C H A R C H I K A

GODDESS   CHARCHIKA

When we speak of devotees of Lord Jagannatha, generally people think of ordinary human beings only, but it is a universally recognized fact in Puri that the Devas and Devis, too, come to the Holy Dhama to show their deep devotion for the Lord of the Universe. In fact, it is said that they usually go to Darshana at the time of Pahuda, the particular ritual ceremony when Lord Jagannatha goes to sleep at night.

The Madala Panji say that in 1368, one day the Goddess Charchika from Banki village arrived late for Darshana and Lord Baladeva banned her from attending Pahuda, saying that in her carelessness and pride, she had offended the service of the Bhitarcha Mahapatra, who is in charge of the smooth observance of the ritual. The Goddess was perplexed; she could understand that Lord Baladeva was up to some special lila for the benefit of the universe, and she remained all night on the 22 steps of the entrance to the temple, meditating on the divine plan to instruct proud human beings through her example. In the morning Lord Baladeva sent out a message from Lord Jagannatha, ordering her to become a servant in the house of the Bhitarcha Mahapatra, to atone for her lack of respect.

Disguised as a young widow in a white sari, Goddess Charchika went to the house of the Mahapatra, who welcomed her like his own mother. She said she was ordered by Jagannatha to become his servant, and the Mahapatra gladly accepted her as a member of his family and asked her to take care of the house, as his own mother had recently died. The young lady showed a great expertise, taking care of the puja room, cleaning the utensils, changing the dress of the Deities and lighting the lamps always in a perfect way. People were astonished to see her devotional attitude and good manners, and asked her why she was not going to the temple to have Darshana of Jagannatha; so many pilgrims came from far away places and yet while living in Puri she did not go. She replied that everything depends on one’s own destiny; she was not supposed to visit Lord Jagannatha in His temple yet, and she would go when Jagannatha wanted. One day there was a big storm and darkness fell. The Bhitarcha Mahapatra found his way back home and knocked at the door, but the lamp had just gone out. He somehow entered and handed the Mahaprasada, then he went to change into dry and clean clothes. But he was perplexed. He asked how the young widow had managed to rekindle the lamp without getting the flame from other lamps in the house or from neighbors, and Charchika taking her original form stretched one leg to the top of the temple and used the lamp there to light another house lamp.

After revealing her real identity, Goddess Charchika explained all the events behind the lila and the Bhitarcha Mahapatra assured her that he would ask Lord Jagannatha permission for her to visit the temple.

Lord Jagannatha was very pleased with Charchika and gave her the responsibility to care for the Ratha during the festival. Before leaving the house of the Mahapatra she offered him a boon, and he replied that he just wanted to see her again. So the Mahapatra went to his puja room and saw a stone vigraha of the Devi manifested from the floor; it is said that the vigraha is still there.

Source : : http://indiaconmassimotaddei.com

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BHAKTA SALABEGA

BHAKTA   SALABEGA                                    SAMADHI   PITHA

BHAKTA   SALABEGA

He was the son of the Muslim warrior Lalbeg, who served under Raja Man Singh in the Mogul army.

While he was in Danda Mukundpur near Pipili, this warrior saw a beautiful brahmana widow called Lalita who was taking bath in the village pond; he kidnapped and married her. Her son Salabega was born on 16 th September 1592 (Radhashtami), in a house that still exists in Cuttack near Lal Beg Fort, that had been assigned as residence to his mother. Lalbeg remained in Cuttack for a short time and then departed, leaving behind Lalita and the child. Despite her forced conversion to Islam, Lalita continued to worship Lord Jagannatha and also raised her child in a strong sentiment of bhakti for the Lord.

In 1607 Lalbeg was appointed the Subadar of Bengal by Jahangir and he called his son to fight besides him against the Afghans who had rebelled against the Delhi sultanate. In one clash on the battlefield, the young Salabega was wounded and his father was killed. The injury was very serious, infection spread and his condition worsened, the pain becoming intolerable.

His mother called a Hindu Sadhu of the name Bala Mukunda, who chanted the maha mantra near his bed for 21 days and put holy vibhuti (ashes) on his forehead. Salabega’s mother also kept encouraging her son to pray Lord Jagannatha for his recovery and in fact suddenly his health was restored. His miraculous healing encouraged him to develop an even deeper faith and devotion to Sri Jagannatha.

Gradually his faith and worship for Sri Jagannatha made him very unpopular with the Muslims, and finally he was driven out of his house and deprived of all rights. So he decided to walk alone and penniless to Puri, but when he reached there he was not allowed to enter Lord Jagannatha’s temple and no Matha or Hindu house was willing to give him shelter. Finally he built himself a small hut made of Tala palm leaves at Balagandi in Grand Road, from where he anxiously waited for the chariots to come by for the Ratha Yatra festival. With great amazement of the people, all three the chariots stopped in front of his hut, one after the other, while he stood singing his famous prayers.

Jagannatha’s chariot could not be moved for over one hour and finally the Pandas humbly prayed  Salabega to pull the ropes of the chariot so that it would start moving again.

When the Subadar of Cuttack Mirja Ahmed Beg came to attack the Jagannatha temple in Puri, Salabega went to meet him and by his pleading averted the attack. King Narasimha Deva, grateful, gave Salabega official permission to build a permanent housing instead of the simple hut, and people started to come fromall over India to visit his Matha.

His mother Lalita also came to stay with him in Puri, and when she passed away Salabega took her body to the Svargadvara, the crematorium in Puri, for her final rites. However, the temple priests not only forbade him to access the crematorium, but also attacked his Matha to show their spite and hatred for what they considered an act of presumption and arrogance.

Salabega then travelled to Vrindavana. However, Vrindavana had come under the attack of Aurangzeb who had set out to destroy the temples there, so Salabega decided to return to Orissa and be in Puri for the

Ratha Yatra. During his travelling he fell ill and became worried about not making it in time for the festival, so he ardently prayed Jagannatha to wait for him. It was the year 1489.

Meanwhile the Ratha Yatra festival started but after reaching Balagandi, in front of today’s Salabega’s Matha, Lord Jagannatha’s chariot stopped and it was impossible to move it, in spite of many auspicious ceremonies such as fire sacrifices, Kirtanas, and all physical efforts including the strength of the largest elephants that were harnessed to pull it. Instead, a great flood came up and the chariots were totally blocked for three months. The chariot finally moved only when Salabega arrived in Puri and came to offer his homage to Jagannatha on His chariot.

King Narasimha was now strongly convinced of the special favour of Jagannatha for Salabega and he ordered that he should be allowed to enter the temple, but the priests refused to comply. For Salabega, however, Lord Jagannatha’s affection was sufficient and he remained in Puri for the rest of his life. Hepassed away in 1646, and his body turned miraculously into a heap of fragrant flowers.

Salabhega’s Samadhi is situated in Balagandi, near the Balagandi Chata Matha of the Ramanandi Sampradaya, and every year the Chariot of Jagannatha stops at Chatamatha, or the samadhi of Salabega (near Mausima temple) during its travel. Salabega wrote at least 150 songs in various languages on Jagannatha, Radha Krishna, Shiva, and Maa Mangala. The most famous is the song Ahe Nila Saila (O great blue mountain):

O great blue mountain God

like an elephant You come out of the temple

to remove the dense forest of our suffering

Plucking it like a small lotus in Your trunk,

You crush all our sorrow into the earth

Some of Salabega’s songs are transliterated and translated in the chapter entitled Jagannatha Bhajans.

Source : http://indiaconmassimotaddei.com

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LAXMI DEVI & SRIYA CHANDALUNI

Laxmi Devi and Sriya Chandaluni

In Orissa people perform special worship to Laxmi Devi during the month of Margasira. Every Thursday during this month, ladies arrange elaborate puja to Laxmi Devi following different rules and rituals. On this day, Mother Laxmi leaves the temple with the permission of Jagannath to visit her devotees. Usually she visits anyone who is devoted to her, and who performs their puja according to her rules and regulations.

