Articles
Alarbinda’s Lord Alar Nath
Jun
Lord Alarnath and the Devotee Alarbinda
Lord Alarnath is central to this devotional account. From the south, came the devotee Alarbinda. Upon arriving in Puri, he stood before the Chaturdhamurti (four-dimensional form) of the Lord in Ansar. Not having seen the Lord, he became distraught and, without any thought for his life, decided to jump into the sea and end his life. Seeing the devotee’s such determination, the Lord became agitated and the devoted Hanuman was commanded to quickly bring the devotee Alarbinda to Him. Devotee Hanuman, in a different form, saved devotee Alarbinda from self-destruction, distracted him with words, and swiftly carried him to Brahmagiri, where once Brahma performed penance to Lord Vishnu, and Hanuman himself descended. Devotee Alarbinda saw before him the Chaturdhamurti – Lord Narayan, the Supreme Person, along with Mother Lakshmi and Saraswati. Having received such grace, the devotee became blessed and prayed to have the darshan (sight) of this Ansar place, which is like a boon for the world. The Lord fulfilled this, and Alarbinda became world-renowned as His Lord Alar Nath.
In this account, Lord Alarnath appears as the compassionate answer to Alarbinda’s despair during Ansar. Hanuman prevents the devotee from ending his life and carries him to Brahmagiri, the place linked in the story with Brahma’s penance to Lord Vishnu. There Alarbinda receives darshan of the Chaturdhamurti with Mother Lakshmi and Saraswati. The episode presents Lord Alarnath as a form through which the devotee’s longing is answered when he cannot behold the Lord in Puri. The story closes by remembering Alarbinda’s prayer that this sacred Ansar place should remain a boon for devotees and by connecting his name with Lord Alarnath.
