Jagannath Puri Dham - By Harsha Lalita devi dasi

Mirror of the Heart: Jagannath is seen and understood in so many ways by so many devotees. Yet when the Lord wants to see Himself, how does He do so? Krishna asks, "What is My beauty?" But how can He understand it? Can you see your own face? You may see the face of someone else, but to see your own face the help of a mirror is required. Then you can see your own face, but that is only a reflection. A mirror reflects and you see the reflection. How can Krishna see His beauty? What kind of mirror is required?  sat-prema-hrdaya-darpana - The heart is a mirror, darpana, and sat-prema-hrdaya is the heart of a premi-bhakta, one who has developed completely pure love. So the heart of such a premi-bhakta is a mirror and in that mirror Krishna sees His form. But that is not a reflection. In a mirror you may see the reflection, but in the heart of a premi- bhakta, in the mirror of pure love, Krishna sees Himself.... In English prati-bimba means reflection, but Krishna never sees the pr...

Union in Separation: In a lecture given on his last visit to Alarnath, Orissa, on the morning of 18 May 1934, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur described, "Sri Kshetra, Jagannath Puri Dham, is vipralambha-kshetra, the place of separation." Sri Srimad Goura Govinda Swami has similarly described the nature of Puri and Jagannath: Mahaprabhu is feeling the pangs of separation from Krishna and always crying, rorudhya mana. Gaura is crying for Krishna and Jagannath is crying for Radha. Two crying forms are there in Jagannath Kshetra. Therefore that kshetra is known as vipralambha-ksetra, crying kshetra. Krsna-viraha-vidura and radha-viraha-vidhura. Two viraha- vidhuras meet together in Purushottama Kshetra. So we should understand who is Gaura, who is Jagannath, and the strange meeting between these two... Gaura is crying for Krishna and Jagannath is crying for Radha. Two are crying in the ecstatic mood of mahabhava. The exalted nature of vipralambha is described in these word...

Radha and Jagannath: A question remains: How could Sri Gaurasundar, being in the mood of Radharani, be attracted to a form of Krishna if Krishna's beloved consort Sri Radha is not present with that form? Or is she? According to the 6th verse of Jagannathāṣṭakam, Radharani is situated in an embrace with Jagannath: para-brahmapidaḥ kuvalaya- dalotphulla-nayano nivasi niladrau nihita- carano 'nanta-sirasi rasanando radha-sarasa- vapur-alingana-sukho  jagannathaḥ svami  nayana-patha-gami  bhavatu me Lord Jagannath, whose eyes resemble full-blown lotus petals, is the last limit of the absolute. He is a resident of Nilachal Hill and His lotus feet are placed on the heads of Anantadeva. Overwhelmed by the mellows of love, He joyfully embraces Srimati Radharani's body to His chest. May that Jagannath Swami be visible before me! References to Srimati Radharani's presence with Lord Jagannath in Puri can also be found in several other little known ceremonies during the worship of ...

All Important Radha: As described above, Gauranga's worshipable Lord is Jagannath, whom He sees as Vrindavan Krishna. But, understanding that, an all-important question arises where is Srimati Radharani? According to the siddhanta of the Gaudiya Vaishnavas, one cannot approach Krishna without Radharani. Dhyanachandra Goswami, the disciple of Srila Gopal Guru Goswami, has written in text 188 of his Gaura- govindarcana Smarana-paddhati vinā rādha-prasadena kṛṣṇa-präptir na jayate tataḥ śri radhika kṛṣṇau smaraniyau su-samyutau Without the mercy of Radha, one can never attain Krishna. Therefore one must remember Them together, as They are always nicely situated by each other's side. In the Sva-niyama Dasakam of his Stavăvali, Sri Chaitanya's intimate associate Srila Raghunath das Goswami has described the mood of the followers of Gauranga Mahaprabhu. In text 6 he states: anadṛtyodgitām api  muni-ganair vainika-mukhaih pravinám gandharvam api  ca nigamais tat priyatamam ya ekam...

Lord Jagannath and Chaitanya: In text 137 of the first chapter of the sesa khanda of Sri Caitanya-mangala, Srila Lochana das Thakur quotes the following verse, which he accredits to the Vayu Purana: kaleh prathama-sandhyāyām  laksmi kanto bhavisyati  daru-brahma samipantah  sannyāsau gaura-vigrahah In the beginning of Kali-yuga, Lord Narayan will appear on the earth in a golden form. Taking sannyasa, he will reside in Purushottama Kshetra near Lord Jagannath. There is a special relationship between Jagannath and Sri Chaitanya. It is significant that Jagannath was the main deity worshiped by Mahaprabhu. Many of His associates in Puri had deities that they worshiped there, including Tota Gopinath, who was worshiped by Srila Gadadhar Pandit, Sri Sri Krishna Balaram, worshiped by Bhagavan das and Chota Haridas, Madhavi devi's Radha Gopinath; the Radha Damodar deities of Swarup Damodar Goswami; Radha Giridhari worshiped by Jagadananda Pandit; Sri Sri Radha Vrindavan Chandra wo...