One day Laxmi Devi, in the disguise of an old brahimni, went to visit different houses on the auspicious Thursday. She found the ladies of one merchants house still sleeping, and so the home had not been cleaned. Laxmi Devi met the elderly lady of the house and explained to her how they should follow certain rules on this particular day to worship Laxmi. But the old lady did not care for the instructions of Lamxi  Devi. In response, Laxmi Devi removed her opulence from that home, and the family became very poor. They had to live by begging from house to house. Then Laxmi Devi went to a village where chandalas lived. She went to Sriya Chandaluni’s house. Sriya Chandaluni was observing the vrata on that day for worshiping Lamxi Devi. She had woken up very early and cleaned her entire house, decorating it nicely for the worship of Lamxi Devi. Seeing this, Laxmi Devi was very pleased and blessed Sriya Chandaluni with, more opulence,  thus fulfilling all her desires. Laxmi Devi then returned to the temple. In the meantime, the Lords Jagannath and Balabhadra had also gone out for a morning walk. On Their way back, They saw Laxmi Devi returning from one chandala's house. Upon seeing this, Baladeva became very upset and spoke to Jagannath sharply.

"Your wife Laxmi Devi has been visiting the home of a chandala. They are contaminated people, and do not follow any rules. How can she enter our temple after visiting the home of a chandala? Our temple will be contaminated. You must give her up." Jagannath tried to pacify Balaram, saying that Laxmi Devi should be excused this time and told not to do this again. But Balaram was very adamant to enforce His judgment that she should not be allowed in the temple. "If you allow Lamxi Devi in the temple, then You will have to give Me up. I will stay out of the temple." Since Jagannath is very obedient to His elder brother, He followed the order of Lord Balaram. He called for Laxmi Devi and informed her that she was no longer allowed to enter the temple by the order of Balaram. Laxmi Devi was very surprised to hear this kind of statement from Jagannath. At the time of marriage, Jagannath had agreed to the father of Lamxi Devi that He will excuse ten offenses made by His wife. Moreover, her visit was not offensive since it was agreed that on each Thursday of the month of Margasira she can go out to visit the villages to bless her devotees. That day was exempted for her. Still she was punished unjustly. This made Laxmi Devi very angry. She cursed Jagannath that for the next twelve years He would not get enough food to satisfy Him, and that He would only be able to eat food cooked and served by her. After cursing Lord Jagannath, Lamxi Devi left the temple, along with all her assistants. As soon as she left the temple became bereft of all opulence. The storehouse was empty.

The next morning, Jagannath and Balaram were waiting for breakfast, but nothing came. It was getting later and later, but still nothing had been served. Balaram asked Jagannath, "What is happening with our breakfast? Why is it so late?" Jagannath replied, "No breakfast has been prepared because Lamxi Devi has left the temple, along with all her associates, so there is no one to cook." Then Balaram and Jagannath entered the kitchen to prepare some food. Due to their anger at the dismissal of their mistress from the temple, Lamxi's associates had broken all the ovens in the kitchen. Jagannath and Balaram then entered the storeroom to gather some ingredients for cooking, but they found the storeroom empty because Laxmi Devi had withdrawn all her opulence. By that time both the brothers were very hungry. Being deprived of Lamxi Devi and suffering from hunger, both of Them decided to go out for begging.

We should know that although the Lord possesses all opulence and is the maintainer of everyone, He went out to beg like an ordinary beggar just to prove the greatness of His devotee through this particular pastime. Thus Lords Jagannath and Balaram, in the disguise of brahmanas, went to the city to beg from house to house. No one could recognize Them. Being deprived of Laxmi, They both looked very inauspicious, and so no one would give Them alms. No one treated them nicely, or even allowed Them on their doorstep. In the meantime, by the order of Laxmi Devi, the sun god had increased the heat of the sun. Both brothers had to walk on very hot sand with much difficulty. They were feeling very thirsty, and were happy to come to a pond where They could quench Their thirst. Suddenly, as soon as the brothers approached the pond, the water dried up. Finally they approached a tree, thinking to eat some tender leaves. But as soon as They approached the tree, immediately the leaves dried and shrivelled. Both the brothers were extremely hungry. Usually They ate many times throughout the day, as requested long ago by King Indradyumna. In fact, They ate so often that no sooner had They washed Their hands after eating, that it was time to eat again. Both brothers had been following this system and were habituated to eating constantly throughout the day. Yet now almost a whole day had passed, and still They had eaten nothing.

Soon the brothers reached a temple where there had recently been prasada distribution. Many people were returning to their homes with prasada. Jagannath and Balaram approached one of the ladies. Out of kindness she agreed to give Them some food. She had some puffed rice that she had offered to the deities, and she was happy to share it with the brothers. Just as she picked up the puffed rice to give to Jagannath and Balaram, a strong wind blew by the instruction of Lamxi Devi, and all the puffed rice blew away. Both the brothers again lost Their chance to get some food. Finally They asked some people where they could go to get some food. Someone directed them to a village of chandalas where one very charitable personality lived. Jagannath and Balaram went to that house and asked for some food. The householder was happy to feed them, but Balaram did not want to eat food cooked by a chandala. Rather, He wanted to cook the food Himself and eat.  He asked the householder to provide some raw food materials and facilities for cooking. According to Balarama's request, all the facilities for cooking were prepared. A new oven was made, and all the ingredients and clay pots to cook were provided. Balaram told Jagannatli to prepare food and went to take bath. In the meantime Jagannath tried to cook, but he could not even set fire to the wood, what to speak of cooking a meal.

After some time Balaram came back after taking His bath, expecting to find a meal ready. He had been thinking happily about sitting down to eat at last. Unfortunately on His arrival He came to realize that Jagannath was not able to cook, as He could not set fire to the wood. This made Balaram very upset. He chastised Jagannath for His incapability and began to prepare the food Himself. But when Balaram tried to set fire to the wood, it would not burn, but simply created a lot of smoke. The whole house filled with smoke, making everyone's eyes burn. Tears rolled from their eyes and everyone was coughing. Then Jagannath and Balaram requested the house owner to bring some cooked food. The lady servants of the house served the brothers. As they ate, They agreed the food was very tasty—in fact, as tasty as it was in temple, when it was cooked by Laxmi Devi. At the end of the meal, some nice cake was served. Usually in the Jagannath temple at the end of the meal Laxmi Devi served special cake to both the brothers. Jagannath and Balaram thought that Lamxi Devi must be residing in the house. The Lords were convinced that Laxmi Devi herself cooked the tasty food. How else would someone know that They took special cake at the end of Their meal ? Balaram, being the elder brother of Jagannath, could not speak to or face Laxmi Devi, since she is the wife of His younger brother. That is the custom of Orissa. Balaram requested Jagannath to go to Lamxi Devi and beg forgiveness from her and bring her to the temple by holding her hand. He told Jagannath to tell Lamxi Devi that she will never be denied to leave the temple to visit her devotees, and that she could go anywhere she liked as long as she always returned to the temple.

Being approached by Jagannath, Laxmi Devi was satisfied. She made Jagannath promise that there would be no distinction between low-caste and high-caste for honouring Jagannatli prasada. To this day, prasada in Jagannath temple is served to all, irrespective of caste and creed. Brahmanas and chandalas can eat prasada together from one plate. 

Source : http://nitaaiveda.com/All_Scriptures_By_Acharyas/Bhakti_Purushottama_Swami/Lord_Shri_Jagannatha_at_Puri/Laxmi_Devi_and_Sriya.htm

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KANCHI ABHIYAN

                     Lord Jagannath & Balabhadra taking curd from Manik Gaudini on way to Kanchi

Kanchi Abhiyan

Once upon a time there was king named Purusottama Deva in the Ganga dynasty who ruled over the state of Orissa. He was a great devotee of Lord Jagannath. Every year during Ratha-yatra, the King would personally sweep the road in front of the chariot for the pleasure of Lord Jagannath. He considered the Lord as the proprietor of everything, as the real ruler of the country. He considered himself a menial servant of the Lord.

