send it to the palace. Every one had to agree as it was the king’s order. The other cobblers were happy and even employed a few others to work part time and started making the shoes. It was not practically possible for Rohidas to make 1000 shoes in the given time as he would always get lost in his thoughts about god by singing his praise even while working. Usually he would make only around 10 shoes in a month which was just enough for him to run his family. He tried to employ some people to complete this job but could not find any. Six days had passed by and Rohidas had not even finished cutting all the leather required for making 1000 shoes. If he doesn’t deliver the shoes by tomorrow Rohidas will be punished by the king. Rohidas did not realize all that and continued with his bhajans. That evening a young guy came to Rohidas saying that he was told by other cobblers that Rohidas was looking for a person to work for him. Rohidas was happy to hear this and asked him to come inside his shop. He then told the guy that lets try to do whatever we can tonight even if we can not complete 1000. The young guy asked him not to worry and said that he would easily complete the job. Rohidas then told him that he would do the cutting and asked the guy to do the stitching. The guy looked at the thambura in the shop and asked him if he would sing. Rohidas then said that if he starts singing he would get involved in it and forget himself and that it would a hindrance to their work. The guy insisted that Rohidas sings and said that he would take care of making the shoes. Hearing this Rohidas was happy and started singing the praise of god. When Rohidas finished the 1st song he saw that the guy had finished a few shoes by then. Rohidas was amazed by the speed with which this guy was making shoes. He then asked him if he could help him with the cutting. The guy said that all he wanted was to listen to Rohidas songs and that he would definitely finish stitching all 1000 shoes if he continues with his singing. Rohidas then asked him about his native and the guy said that he was from Pandhari and that his name was Rangan. He also said that he has seen him in Pandhari during ekadasi. Rohidas then continued his singing and Rangan continued making the shoes. Rohidas would sing a few songs and then turn to Rangan and ask if he was Pandurangan? Rangan would then smile at him and answer him that Rohidas sees everyone as Pandurangan and that is why he feels this way when he see him too. Rohidas was singing almost till dawn and Rangan had by then completed all 1000 shoes and had tied them in bundles of 100’s. Rohidas then praised Rangan for finishing the job. Rangan then said that he would brush his teeth and come. Rohidas then told him that as he had been awake the whole night, he would get some oil for him so that he could have an oil bath. He also said that he could have food with him after the bath and that he would give Rangan whatever money the king gives to him. Rangan then left the shop. Rohidas was waiting for the king’s men to come for the shoes and he gave it to them. The king’s men were happy with the shoes and gave Rohidas a lot of money. Rohidas then locked the shop and came to the river in search of Rangan but he was not there. He then enquired the people there about Rangan and understood that no one had seen him this morning. He then came back to the shop and was looking for him in the bazaar and other places but could not find him anywhere. By noon Rohidas understood that it was Vitthal who had come as Rangan. As soon as he understood this, he fainted and fell down. His wife then came in search of him and asked him what had happened. He then told his wife that Vitthal had come to do this inferior job of a cobbler for him and that he had kept some oil and dress for him and had left him without taking any of this from him. They then went to Pandhari with the oil, dresses and the money given by the king. They performed abhishekam (Sacred Bathing) for Vitthal, dressed him with new clothes and offered the money given by the king to him.

Source : http://indiansaints.wordpress.com/2009/08/31/sant-rohidas/

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Raidas

Written By: Sadhu Mukundcharandas Born in Mandur near Kashi, bhakta–poet Raidas was the son of a cobbler. It is a general consensus that he was born in Samvat 1433 (1377 CE), on Magh sud 15 (Purnima). Since the day was a Sunday, he was named Ravidas, which later became Raidas in Hindi and Rohidas in Gujarati. ,

Born in Mandur near Kashi, bhakta–poet Raidas was the son of a cobbler. It is a general consensus that he was born in Samvat 1433 (1377 CE), on Magh sud 15 (Purnima). Since the day was a Sunday, he was named Ravidas, which later became Raidas in Hindi and Rohidas in Gujarati.
It is said that during his previous birth Raidas was a Brahmin pandit, the disciple of Swami Ramanand. The disciple begged alms from which he cooked for the guru. Swami had instructed him not to beg alms from an unscrupulous man in town. Once during the monsoon, the disciple had no choice but to obtain alms from this man. After having the food cooked from these alms, the guru lay down for his usual nap. But he could not sleep; his mind in turmoil. Swami then questioned the disciple, who admitted to begging alms from the evil man. For this error, he had to take another birth. In this birth Swami Ramanand was still alive. Later, once again, Raidas adopted him as his guru. Along with Kabir and ten others, Raidas was among the twelve senior disciples of Ramanand.
From birth he enjoyed the company of sadhus which angered his father. Once in a fit of anger he kicked Raidas out of the house.