Mahaprabhu's Pastimes at Jagannath Temple: The pastimes of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu are unlimited, and so many books glorify these most relishable pastimes. The following is just a few of the Lord's pastimes that took place inside Jagannath Mandira: Jagamohana-pari-munda Yau: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu went with His personal associates to see Lord Jagannath when Lord Jagannath arose early in the morning. After seeing Lord Jagannath, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu began His all-encompassing sankirtana. He formed 7 groups, which then began to chant. In each of the 7 groups was a principal dancer, such as Advaita Acarya or Lord Nityananda. The dancers in the other groups were Vakreśvara Pandita, Acyutananda, Pandita Śrīvāsa, Satyaraja Khan and Narahari dasa. As Śri Caitanya Mahaprabhu walked from one group to another inspecting them, the men in each group thought, "The Lord is within our group." The congregational chanting made a tumultuous roar that filled the sky. All the inhabit...

How should the non-Hindu devotees take it, when they are allowed no entry into Jagannath Temple: One may think - "The tradition around Him seems very cruel and abusive! It smacks of racism. How is He merciful if He won't allow His devotees entrance? How can He be called Patita pavana?" If one contemplates on Lord Jagannath's purpose and activities, though, they will find that He is not so easy to understand. When a devotee from another country stands outside of the Puri temple feeling sad that they are denied entry, they should look over their shoulder to see who is standing next to them. They may find themselves to be in quite good company. Good company: So the next time foreign devotees are standing outside of the temple in Puri feeling dejected and abused from being barred entry, they should look around. They may find themselves standing next to great devotees like Haridas Thakur, Rupa and Sanatana Goswamis, Maharaja Ramachandra dev, Salabeg, Dasia Bauri, the demig...

89. Pastime of Lord Jagannath Himself allowed no entry into Jagannath Temple...🙂🙂🙂❤️❤️❤️ More astonishing than the other, however, are the events that take place every year at the time of the Ratha-yatra. The list of Jagannath's festivals generally begins with His bathing ceremony on Snana-purnima, which introduces a series of events culminating in Ratha yatra. But there is a significant event, intrinsically related to the festival of the chariots, that takes place 4 days prior to the Snana yatra. The festival, called "Rukmini-harana" or "Rukmini vivaha" takes place inside of the temple, and it enacts the marriage of Lakshmi devi to Lord Jagannath, represented by the Madan Mohan deity. One of the priests dresses up as Sishupal and tries to oppose the marriage. A popular part of the ceremony is when the mock Sishupal is tied up and made prisoner, following which Balaram comes and releases him. As part of the ceremony, some clothes belonging to Lakshmi and J...

Pa stime of Mother Lakshmi devi allowed no entry into Jagannath Temple: There is an ancient and popular story in Puri' describing how Lakshmi devi, the goddess of fortune, was once refused entrance to Lord Jagannath's temple. In Orissa, every Thursday during the month of Marga- Sirsa (November-December) the ladies worship Lakshmi devi, the goddess of fortune. This tradition is still going on today. The ladies clean their houses nicely and decorate the entrances with designs made from rice flour paste. Worship and foodstuffs are then offered to Lakshmi. There was a candálini, outcaste woman, named Shriya who observed this ceremony with great devotion. Lakshmi devi became so pleased by Shriya's worship that she decided to personally leave her residence in the Jagannath temple to visit and bless Her devotee. When Lord Balaram heard that Lakshmi had gone there, He manifested some external anger. He spoke to His younger brother, "This is very bad! By going to the house of a...

Pastime of demigoddess Charchika allowed no entry into Jagannath Temple: Once the demigoddess Charchika was locked out of the Jagannath temple. Balaram became annoyed with her when she arrived late for darsana. He ordered that she no longer be allowed entrance in the temple. It was only after adopting the form of a maidservant and humbly providing house-cleaning services for the Lord's head pujari that Charchika was finally forgiven and again allowed inside the Sri Mandir.