One time the King went on a tour to South India. He reached a kingdom called Kanchi, and set up his tent in a garden in the capital city. There, King Purusottama Deva met with the Princess of Kanchi, Padmavati, and both came to know and like the other. Later, the King was invited to the palace of the King of Kanchi who, along with the queen, was very pleased with Purusottama Deva, and proposed to offer their daughter in marriage to him. Purusottama Deva was very happy with this proposal, and accepted gladly. He then returned to Orissa. After some time, the King of Kanchi sent his minister to Orissa with an official proposal of marriage for his daughter. The minister was received nicely by King Purusottama Deva. It was the time of Ratha-yatra, which was a favourite time of year for the King. The marriage proposal only added to his happiness. 

  

King Purusottama Deva requested the minister of Kanchi to stay a few days more so that he could attend the Ratha-yatra festival. The'minister saw that it was a good opportunity to experience the festival, and agreed to remain in Puri for a few extra days. On Ratha-yatra day, at the auspicious time, the deities of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, and Goddess Subhadra along with Sudarshan Chakra, were brought from the temple to the chariots. Thousands of people had gathered to see the parade, and there was a tumultuous sound of kirtana, drums, and conch shells. The minister of Kanchi saw that the King of Puri was standing in front of the chariot with a broom in his hand. As he started to sweep the road, the minister became confused. Here was a great king sweeping the road like a common man! Although the King was doing it for the Lord, the minister could not understand the greatness of the service. He considered this behaviour an insult to a king, as sweeping the road was the duty of the chandalas.

The minister immediately left Puri and returned to Kanchi, informing the King of all he had witnessed, especially how Purusottama Deva engaged in the behaviour of a chandala. The minister said to the King of Kanchi, "How can Princess Padmavati marry a man who would behave like a chandala?"The King, without understanding the purpose of Purusottama Devas behaviour, agreed with his minister, and sent a message to Puri, telling Purusottama Deva that he did not want his daughter to marry a man who sweeps the road like a chandala. This news saddened both Purusottama Deva and Princess Padmavati. Even more upsetting to them was the fact that the King of Kanchi, in the meantime, had arranged Princess Padmavatis swayambara ceremony and had invited every suitable man in the district except the King of Puri. Purusottama Deva was very offended by this, and vowed revenge upon the King of Kanchi. He challenged the King of Kanchi to war. The King of Kanchi was a great worshipper of Ganesh, and he made one condition before entering the battle: should the King of Puri be defeated, he would surrender the deities of Jagannath, Baladeva and Subhadra, Who would be placed behind Ganesh on the King of Kanchi's altar. Similarly, if the King of Kanchi was defeated, he would surrender his deity of Ganesh, who would be placed behind Jagannath, Baladeva and Subhadra.

When Purusottama Deva was forced to leave the battlefield when his camp caught on fire, he felt it was a great insult. He was immediately concerned that he would lose the deities from the Jagannath temple, and that They would be placed behind Ganesh in Kanchi. The King began to pray to Lord Jagannath: "O Lord Jagannath! Please help me. Due to being engaged in Your service of sweeping the road, the King of Kanchi was insulted and cancelled my marriage. If I am defeated in this battle, is it not also Your defeat? It is a great insult to You! How can You, the Lord of the universe, sit behind the deity of Ganesh?"

That night, Lord Jagannath appeared to the King in his sleep and told him, "Do not be worried. Go again to fight with the King of Kanchi and his army. This time I will personally help you during the battle." The King awoke, very happy to receive this indication from the Lord that He would personally amend the situation. He became encouraged to fight again with the King of Kanchi.

King Purusottama Deva started his journey to Kanchi to fight for the second time. This time Lord Jagannath and Balaram personally went with him to fight on his behalf. Disguised as soldiers, jagannath rode a black horse and Baladeva rode on a white horse. The weather was very hot, since it was the summer month of Vaisakh. As They passed the Chilika lake, it reminded Them of Their thirst. They noticed one old cowherd lady carrying a pot of buttermilk on her head. Her name was Manika, and she was on her way to the market to sell the buttermilk. Both the Lords desired to drink the buttermilk, so they stopped the old lady and drank to Their hearts' content. When they finished, They prepared to leave and continue Their journey. The old lady Manika was very concerned that Jagannath and Balaram were not going to pay for the buttermilk, so she stopped them and asked them for money. They said, "We are soldiers on our way to battle. We have no money with us." The old lady started to cry. The buttermilk was only her livelihood, and the money she earned at the market had to maintain her family. When she explained this to Jagannath and Balaram, Jagannath leaned down from His horse and gave Manika a golden ring from His finger and said, "Keep this with you. After some time, our king will pass by this way. When he comes through, give him this ring and ask him to give you the money for the buttermilk, and he will do so." Reluctantly, the old lady took the ring, and the brothers continued on their journey to battle.

The old lady Manika stood on the roadside awaiting the King's arrival. After some time she saw him approaching with his army. Manika stopped the King and said to him, "Two of your soldiers were going by this road riding a black horse and a white horse. They looked like brothers. They drank my buttermilk but had no money to pay for it." She held her upturned palm towards the King, showing him the golden ring. "They gave this ring to me to give to you. They told me to ask you for the money for the buttermilk in exchange for this ring. Please take this ring and give me the cost of the buttermilk, so that I might maintain my family!" When the King saw the ring he was very surprised: it was no ordinary gold ring, but Lord Jagannath's diamond ring! Then he understood that both the Lords had gone to Kanchi in the form of soldiers to keep Jagannath's promise. The King saw this as confirmation that victory would be his, and he was very happy. He told Manika, "You were very fortunate to have seen Lord Jagannath and Lord Balaram and to serve Them by giving Them buttermilk. I will of course reimburse you as the Lord requested." The King was feeling so magnanimous due to having the Lords fighting in his army that he generously rewarded the woman. He gave her ownership of several villages so that she could live comfortably from the tax of the villagers. The King immediately established a village at the very spot the Lords partook of her buttermilk, and named the village Manika Patana.This village is still there in Orissa.

The King proceeded towards Kanchi. A huge battle took place between the soldiers of armies. The soldiers of the King of Kanchi saw two new soldiers in Purusottama Deva's army; one was riding on a black horse and one upon a white horse. These two soldiers fought so vigorously that no one was able to defeat Them. Many soldiers from the army of the King of Kanchi were killed. The King of Kanchi was defeated. Purusottama Deva arrested Princess Padmavati instead of the King of Kanchi, and in revenge for the cancellation of his marriage to the princess, planned to marry her to a chandala road sweeper. He called for his minister and ordered him to look for one chandala boy to marry Princess Padmavati. Everyone felt very sad to hear this news from the King. Princess Padmavati was especially very sad, because she had real affection for King Purusottama Deva. She knew he was acting out of revenge for her fathers actions. But King Purusottama’s minister was very clever. He told the King to be patient, as it would take some time to find a suitable chandala boy to marry the princess. In the meantime, the minister took Padmavati and gave her shelter at his house. Princess Padmavati felt very unfortunate that she was not destined to be the queen of Orissa. Nor would she be the maidservant of the King. She felt there would be no end to her suffering. Ratha-yatra day was approaching. Thousands of people were coming to Pun for the festival, and everyone in the entire area was happy. But Princess Padmavati was not happy due to thinking always of her upcoming marriage to a chandala boy. One day, the minister came to Padmavati and told her that she should get dressed in her finest cloth because today was her wedding day. As soon as Padmavati heard this, she scared to cry as she thought of spending the rest of her life in the house of a chandala.The minister pacified her, saying, "Please, Princess Padmavati. Do not be worried. Rely on Lord Jagannath. He will help you."