Raidas built a hut outside the town, spending his time in singing bhajans and sewing shoes. He possessed a beautiful murti with four arms – the chaturbhuj form of Paramatma. Everyday he sang devotional bhajans in front of this murti such as,

‘Prabhuji tum chandan ham pãni,
jãki angang bãt samãni....’

i.e. “O Prabhu, You are the sandalwood paste and I am mere water, your fragrance is pervading this chandan.”
Unable to tolerate Raidas’s worship of the murti, a jealous Brahmin once complained to the local king, that this practice would wreak havoc in the kingdom. The king summoned Raidas with the murti. In the palace, Raidas listened to the complaint and then placed the murti on a bajoth. He then challenged the Brahmins:
‘O Brahmins! You are the beloved bhaktas of Bhagwan. Chant your mantras so that the murti jumps onto your lap.’ The Brahmins began their recitation but the murti did not budge an inch. Then Raidas began to sing:

‘Narhari chanchal hai mati meri, kaise bhakti karu me teri?’

i.e. “O Hari, my intellect is unstable, with what shall I offer you devotion?”
When the bhajan ended the murti literally flew into Raidas’s lap! Shamed, the Brahmins scrambled out. The king then honoured Raidas.
On one occasion a thirsty merchant passing by asked Raidas for some water. Raidas poured some into his cupped palms from a leather container. Water in a leather container is considered impure. Therefore, instead of drinking it, the merchant let it drip down his elbows onto his upper garment, causing a stain. The next morning when his washerwoman noticed the stain, she chewed the patch in the hope of dissolving it. By the intake of even a minuscule remnant of Raidas’s water, the woman attained trikal jnan – the power of knowing the past, present and future! Later a friend of the merchant paying him a visit, questioned her whether her master was at home. She replied, ‘No, he has gone to the leather market.’ In reality the merchant was indoors performing puja. Hearing the woman’s apparently false reply he stormed out.
‘Why did you lie? You knew I was inside.’
‘Master, though you were inside, physically doing puja, your mind was at the leather market!’
The merchant was astonished and inquired how she had attained such power. She recounted the previous day’s chewing of the stained patch. The merchant then realised his error and Raidas’s exalted status and returned to venerate him.
Once, a sadhu pained on seeing Raidas’s poverty, gave him a parasmani. In his presence the sadhu took the cobbler’s needle and touched the gem. The iron needle turned into gold. Raidas was not the least bit enticed and replied, “I do not want this maya.” But the sadhu placed the parasmani on a shelf in the house and left. Thirteen months later he returned. Raidas told him, Collect it from where you left it. I have not touched it. Thus he remained detached from worldly enticements.
Once Queen Zali Ratnakunvarba, wife of Maharana Kumbh of Chitor visited Kashi on a pilgrimage. Along with the Brahmins, she invited Raidas to have a meal. The Brahmins refused to sit with him. Therefore, he sat separately. When everyone started eating, to their horror, they saw one Raidas sitting between every two Brahmins! When the Brahmins stood up, they saw only Brahmins. As they sat down to eat, they again saw images of Raidas sitting between them! The Brahmins then realised that whatever varna a bhakta is, he may still have attained an exalted status. The rani then accepted Raidas as guru. Another Rajput queen, Mirabai, also became his disciple (see Ch. 32). Describing himself, Raidas said,

Jãtibhi ochhi, karambhi ochhã, ochhã kisab hamãrã,
niche se Prabhu unch kiyo hai, kahã Raidas chamãrã.

i.e. ‘My varna is low, my deeds are low, my talent is low, yet Prabhu has uplifted me from such a lowly state.’
Raidas lived till the age of 120 (105 according to another source) and died in 1519 in Chitor. Here, in the compound of Mirabai’s Krishna mandir where he was cremated, there is a shrine named Sant Raidaski Chhatri. Today his following is known as Raidasi.. 

Source : http://www.baps.org/Article/2011/Raidas-2152.aspx

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Lord, There is no inconsistency between Thou and me or me and Thee.The relationship is like bangle to gold or wave to water.The ceaseless lord, were we not sinners, How wouldest thou be called the emancipator of the fallen.

Shri Guru Ravi Das Ji was born in the village Mandoor Garh, on the outskirts of Kashi (Benaras) in the year 1377 AD ie Bikrami Samvat 1433 (widely accepted by most scholars). His birthday comes every year at Puranmashi in the month of Magh. His mother's name was MATA KALSI JI and his father's name was BABA SANTOKH DASS JI.

