60. Lord Jagannath dresses as Lord Ramachandra

Lord Jagannath dresses as Lord Ramachandra:

Among the different ways Lord Jagannath is seen by His various worshippers, He is also identified with Lord Ramachandra.

The Niladri-arcana-candrika is one of the puja-padhatis, manuals instructing the system of worship of Lord Jagannath in Puri.

The Rama-navami section of the book describes:

jagannatho mahabahuḥ 

pratyakşam raghunandanaḥ

saumitrir baladevas ca 

subhadra maithily eva ca

puratas tejo-rupas cayudho 

bhimo mahabalah

vätajatah saha vandyo 

repharudha-catur-vyuhah

The mighty-armed Jagannath is directly Raghunandan, Lakshman is Baladev, and Subhadra is Sita. The mighty Bhima, who appears in front of Jagannath as His blazing weapon Sudarshana, is Hanuman, the son of the wind god. Together these four forms beginning with 'r' are worshipable.

The scene described in this verse is carried out in a special ceremony for Lord Jagannath called Danda-chatra-niti. The day that Tulasidas had a vision of Lord Jagannath as Ramachandra was a Thursday, and on the lunar calendar it was Ekadasi. In honor of that event, to this day whenever Ekadasi falls on a Thursday the temple observes the Danda-chatra-niti function. The bhitara-chu mahāpātra (a deity room sevaka), on behalf of Lord Balaram, acts like Lakshman and holds a stick (danda) with an umbrella (chatra) over the head of Lord Jagannath, who represents Lord Ramachandra. Meanwhile the palia-mekapa,' on behalf of Sudarshan, serves the feet of the Lord like Hanuman, and goddess Mahalakshmi sits on the ratna-simhasana as Sita.

Two Dresses:

In addition to the Danda-chatra-niti observance, there are two dresses worn by Lord Jagannath that evoke the mood and pastimes of Lord Ramachandra. These are known as the rama-raja-vesa and the raghunatha-vesa. The rama-raja-vesa is offered at the time of the above-mentioned Danda-chatra-niti and also when the day of Rama-navami, Lord Ramachandra's appearance day, is connected with the pushya-naksatra.

The date of offering the raghunatha-vesa is also connected with the pushya-naksatra. At the time of His royal coronation, the Gajaran King Maharaja Ramachandra offered this dress to Lord Jagannath and established Jagannath as the emperor and himself as the Lord's deputy. In honor of this day, Ramachandradev ordered that the raghunatha- vesa should be offered to Lord Jagannath whenever the pusya-naksatra occurs in the month of Vaisakha.

The raghunatha-vesa is said to be the most attractive, expensive, and luxurious of all Jagannath's dresses. Due to the exorbitant cost, it has only been offered a few times since the reign of Maharaja Ramachandra. According to records cited by the Oriya scholar Asutosh Nayak in his hook Sri Jagannatha Parva-parvani Seva-puja, this dress has been offered perhaps a dozen times in recorded history, the latest being in 1905.

32 Deities:

For the raghunatha-vesa, a large make-shift wooden throne is constructed from Jagannath's altar, the ratna- simhasana, to the main door of the inner darsana area known as kalaghata-dudra. The deities in full decoration are situated on the temporary throne.

Aside from Jagannath, Baladev and Subhadra, there are 32 other deities who sit on the throne during the raghunatha-vesa:

1) Bharat

2) Vibhishan

3) Sushen

4) Dadhimukh

5) Nala

6) Jambavan

7) Shatrughna

8) Sugriv

9) Angad

10) Vayummukh

11) Lakshman

12) Hanuman

13) Nila

14) Narada

15) Indra

16) Brahma

17) Kuvera

18) Nairuta

19) Vashistha

20) Vamadev

21) Javali

22) Kashyap

23) Katyayan

24) Suyajna

25) Gautam

26) Vijay

27) Vayu

28) Gavaya

29) Rishabha

30) Dvividha

31) Niyuda

32) Sumanta

These deities are specially fashioned for this occasion out of a soft plant known as sola similar in texture and strength to balsa wood.