All of the ladies decorated Padmavati very nicely. She rode on a palanquin accompanied by the minister. As it was Ratha-yatra day, the streets were full, and Lord Jagannath, Baladeva and Subhadra Devi were already sitting in Their chariots. Thousands of people lined the streets, and the sound of nama-sankirtan filled the air. Devotees played mridanga and kartals and blew conch shells. Everything was ready for the Ratha-yatra to begin. The King of Puri walked to the front of Jagannath's chariot, carrying in his hand a golden broom to sweep the road for the pleasure of the Lord. He swept with great pleasure, his heart filled with devotion for Lord jagannath. When Purusottama Deva finished sweeping, the minister brought Princess Padmavati to the King, and very cleverly said to him, "My dear King, I asked you to be patient in finding a suitable chandala for the Princess. I have come to you today to tell you that I have found a street sweeper whom I have deemed suitable to be her husband." The King said to his minister, "Very well, but I don't have time for this. Today is Ratha-yatra. Do as you will." The minister smiled at the King and replied, "But my dear King, the street sweeper I have chosen is you, Your Highness." The King stopped and looked in surprise at his minister, a small smile coming to his lips. The minister continued, "Your Highness, today you are a street sweeper. You instructed me to arrange the marriage of Princess Padmavati with a street sweeper, so I have chosen you." With that, the minister ordered Princess Padmavati to place a garland around the neck of King Purusottama Deva. The King happily accepted Princess Padmavati as his queen, and praised his minister for his sneaky intelligence. Princess Padmavati was weak with relief, happy to be marrying the man for whom she had so much affection, and who could look after her properly according to her status as a princess.

According to the conditions set down by the King of Kanchi, the deity of Ganesh was brought to Puri and kept in a temple behind Jagannaths temple. Today that same Ganesh is still there. And to this day, the King of Puri sweeps the road in front of Lord Jagannath’s chariot before the start of the Ratha-yatra festival. The deities of Sri Sri Radha-Radhakanta which are worshiped at Gambhira were also brought from Kanchipuram. It is said that They were also worshipped in Jagannath’s temple. These deities were worshipped on an altar that was located between Jagannath's altar and the room where the bhoga is prepared. The Jagannath temple cooks are very expert at making so many nice varieties of foodstuffs for the Lord. After Sri Sri Radha-Radhakanta came to stay in the temple, Lord Jagannath found that so many nice items were not being given to Him. Someone was taking them after they left the room where the bhoga was prepared, before they reached His altar. Lord Jagannath discovered that the deities of Sri Sri Radha-Radhakanta, were eating all the nice foods that had been brought to the temple and prepared in the bhoga room! At this time Lord Jagannath instructed the pujaris to remove the deities from the temple. By the Lord's order these deities were removed and kept in Kasi Mishra's house, which is now known as Gambhira, where Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu stayed for eighteen years. He worshiped these same deities of Sri Sri Radha-Radhakanta.

Source : http://nitaaiveda.com

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Jagannath Pahandi Bije

KING KULASEKHARA

King Kulasekhara

Once upon a time there was a king in Orissa named Kulasekhara. He was a very powerful king. He was very strict in his administration. His countenance was effulgent like the sun, and his heart was as deep as the ocean. He was very charitable, like a wish-fulfilling tree, and in learning he was compared to Brihaspati. He was as tolerant as Mother Earth, as beautiful as Kamadeva, the God of love, and was very pure in his mood and behaviour. His wealth was like that of Kuvera, and he took care of the citizens of his kingdom as if they were his own children. He was very much surrendered to the devas and brahmanas. He was full of devotion and sincerely served the lotus feet of his spiritual master. King Kulasekhara always served the devotees, and was constantly engaged in hearing Harikatha. One day King Kulasekhara was sitting on his throne, surrounded by his ministers and soldiers. Many sadhus and sannyasis gathered around the King, who was listening to them, speak Hari-katha. He was absorbed in the ecstasy of hearing. At this time, the King's guru arrived. Immediately King Kulasekhara left his throne to receive his guru. He offered him prostrated obeisances, washed his lotus feet, and arranged a nice asana to seat . Then by the order of the guru, the King also sat and continued hearing Hari-katha. 

It so happened that a fly came and sat on the Kings forehead. The King was feeling very uncomfortable, and touched his forehead to chase away the fly. Immediately the fly flew away. When King Kulasekhara chased away the fly, his hand touched his forehead, and some of the dust that was on his forehead from paying obeisances to his guru fell to the ground when the King brushed it. When his guru saw this, he lowered his head so the King couldn't see his face. The King was very observant and noticed the reaction of his guru. He asked his guru what was the cause of his apparent sadness.

The guru replied, "When one offers prostrated obeisances to his guru, he is immediately freed from the reaction of his sinful activities for as many past lives as there are dust particles on his forehead from paying his obeisances. Now you have removed those dust particles from your head. Can you imagine how much sin you have acquired by doing so? By touching your hand to your head, the dust particles fell back to the ground. That is why I feel sorry for you, because you have deprived yourself of being free from your sins of that many lives."

Hearing this statement from his guru, King Kulasekhara started to tremble, and no words came from his mouth. His eyes filled with tears and he became stunned. When he came back to his normal senses, he found that his guru had left the palace. The King asked the assembled learned persons, "Now I have committed a great offense at the lotus feet of my guru. Please check the scriptures and let me know how I can be free from this offense. Otherwise I will die. I have no desire for this kingly position." Hearing this, all the pandits present started to search the scriptures to find the remedy. They found that the scriptures recommend very hard and difficult atonement for this kind of offense. It was so severe an atonement that the brahmanas did not dare tell the King. The King asked them, "Why are you not telling me what atonement I will have to do? However difficult it may be, I must do it to make myself free from sin. I promise to undertake this atonement, keeping the sun god as my witness. Please tell me." The sages and brahmanas explained that if one offers prostrated obeisances to his guru and sits down in front of him, he becomes free from the reaction of as many lives as there are dust particles smeared on his body during the time he offers obeisances. But if one foolishly removes those dust particles out of pride, then he loses all sukriti, pious credits. To be free from this kind of guru droha, he must perform the following atonement: he must make a copper plate twelve feet long, three feet wide, and six inches thick. He should place that copper plate on top of four pillars, and put burning charcoal under the copper plate until it becomes as hot as fire. Then he should offer his prostrated obeisances one hundred and eight times on that copper plate. Only then will he be free from this offense to his guru. This is verdict of the scriptures. When the King heard this, his face became jubilant like the full moon, and his hair stood on end. Being very happy, he said, "Now I will be free from my offenses to my guru."

The King immediately called for the coppersmith. By his order one copper plate was made according to the proper scriptural standards. The plate was then placed on top of four pillars, and hot burning charcoal was kept under the plate. It started to become so hot that no one could even stay near it. The King went to take bath in holy water. He applied tilak to his body, and placed a tulasi mala around his neck. He dressed himself in simple white cloth, then took a few grains of Nirmalya (Jagannath's dry rice prasad), and returned to where the copper plate was being heated. Thousands of people had come to witness this event. Many ministers, soldiers, the King's relatives, many sannyasis and sadus—all were present there. Drums and trumpets played, creating a tumultuous sound, and it appeared that the whole earth was shaking.

Everyone was concerned that the King would get too close to the heated copper plate, and would leave his body. They begged him not to approach the copper plate. They said to him, "If you leave your body, who will take care of us? Please do not do this. If you die we will be deprived of our master." The King replied, "Who is the real master? Lord Jagannath is master of everyone. Please do not be concerned about my death. One who has taken birth will die one day. I do not fear death. I do not want to be punished by Yamaraj for being offensive to my guru. Whether I die or survive by doing this does not matter to me. Lord Chakradhar knows everything. He will do whatever is good for me. But I must do my duty. Please, all of you kindly chant the holy name of Hari. That will help me."