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SANT NARAHARI SONAR

 

                                                                                                                          

Sant   Narahari   Sonar

Narahari was born into a family of goldsmiths. He was a pious man .He was doing his family business with utmost sincerity, devotion and honesty. He was an ardent devotee of lord shiva “MALLIKA ARJUNA”whose temple is situated on the mahadwar of Vitthal Rukmani temple in Pandharpur. He firmly held lord Shiva in his heart and chanted NAMASHIVAYA panchaksharam. He was a non-compromising staunch saivite and even though he lived in Pandharpur and though his house was just a stonesthrow away from the Vitthal temple yet he never once visited Vitthal’s temple as he wanted to have nothing to do with lord Vitthal or even his devotees. During festival season at Vitthal’s shrine Narahari would move away from pandarpur to the neighboring villages as the festivities did not interest him and the crowds of devotees bothered him. Everyone in the village knew of this peculiar quality of his.

However one day a devotee of Vitthal who was a trader by profession and was from a different town visited Narahari. Narahari was busy making gold ornaments. The trader told Narahari that he had come to see him with a special jewel order. Narahari asked him, what he wanted. The trader said, ”Swami, on hearing your extraordinary skills I have come here to make an exclusive one of a kind waist band. ”Narahari said, ”surely I will make one for you.”The trader replied, ”you are indeed a lucky person and do you know to whom you will be making this ornament. It is for our great Vitthal. ”On hearing this Narahari became furious. The trader did not know much about Narahari’s resolve, not to have anything to do with Vitthal. Again he said to Narahari, ”Swami, you are going to make this for our Vitthal. It is indeed your great fortune and it is very appropriate as there is no such skilled person in this village to do this job. Kindly accept my request. ”Narahari shouted, ”I don’t know anything about Vitthal and have no intention of entering the temple for any reason whatsoever.”

The trader persisted as ”I have been childless for a long period. We prayed to Vitthal and we got all our prayers answered and now we want to show our gratitude and keep up our vow by offering this special jewel. Finally the trader pleaded with him and half-heartedly and reluctantly Narahari accepted to do a waist band for Vitthal. Even then, Narahari said, ”Take measurement of Vitthal’s waist and I will make the jewel. I will not come to the temple myself.”The trader was surprised to hear this and he agreed to bring the measurements. The trader then went to the temple and took the measurement of Vitthal’s waistline and gave it to Narahari. He also gave a few valuable diamonds and various other precious stones for embedding on the jewel. Narahari started making the waistband and finished it in a short period of time. The jewellery came out so beautiful and dazzling with excellent workmanship and the trader was pleased with it.

On an auspicious day the trader took the jewel to the temple and made elaborate pooja arrangements and offered it to Vitthal. But unfortunately the waistband didn’t fit the lord and it was tight. Disappointed he took it back to Narahari and told him to make it longer. Narahari added an extra link to the jewel to increase its length a bit. Again the trader went to the temple and tried the jewel, but this time surprisingly the waistband was too loose.At first the trader was confused and the next moment he thought that he had committed some mistake causing unhappiness to the lord and tears rolled over his eyes. Then he pulled himself up together and came to a final conclusion. He went back to Narahari and said, ”The waistband does not fit Vitthal. It is very surprising and confusing. Will you please come to the temple and take measurements yourself?”

Narahari got angry and shouted, ”I am a staunch saivaite. I will never come to the temple and look at your Vitthal. I have done my job perfectly. Please go away. ”But the trader was adamant and told him that he would blindfold him and take him to the temple and to this Narahari agreed. Both of them went to the temple.

The blindfolded Narahari took a thread to measure Vitthal’s waist and began his work. But while touching Vitthal’s body he felt Vitthal wearing tigerskin as his garment. This made him curious. Then he held his hands and felt the deer, axe, trishul, agni, drum and all of Shiva’s paraphernalia and this made him very suspicious. He even felt rudraksha mala around  his neck, cresent and Ganges on his head ,his third eye on his forehead  and snakes over his body. Having felt all this his suspicion made him so anxious and he wanted to have darshan of Vitthal as he was almost sure of seeing lord Shiva. The very next moment he removed his blindfold with great expectancy but he was utterly disappointed to see lord Vishnu instead of lord Shiva. At first he felt as if he had made a grave mistake. Immediately he closed his eyes with his hands, but he felt lord Shiva’s presence in front of him. He then understood this leela of god and he prostrated in front of lord Vitthal.

Narahari immediately bursted out crying , Oh Vitthala, ”please forgive me, I have done a great mistake all my life due to my ignorance. I didn’t realize Hari and Shiva are the same. I will have to forsake moksha for my fanatic attitude and the sin I have committed. ”Then a voice was heard from the sanctum sanctorum” this leela was performed to show to all through you that there is absolutely no difference between Vishnu and Shiva who are both aspects of the same Parabhramam”. Narahari was excited with what he heard and the realization that he had and with great love offered the waistband to the lord and it fitted perfectly. From then on, Narahari became devoted to Vitthal whom he realized was Hari &  Shiva  in one form. In one of his abangs on Vitthal he says “it is immaterial to me whether this deity is Shiva or Vishnu, all I seek is your unconditional love and grace oh Vitthal”.

