All Besha Of Shri Jagannath Mahaprabhu
Mahapravu Says “All Your Karmas are Mine. You just love me that much don’t concentrate in Sins(Papah) and Virtues( Punya).”
Mahapravu Says “All Your Karmas are Mine. You just love me that much don’t concentrate in Sins(Papah) and Virtues( Punya).”
MAHAPRABHU SHREE JAGANNATH (BAPA) IS ABSOLUTE TRUE,
OTHER THAN HIM ARE RELATIVELY TRUE….
OTHER THAN HIM ARE RELATIVELY TRUE….
There are abundant legends on the devotees of Mahapravu Shree Jagannath and the constellation of gods and goddesses worshipped within the enclave of the great temple complex of Mahapravu Shree Jagannath at Puri. Each of these statues and their respective routine rituals are based on some legends or other. Many legends like Bandhu Mohanty, Dasia Bauri, milkmaid Manika, Salabega, Meerabai so on and so forth are very popular and found in scriptures. Yet some legends live in the minds of the people being transferred vocally from generation to generation and waiting to get an entry into the scripture, I suppose. Many of these are very popular.
But some legends are though not so popular yet very very emotional and devotional in nature as well. As I have faith in vox populi, I trust the present piece may find its way to the scripture, if not yet placed. Long long ago there was a butcher named Sadan. His profession was to kill and sell the products and by products of animals. Though low in birth, Sadan was pious by heart and maintained a high degree of morality in his profession. In addition to that he was an ardent devotee of Mahapravu Shree Jagannath . He took up his family profession because he knew one thing “a man to thrive must keep alive.” Thus he had to take his profession for livelihood. But he had his own dictum and philosophy of life. As such he never swayed away from the path of morality in his activities, either in the profession or out of it. It was a regular practice of Sadan to attend the gathering of saints and sanyasis to listen their spiritual discussions and discourses. Thus he tried to enlighten himself. Time rolled on.
Sadan’s life tossed between vocation and avocation. It so happened one day a saint was passing by the shop of Sadan. Per chance a piece of stone which Sadan was using in his balance for weighing the products while selling, attracted the attention of the saint. Incidentally the saint recognized it to be a Salagram. Though it was a stone only but worshipped as an image of Bgahaban Vishnu by the Hindus and said to be a rarity and found rarely in the bed of river Ganduki.
The saint couldn’t tolerate the sight of the sacred stone in such a filthy background. So he asked Sadan whether he can spare the stone. Sadan spared it with pleasure thinking that he can use another stone instead. The saint felt relieved due to the fact that he could recover the sacred image from such a nasty environment and from the hands of a person of a low breed thereby doing a pious work done. There is a saying “man thinks god laughs”. The saint took the stone cleaned it. With all the abracadabra he worshipped the Salagram in his ashram. The same night he had a dream in which Mahapravu Shree Jagannath appeared and appealed the saint not to separate him from his dear devotee, the butcher.
Now the saint repented for his feelings while taking out the stone from the butcher. Early next morning the saint rushed to the butcher and returned the Salagram. Sadan wanted to know the reason. The saint described in honest all that happened last night. Sadan was overwhelmed to hear the incident from the saint and the very moment he left his job and prepared himself for the bon voyage to Puri for the Darshan of Mahapravu Shree Jagannath . Puri was too far from him and the mode of movement was only to walk to cover the distance. However, Sadan was young and energetic physically and determined mentally. As such he set out to Puri for the Darshan of Mahapravu Shree Jagannath banking on his will power. He walked for days together and felt little tired. Indeed he needed little rest. The sun was setting down the other side of the hillock and his energy was coming down all time low. En route by the side of the road, he came across a small village. Sadan knocked at a door. The master of the house opened the door and knowing that the stranger wanted a little shelter, allowed him to come in and asked his wife to make arrangement for the dinner and a bed to sleep for the guest. Everything was done. Sadan went to sleep after the dinner. Then something unusual happened.