After saying this, the King started to meditate upon Niladribihari, Lord Jagannath. He said, "All glories to the Lord, who is holding a conch and disc in His hand. All glories to the life of Kamala, by whose order all the great demigods like Brahma and Indra are moving in this universe. The sun, moon, all the directions, mountains, earth, ocean, are eternal order-carriers of my Lord. Lord Hari’s lotus feet have been meditated upon by all the demigods like Lord Mahadev, Indra, Yaksha, Rakshsa, siddhas, yogindras, and munis. I am an ordinary human being. How can I understand His glories? O Lord! You are the root, and everything in creation are your branches and leaves. I am taking shelter of your abhaya charan (fearless lotus feet). You are vanchha-kalpa-taru (wish fulfilling tree). You are glorious and Your glories are like a great mountain. There is no one like You in this universe who can finish the suffering of the living entities. You are like a great fire burning the forest of material worries. You are like Agastya Muni, who can save one from the ocean of dangers. Your lotus feet are the gada (medicine) to free everyone from the influence of the poison of material existence. You are like the moon that maintains the lotus like devotees. You are like chintamani to those who think about You constantly. Everything in this brahmanda is done by Your potency only. I know no one but You who can save me from this danger. O my Lord, please protect me from this great fire. It is my final decision that I will enter into the fire, but whether I die or survive is entirely up to You. In any case, I need to free myself from this offense to my guru." After praying like this, King Kulasekhara started to chant the holy names of the Lord.

Sri Rama, Sri Krishna, Sri Hari,

Mukunda, Madhava, Murari,

Acyuta, Ananta, Govinda,

Shyamasundar, Sadananda.

Vraja Sundar, Vamsi Pani,

Radha Vallabha prana mani.

Daya-sagar, Dasarathi,

Sridhara, Srikara, Sripati.

Laxminayak, Chakra-pani,

Sita-Ballabha, Raghumani.

O Vanamali, O Kamsari,

Gopi Jivan Diyatari.

Srivasta-lanchana, Kesava,

Dina-bandhava, Vasudeva.

Bhavamochan, Bhagavan,

Jagatjivan, Janardana

While chanting the holy names of Lord Hari, hearing Hari-katha vibrating in his ears, meditating upon the form of Sri Han, and surrendering his mind unto the lotus feet of the Lord, King Kulasekhara very happily climbed on top of the hot copper plate after offering his obeisances to the sun and moon gods. The plate was so hot even wet wood would burn to ashes. But still without any fear the King offered his prostrated obeisances on top of the copper plate. The King's body started to burn. His head, hands and feet burned to ashes. But still the King was not scared, and remembering Lord Jagannath, he again offered his prostrated obeisances on top of the burning hot copper plate. Lord Jagannath, who is the cause of everything, knew about the situation of his surrendered devotee and became very merciful upon the King. Immediately the fire became cooling like water by the mercy of the Lord. The King's burning body was immediately cooled.

Meanwhile, all of the assembled people were crying in great grief. They were beating their heads with their hands and saying, "Oh King! We are so unfortunate. Now you are going to leave us. Who will maintain us?" When everybody was crying like this the King got up from the copper plate. He looked effulgent, like a second sun. He again offered prostrated obeisances on the copper plate, cool and unconcerned as a swan playing in the cooling water of a river. Those surrounding him were surprised to see this. The king offered his prostrated obeisances on top of the burning hot copper plate thirty-six times. The earth started to shake, and all of the directions trembled. Understanding the severity of the situation, Lord Jagannath left Nilagiri. Accepting a very attractive form that even Lord Brahma cannot create, the Lord appeared near the copper plate in His Jagamohan form. In His one hand He took King Kulasekhara and lifted him off the burning copper plate. The Lord said, "Now you will be glorified all over the universe. Never before and never in the future will there be one as pious as you. Now you are free from all sins and offenses. Please accept the highest destination, paramagati" When the King heard this he fell at the feet of the Lord, who had appeared in the form of a brahmana. The King asked the Lord, "Who are you? I don't recognize you." The Lord replied, "Then see My real form." The Lord manifested His four-armed form holding a conch, disc, club and lotus. The Lord blessed the King, making him fearless, and then disappeared from the palace. Due to the illusory energy of the Lord, those present could not see all of this. They did not see the appearance of the Lord, nor His blessing upon the King.

The King was very fortunate to see the Lord. Everyone glorified him for his feat and left for their houses. What kind of destination this King will achieve at the time of death is unknown. The readers can decide for themselves. In this age of Kali this kind of description will sound very strange and people will find it difficult to believe. But devotees of Sri Hari will derive great pleasure from this narration. Ignorant and foolish people will definitely think this is a false story. But for the devotees this will increase their devotion to the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord.

Source:http://nitaaiveda.com/All_Scriptures_By_Acharyas/Bhakti_Purushottama_Swami/Lord_Shri_Jagannatha_at_Puri/King_Kulasekhara.htm

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THE TAILOR AND LORD JAGANNATH

                                       LORD JAGANNATH'S PAHANDI BIJE at PURI

The Tailor and Lord Jagannath

There was a tailor in Delhi whose name was Paramesthi. Although he was very ugly and hunch-backed, he possessed all good qualities and had taken birth in a devotee family. He was a self-realized person, and worshipped Lord Vishnu as his life and soul. He had control over all his senses, was truthful, and free from envy, anger and pride. He was detached from material objects and was always blissful. He understood the temporary nature of  the material world, and thus was always engaged in chanting the holy name. His wife, Vimala Devi, was very beautiful, humble and also possessed many good qualities. She was always engaged in the service of her husband. They had two daughters and three sons.

Paramesthi was very expert in his tailoring job. He was so famous for his good tailoring that the Muslim King of Delhi would send his cloth to Paramesthi. Once the King sent some very expensive cloth embroidered with gold and decorated with pearls and diamonds. The King requested that two pillows be made from the cloth. He said to Paramesthi, "You should make it very nicely with flower designs sewn onto the cloth. Make sure no one can see the stitching. If you do a good job, I will pay you handsomely." When Paramesthi saw the cloth, he thought to himself, "This cloth looks and smells so nice. It is only suitable for Lord Jagannath. These pillows the King wants sewn are really meant for Lord Jagannath—how can such beautiful cloth be enjoyed by a human being?"

It so happened that Paramesthi received the cloth from the King during the Ratha-yatra period, when Lord Jagannath would ride in His chariot through Pahandi vijaya. Paramesthi started to make the pillows, and when they were ready, he was very satisfied, as the pillows looked so beautiful. Paramesthi closed his eyes dreamily, and began meditating on the Pahandi Vijaya pastime of Lord Jagannath. He saw that Jagannath looked so beautiful. Thousands of people were there to see the Lord and He attracted everyone's minds. During Ratha-yatra, there is no difference between low-caste and high-caste; devotees from the fourteen planets come to take shelter at the lotus feet of Lord Jagannath. When Jagannath was moved from the temple, He was resting on a pillow. The sevaks moved the pillow forward, and moved Jagannath onto the pillow, and in this way He moved forward, out of His temple and onto His chariot. Paramesthi saw all of this in meditation. Suddenly he saw the pillow burst. He knew the Lord needed another pillow, and so he handed over the pillow he was making for the King, just as if he were standing next to Lord Jagannath. Jagannath took the pillow, and the sevaks. continued moving Him towards His chariot.

When Paramesthi came to his external senses, he saw that he had only one pillow instead of two. He suddenly realized that one pillow had actually been taken by Lord Jagannath! Paramesthi was surprised to see this, and felt himself so fortunate that a pillow he had sewn was used in the Lord's intimate service. He was feeling that Jagannath was so merciful to him. He felt fear along with his happiness: one pillow was missing, and there was no doubt that the King would punish him! Then Paramesthi thought to himself, "This person has become the king due only to the mercy of my Lord. He is powerful due to the power of my Lord. So in reality, what can he do to me?"