Gurumaharaj Sri Sri Anna says that one should have exclusive love towards ones ishta deiva but at the same time he should never entertain any type of hatred towards other forms of god and must respect all his forms and more importantly respect the devotees of all his forms.

Source : http://indiansaints.wordpress.com/2009/08/13/sant-narahari-sonar/

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SANT MRITYUNJAYA

                   Vitthal - Rukmini Temple at Pandharpur                             Lord Vitthal & Rukmini

Chandrabhaga River

                      
Sant  MRITYUJAYA

Pundalika Temple on the bank of Chandrabhaga rive

There was a king by name Shanta Brahmani who was ruling the city of Bedar. One day the king was sitting with his queen and they were eating fruits. The queen threw the peeled banana skin from the balcony. On seeing this, a beggar came and took the peeled skin and started having it. The queen noticed this and showed this to the king and asked him, how the beggar entered the palace with out the knowledge of the guards. The king got very angry and shouted at the guards and beat them. The guards then came to beggar and started hitting him. The beggar then began to laugh and the king wondered why he was laughing. He asked the guards to stop hitting him and asked the beggar why he was laughing. The beggar told him that he laughed at his own karma, and if he was punished for eating the banana peel, what would happen to the person who had the banana. He then said that if he was beaten up for entering the palace for a short while, what would happen to the person living in the palace. He finally told the king that this thought of your pain made me laugh. This changed the king’s mind and feeling repentant he left his kingdom and went to the forest in search of god.

The king was sitting in the forest and thinking that he does not how to worship and attain god. One day a group of pilgrims were on their way to Pandharpur, seeing them the king paid his respects to them and asked if he could join them. They blessed him and asked him to come along with them to Pandharpur. When he came to Pandhari he had a bath in Chandrabhaga, worshiped at Pundalik’s tomb, did a parikrama (walking around the sacred city of Pandhari through a path where a lot of saints have stayed; even today most of the pilgrims who go there do a Praikrama and the houses where these saints lived are still there as Mutts) and then came to Vitthal Rukmani temple. He then paid his respects to the god and asked him to give him a Sadguru as he does not know how to worship god. He then sat in the temple for 3 days with out food and water asking Vitthal to give him a Sadguru. On the third day Vitthal came in his dream gave him a book called Vivekasindhu and asked him to take initiation from Swami Sahajanand of Kalyan. As soon as he woke up he found the book but could not see Vitthal. Shanta Brahmani was astonished on seeing this miracle. He then started reading the book. One day he remembered that Vitthal had asked him to meet Swami Sahajanand and took leave from Vitthal to go to Kalyan to meet his Sadguru. Swami Sahajanand was not in Kalyan then; he waited for a few months and then came back to Pandhari. While he was at Pandhari, Swami Sahajanand also came on a pilgrimage to Pandhari and appeared before him. Shanta Brahmani then prostrated to him and told about his dream. Swami Sahajanand then initiated him and also gave him the name of Mrityunjaya.  He then listened to the teachings of his Sadguru and also understood the facts of the soul.

A Jangam (People who follow Shiva and have lingam with them) by name Bhavaraya came as a suppliant to Mrityunjaya and took initiation from him. There was another Jangam by name Samuchchaya, who was considered the guru of all Jangams. He abused Mrityunjaya and also Bhavaraya for this deed and also removed him from his community. Bhavaraya then went to Mrityunjaya and told him what happened. Mrityunjaya then asked him not to worry about that and continue his service to god as ever. There was king there by name Kashipathi who was a devoted Shiva bhaktha. He used to invite ten thousand Jangams every day, offer food to the god and then offer food to the Jangams. One day Samuchchaya was at Kashipathi’s palace for the feast with other Jangams. The feast was served and when the Jangams tried to unroll their cloth to remove their Lingams and offer food, they found the Lingams missing. They felt ashamed that some thing like this had happened and also wondered why god was doing this leela. Kashipathi said that he felt that one of the Jangams would have persecuted a saint and Lord Shiva would have become angry and left us. Then Samuchchaya confessed saying that it was because of him and told the incident that had happened earlier. The king then listening to it asked all the Jangams to go to Mrityunjaya and apologize for what had happened and ask him to help find their Lingams. All the Jangams then went to Mrityunjaya’s hermitage and told him what had happened and also apologized for Samuchchaya’s words on him and Bhavaraya.  Hearing this Mrityunjaya asked them to be seated and told them that he has two dogs by name Vedanta and Siddhanta, and they would have stolen your Lingams. He then called Vedanta and asked it to throw the Lingams belonging to them immediately. The dog then vomited 5000 Lingams and then called Siddhanta and it vomited another 5000 Lingams. The Jangams were amazed seeing this. How ever no one was able to recognize their respective Lingams and they asked Mrityunjaya to help them again. As soon as they said this, their respective Lingams went to them. The Jangams then thanked Mrityunjaya and left to the palace for the feast.