While he was going to sleep, the young lady of the house being enchanted with the charming personality of young Sadan, approached him for affaire d’amour . But Sadan calmly and humbly refused the proposal addressing her as mother. Presuming that her husband might be the cause of the denial for her proposal, she took a hard decision and killed her husband. Again she came with a fresh proposal saying that she had killed her husband in order to remove the obstacle whatsoever for him to accept her proposal. But Sadan as stubborn as before didn’t agree. This hurt her feminine ego for hurting which was at the stage of climax. The young lady now completely blind for the affaire d’amour attempted another devilish decision either to achieve her goal or to avenge on the guest. She shouted loudly. This also didn’t have any change on Sadan but the neighbours heard the panic voice of the lady and rushed to the place to know the reason. Now failing her all attempts she made an evil plan and made allegation against Sadan that he killed her husband when she didn’t agree to his proposal of affaire d’amour. This didn’t have any change over Sadan. He was as composed as anything but the villagers took the statement of the lady to be true and caught hold of Sadan and produced him before the magistrate.
The magistrate heard the case. Taking the fact to be not only true but also grievous the magistrate ordered to amputate both the hands of Sadan. Even then Sadan didn’t object or depose any argument to defend him. Order of ex cathedra was executed then and there. Sadan took it to be deo volente. He was then ruminating the divine characters like Rama et al who had also bad times and underwent spells of sorrows in their lives.
On the other hand, he thanked Mahapravu Shree Jagannath for that the magistrate had ordered to amputate his hands not the legs. Had he ordered to amputate the legs which would have restricted the journey to his destination for the Darshan of Mahapravu Shree Jagannath . Here I am tempted to quote a stanza from
A.W.Rider which I presume would be relevant.
“Remember Rama wandering far
Remember Nala‘s sinking star
With Bali’s bond Vishnu’s tomb
Lanka’s monster Monarch’s doom
Pandu’s forest borne disaster
Knightly Arjuna dance master”
The essence of the stanza is that perils do come to everybody’s life even to celestial personalities mentioned above what to speak of human being. Days rolled on and the injury of Sadan was healing up. But Sadan could not wait for the full recovery of his injury as he was too eager to have a Darshan of Mahapravu Shree Jagannath . So he resumed his journey to Puri. In the meanwhile the cheap servitor (Bada Panda) of the temple had a dream one night in which Mahapravu Shree Jagannath asked him to make arrangement to welcome to one of his devotees who has lost his two hands coming for the Darshan within a few days. In obedience to the divine order Bada Panda arranged a beautiful palanquin with required fittings and fixtures and well decorated for the devotee to usher in to the temple.
Bada Panda also instructed the juniors to be vigilant about the devotee, without two hands, in the outskirt of the city. One day a servitor of the temple informed the Bada Panda that they have seen a man without two hands and enchanting “Jai Jagannath, Jai Jagannath” near Atharanala. Bada Panda could know that person would be none other than the devotee of the Mahapravu Shree Jagannath about whom he had received the divine order. Immediately he arranged for a grand welcome of the devotee. He himself found that the devotee had lost his two hands. The devotee was carried in the well decorated palanquin arranged for the purpose. Sadan was amazed to see such ovation and elaborate arrangement to welcome for a person of low birth and low profession.
His palanquin was carried with all musical drums. Now Sadan became confirmed it to be the blessing of Mahapravu Shree Jagannath , being too excited started enchanting emotionally “Jai Jagannath, Jai Jagannath” by raising his stump of the cut hands. At this point he felt something miracle. He found that both the amputated hands at right place. He could not believe his own eyes. Bada Panda and others were also surprised to see this miracle. Tears were rolling down from the eyes of Sadan out of joy and excitement. Sadan was garlanded and ushered into the temple for his Darshan. Sadan became overwhelmed to see right in the front of him the trinity, in general and Mahapravu Shree Jagannath in particular. After his Darshan, arrangement was done for his shelter and rest in the night. Exhaustion of the long journey and the excitement of Darshan made him to slumber soon. While in deep sleep he dreamt Mahapravu Shree Jagannath standing before him and describing his last birth. He was a Brahmin by caste in Kashi in his last birth. The landlady who approached him for affair d’amour was a cow in her last birth while her husband was a butcher. Once the butcher while going to slay the cow somehow she escaped and he butcher was running after it to catch. Sadan was passing by the cow then and the caught hold of the cow in his both hands. Thus, there was a curse upon him to carry on this birth by jure divino. But due to his dedicated and spiritual activities with high degree of morality in his daily life curse is webbed and he was added with the recovery of hands. Sadan got up and found none. He tried to recapitulate the scene which he had seen a moment before and in his delirium state of mind. He rolled on his bed enchanting “Jai Jagannath , Jai Jagganath”.
The Eternal Mystery Of Mahaprabhu Shree Jagannath by Srikanta…..
ହେ ମଣିମା
