Jai Jagannath ( part-1)

Today I will tell you about Jagannath, the Lord loved, adored, worshipped like a brother, father and a friend in Puri, a coastal city in Odisha, situated in th eastern parts of India.

Jagannath literally translates into ‘The lord of Universe’. To most Vaishnava hindu, Jagannath is an abstract representation of Krishna, to some Shiva and Shakti hindu, he is a symmetry filled with tantric form of bhairava, a fierce manifestation of Shiva associated with annihilation.

Jagannath temple is one of the 4 Dhams in hindu religion, the other being Badrinath in the north, Dwarka in the west and Rameswaram in the south.

So how was the temple made? And where did he appear exactly?

The story starts in Malwa Pradesh.

Once upon a time in Malwa Pradesh, lived an eminent king called Indradyumna. He was the 25th generation from the direct lineage of lord Brahma. He was religious, kind, and was known for his good deeds, righteousness and honesty.

One day he called the proficient brahmans and sages from all over his kingdom and told

“Oh my great brahmans and sages, with my Lord's grace I have all the physical wealth and prosperity. But somehow i feel something is missing. All my life I have done my duties with great devotion and love but now I want to find God and surrender to serving him for the rest of my life.”

Hearing this, the brahmans called on many scholars and pilgrims to discuss and at that time there was on pilgrim present in the court, who told

“ Oh my great king, I have been to many holy places throughout Bharata and there is one place where you can find the Purushottam. In th eastern parts of Bharath, over the neelachal mountain and trees, there is a lake called Rohini Kund and towards the east of it you will see Neela Madhav. His body shines in blue color, even the gods come to worship. People say that if you take a dip in the kund and then pray to him you will get Moksha, liberation from the cycles of life.”

After saying all this, the pilgrim went his way but our king, filled with devotion and desire to see him, was restless. He called the main priest and told him to find this place. The priest assured the king that his younger brother Bidyapati’ is best for the job.

When Bidyapati reached Kalinga nagri, and saw the Nilachala Pravat, his craving to see Neela Madhav only got highetened. He was chanting lord's name, engrossed in his thoughts, while climbing mountain when he heard Sabar Adivasis, a group of munda ethinic tribal group of present day Odisha, discussing leelas of Neela Madhav. He went to talk to the chief of the tribe, Biswabasu and told him everything. He begged Biswabasu to talk him, to which he said,

“Fine. I can't stop you from praying, you come from so far away but I have a condition. You will walk with me blindfolded.”