Source : http://indiansaints.wordpress.com/2009/08/21/sant-mrityunjaya/

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PRIYATAMA ( The DEAREST )

LORD   JAGANNATH   AS   SRIKRISHNA

               P R I Y A T A M A

                        ( THE DEAREST )

         I never let anybody know that I knew her nor did I give anyone a chance to suspect that I was familiar to her lest someone might misconstrue it. The only reason is that not only the entire temple, but the whole of Purusottamakshetra   (Puri) was aware that she married ar a very late age. The wayward boys made sarcastic remarks at her, the woman exchanged derisive looks. The adults and the old gave ludicrous smiles. To speak in a nutshell, the atmosphere was totally polluted with her presence in the temple.

         Our acquaintance has been very long. She was fourty years older than I. She was no way connected to me – neither by blood nor by any relationship, nor was she known through our association at any walk of life. Our relationship had a dramatic beginning. I used to sit just nearby where she sat regularly in the ‘Jagamohan’ of the temple of Goddess Lakshmi. Every evening she used to pray there, sat in meditation with closed eyes. When she opened her eyes, I almost fell in her notice and this was a regular occurance. The estrangement between us gradually melted and one day I marked that she looked at me with a smile. After a few days she initiated with a well-meaning enquiry, “Are you fine, my boy ?” I gave a cordial reply.

            We sat together every evening and in such a pious ambiance  our relationship grew stronger. If I went out on some work and did not go to the temple, she remembered me very much. I also felt the same at the particular time in the evening wherever I was. Closing my eyes, I recollected the ennobling experience of our daily meeting. I enjoyed the moment when she opened her eyes slowly after meditation and asked me with a smile, “Are you okay ?” It was followed with my affirmative reply. I got utmost satisfaction with the reminiscences. As I grew familiar, I started addressing her ‘Maa’ (Mother). She also treated me as her son. Sometimes she asked, “Are you hungry ? You look pale and withered.”

           After listening to my explanation she said, “Leave it, it’s all childish. Many things happen in conjugal life. Does anybody ever come to this place with a morose face, without taking anything ? Besides this, the daughter-in-law is too young. Because she told something out of childish ignorance, you came away in pique ? The she brought “Mahaprasad” from Ananda Bazar and fed me with her snow-white hand and said affectionately, Swear today in the name of the sacred “Mahaprasad” that you would never come to this place in empty stomach.” While taking the last morsel of food from her hand, I swore “No, never.”

          After finishing her meditation she went to the ‘kirtan’ courtyard and paid her obeisance to a particular stone plate. I marked everyday when she got up, her eyes were almost drenched wioth tears. She became speechless for quite a long time. I looked at the stone. No writings were visible. All of them had been erased with the roll of time. One day I asked her about it boldly and came to know the whole of her past life from her reply.

          “ Very often I used to come to this temple with my father in my childhood – from the day I acquired the basic knowledge of the world.” “Then you went to have a ‘darshan’ ( seeing the Lord ) of the deity. “ Suddenly she interrupted , “No, I did not see the deity on all the days. If my father did not insist, if he did not lift me up over the wooden cross-bar in the “Jagmohan’, I could not see the deity. The day I got a glimpse of the Lord, I did not like His face at all, somehow a sense of fear crept in me.”

           While narrating her reminiscence it seemed as if she suddenly became a child and uttered in a half-clear childish tone, “Father went on chanting, looking at the black faced deity for hours together – I enjoyed to see the monkeys moving inside the temple precinct. Days passed. I grew up. I had gone to Puri with my father many a time. I was excited to see the statues all around the temple walls without father’s notice. On some days father marked me staring at those statues  (not meant for my age) with rapt attention. I was ashamed of being noticed by him. Sometimes I bit my tongue. OIn being asked I candidly confessed that I had not gone inside.

           “ The I was given in marriage. I came to the temple with him also twice or thrice.” I interrupted, “ only two to three times.”

             With a tearful smile, she continued, “It was a very short period. Only one month after, the vermillion from my forehead was erased and the bangles were taken out.”

             On being questioned she heaved a sigh and replied, “Yes, this stone is in my memory. He was very fond of sitting here. He was able to see from here – three at a time Mahalakshmi, the Blue Wheel and Satyanarayan. He used to say, I like this place very much. If I pass away earlier, then install a stone here in my name.”