In this dress as Ramachandra, Lord Jagannath holds a bow in his right hand and arrow in his left hand. Sitadevi is seated on his left thigh. The Lord sits on the throne with His feet and hands fixed. Two quivers full of arrows are fixed on His shoulders and He is decorated with many varieties of jewellery. Lord Balabhadra is dressed up as Lakshman. He holds an umbrella in His two hands over the head of Sri Jagannath and is also dressed up with many kinds of jewellery. Subhadra is dressed up as Purnamasi, Yogamaya. The reason for this is based on a local tradition in Puri that stems from a story from the Valmiki Ramayana. Chapter ten of the Bala-kända of Ramayana speaks about the marriage between Shanta, the elder sister of Lord Ramachandra, and the sage Rishyasringa. At the time of their wedding ceremony an aerial voice was heard that declared, "This girl Shanta is Purnamasi, infused with the potency of Yogamaya." During this function, the deities of Vibhishan and Sugriva mentioned above, along with their soldiers and commanders stand on or below the throne to increase the beauty of Lord Rama's royal court.

Other Festivals:

There are a number of other festive occasions when the connection between Jagannath and Lord Ramachandra is seen. One is in the ceremony known as Vibhishana Bandapand. This rite takes place after Jagannath, Baladev, and Subhadra take their public bath at the Snana-yatra ceremony on the platform on the top of the outer wall of the temple. When the deities are coming back after their abhisheka, at one point they turn and face south toward Lanka. A panda known as the pati-mahapatra then represents Vibhishan and worships Jagannath and offers betel, flowers, and arati.

Another occasion is the festival called Benta-yatra. As a king of the Sun dynasty, the deity of Lord Ramachandra is carried from the Jagannath Mandir to Jagannath Vallabha Gardens for symbolic hunting of animals. This festival is described in the Vämadeva-samhita:

phalgune pi ca kartavya 

mrgaya tu harer api

yato rajadhirajah sa 

kuryat pañca-dināni ca

In the month of Phalguna the festival of Lord Hari's hunting should be observed. By celebrating this festival, a king will become an emperor. One should celebrate this festival for 5 days.

Also known as the Sikara-Yarra, hunting festival, this takes place on five different days during the month of Phalguna (February-March). After mangala-arati, the deity of Dola Govinda is placed on Lord Jagannath's throne, where He is offered a garland known as the ajña-mala, signifying the order of Lord Jagannath. Then, accompanied by pandas beating gongs and holding a royal umbrella, Dola Govinda is carried on a palanquin to Jagannath Vallabha Gardens. The priests make an offering of foodstuffs to Him, and then He is brought to the pond known as Benta Pushkarini. There, the bhitara-chu mahapatra acts as Dola Govinda's representative. He takes 5 iron arrows, touches them to the hand of the deity and then gives them to a sevaka, known as lenka, who carries a bow. Five green coconuts are placed symbolizing five deer. The lenka shoots the arrows at the coconuts, and then Dola Govinda returns to the Jagannath Mandir.

Jagannath's dress as Lord Rama:

On the full moon day of the month of Caitra (March- April), is the festival known as Lanka-podi commemorating the day when Hanuman set fire to Ravan's kingdom. In the evening after sandhya-arati" the deities of Rama and Lakshman receive an ajña-mälä from Lord Jagannath and are then carried in procession to Jagannath Vallabha Gardens, where devotees enact the burning of Lanka.

On the first day of the dark half of the month of Vaisakha (April-May) is the festival known as Setu-bandha, which commemorates the occasion when Lord Ramachandra and His monkey soldiers constructed a floating bridge to Lanka. Like the Lanka-podi festival, this begins after the sandhya-arati, when Rama and Lakshman receive a ajñā-mälä from Lord Jagannath. Again, they are taken in procession to Jagannath Vallabha Gardens where there is an enactment of the pastime of building the bridge to Lanka.

The festival known as Ravana-vadha takes place on two days, beginning with the second day of the dark part of the month of Vaisakha (April-May). It is in honor of the killing of the demon Ravan. On the first day, a panda dressed in a ten-headed costume as Ravan goes in procession with musicians, devotees, and onlookers to various neighborhoods in Puri. The purpose of Ravan's expedition is to look around and see how many soldiers he hits to help him in his fight with Lord Ramachandra. On the second day, another panda is dressed as Rama. Ravan is given an ajña-mala as a blessing from Jagannath, and then his killing is enacted by the panda dressed as Lord Rama.

Thus there is a strong connection to this day in Puri between Lord Ramachandra and Lord Jagannath. In the Jagannath Mandir there is a Sanskrit prayer to Lord Jagannath that is said to have been composed by the poet Tulasidas.

daksine laksmano yasya 

vame ca janakätmajā

purato marutir yasya tam 

vande raghunandanam

I bow down to Raghunandan, Lord Ramachandra, on whose right side is Lakshman, on whose left is Sita, the daughter of Janak, and in front of whom is the son of the wind god, Hanuman.

Raghunatha Vesa