While Paramesthi was thinking these thoughts, the King's messenger came with an order from the King to bring the two pillows to the palace. Paramesthi immediately went to the King with the one pillow. He offered his obeisances many times then presented the pillow to the King. The King looked bewildered and said, "I ordered two pillows. Where is the other pillow? Have not you prepared another pillow? Tell me the truth—what happened to other pillow?" Paramesthi immediately fell at the feet of the King and explained that the other pillow had been taken by Lord Jagannath. "I have only this one pillow with me, which I am giving to you now. Please accept this one and do whatever you want with me." The King smiled, but inside he was seething with anger. He glared at Paramesthi, and said, "Have you become mad ?! Where is your Lord Jagannath ? How powerful is He ? What can He do by His hand ? How is it possible for Him to take the pillow from you ? Sri Kshetra Puri is so far from here. How is it possible that He could have come so far in one day and take this pillow from you?"

Hearing all these questions, Paramesthi started to chant the holy name of the Lord. He said to the King, "I do not fear death. I will explain to you the potency of Lord Jagannath. He is there in His Daru-Brahma form. But at the same time, He is all over the universe. He is the supreme controller of this universe. He lives at Niladri nagar but is maintaining the whole universe. Whenever you call Him, wherever you are in the universe, He can hear you, even though He is sitting in Puri. According to the devotion of His dear most devotees, He will accept things from them, regardless of the seeming distance between Him and His devotee. He accepts according to mood of the devotee." When the King heard this explanation from Paramestiii, he became very angry. He said, "You sinful, low-caste person! Now listen to me! I do not have a devotional mood, and yet you are filled with bhava and devotion. Now I will put you to death. You can then remember your Istha-Deva. Let us see then how your Lord can save you!" The King ordered his people, "Arrest this man! Take this  hunchback to the prison house and tie him in ropes. Shackle his legs then bolt the door.Do not give him any food. Let him die of starvation. Let us see then how his Lord will save him!"

Paramesthi was carried away and thrown in the prison house. He started to pray to Lord Jagannath. "O Bhavagrahi, please protect me! O Kamala-saran, please protect me! O Jagat-karan, please protect me! O, Protector. Chakrapani! You protected Draupadi, and You protected Gajendra the king of the elephants when they were in trouble. O Rama-dhanurdhar-dhan! O Kripasindhu! O Bhakta-kalpataru! O Dina-natha, Dina-bandhu! O Sila-abala-karaka! O Nilachala! O Janaranjan-nayan! O Ghora-vipad-nasan, Prahlada-uddharan! O Hiranya-hruda-vidaran! O Girigovardhana! O Indra-garba-kharba-kari! Lord Mahadeva and Brahma meditate on Your lotus feet. Your glories are unlimited. How can a wretched person like me be able to know all Your glories? How can I understand your bhava ! You are rarely attained even by great yogis. This universe is Your playground. Please protect me from the punishment of this Muslim king. You may do whatever You like with me, as I have no control over anything."

Praying like this, Paramesthi chanted the Lord's holy name, his eyes closed in meditation, his mind dwelling on the four-armed form of the Lord. Gradually he fell asleep. Lord Jagannath, the Supersoul, knew the situation of Paramesthi. Lord Jagannath is known as the deliverer of the fallen. He cannot tolerate the suffering of His devotees. Immediately He reached Delhi and entered the prison house where His devotee was detained. The Lord looked very effulgent, and He cast His merciful glance upon Paramesthi. As soon as the Lord's glance fell upon him, Paramesthi was immediately released from the shackles on his legs and the ropes around his arms. When he opened his eyes, he saw Lord Jagannath before him. That Adimula, the original cause of everything, who is Ab-haya-vara-data, the giver of fearlessness; Bhrutya-kalpataru, He who fulfills the desires of His servants, was smiling at Paramesthi. He said to him, "Why are you worried? As long as I am with you, you need not fear anyone or anything. As long as I have My sudarshan in My hand, My devotees are most powerful and are well protected." Then the Lord put His lotus feet on the head of Paramesthi. Immediately his hunch disappeared, and he became very beautiful. Just see the good fortune of this person! Even Indra, the king of the demigods, could not receive blessings such as this ! Paramesthi, holding the lotus feet of the Lord on his head, was in so much ecstasy that he could not speak. In this way he was completely purified.

Then Lord Jagannath went to the house of the Muslim king in Delhi. The King was sleeping deeply, and the Lord appeared near him and said, "Foolish, ignorant King! I have given you this position, yet you are unaware of this. You have punished My devotee for giving Me a simple pillow. Everything in this universe belongs to Me. He simply returned my possessions to Me. Did he give Me your fathers property? Now I order you to immediately release him from the prison house! Fall at his feet and worship him. If you do not do this, then I will finish you along with your entire family dynasty. I will cut you all into pieces." The Lord started to whip the King’s back. After whipping him, Jagannath disappeared from the palace. After being whipped heavily, the King felt so much pain and woke up shouting and crying. He thought he had been having a nightmare, but then he saw the red marks on his back and understood that it was not an ordinary dream. The King said to himself, "Who could possibly do this ? He must be God! He came here to teach me a lesson. He did this for His devotee. If I delay in carrying out His orders, then I will be in great trouble."

Early the next morning, the King went to the prison house and personally unlocked the cell door. He was surprised to see that Paramesthi was free from his bindings. He also noticed that the hunch was gone from his back, and that his appearance was very beautiful and effulgent. He was sitting peacefully and chanting the holy name of Lord Rama. By seeing this, the King, out of fear, picked up Paramesthi and put him on his lap. He offered him a flower garland and chandan, and decorated him with many ornaments. He placed a patani sari (turban of respect) on his head. With great humility, the King said, "You are very fortunate and blessed. You have purified this planet. I say to you with the utmost sincerity, from today you will be our family guru."

The King then brought his principal elephant, and Paramesthi rode around Delhi in a great procession while the King sang his glories. Afterwards, the King took Paramesthi back to the palace. Paramesthi continued to worship Lord Jagannath without any obstacle. At the end of his life, he went back home, back to Godhead.

Source:http://nitaaiveda.com/All_Scriptures_By_Acharyas/Bhakti_Purushottama_Swami/Lord_Shri_Jagannatha_at_Puri/The_Tailor_and_Lord.htm

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UDAYAN ACHARYA

                                                         ENTRANCE TO LORD JAGANNATH TEMPLE

Udayan Acharya

There was once a great scholar in Mithila named Udayan Acharya. He was a great pandit in Naya philosophy. He was able to defeat everyone and establish his own verdict. No one dared to argue with him. Even learned Buddhist and Jain philosophers avoided meeting with him out of fear. Once, Udayan Acharya developed a desire to study Jagannath philosophy. He found in the Skanda Purana a verse that read: yatra sakhyat jagannadia sankha chakra gadadharah jantunam darsanat muktmi yo dadati kripanidh (Purushottama Mahatmya 7.30). Whoever takes darshan of Daru-Brahma Jagannath will immediately be liberated. Although Udayan had faith in Lord Jagannath, still he could not believe this statement. Yet he had a desire to examine the verse more thoroughly.

One time he travelled to Puri. He arrived at night and went to take rest, planning to go for darshan the following morning to see if he would get liberation like the verse said. Early the next morning, the head pujari came to the temple gate, but he could not open it. Others soon arrived, and all tried their best, but none could open the temple. No puja could be done, and there was no mangala-arati. A message was sent to the King, who came personally and tried to open the doors. Still they would not open. Everyone thought that a very sinful person had arrived in Puri whom the Lord did not want to see. For the entire day the doors remained shut. Finally everyone went home and took rest. During the night, Lord Jagannath appeared to the head pujari in his sleep and told him, "As long as this non-believer Udayan Acharya is in Puri, My door will not open. I am only available to those who have faith in Me. Faithless people cannot reach Me."

The next morning Udayan Acharya performed puja to his Salagram-sila. At that time the head pujari of the Jagannath temple, along with many others, arrived at Udayan Acharyas place. The pujari asked, "Are you Udayan Acharya from Mithila?" Udayan Acharya stood and replied, "Why, yes, I am." The pujari said to him, "You have no faith that one will attain liberation just by taking darshan of Lord Jagannath. That is why Lord Jagannath s temple did not open yesterday. As long as you remain here, His doors will not open." Udayan was surprised to hear this, and immediately understood his mistake. He said, "Due to one sinful person like me, so many people will be deprived of having darshan of Lord Jagannath. I must go myself to pray to the Lord for forgiveness. Let me see whether He listens to my prayer." Udayan Acharya went to the temple and, being very humble, he prayed to Lord Jagannath. Immediately the door of Lord Jagannaths temple opened, and everyone took darshan of the Lord.