             Her eyes were filled with tears. She avoided my consolatory words and added, “No, no ..., it is not like that. I felt a peculiar kind of pain after his death, after my bubble-like married life. It seemed he came everyday in the midnight and called me to go to that place and sit there. I followed him. He used to sit on that stone; he asked me to sit and i obeyed. After a while he got up, moved towards the ‘Jagmohan’ and we both saw the deity together. Suddenly I marked him walking towards the ‘Ratnasimhasana’ (Sanctum sanctorum). I cried, ‘don’t go, don’t go, ‘bhoga’ would be defiled’ – he never listened, but looked behind with a smile. Amazingly, he would merge with Lord Jagannath. Next day in the midnight the same thing recurred He asked, “Could you not understand anything ? Ok, let’s go today.”

            We both went together. He sat on the stone for some time, got up and moved towards the ‘Jagmohan’ climbing up the seven steps and then watched the ‘Arati’. Again he walked towards Lord JAGANNATH without my notice and was lost in the holy body of the Lord. I returned home all alone. When I was fast asleep at night, he appeared in the dream again and asked, ‘Can’t you understand anything ? I replied in 

the negative.

            My language is quite inadequate to narrate her strange story. Her serene beauty, the calm and cool, her affectionate voice – all were unique indeed.

            All in the temple held her with utmost reverence for her catholicity of temper and generocity. But suddenly everything changed; the lady of awe and adoration became the target of gossip and sarcastic remarks. This happened one day when she came to the temple with vermillion on the forehead and golden bangles on her hands. She became the hot topic of discussion in the entire temple for the whole day. Then whispers, whistling and unsavoury comments were the usual response of the illiterate and uncultured public.

            From that day I left my usual sitting place in goddess Lakshmi’s temple just to avoid her. I felt ashamed to retain my relationship with her. It was the incident of the same day last year. The de ities were in ‘anashara’. The temple looked deserted. No sooner did I step in to the ‘Jagmohan’, than my eyes fell on her; she was looking here and there in gloom and depression. I was about to leave the place , avoiding her. She called me, “ Hear me, my boy! I stopped. Tears rolled on her cheeks. I asked, “ What happened ? Why do you cry ?”

            “He is not well. I came for medicine,” she replied.

             I was terribly restless with a sense of abhorrence for her. I looked all around carefully with the apprehension that somebody might have noticed while talking to this depraved woman.

             Suddenly she caught hold of my hands and entreated, “Won’t you go to see him at least once ?”

             I said, “ I have no time today, I shall go later. I withdrew my hand forcibly from her. She held my lips and said, “Don’t refuse, my boy, he was asking about you.”

             “Not now, some time later. I don’t know him, nor does he.”

             “But he knows. He had told me about your name and address, your village on the bank of a river. There is the shrine of Lord Kunjabihari nearby your house.How beautiful is the face of Radharani statue there! Is it not ?”

              I was really wonder-struck. I had never told her about my village. How could she knew ?

              I followed her like an obedient child to see her husband. She lived in a small but beautiful house at a little distance from the temple. After reaching near the doorstep, she uttered in slow voice, “ Do you hear, please open the door, look who has come. How do you feel now ?”

              I could not hear anything from inside. But, while pushing open the door she said, “It was late to get the medicine from the doctor. Besides, you also asked me to bring this person whenever I met him. Did you take water dissolved with crystallized form of sugar?” When I entered the house I saw somebody sleeping with his body fully covered. I felt a little bit uncomfortable in the strange surrounding. She asked me to sit on the chair beside the cot. She was taken aback when she moved her hand on the feet of her husband, “Oh, so high temperature! Let me give the medicine. Oh, what should I do ?”

              I shrieked when I saw the sight of her offering the medicine, taking it out from a knot on the edge of her worn cloth. I began to entirely tremble.

              She assured , “ You need not fear. He has talked about you many a time. I shall tell everything. Let me give the medicine.”

              After administering the dose of medicine , she covered again the body of her husband. She brought out something after inserting her hand into the covered cloth. It was a golden flute, I saw. With utmost humility and reverence , she expressed her concern : “ I appealed to you so much not to take unnecessary strain by playing on the flute. The temperature of the body has gone up, you don’t listen to me.” Then she humbly touched the flute to my head and also her head and kept it at the appropriate place, nicely arranged.

              Then she started talking to the void. I now record here whatever I heard from one side.

              Tomorrow you will be normal.I will again bring this person to meet you. The day after tomorrow you will go on the chariot. See, how grand is the decoration and drapery on the chariot !”

               I saw a chariot in the corner of the house with dazzling drapery and fine floral decorations.

               She heard something again and asked me, “ Is the chariot of your Kunjabihari adorned like this every year ?”

              I gave an affirmative reply. Then she continued at the void........”You have not taken the whole of the diet.I am giving whatever is left behind. You need not worry about it.” She took out a mango from a stone pot and offered me. What a wonderful taste !

