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Daru Brahma – Jagannath The supreme serene
By ANNAPURNA NAYAK
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EDUCREATION PUBLISHING
RZ-94, Sec-6, Dwarka, New Delhi -110075 Shubham Vihar, Bilaspur, CG - 495001 www.educreation.in
©2019 by Annapurna Nayak ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
ISBN: 978-93-89534-81-8
PRICE: Rs.170.00
ANNAPURNA NAYAK
ODISHA, KORAPUT
DISCLAIMER: All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
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FOREWORD
Lord Jagannath is a deity worshipped in Hinduism and Buddhist culture. He is considered as the tenth incarnation of lord Vishnu, the preserver of the universe.He belongs to the trinity of gods in Hindu religion. He takes many avatars in every era to preserve dharma. In kali yuga, the present era he had taken form of lord Jagannath with his elder brother Balabhadra, younger sister Subhadra and Sudarshan. He has a close connection to lord Krishna.He resides in Puri,Odisha and is considered as the living deity.Every year thousands of pilgrims from all over the world come here to have a glimpse of the deities. The most famous festivals celebrated here are Ratha yatra and Nabakalebara. The most famous one is the Ratha yatra, it is celebrated almost in every state of India and even outside India people are organizing Ratha yatra.In the whole year many festivals are organized in which the deities can be seen in different attires.
ANNAPURNA NAYAK
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PREFACE
The book is dedicated to Lord Jagannath of Puri, We get to know the origin of Lord Jagannath and the temple.Some famous festivals and rituals are also described briefly. It also contains some stories of legendary devotees of Lord Jagannath. This book is based on the facts as well as some myths. There is no scientific evidence or proof of some of the incidents yet this book is not a historical treatise and is made for general reading. Many of the descriptions is taken from Skanda Purana, Naradapurana, Mahabharata, the website of puri and published articles. That I have learned from time to time.I have used Odia and Sanskrit words with some local dialects to convey a proper sense. Thanks to my father Mr.Maheswar Nayak, who described the in-depth knowledge of Lord Jagannath. Thanks to my brother Mr.Gouranga charan Nayak who helped me build the cover page of this book. Atlast thanks to my whole family and friends who gave their utmost support and valuable suggestions.
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CONTENT
1. Introduction.
2. Krishna – The supreme soul.
3. Beginning of a new era: “The kali yuga”
4. The unseen God “Neela Madhaba”
5. Search for the supreme soul.
6. The disappearance of the Blue lord.
7. The Formation of the Puri temple.
8. The arrival of Daru Brahma.
9. Carving of Trimurti.
10. Purushottam Jagannath Temple.
11. The holy car festival- Ratha yatra.
12. Nabakalebara - Formation of a new body.
13. Mysteries of Sri Mandir.
14. The legendary devotees.
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. King Purushottam deva- The kanchi expedition . Dasia Bauri . Bandhu Mohanty . Salabeg . Raghu Das . Ganapati Bhatta . Balaram Das . Jholia Kabir . Manohar Das . Saint Tulsi Das . Mania Das . Jagannath Das . Karmabai . Princess Vishnupriya . Kabir Das . Captain Beatle . Talicha Mohapatra
15. Future Jagannath Temple:Chattia Bata.
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INTRODUCTION
Lord Jagannath is considered to be the incarnation of Lord Vishnu. The name ‘Jagannath’ literally means ‘Lord of the universe’. It is the most important avatar of Lord Vishnu as he physically resides in the idol of Lord Jagannath in the form of a ‘Brahma Padartha’ and is thus called the living deity. Purusottam Kshetra Puri is also called as Martya Vaikunth where lord Vishnu stays in the Bada Deula (great temple)in the form of Jagannath. Lord Jagannath is worshipped along with elder brother ‘Balabhadra’(Balarama) and younger sister ‘Subhadra’ in the main chamber of the temple.
In India there are four pilgrimage sites(char dham) and Puri temple is one of them, the rest three are Badrinath, Dwarka, and Rameswaram, it covers all the four corners of India. People believe that by visiting these sites one may attain salvation.Puri is also one of the oldest cities of India. In the temple, the deities are made up of wood taken from a Neem tree. The first one came floating in the sea and after that replica of the deities are made every eight, twelve or nineteen years by searching of Neem tree possessing some special qualities and symbols. So Jagannath is also considered as DaruBrahma, Daru in Sanskrit means wood and Brahma means the universal life form or the supreme
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pervading soul.The deities in the temple are in an unfinished form so the people of Odisha call them in different names, many call them,Jaga, Jagabandhu, Kalia, Chaka Akhi and many more. Many festivals are organized every month in the temple due to which people of Odisha created a famous saying “Bara MasaRe Tera Paraba” which means thirteen festivals in twelve months. But from all the festivals Ratha yatra is the most famous one. Every year thousands of people from all over the world gatherin Puri, to witness the most promising Ratha yatra also known as chariot festival. The three deities along with Sudarshanaare taken in their respective chariots to visit their aunt ‘Gundicha’ and stay there for seven days. The festival continues for twelve days though.
In the twelve days, Lord Jagannath takes the form of Vishnu’s ten incarnations in ten days including a golden attire avatar. There are many devotees, who had become a legend in the history of Jagannath temple and we can find some interesting mystery revolving around this.But first let’s begin the story of the origin of Lord Jagannath with the end of a magnificent era, the Dwapara Yuga.
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Krishna –The supreme soul
We may have heard many stories of Krishna the supreme soul who took birth in the Dwapara Yuga, the third age of the world cycle of ‘yuga’ or ‘era’ according to Hinduism and yogic philosophy. Krishna who took birth in Mathura then brought up in Gokul and later in Vrindavan, he showed many miracles. He showed us the way to pursue life by telling Geeta and made a great contribution toMahabharata. He died in the hands of a hunter and the story ends there. But did it really ends there?
As we all know if there is an end then there is a new beginning.This end somehow shows the starting of a newera,a new story begin the story of Lord Jagannath also known as the living deity. Well, the story starts withKrishna leaving his mortal body.
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Beginning of a new era -“The kali Yuga”
Lord Krishnawas resting near a bush suddenly a hunter named Jara Sabara entered the forest and misunderstood the moving foot of Lord Krishna as a lurking deer. So he shot a lethal arrow that pierced into Krishna’s feet, he apologized and cried he front of dying Krishna, who console him and made him remember that in their previous births they were ‘Lord Rama’ and ‘Vali’ (also known as ‘Bali’ in several Hindu scriptures)He asked him to call Arjuna ,but Jara told him that it will take many days to reach Hastinapur and Krishna may not survive till that, but Krishna assured him that he will be waiting for him to return with Arjuna. Jara set out for Hastinapur, it took him 3 days to reach Hastinapur and give the message toArjun.
Arjun came as soon as possible to meet his friend he was heartbroken to see Krishna in this state. Krishna asked Arjun to help him take out the arrow using his Gandiva bow without thinking further Arjun took out his Gandiva and tried to take out the arrow but suddenly he felt a jerk as if half of the energy from the Gandiva was taken away by Krishna.
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