Source:http://nitaaiveda.com/All_Scriptures_By_Acharyas/Bhakti_Purushottama_Swami/Lord_Shri_Jagannatha_at_Puri/Udayan_Acharya.htm

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RAGHU ARAKSHITA

Raghu Arakshita

Once upon a time, there was a very rich man named Krishna Mahapatra in the state of Bengal. His wife's name was Kamala, and they had one son named Raghunath, who was a great devotee of Lord Jagannath. Raghunath always served everyone very nicely, and was charitable in nature. When Raghunath reached at the age of sixteen, his parents looked for a girl to marry their dear son. Near by lived another very rich man named Gangadhar. He had seven sons and one daughter called Annapurna. She was a very auspicious girl, endowed with all good qualities. The families made a pact to marry Ragu to Annapurna.

Raghunath was so charitable that he donated all his wealth to poor people, and thus ended up poor himself. Being deprived of wealth, his father left his body. His mother entered into the fire and thus killed herself. Only Raghunath was left behind. He understood that life is useless. He thought to himself, "What is use of this life? Lord Jagannath is controller of everything. That Lord, the husband of Lamxi Devi, is residing in Nilachala Kshetra. Better I go there and offer my prayers to Him. I will exist there by eating Jagannath mahaprasad. Even if I will die there still it will be preferable to this. I will get liberation as it is a holy place." Thus Raghunath went to Puri and took darshan of Lord Jagannath. At the altar of Jagannath, Raghunatha prayed, "O my Lord, both my father and mother have died and have left me behind. I am now arakshita, there is no one to take care of me. Now I am Raghu Arakshita. I take shelter at Your lotus feet. I am your slave, your purchased servant. Please do with me whatever You like." Thus he offered his prayers to the Lord and travelled around Puri dhama. He visited different ashrams, and whatever he could find to eat he was happy with. He was living happily by taking darshan of Lord Jagannath daily. Thus many days passed. His father-in-law came to know that Raghunath was now wandering in Puri as Raghu Arakshita, and living by begging. The father-in-law thought that Raghunath had become a mad man, and thus he became concerned for his daughter Annapurna. How could his daughter be the wife of a person like this? He thought to himself, "It is better I find another boy to give Annapurna in marriage to." There was one rich person named Basu Mahapatra, who had a son. Annpurna's marriage was arranged with the son of Basu Mahapatra, and the date was fixed for the month of Phalguna.

When Annpurna heard about her father’s arrangement to marry her to another boy, she became very worried. She did not want to marry another boy while her husband was still alive. She prayed to the Lord, "O my Lord, you have delivered Gajendra, the king of elephants when he was in danger. You saved Draupadi when she was mistreated by the Kauravas. Please save me now from this danger. Please arrange that I can meet with my husband." Annapurna began to seek out someone who was going to Puri so that they might carry a message to her husband about the situation. She finally found some villagers who were leaving for Puri to take darshan of Lord Jagannath. She wrote a letter to her husband, saying, "My parents are arranging my remarriage with the son of Basu Mahapatra in next month, the month of Phalguna. You must come here immediately and save me from this helpless situation. Whether you come or do not come, know it for sure if you do not reach here within ten days, I will commit suicide. You will be responsible for death of a woman."

She sealed the envelope and sent the letter with one villager. She told him, "Kindly give this letter to my husband, who is living in Puri by begging from house to house." The person started his journey and after some days reached Puri and took darshan of Lord Jagannath. But he had not forgotten about the letter for Raghu Arakshita. He asked everyone he met of Raghunatha's whereabouts. Finally one day, at the Lion Gate in front of the Jagannath temple, he found Raghunatha, and handed over the letter to him. Raghu read the letter and immediately understood the situation of his wife. But what could he do now? There were only 10 days left. From Puri to go her house it would take more than ten days. How could he travel there within a few days? If he didn't reach Puri soon, his wife would commit suicide. Raghunatha went to the temple and offered his prayers to Lord Jagannath, asking Him for help. While he was praying to the Lord, he fell asleep. Lord Jagannath, who is famous as Bhakta-vatsala, could not tolerate the trouble His devotee was going through. Immediately he called Vetal (a goblin) and instructed him to take Raghunatha back to his father-in-law's house while he slept. Vetal put Raghunatha on top of a mystical cot and flew him to the village of Kalavati pura, where his wife was living in her father's house. He placed Raghunatha at the front door and left. Early the next morning, when Raghunatha woke up, he found himself sleeping somewhere different from where he'd fallen asleep. He thought, "I was sleeping in front of the Lion Gate. How did I arrive here? Which village is this? Whose ashram is this?" He asked people who were walking by him where he was. They informed him tliat the village name was Kalavati pura. "You are now sitting in front of the house of Krishna Mohapatra." Raghu understood, and thought to himself, "This was the arrangement of the Lord. Only Jagannath could have done this. Who else has the power to perform such a feat? The whole universe is His playground; this is not a big thing for Him." While Raghu was thinking like this his brother-in-law opened the door and saw Raghu sitting on the doorstep, unclean and wearing torn and dirty cloth. He immediately returned inside and informed his parents. The whole family came to see Raghu. His wife Annpurna was very happy to see that her husband had come back, but the other family members were not so happy to see him. They did not want Annapurna to be with Raghu, but at the same time they could not reject him, as he was her husband. Fearing what passers-by would think if they saw Raghu on the doorstep, they quickly took him inside the house, cleaned him very nicely, and brought fresh cloth for him to wear. Externally the family was very nice to him, but in their hearts they were already conceiving of a plan to be rid of him: they wanted to kill Raghu so that Annapurna could be saved from his association and marry the other boy.

A feast was prepared for Raghu. The family made many cakes, and mixed poison into the ingredients. Annapurna, who was a most chaste lady, could understand the plan of her family to kill her husband by making him eat poison cakes. She wrote a note to Raghu, saying, "These cakes have poison inside them. Do not eat them!" She slipped the note inside one cake as she served it to Raghu. When Raghu was served the preparations, first he offered everything to Lord Jagannath then took the remnants. He bit into a cake, and by Jagannaths mercy, the first mouthful contained the note from Annapurna. When Raghu read the note, his only concern was that he had offered Lord Jagannath poison. He thought to himself, "Oh no! I have committed a big offense. But what can be done? This is now Jagannatha prasada. How can I reject it? Even if I die, let me die taking the Lord's prasada. I have to die one day— what better way than by taking the Lord s prasada?' Thinking like this, Raghu ate all the prasada, remembering the name of Lord Govinda as he ate.

As soon as he swallowed the cake, the poison entered his body and Raghu fell on the ground. His father-in-law and others were very happy to see that Raghu had died. Annapurna's father advised his sons, "Before sunrise you must burn him. If anyone asks what happened, tell them he was bitten by a snake." When Annapurna came to know that her husband had died, she decided to enter into his funeral pyre and kill herself. She sat down and meditated upon Lord Jagannath. Immediately Lord Jagannaths simhasana started to shake. The Lord came to know that His devotee was in trouble, and came to save Raghu. He saw His devotee lying dead. Lord Jagannath very affectionately picked up Raghu and placed him in His lap, just as a father picks up his son. As soon as Raghu felt the touch of the Lord, he came back to life as though from a long sleep. As soon as Raghu awoke, Lord Jagannath disappeared. Raghu could understand that the Lord had saved him from the effects of the poison. He sat down and started to chant the holy name of the Lord throughout the whole night.