              I was entangled in an illusion. Suddenly she moved a little from her husband, lying on the bed, as if she has heard something  from him. Then she suggested, “ Will you sit a little on the chair ! You must be feeling unwell by constantly lying on the bed,.....okay.” She took out the cloth covered on her husband and made him sit on a silver chair infront of me. This time it was a face to face meeting. I was awe struck. Suddenly she responded after hearing something . “ No, he is not afraid.......Oh! the flute again you want.”

              When she put the flute on the unfinished hand of her husband, the entire house vibrated with a wonderful note. Enthralled with music , she immediately fell at the feet of the black-faced-deity (Lord JAGANNATH) seated on the silver chair.I also fell down before her feet and prayed with tearful eyes, “ Oh Mother, forgive me.”

               With a compassionate heart and graceful look she raised me up and moved her tender merciful palm over my body.

 Source : From the book "Lord Jagannath in the Stories of Experience"

              Author: Sri Rabindra Narayan Mishra (in Oriya Language)

              Translator : Sri Suman Mahapatra

(Permission of Sri R.N.Mishra taken to bring it to my Blog. )

                                  SRIJAGANNATH   TEMPLE   at   PURI

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NITEI DHOBANI & JNANADEI MALUNI

The seven Tantric maidens

Also called the Sat vaheni (“seven sisters”), they were followers of the famous Tantric princess Lakshminkara, and although they came from low families they came to be very respected and even feared in Puri, and they are still worshiped today. They were Nitei Dhobani, Jnanadei Maluni, Gangi Gauduni, Sua Teluni, Luhukuti Luhurani, Sukuti Chamaruni, and Patrapindhi Saharuni

Nitei Dhobani

The most famous of the Seven Tantric Sisters in Puri is probably Nitei Dhobani, credited for the successful rise of king Chodaganga Deva to the throne, as we have mentioned in the chapter on Orissa’s history. The last king of the Keshari dynasty, Surya Keshari, had wronged one of his generals, Vasudeva Rath Vahinipati, so the Vahinipati went to Bhubaneswar where he engaged in austerities to please Lord Lingaraja. Lingaraja appeared to him in a dream and instructed him to find Ananta Varma (the future Chodaganga) and help him win the throne. It is said that Ananta Varma was the son of the Ganga king Devendra Varma Rajaraja I and his mother Rajasundari was the daughter of the great Chola king Rajendra Chola. However, there are other versions that would better explain why Ananta Varma was so happy to leave his own homeland and move to Puri to win a kingdom for himself. In fact, in Orissa his story is used as an example for any poor man without a family who suddenly rises to prominence: people will often call him “randi pua ananta”.

According to this other version, Ananta Varma was actually the son of a widow (randi) and his illegitimate father was called Gokarna. Chodaganga was a young boy playing the part of a king in a game with other boys when Vasudeva Vahinipati communicated to him the orders of the Lord Lingaraja to conquer Orissa and found a new royal dynasty. The boy was happy to take the opportunity offered to him by the Vahinipati and Nitei Dhobani, who taught Ananta Varma the occult arts and helped him, with advice and assistance, to dethrone Surya Keshari.

Chodaganga’s reign was a turning point for Orissa and especially for Puri, so much that he was called “the second Indradyumna”; he built the present Jagannatha temple in Puri, organized the city in Sahis (long neighborhood streets) and started the compilation of the Madala Panji.

The first meeting between Ananta Varma and Nitei Dhobani was particularly interesting. When the boy went to see “Auntie”, she was cooking her noon meal by using her own legs as fuel, and carrying a baby on her lap.

The Tantric Guru who had been supported by the Kesharis, Acharya Someshvar, was a worshiper of Aghora Shiva Markandeya. He challenged Nitei Dhobani, a staunch devotee of Jagannatha, to test her powers, and a date was fixed for a public test. Whoever was able to produce rice from dry rice husk in a dhenki or udukhalo (a pedal husking machine) would be the winner. Someshvar offered prayers to Shiva and bowed to the machine, but in spite of his efforts he was unable to produce any rice. Nitei Dhobani chanted her prayers to Jagannatha, offered respects to the machine, and immediately the rice started to flow out.

Still today some people worship Nitei Dhobani as a powerful personality, and in Chodanga Sahi, in the place called Badu Mahapatra Jaga, there is a small temple with the image of Nitei Dhobani and

Chodaganga Deva. Nitei Dhobani, here called Garedi Suni (“lady practicing witchcraft”), is sitting on a stool and operating the husking machine that was used for the contest. Chodaganga is seated on a throne and armed with bow and arrows, with two attendants on his sides (one holding the royal umbrella and the other holding the chamara), and two other attendants on the pedestal (one with an elephant and one with a horse).

