24. Patita Pavana Jagannath and King Ramachandra Dev

Patita Pavana Jagannath and King Ramachandra Dev:

The Gajapati king Ramachandra Dev II assumed control of Khurda and Puri during a turbulent time in Orissa. The son of Maharaja Gopinath Dev, Ramachandra II ruled from 1727 to 1736 A. D. Districts like Cuttack, Khurda and Puri were constantly under attack by the Muslim military officer Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan and his son Mirza Muham- mad Taqi Khan. Although Ramachandra Dev fought his best to keep the temple of Lord Jagannath free from the invaders, he ultimately lost out in one of the battles and on the 3rd of January 1732 he was captured and held at the Barabati fort in Cuttack. According to tradition, Ramachandra Dev Il remained as a prisoner under Taqi Khan for thirteen months and fifteen days.

During Mughul rule, it was common for imprisoned warriors to be offered their kingdom back on the condition that they convert to Islam. Gajapati Maharaja Ramachandra Dev was approached by Taqi Khan with a similar condition. He was offered the kingdom of Puri and Khurda on the condition that he convert to Islam by marrying the daughter of Shuja Khan.

Ramachandra Dev was in a great dilemma. On one hand, if he remained a helpless prisoner he feared for the temple of his beloved Lord Jagannath under the rule of the invaders. On the other hand, if he accepted Islam to gain his freedom and kingdom back, then he would have to give up his religious practices. Ramachandra Dev finally agreed to Taqi Khan's proposal. He accepted the daughter of Shuja Khan in marriage, and, at least externally, adopted the religion of Islam, thereby protecting Lord Jagannath's temple from the attacks of the Muslims. Ramachandra Dev was freed and became the mallika (superintendent) of the temple under his new name Hafir Qadir."

However, when Ramachandra returned to his palace as a Muslim, his wives became disgusted and left with their children, returning to the homes of their respective fathers. Similarly, the management board of the Jagannath temple, known as the mukti-mandapa, banned Ramachandra from entering the temple and barred him from performing the traditional functions of the King of Puri, such as sweeping Jagannath's cart. In Puri there is a long tradition called mahadipa. On the night of every Ekadasi, a large lamp is lit on the top of the Jagannath temple. After climbing up and putting fire to the wick, the priest calls out a verse written in old Oriya seeking blessings for the king of Puri.

cakra re! uhadi sankha re 

purai khordha raja 

rama- candra devanku 

raksa karo he mahabaho

O Mahaprabhu (Jagannath is often called Mahaprabhu), with your conch shell and disc, please give protection to the king of Khurda, Ramachandra Dev (or whoever happened to be the king at the time).

After his external conversion to islam, the pandas stopped calling out Ramachandra's name during the mahadipa ceremony. He was considered to be patita, fallen from his caste, due to his contact with non-Hindus. Ramachandra Dev had made the biggest sacrifice of his life in order to protect the temple of Lord Jagannath, yet none sympathized with him.

For Ramachandra Dev, this was the darkest period of his life. Although he had the good fortune of being born in a royal family and previously had daily darsana of Lord Jagannath those days; now seemed to be a far cry away lonely and desolate, his only shelter now was the causeless mercy of Lord Jagannath...

According to the local tradition, after being denied entry, Gajapati Maharaja began going to Jagannath's temple at night. He would fall flat on the ground in front of the simha-dvara, the Lion-gate of the temple, where he would cry and cry and pray to Lord Jagannath to mercifully bestow His darsana again.

Many times Krishna puts His devotees into such situations to increase their love and surrender. The difficulties in the life of Ramachandra Dev made him cry out for the mercy of the Lord in such a way that the Lord was not able to stay within the temple. It is said that Jagannath would leave His bejeweled seat and rushed to see His dear devotee by the gate. Seeing his prayers answered, Ramachandra Dev was stunned, and unable to check his ecstasy. Lord Jagannath was the only one who truly understood the heart of Ramachandra Dev. Falling repeatedly at the lotus feet of the Lord, the king narrated his precarious condition and then returned back to his palace at Khurda.

As morning dawned, the priests of the temple were surprised to see many of the dayand flowers and ornaments of the Lord scattered all the way between the ratna-simhasana, the Lord's jeweled throne, and the simha-dvara. This incident kept recurring until one night Lord Jagannath came in the dream of one of the priests of the temple. Jagannath told him that He was displeased with the decision of the temple management. Since His dear devotee was not being allowed inside the temple, Jagannath said, He was going every night to the simha-dvara to bestow His darsana on Ramachandra Dev.

This news spread like wildfire. Everyone in Puri spoke of the glories of the unwavering devotion of Ramachandra Dev towards Lord Jagannath. It is said that the Rajguru Paramalakshmi then installed the deity of Patita Pavana Jagannath just behind the simha-dvara of the temple so that Maharaja Ramachandra Dev could have His darsana. The pandas also allowed the king to resume most of his duties. Although they still did not allow him to enter the temple, they permitted the king to sweep Jagannath's cart at Ratha-yatra time and began again the practice of calling out to Jagannath to protect him while lighting the mahadipa on the top of the temple.

Regardless of His origin, to this day Patita Pavana Jagannath stands by the simha-dvara gate eagerly waiting to bless every-one who comes before Him. In Jagannath Puri it is considered that even if one cannot go inside of the temple, one can get the same benefit of darsana simply by presenting oneself before the all-compassionate Patita Pavana Jagannath. 

The stories of Jagannath's causeless mercy on Bhakta Kavi Salabeg and Ramachandra Dev are famous in Orissa and are an intrinsic part of Jagannath culture. Their examples have provided immense joy and hope to those devotees of Lord Jagannath who consider themselves completely helpless and fallen.