The next morning, when the family members opened the door of the room where Raghu's dead body was lying, they were surprised to see him sitting and chanting the holy name of Rama and Krishna. They said to each other, "How is it possible that this person, in spite of eating poison, is still alive? He must not be an ordinary person." Realizing this, they all went to Raghu and begged forgiveness. Raghu said to them, "You are all faultless. It is my karma. I must have fed someone poison in a previous life, so that is why I was fed poison. My Lord is Darubrahma Jagannath. By His mercy only, I have had my life returned to me."

Raghu continued, "Because I have become poor you are planning for Annapurna to marry someone else. If you all want that, then let me go. Or, if you are at all interested in following the dharma, then give me my wife; let me take her with me. Do whatever you like, but I am leaving now." Saying this, Raghu started to leave the house. Everyone ran after him and stopped him from leaving. They asked Annpurna what she wanted to do. According to her desire, they decorated her nicely and let her go with Raghu. Annpurna told Raghu, "You are my husband, my lord. Please take me with you wherever you go." And so Raghu and his wife started the journey to Puri. After Raghu left, the father sent a messenger to Basu Mahapatra's, whose son Annapurna was meant to marry. The messenger told the son of Basu Mahapatra, "We cannot give Annapurna in marriage to you, as her husband returned and claimed her, taking her back to Puri. We tried our best to save her from his hand, but nothing worked. Now they are on their way to Jagannath Puri. Please do whatever you want to do." As soon as he got this message, the son immediately prepared a group of soldiers and sent them to catch Raghu. They found Raghu and Annapurna on the main road to Pun. They said to Raghu, "Who are you to steal this girl? If you want to return to Puri alie, then leave this girl behind. Otherwise we will arrest you." When Raghu looked behind he found many soldiers behind him. Seeing this, Annpurna became very scared. "What will happen now?" she asked Raghu. "They are following us; they will kill you and kidnap me! I am destined to suffer so much. How will we be saved now?"

Raghu replied, "Do not be worried. My Lord is Darubrahma Jagannatli. This danger is nothing for Him to remove. That Lord who united us, who saved me from the poison, will save us now also. Why are you so scared? Even Brahma and Indra are meditating on His lotus feet to be free from fear. What fear do we have when we have a Lord like Jagannath?"

While Raghu was speaking like this to his wife, two very powerful personalities riding on two horses arrived on the scene. They were decorated like soldiers, and the asked Raghu, "Where have you come from? Where will you go? There is no one with you. So many soldiers are following behind you. Please tell us the problem." Raghu explained everything to the two solders. Both soldiers guarded Raghu and his wife and told them, "Now you have nothing to fear. Come with us." Lord Jagannath created an illusion before the soldiers, who were tricked into thinking that Raghu and his wife were surrounded by thousands of forms of Narayana. They all became scared and quickly ran away in fear. Then the two soldiers on horseback brought Raghu and his wife safely to the edge of the province. Raghu was very much obliged. He offered his obeisances, and said to them, "If you hadn't come, we would have been killed. Thank you very much." Raghu could not recognize that the two soldiers were Jagannath and Balarama. But how could he? Even Brahma and Indra are not able to understand the pastimes of the Lord. After saving Raghu and his wife, Jagannath and Balaram went back to Nilachala Dham to Their temple.

After few days both Raghu and his good wife reached Puri. They went to take darshan of the Lord. They arranged to live in a house near the temple. Raghu was very happy to hear the pastimes of the Lord daily. He visited the temple and attended all of the arati's. He would render some service to the Lord and chant and dance in front of the deities. Every day Raghu would go out to beg, and whatever he received, Annapurna would cook and offer to the Lord. After her husband was satisfied by the prasada, she would take his remnants. She would not even drink water without first feeding her husband. She served Raghu very sincerely.

Raghu was very merciful to all living entities, and would eagerly serve all the Vaisnavas. Gradually his good name spread all over Puri. Even though poor, he had many good qualities. He was a beggar, yet still he would give to anyone whatever they asked from him. Once, some Vaisnavas came to visit Nilachala-dhama. They took darshan of Jagannath and were looking for some prasada to honor. The local people told them, "Go to Raghu Arakshita's house. He will treat you very nicely, as he always serves Vaisnavas very respectfully." When the devotees arrived at Raghu s house, he was very happy to see so many sadhus at his place. He asked, "How may I serve you?" The sadhus told him they were hungry, and were looking for some prasada to honor. Raghu wondered what to do, as he had no money, and no way of serving these sadhus. He went inside and asked his wife, "What should we do now? Sadhus have come to our house. How can we serve them? We have no money with us." His wife said, "No problem. I am giving you all my ornaments. Please take these ornaments and in exchange bring some money from the merchant. We can feed these Vaisnavas nicely." Raghu replied, "I am a poor beggar. If I go to the merchant with valuable ornaments, he will think that I have stolen them from someone. Better you go to meet the merchant and bring the money."

Following the order of her husband, Annpurna quickly went to the merchant’s house and sold her ornaments. The merchant was of bad character, and very lusty. He became attracted to the beauty of Annapurna and told her, "You need not sell me your ornaments. I will give you money only if in exchange you allow me to enjoy with you." Hearing this, Annapurna fled from the merchant’s house, and returned to her husband, telling him everything. She said, "You are my husband. Whatever you instruct me I will do." Raghu said, "We must serve these sadhus, so do whatever is necessary to serve them. You must agree to the proposal of the merchant and get money from him immediately." So Annapurna went to the merchant and returned with money from him. She told him, "Please come to my house during the night. I will fulfill your desires." The merchant was very happy to hear this, and gave Annapurna the money in advance. Raghu bought many varieties of Jagannath prasada with the money and fed all the sadhus to their hearts' content. They were all so happy to receive so much Jagannath prasada. After taking prasada, they gave their blessings to Raghu, praising him for his generosity, and left his house.

As evening approached, Raghu said to his wife, "Now the merchant will come to our house. You must serve him nicely. You should serve his feet a hundred times better than you serve me." Saying this, Raghu went to other room. Annpurna dressed herself nicely and was waiting in her room for the arrival of the merchant. When he arrived, Annpurna said to him, "My dear merchant, please come inside my room. There is no one else here. Do not fear." But as she spoke she was meditating upon Lord Jagannath, praying to Him, "O my Lord, You are famous for protecting Draupadi. When I have a Lord like You, I have no fear from this danger." When the merchant entered the room, he saw Annpurna sitting on the bed very blissfully. But she was not alone: Lord Hari was on the bed, and Annapurna was in His lap. It looked just like Lord Hari sitting with Lamxi Devi, or Lord Shiva with Parvati. When the merchant saw this he became bewildered. He was struck with sudden realization, and thought, "What I see here is burning fire. What have I done? I was trying to jump into fire. I have developed this nasty desire towards Annapurna, who is just like my mother." Thinking like this the merchant immediately fell at the feet of Annapurna. Annapurna became surprised to see this kind of behaviour. She thought, "This merchant was supposed to enjoy with me. Why is he falling at my feet?" She could not understand anything. She told the merchant, "Please, it is not good that you are falling at my feet. Please get up." The merchant replied, "Oh chaste lady! Please excuse me. I am your son. If the son commits some offense, the mother always excuses him. I am such a fool and rascal that I did not know that you are such a pious and chaste lady. Please bless me.

Raghu was waiting in the next room. He was wondering whether his wife was serving the merchant properly or not. He wanted to make sure she served him as per her promise, otherwise they would remain indebted. He was surprised to see that the merchant was lying at the feet of Annapurna. He asked the merchant, "Why are you falling at the feet of my wife? Please get up." The merchant got up and then fell at the feet of Raghu. He said, "How fortunate are you! Just see how the Lord of the universe is holding your wife in His lap!" Everyone became very surprised to hear this. They looked around, but immediately Lord Hari disappeared from the room. All three of them were in ecstasy with love of Godhead. All of them were embracing each other and glorifying the Lord. The merchant gave them great wealth. Both Raghu and his wife spent their life always engaging themselves in the service of the Lord Jagannath, and at the end of their lives, they went back to Vaikuntha.

Source : http://nitaaiveda.com

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