Previously Jagannatha’s Mahaprasadam was regularly offered here to these two Deities, but it seems that the ritual has been discontinued about 40 years ago. On Vijaya Dasami (Asvina sukla Dasami) an annual function is still held here; the Bada Mahapatra from the Jagannatha’s temple takes the Balabhadra’s prasada, offers it to Vimala Devi within Sri Mandira, then carries a portion to the Deities of Nitei Dhobani and Chodaganga, as well as to a Hanuman Deity, that is housed in a small temple there.

Jnanadei Maluni

Jnanadei, a beautiful malini (garland maker) lived in Puri under the reign of king Mukunda Deva.

Nobody really knew who she was or from where she came.

One night an old temple florist had a dream where he saw a little girl and he was told that he should accept her as an adopted daughter. The little girl actually came by his house on the next day and she became his adopted daughter, although nobody really knew where she was coming from.

After the death of her father she continued his service, making garlands for Lord Jagannatha and selling them to the people who visited the temple. In spite of her beauty, she never married. In fact she remained always indifferent to men, and she did not allow anyone to touch her even by mistake. She lived alone in her father’s house, but she kept many domestic animals, such as sheep and parrots, to whom she taught to sing the names of Jagannatha. Naturally the fantasy of the young men in Puri was excited by the idea of this beautiful girl who lived alone.

Once the son of a Panda went as far as touching her hand. Jnanadei never gave the garlands into the hands of anyone: she packed the garland in a clean banana leaf and put the packet down to be collected by the purchaser. The young man snatched the packed garland directly from her hand to get an excuse to touch her, but he was horrified and scared when he immediately experienced a great pain and loss of energy in his own hand.  The rumor spread and the interest of the young men in Puri was roused even more. A mix of strong attraction and fear pushed several young men to try to approach her, but at the last moment they backed out, terrified of being burned to death for their offense. However, fear did not stop the gossip and the fantasies that kept spreading like wild fire. Her neighbors were constantly looking for proof of her illicit sexual relations; at some point they started to say they had found hoof prints around her house, and this must mean that someone was going to see her secretly at night.

One day, in 1268, the King came to the temple and was also captivated by her beauty. After being informed about the gossips on her secret lovers the King ordered an investigation, but the spies were unable to even enter the house. They saw many amazing things, though. For example, under heavy rains in November Jnanadei was walking without umbrella, yet when she reached home, she looked perfectly dry.

People then started believing she was a powerful tantric yogini, so the neighboring ladies crowded her house to get treatment for disease for their children. Jnanadei kindly helped them, giving miraculous water from her pot. The temple priests became more and more envious of her fame and employed black tantrics to stop her by making her become dumb, but they were unsuccessful.

In fact, their black magic backfired against them and they were the ones who became dumb. However, the black tantrics were able to reveal the secret of the five sheep in the house of Jnanadei, who were actually great tantrics that took the form of sheep during the day but at night returned to their normal shape.

The priests believed they had finally found some argument to accuse Jnanadei of immorality and they went to complain to the King, saying that the lady was a dangerous black tantric who enslaved men and transformed them into animals to have illicit sex with them. They mentioned that one of such men was the prince of Suvarnapura.

Frustrated in his own lust and worried about the power that this woman could have on princes from other kingdoms, the King became angry and ordered his soldiers to raid the house of Jnanadei and board it up. Before the soldiers arrived, one of her parrots warned Jnanadei of what was happening, but she remained undisturbed and did not run away, trusting in Jagannatha’s protection. When the soldiers arrived, Jnanadei asked to be taken to the King’s presence with her five sheep.

The King questioned her about the prince of Suvarnapura, who had gone to meet her. Jnanadei replied that indeed the prince had come to learn Tantra from her and he was still staying with her voluntarily. Then she patted one of the sheep and it immediately transformed into a young man, who bow ed to the King.

Also the other four sheep turned into men, and defended the character of Jnanadei, explaining that the priests were simply envious of the yogini’s great spiritual powers.

Then the King asked Jnanadei if she could restore the priests’ power of speech, and when she prayed to Jagannatha a great shadow descended taking the shape of Lord Jagannatha Himself. The priests were  instantly cured, and Jnanadei offered Lord Jagannatha a dhanva mala, a special traditional garland that is 12 feet long garland and is worn between His arms.

Source : http://indiaconmassimotaddei.com

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CAPTAIN BEATLE - Devotee of Lord JAGANNATH

                                              (   Captain Albaque Beatow and Lord Jagannath   )

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

Source : http://www.indiadivine.org/audarya/hare-krishna-forum/479076-lord-jagannathas-miracle-true-story.html

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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

Source : http://orissa.gov.in/e-
magazine/Orissareview/2012/June

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