Damanaka and the cupid: The procedure for the worship of the Lord with fragrant damanaka is also described, with another aspect added to it, in the Padma Purana (8.6.84.1-19). Therein, this plant is considered to be a symbol of the god of desire, Cupid. Kamadev is identified with Vishnu, and is addressed with epithets of Vishnu such as Jagannath, Srinivas, and Janardhan. The Padma Purana states that as part of the worship with damanaka, the Kama Gayatri is chanted 108 times. The worshiper offers abhisheka, foodstuffs, damanaka, ärati, and kirtana to the deity, and at the end, worships his guru and takes prasada with the vaishnavas. During the ceremony, mantras are recited that blend Kamadev's and Jagannath's personality in the same prayer. Just as Jagannath, who is non-different from Krishna in Vrindavan, is the transcendental god of love, so damanaka, by the description of the Padma Purana, is the "plant of love". It is a plant for worshipping Shyamasundar, the origi...

Damanaka in the Gaudiya Vaishnava literature: In Gaudiya Vaishnava literature, there are a number of references to damanaka. Srila Prabodhananda Saraswati in his Sri Caitanya-candamrta (7.69) glorifies Lord Gaurasundar as follows: uddama-damanaka-dama ganabhiramam  arama-ramam avirama-grhita-nama karunya-dhama kanakojjvala-gaura-dhama caitanya-nāma paramam kalayami dhama "That self-willed, impetuous soul is decorated with garland of fragrant damanaka blossoms, He is the source of absolute bliss and causeless mercy for the common people. Immersed in happiness, He incessantly chants the holy names of Krishna in a solitary garden. I meditate on the radiant, golden abode of Gaura, the treasure chest of compassion, Sri Chaitanya, the foremost shelter for all." Kavi Karnapura gives a similar description of Mahaprabhu being decorated with damanaka (Sri Caitanya-candrodaya 8.63): kanaka-parigha-dirgha-dirgha-bahuh sphutatara-kancana-ketaki-dalabha nava-damanaka-malya-lalyamana- dyuti...

The Dayana festival of Lord Jagannath: Under the veil of darkness on the 13th evening of the bright fortnight of the month of Caitra, a little known festival takes place for Lord Jagannath in Sri Kshetra Dham Jagannath Puri. This festival revolves around a plant known variously as "dayand, damanaka, damana, and damanna" (Artemisia indica).  The Skanda Purana (5.2.2.38.124) glorifies this special variety of herb as follows: tasya mala bhagavatah  parama-priti-kärini suska paryusita vapi  na dusta bhavati kvacit A garland made of this plant is very pleasing to the Lord. Even if it becomes dry, or even after the lapse of a long time, it never becomes defiled. There are two stories about the origin of this herb. One is from ancient times, found in the Skanda and other Puranas and the other from a local legend in Puri that connects damanaka to Lord Jagannath's worship today. The Demon Damanaka: The Skanda Purana (5.2.2.38. 118-126) relates a story about a demon named "Dam...

Other Functions of Jagannath Puri Temple: 1. Nrsimha Janma: The birthday of Nrsimha is celebrated on the 14th day of bright Vaisakha. 2. Sitala Sasthi: Marriage of Shiva with Parvati is celebrated on the 6th day of bright Jyestha. Lakshmi welcomes the couple for the occasion. 3. Rukmini Haran Ekadasi: This is held on the 11th day of bright Jyestha. The marriage is held between Madan Mohan as Krishna and Lakshmi as Rukmini. 4. Chitalagi Amavasya: This function is held on the new moon day of Sravan, when the deities wear Chitas. 5. Jhulan Yatra: This festival is observed for a period of 7 days beginning from the 9th day of bright Sravan. A well decorated swing is prepared on the Mukti-Mandap for the occasion, in which Madan Mohan, Lakshmi and Saraswati swung a mid-great rejoice. 6. Gamha Purnima: The birthday of Balabhadra is celebrated on the full moon day of Sravan. 7. Janmashtami: Krishna's birthday is celebrated on the 8th day of dark Bhadra, which is called Janmashtami. This fes...

Festivals of Lord Jagannath: There were only 12 annual religious festivals mentioned in the original text, but today more than 60 official festivals are performed each year, and many smaller ones, and a festival is observed nearly every other day. Devoted kings and supporters have added these extra celebrations in accordance with the Vedic calendar. Below is a listing and brief description of some of the more important festivals. The 29th chapter of the Purushottama-mahātmya section of the Skanda Purana lists 12 original festivals that are considered in Jagannath Puri to be pradhana-yātrās or primary festivals. The original 12 major festivals are also described in the Kalasana, a local book dealing with the rituals in the worship of Lord Jagannath (paja-paddhati), as follows: manca-snanam rathavara-gatih sayanam cayane dve parsvavrttih sayaparihrtih pravṛtih pusya-puja dolakelir damanakam aho 'ksayya-punya trtiya yatrah skände hari-pratimayor dvadaseti pranitah 12 major festivals a...